FIFA 23 has released a major patch that revolves around gameplay. This has sparked discussions among players – also because the ‘Lengthy’ mechanic is now apparently significantly less OP.
What made Lengthy special in FIFA 23? Since the release of FIFA 23 at the end of September 2022, much has been said about the topic of “Lengthy”. In the NextGen version of FIFA 23, there are three running types: Controlled, Explosive, and Lengthy.
The ‘Lengthy’ type emerged as the strongest sprint type. This sprint type is designed so that larger, heavy players can reach very high sprint speeds over long distances, while Explosive players tend to make short, fast sprints and Controlled players accelerate evenly when running.
However, the Lengthy type seemed to outrun all other players. As a result, players like Haaland, Rulebreakers-Dzeko, or even affordable representatives like Alexander Sørloth were considered perfect meta players. Players who had lagged significantly behind smaller dribblers in past FIFAs.
Strong dribblers like Dembélé, Vinicius Jr., and others, on the other hand, were considered weaker. It was exactly such players who were seen as the embodiment of the meta in previous FIFAs.
That other player types were favored in FIFA 23 also affected gameplay. There is much passing and running instead of dribbling. Many even used Chemistry Styles to turn certain players into Lengthy players.
But now, after the big Title Update 4, many players seem to view the ‘Lengthy meta’ as over.
New patch in FIFA 23 makes dribblers faster – this changes gameplay
This is what players say: Since the new patch, players have noticed that gameplay in FIFA 23 has noticeably changed – not only because the super-strong trivela shot has been nerfed.
On the FIFA subreddit and on Twitter, some players describe that FIFA 23 now feels like a completely different game for them and that the ‘Lengthy’ meta is over.
There are plenty of opinions and discussions around the changes. Some examples:
- “It was refreshing and enjoyable to have a FIFA title where you could effectively use big and strong players along with the smaller, more agile players,” writes user “Gledger,” who feels FIFA 23 is now more like its predecessors (via reddit).
- “I wish they would slow down the pace a bit across the board. I’m glad Lengthy isn’t as OP anymore, but the game plays so damn fast now,” says another (via reddit).
- “People act as if Lengthy players are now useless. They’re just like before the update. Only the other running types are affected, so I think it’s a good thing because now all types of players should be usable,” finds user “Luckychuckyxd” (via reddit).
- “The problem isn’t that it ruined the Lengthy strikers but rather that it ruined Lengthy center-backs, which most of them are,” writes another user (via reddit): “It’s now so easy to get behind the defense and score.”
On the transfer market, the discussion also led to a price crash for strong Lengthy players like OTW-Haaland or Rulebreaker Ronaldo.
However, players also emphasize that other “Lengthy” players in midfield do not feel weaker than before. Additionally, Lengthy attackers can still be quick.
This is what EA says: EA has now clarified why it feels that way: Because Lengthy was not nerfed directly, but another problem was solved that may indirectly affect Lengthy defenders.
On the “Direct Communication” channel on Twitter, the team behind FIFA 23 explained that the AcceleRATE values, i.e., the values of the running types, were not changed directly. However, a problem that slowed down strong dribblers was resolved.
The error caused players to unintentionally slow down when dribbling the ball. It especially affected players with high dribbling attributes – but such players often have the ‘Explosive’ style rather than the ‘Lengthy’ style. Examples would be players like Dembélé or Vinicius Jr., who are now also rising in the market.
This error has now been corrected with the update, which may lead to dribblers being noticeably faster in attack – and Lengthy players not necessarily keeping up.
However, the “Lengthy” status itself is not to blame for this. The OP mechanic has been indirectly weakened – but rather in the way that players with high dribbling values and thus other running styles have simply been strengthened.
It will be exciting to see how the changed gameplay will be rated by players in the coming days, once a few days have passed since the update. What do you think of the change? Let us know in the comments!
Otherwise, there is currently a new card for the career end of Ribery – also a strong dribbler.
