In other words: After the ratings refresh, two versions of standard cards of the respective player coexist in FUT.
How do IF cards behave – the Informs – during the winter upgrades?
The “in form” cards, like the “team of the week” cards, are somewhat complicated during the winter upgrades.
In short: If the winter upgrade card of the player is better than or equal to the current IF card(s), the IF cards will be automatically upgraded. These are intended to remain better than the regular cards.
However: If a player changes quality during the winter upgrade (e.g., from Silver to Gold) and the previous IF card was a Silver card, it will remain unchanged.
An example about Aguero’s IF cards from the past (not current cards):
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 will increase to 89. His TOTW card, which was 89, will increase to 90 to remain 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.
Predictions for the winter upgrades
Update: Here are Bundesliga predictions for the winter upgrades!
Update: Here are predictions for the Premier League for the winter upgrades!
Update: Here are predictions for La Liga for the winter upgrades!
In the near future, we will publish detailed predictions sorted by leagues for the winter upgrades. Until then, we present a few predictions from YouTuber TVM:
- Young (RV): Manchester United – 75 –> 79
- Max (LV): Augsburg – 74 –> 77
- Candreva (RM): Inter Milan – 80 –> 82
- Handanovic (TW): Inter Milan – 87 –> 88
- Fekir (ZOM): Olympique Lyon – 82 –> 84
- Salah (RF): Liverpool – 83 –> 85
- Kimmich (RV): Bayern Munich – 81 –> 83
- Iago Aspas (ST): Celta Vigo – 83 –> 84
- Grainger (LV): Carlisle United – 63 –> 70
- Finnbogason (ST): Augsburg – 76 –> 80
- Bobo (ST): Sydney FC – 74 –> 78
- Ginter (IV): Gladbach – 78 –> 81
- Kane (ST): Tottenham – 86 –> 87
- Immobile (ST): Lazio Rome – 82 –> 83
Keep in mind that this is just a selection of possible predictions. Hundreds of players will be upgraded during the ratings refresh.
More information about the ratings refresh:
- Who determines the upgrades? A team from EA Sports, but you can let the developers know your favorites in a survey.
- What do the new player cards look like? Like the previous standard cards (Gold, Silver, Bronze). Players can change quality.
- What is the difference between the previous standard cards and the new cards? The overall rating and the stats. Only in rare cases does the position change if the player has mainly played a new position in recent months.
- What happens to the old standard cards? They remain unchanged. However, they are replaced by the new cards in packs. In other words, the old cards can no longer be pulled from the packs.
- What happens to the existing IFs? These also receive an upgrade if the new standard card exceeds or equals the previous IF card in rating.
- How long are the “ratings refresh” cards in the packs? Expected until the end of FIFA 18.
- Can a winter transfer player receive an upgrade? Yes.
- 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.
All information about the TOTY cards, the best player cards in FUT 18, can be found here.
Generally, the Gold cards are upgraded by 1-2 points in rating. Silver and Bronze players receive upgrades of about 4 points. In rare cases, the improvements for Bronze players can reach as much as 15 points.
Release dates of the winter upgrades / ratings refresh in Ultimate Team
Update: It has been officially confirmed that the ratings refresh will start on February 23!
The upgraded cards will not be released all at once, but in “batches.” EA Sports will release the ratings refresh cards sorted by leagues sequentially. The ratings refresh phase will run until March 5.
How do I get a higher-rated upgrade card?
We will add which players are affected by the ratings refresh as soon as they are known. Update: See the beginning of the article, where we list them with links.
Once the winter upgrade cards are released, they can be pulled from packs. The only requirement is that the pack can contain players. The “old” cards of the respective players will no longer be available in packs from this moment onward.
If you already own a card of a player who is being upgraded, it will remain unchanged. It will not be automatically updated. If you want the card of the player with improved attributes, you must pull it from a pack. It is also possible to acquire winter upgrade cards from other players on the transfer market.
In other words: After the ratings refresh, two versions of standard cards of the respective player coexist in FUT.
How do IF cards behave – the Informs – during the winter upgrades?
