FIFA Points and Packs in FIFA 21 have always been a topic of criticism. The streamer Trymacs recently conducted a major pack experiment – showcasing how poor the chances for top players from packs actually are.
What is the problem with FIFA Points? In the Ultimate Team mode of FIFA 21, there are several ways to play. Overall, it is about building a strong team. Players come in the form of cards that can be bought on the transfer market for coins or drawn from packs.
There are various ways to achieve this. One can compete in different modes such as:
- Squad Battles,
- Division Rivals,
- Weekend League rewards including packs.
Or, one can earn coins through trading, which can then be spent on the transfer market.
Coins are the currency obtained simply through playing.
The problem for many players: Through the regular gameplay paths, it can take an incredibly long time to earn enough coins for super teams. Especially if one is not one of the absolute top players and does not always receive the best rewards. Getting strong rewards is also made even harder if one can only rely on starter teams, while others have already built incredible top teams.
Because: There is also the option to buy FIFA Points with real money. These can then be spent on packs. So: real money for card sets. However, one does not necessarily receive good players in these packs. Without a large portion of luck, one can continuously draw players that are essentially worthless on the market or on the field. This is why points are often criticized. For example, an advertisement in a toy catalog caused a lot of trouble.
The chances for top players are extremely low. An issue that streamer Trymacs recently demonstrated impressively in a large experiment.
Hours of Streaming with Packs
Who is Trymacs? Max Alexander Curt “Trymacs” Stemmler is one of the largest German-speaking streamers on Twitch, but he is not primarily focused on FIFA 21. He originally started with videos on Clash Royale, but later also created content on Fortnite and games such as Among Us, Fall Guys, or Phasmophobia.
In his streams, it is evident that he does not necessarily have deep knowledge about player cards or the gameplay itself. He admits this himself, and he sometimes seeks support. However, that is not the main focus of the experiment: Trymacs wants to show how poor the chances are for users with FIFA packs.
This is how the experiment goes: Trymacs stated that he aimed to spend 500,000 FIFA Points on packs. That amounts to “slightly over 4,000 Euros”, according to the streamer. They were purchased, among other things, through code cards from kiosks and similar sources. It took him alone four and a half hours just to load the points.
Then, Trymacs began buying packs in lengthy streams. There are several highlight videos on YouTube where one can closely follow how he is doing. Spoiler: It’s not going well.
Trymacs warns clearly: “Don’t spend a cent on packs”
Trymacs impressively proves that even spending a lot of money does not really provide any advantage in packs.
Occasionally, he does draw expensive cards like Martial or Son, but often he does not even get a Walkout. And even when he does, he often has bad luck. He draws countless goalkeepers, who bring no money, and often players like Müller, Hummels, or Verratti, who have high overall values but provide hardly any coins.
“No one has as much bad luck as I do in openings. I only pull the worst Walkouts and then I pull them again,” he ironically states in the stream. He draws Sergio Ramos four times (though at least he brings in some decent coins): “I only pull Sergio Ramos duplicates and goalkeepers. That this is even possible is nonsense.
There hasn’t been an icon so far (the experiment is still ongoing on his Twitch channel). With the drawn players, he and his supporters also complete SBCs and draw packs from those as well. But even here, top players are just cursedly rare: “If you think, I need a strong midfielder, I’ll draw one now, maybe I’ll get one – no. No, you won’t get one. You’ll first get showered with thousands of Euros for hours and then get a goalkeeper,” the streamer summarizes.
With the stream, he wants to make it clear that one should not spend any money on packs – he emphasizes this repeatedly. The packs offer “probabilities like in lottery games,” yet somehow this gambling has found its way into children’s rooms. He refers, for example, to Belgium, where FIFA Points were banned in 2019 – and wonders why it is still allowed here. He warns clearly: “Don’t spend a cent on packs. It’s online casino and sick rip-off.”
The stream aims to warn. He does not want to flame streamers who open packs, but there is a responsibility because some people between the ages of 13 and 17 are spending too much money, according to Trymacs.
For example, there was a case this year of a player who spent all his money for university on FIFA packs.
“4,600 Euros and I still lose”
This is how he earns the money back: The money in his stream is essentially business expenses: “Significantly more money comes in than I can spend on this experiment,” he explains: “As a private person spending your own money on this is ultimately nonsensical.” The video where he buys Ronaldo alone generated 1,500 Euros for him on the first day, he shares in the Twitch stream.
Because after countless packs and sold players, he inevitably ends up gathering enough money for a real top team. Among other things, with Ronaldo, whom he notes that he now has the “best player” after having previously had the “worst player.”
His team otherwise looks good – but the price was simply too high: “Now I have van Dijk and Maldini. Super chill, only for 4,600 Euros. And I still lose because I just can’t play the game,” he sarcastically comments. Furthermore, there is the problem that FIFA is effectively only valuable for one year – as the next part comes out soon and all progress is gone.
Streamer’s conclusion: Overall, he emphasizes that FIFA is a “great game,” especially with friends, but the pay-to-win and gambling aspects are a very sensitive issue: “You can play the game. You can play it together, career mode, free-to-play. It is an incredibly great game,” Trymacs concludes: “But this hidden casino aspect is evil.”
Trymacs is not the first to address this issue openly. For example, FIFA pro Tim Latka announced that this season he will refrain from spending real money – precisely to take responsibility towards younger players.
The thumbnail shows excerpts from Trymacs streams.
