In FIFA 20 Ultimate Team, there are many changes to the Squad Battles. These give you more freedom than ever – and I like this change.
Here’s what I think about the FUT innovations: On July 31, EA Sports unveiled the most important innovations that the Ultimate Team mode will receive in FIFA 20. The developers highlighted primarily two things:
- the new season objectives
- new FUT friendly matches, which include a zone control mode
I definitely consider the season objectives to be a motivating innovation – goals that you can set for yourself and that make you log in repeatedly. However, they didn’t have a “wow” effect on me – they are just rewards for which you have to do something in the long term.
I will definitely try the FUT friendly matches, but I don’t think they will excite me more than a few games. Then I will refocus entirely on Division Rivals, FUT Champions, and Squad Battles.
My highlight of the FUT 20 innovations: Therefore, a different change personally appealed to me more, which was more of a footnote during the FUT 20 presentation: the new Squad Battles.
Squad Battles offer you more freedom in Ultimate Team
Here’s how the Squad Battles have operated previously: Until now, you could only play a limited number of matches per day to earn Squad Battles points and thus obtain better rewards. You could only select new matches the next day. In other words, if you wanted the top rewards, you were forced to play some matches every day of the week.
Here’s how Squad Battles change: In FUT 20, this limitation is removed. From now on, you can request new opponent squads as often as you like in one day. In total, you can play 40 matches per week, which will earn you Squad Battles points.
- When you play these 40 matches (10 squad refreshes of 4 squads) in a week is now up to you. You can play them all on one day or spread them out over the week.
- Once you have played the 40 matches, you can still request new teams. However, these will not give additional points for that week’s Squad Battles competition. But you can play them to complete specific tasks or just for practice or fun.
With this change, it will be easier for you to schedule the 40 matches per week. EA Sports is giving you more freedom regarding when you want to play them.
Other changes to Squad Battles:
- Squad Battles will have a new interface. You will receive more information about the team you will face. You will see the best three players of the team, details about the tactical setup, kits, the stadium, and the ratings and chemistry will be displayed more clearly:
- The Team of the Week will be introduced as a recurring Squad Battles opponent.
- The TOTW can be challenged multiple times along with the Featured Squad Battle to improve the score. If you play again, your previous score will be replaced by the new one – so you have to assess the risk and potential reward.
According to EA Sports, the Squad Battles have become one of the most popular modes in the game since their introduction in FUT 18. And I enjoy playing them, but I always got frustrated in the past that I couldn’t accumulate many points since I didn’t have the time for the 40 matches. And when I did have enough time, I was annoyed by the daily Squad Battles cap. That’s why I’m glad I can finally play Squad Battles in FIFA 20 whenever I want. A sensible change!
Squad Battles are a pure single-player mode. You compete against created FUT teams from around the world. The better your performance is and the more matches you play, the more points (Battle points) you earn. The more points you accumulate within a week, the higher you climb in the leaderboard and the better the rewards.
We list all FUT innovations here in the overview.