The “in form” cards, like the “team of the week” cards, are somewhat complicated during the winter upgrades.
In short: If the winter upgrade card of the player is better than or equal to the current IF card(s), the IF cards will be automatically upgraded. These are intended to remain better than the regular cards.
However: If a player changes quality during the winter upgrade (e.g., from Silver to Gold) and the previous IF card was a Silver card, it will remain unchanged.
An example about Aguero’s IF cards from the past (not current cards):
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 will increase to 89. His TOTW card, which was 89, will increase to 90 to remain 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.
Predictions for the winter upgrades
Update: Here are Bundesliga predictions for the winter upgrades!
Update: Here are predictions for the Premier League for the winter upgrades!
Update: Here are predictions for La Liga for the winter upgrades!
In the near future, we will publish detailed predictions sorted by leagues for the winter upgrades. Until then, we present a few predictions from YouTuber TVM:
- Young (RV): Manchester United – 75 –> 79
- Max (LV): Augsburg – 74 –> 77
- Candreva (RM): Inter Milan – 80 –> 82
- Handanovic (TW): Inter Milan – 87 –> 88
- Fekir (ZOM): Olympique Lyon – 82 –> 84
- Salah (RF): Liverpool – 83 –> 85
- Kimmich (RV): Bayern Munich – 81 –> 83
- Iago Aspas (ST): Celta Vigo – 83 –> 84
- Grainger (LV): Carlisle United – 63 –> 70
- Finnbogason (ST): Augsburg – 76 –> 80
- Bobo (ST): Sydney FC – 74 –> 78
- Ginter (IV): Gladbach – 78 –> 81
- Kane (ST): Tottenham – 86 –> 87
- Immobile (ST): Lazio Rome – 82 –> 83
Keep in mind that this is just a selection of possible predictions. Hundreds of players will be upgraded during the ratings refresh.
More information about the ratings refresh:
- Who determines the upgrades? A team from EA Sports, but you can let the developers know your favorites in a survey.
- What do the new player cards look like? Like the previous standard cards (Gold, Silver, Bronze). Players can change quality.
- What is the difference between the previous standard cards and the new cards? The overall rating and the stats. Only in rare cases does the position change if the player has mainly played a new position in recent months.
- What happens to the old standard cards? They remain unchanged. However, they are replaced by the new cards in packs. In other words, the old cards can no longer be pulled from the packs.
- What happens to the existing IFs? These also receive an upgrade if the new standard card exceeds or equals the previous IF card in rating.
- How long are the “ratings refresh” cards in the packs? Expected until the end of FIFA 18.
- Can a winter transfer player receive an upgrade? Yes.
- 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.
All information about the TOTY cards, the best player cards in FUT 18, can be found here.
In FIFA 18 Ultimate Team, the winter upgrades and the ratings refresh are coming. Which players will receive an upgrade, what happens to the cards, and when can we expect the release? Predictions and information are summarized here.
Update: The first upgrades are here – Premier League!
Update 25.2.: Here are the upgrades of the Serie A.
Update 27.2.: Here are the upgrades of the Ligue 1.
Update 1.3.: Here are the upgrades of the Bundesliga.
Update 3.3.: Here are the upgrades of the La Liga.
The player cards in FUT are quite inflexible. Unlike other game modes in FIFA 18, FUT cards cannot be constantly updated and adjusted to reflect the real performances of respective professional players. Aside from OTW cards (and “Path to Glory” cards), the values on a card remain the same throughout the season.
Some players will receive “in form” cards (IF-Cards) during the season, but the stats of the standard cards will not change. With one exception: the winter upgrades in February.
What are the winter upgrades / ratings refresh in FUT 18?
Twice a year, the standard player cards in FUT are updated: when a new FIFA installment is released (in autumn) and after the winter transfers, i.e. in February. These adjustments are meant to reflect the real performances of the players exhibited over the preceding months.
Until FIFA 16, there were only “winter upgrades”. Player cards could only be upgraded, only receive better values. In FIFA 17, however, a change occurred: winter upgrades were renamed to “ratings refresh”, which also introduced downgrades. In FUT 18, we see ratings refresh again, but only with upgrades. Downgrades are omitted this year.
