In FIFA 17, the winter upgrades are coming in Ultimate Team mode. Which players will be given better ratings and what do I need to know about the upgrades? All information in English!
Update: The winter upgrades are replaced by Ratings Refresh!
Unlike other game modes in FIFA 17, player attributes in FUT 17 are not continuously updated and adjusted to the real performances of the respective professional players. In FUT 17, players have cards with fixed attributes that remain constant throughout the year (except for Ones-to-Watch cards).
Some players do receive “in-form” cards (IF cards) during the season, but the stats of the regular cards remain unchanged. With one exception: The winter upgrades in February.
What are the winter upgrades in FUT 17?
Twice a year, the regular player cards in FUT are updated: When a new FIFA installment is released (in autumn) and after the winter transfers, that is, in February. These upgrades (and downgrades) are meant to reflect the real performances of the players they displayed consistently on the pitch in the months prior.
Each player receiving a winter upgrade will receive a new regular card in FUT 17. These are the “normal” cards, which are classified as bronze, silver, and gold:
Typically, gold cards are upgraded by 1-2 points in rating. Silver and bronze players receive upgrades of about 4 points. In rare cases, improvements for bronze players can reach a whopping 15 points.
How do I get a winter upgrade card with improved overall rating?
Once the winter upgrade cards are released, they can be pulled in sets. The only requirement is that the set contains players. The “old” cards of the respective players will no longer be found in the sets from that moment on.
If you already possess a card of a player who is upgraded, it remains unchanged. It will not be automatically updated. If you want the player’s card with improved attributes, you must pull it from a set. It is also possible to acquire the winter upgrade cards from other players on the transfer market.
In other words: From now on, two versions of regular cards for each player coexist in FUT: With the values at the launch of FIFA 17 and with the values after the winter upgrade.
When do the winter upgrades come out? Release
The winter upgrade cards do not all appear at once. They will be released gradually by EA Sports in “batches”. A look at the past shows that over 400 players receive an upgrade, released in four batches throughout February.
In FIFA 16, the winter upgrades started on February 5th.
Which players receive a winter upgrade?
This is not yet known. There can now be much speculation about it. We will report on this promptly and keep this article updated.
Bundesliga predictions for the winter upgrades
Especially interesting for us in Germany: Which Bundesliga professionals receive an upgrade? In the following link, you will find predictions for possible Bundesliga winter upgrades:
How do the IF cards behave during the winter upgrades?
The “in-form” cards are a bit complicated during the winter upgrades.
In short: If a player’s winter upgrade card is better rated than or equal to the existing IF card(s), the IF cards are automatically upgraded. These should continue to be better than the regular cards.
However: If a player changes their rank during the winter upgrade (for example, from silver to gold) and the existing IF card was a silver card, it remains unchanged.
An example of Aguero’s IF cards from the past:
The regular card at launch had a rating of 87. After the winter upgrade, Aguero received a regular card with 88. Since one of his IF cards already had 88, it is increased to 89. His TOTW card, which was 89, two points better than 87, will become 90, to again be 2 points better than the new regular card.
By the way: IF cards include not only TOTW cards but also Hero and other special cards.
General questions about the winter upgrades?
- Are the winter upgrades the winter transfers? No, the winter transfers take place before the winter upgrades. With the upgrades, neither the club nor the league changes.
- Can the winter upgrade cards have position changes? In rare cases, yes, if the player showed strong performances in recent months in a different position.
- How do the prices change on the transfer market? Usually, the upgraded players are more expensive than the original cards. The prices of the “old” regular cards decrease.
- Who determines/chooses the winter upgrades? A team from EA Sports.
- How long are the winter upgrades in packs? Until the end of FIFA 17.
- Can players rank up (from bronze to silver, from silver to gold)? Yes.
- Are there also winter downgrades? No. Only with new FIFA installments can players receive cards with worse ratings.
- Can I have both regular versions of the player in my team? Yes, but only one can be on the field.
- Can a player who switched clubs during the winter transfers receive an upgrade? Yes.
All information about winter transfers in FUT 17 can be found here.
