Furthermore, animations like when a player retrieves the ball for a throw-in from the outside will now also be skipped.
Apart from celebrations and animations, EA Sports has recently announced many new features for FIFA 21. Among other things, we now know how gameplay will unfold in FIFA 21. And two new tricks are already looking like they could be extremely powerful.
In FIFA 20, players often complained about long celebration phases during online matches – especially in Ultimate Team. In FIFA 21, this is supposed to improve.
This was the problem: In FIFA, there are plenty of different ways to celebrate a goal. Right after scoring, players can let their player celebrate while controlling the field, and then also trigger a celebration animation.
This animation can take quite a bit of time and annoy the opponent, who has just conceded a goal, as they have to watch the whole thing. Even in FIFA 19, players called for celebrations to be skipped.
In the Pitch Notes for new gameplay elements (via EA Sports), the developers emphasize that they have taken the community feedback on various points of the game very seriously. The topic of toxicity also came up:
“Thanks to the feedback, we have identified some changes we can make to create a more pleasant experience for everyone playing FIFA 21.” What changes are these?
Notorious celebration is removed; animations are shortened
What changes with celebrations: Two celebrations from FIFA 20 will not appear in FIFA 21. The first is the notorious “Shush” celebration, where the goal scorer puts a finger to their lips to signal that one should be silent. This celebration developed into an insider’s choice among FIFA players during FIFA 20, regarded as particularly annoying and arrogant.
The second celebration is the “A-Ok,” based on a celebration by Dele Alli. The “Okay gesture” was not seen as annoying by FIFA players and EA did not directly explain why it had to be removed. However, the same gesture was also removed from Call of Duty in early July – due to a racist background. It’s conceivable that this decision was also made for FIFA.
EA announced in the Pitch Notes that further changes are planned. It is quite possible that more celebrations will also be removed. All the currently known info about FIFA 21 can be found here.
What changes with animations: In addition to celebrations, many animations are also to be shortened. The reasoning is similar:
For example, in the Weekend League, where players have to complete 30 matches, time is of the essence. Many players were annoyed when celebration animations, goal replays, or short scenes before set pieces like free kicks ran in full length. EA has now made changes here as well.
- The “returning to kickoff” animation after a goal will be removed.
- Goal celebrations will generally be shortened.
Additionally, EA Sports will reduce waiting times before standard situations, which were all 30 seconds at the launch of FIFA 20:
- Before kickoff, the wait time is now a maximum of 10 seconds
- Throw-ins take 12 seconds
- Goal kicks take 15 seconds
- Corners also take 15 seconds
- Pens also take 15 seconds
- Free kicks take 20 seconds
Furthermore, animations like when a player retrieves the ball for a throw-in from the outside will now also be skipped.
Apart from celebrations and animations, EA Sports has recently announced many new features for FIFA 21. Among other things, we now know how gameplay will unfold in FIFA 21. And two new tricks are already looking like they could be extremely powerful.