The ratings refresh affect the standard cards (Bronze, Silver, Gold):
Generally, the Gold cards are upgraded by 1-2 points in rating. Silver and Bronze players receive upgrades of about 4 points. In rare cases, the improvements for Bronze players can reach as much as 15 points.
Release dates of the winter upgrades / ratings refresh in Ultimate Team
Update: It has been officially confirmed that the ratings refresh will start on February 23!
The upgraded cards will not be released all at once, but in “batches.” EA Sports will release the ratings refresh cards sorted by leagues sequentially. The ratings refresh phase will run until March 5.
How do I get a higher-rated upgrade card?
We will add which players are affected by the ratings refresh as soon as they are known. Update: See the beginning of the article, where we list them with links.
Once the winter upgrade cards are released, they can be pulled from packs. The only requirement is that the pack can contain players. The “old” cards of the respective players will no longer be available in packs from this moment onward.
If you already own a card of a player who is being upgraded, it will remain unchanged. It will not be automatically updated. If you want the card of the player with improved attributes, you must pull it from a pack. It is also possible to acquire winter upgrade cards from other players on the transfer market.
In other words: After the ratings refresh, two versions of standard cards of the respective player coexist in FUT.
How do IF cards behave – the Informs – during the winter upgrades?
The “in form” cards, like the “team of the week” cards, are somewhat complicated during the winter upgrades.
In short: If the winter upgrade card of the player is better than or equal to the current IF card(s), the IF cards will be automatically upgraded. These are intended to remain better than the regular cards.
However: If a player changes quality during the winter upgrade (e.g., from Silver to Gold) and the previous IF card was a Silver card, it will remain unchanged.
An example about Aguero’s IF cards from the past (not current cards):
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 will increase to 89. His TOTW card, which was 89, will increase to 90 to remain 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.
Predictions for the winter upgrades
Update: Here are Bundesliga predictions for the winter upgrades!
Update: Here are predictions for the Premier League for the winter upgrades!
Update: Here are predictions for La Liga for the winter upgrades!
In the near future, we will publish detailed predictions sorted by leagues for the winter upgrades. Until then, we present a few predictions from YouTuber TVM:
- Young (RV): Manchester United – 75 –> 79
- Max (LV): Augsburg – 74 –> 77
- Candreva (RM): Inter Milan – 80 –> 82
- Handanovic (TW): Inter Milan – 87 –> 88
- Fekir (ZOM): Olympique Lyon – 82 –> 84
- Salah (RF): Liverpool – 83 –> 85
- Kimmich (RV): Bayern Munich – 81 –> 83
- Iago Aspas (ST): Celta Vigo – 83 –> 84
- Grainger (LV): Carlisle United – 63 –> 70
- Finnbogason (ST): Augsburg – 76 –> 80
- Bobo (ST): Sydney FC – 74 –> 78
- Ginter (IV): Gladbach – 78 –> 81
- Kane (ST): Tottenham – 86 –> 87
- Immobile (ST): Lazio Rome – 82 –> 83
Keep in mind that this is just a selection of possible predictions. Hundreds of players will be upgraded during the ratings refresh.
More information about the ratings refresh:
- Who determines the upgrades? A team from EA Sports, but you can let the developers know your favorites in a survey.
- What do the new player cards look like? Like the previous standard cards (Gold, Silver, Bronze). Players can change quality.
- What is the difference between the previous standard cards and the new cards? The overall rating and the stats. Only in rare cases does the position change if the player has mainly played a new position in recent months.
- What happens to the old standard cards? They remain unchanged. However, they are replaced by the new cards in packs. In other words, the old cards can no longer be pulled from the packs.
- What happens to the existing IFs? These also receive an upgrade if the new standard card exceeds or equals the previous IF card in rating.
- How long are the “ratings refresh” cards in the packs? Expected until the end of FIFA 18.
- Can a winter transfer player receive an upgrade? Yes.
- 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.
All information about the TOTY cards, the best player cards in FUT 18, can be found here.
