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EA said plainly in its announcement to Franchise fans, “We heard you,” and that seems to be the case with everything it has shown of Madden NFL 22 so far. Franchise is the most popular mode in Madden, so EA’s renewed commitment to Franchise should prove significant for the upcoming release.
This comes on the heels of EA’s Franchise improvements for Madden 21 and is set to be a continual improvement as the mode will be getting live service updates throughout the coming year after launch. Madden 22 adds some of the most requested features to Franchise, including skill trees for coaches, better coaching management, updating scouting, and more in-depth focus between weeks with weekly strategy and practice adjustments.
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These improvements are also coming with the addition of an overhauled Franchise Hub, providing a new UI for players that should make Franchise much more streamlined. It will allow for easier access to player and staff management, monitoring goals and team developments, and incorporating the new strategy features. While the Franchise gameplay itself in Madden NFL 22 is getting some much-needed improvements, the changes to Franchise alone are refreshing.
Staff Talent Trees in Madden 22
The biggest addition to Franchise arguably is the new skill trees for coaches; something players have been requesting since back when similar features were in the NCAA Football games. Each staff member will now have two skill trees that will feature over 60 unique skills at launch, with more coming via the live updates, giving each member of a team’s staff their own individual traits. The two trees will be filled with abilities such as increased XP for specific positions or improved injury ratings to affect how the team will evolve.
To purchase various abilities, players will use Franchise Staff Points. At first, there was concern that this would be a new video game microtransaction system, especially as pre-order bonuses for the game included points. Still, EA has confirmed that is not the case, and points were only included in the pre-order bonuses to give Franchise players something for pre-ordering. Points can easily be earned in-game, though, by completing weekly goals such as completing four passes on the opening drive or rushing for so many yards in a game. These points will play directly into the Weekly Strategy focus as well.
How Weekly Strategy Works In Madden 22
The new Weekly Strategy features in Madden 22 add greater depth to game planning with the ability to look at specific details such as passer rating at different distances or a primary rusher and what plays they utilize most. Players can then focus their strategy around running outside the rusher or using blitz counters for quick throws, or on defense, they can choose to take away short routes from a QB that prefers them or blitz to disrupt the quick routes. All of which gives more diversity and is better than the Madden 21 model of simply picking the type of play to focus on because each strategy selection brings with it various goals, boosts, and detractors to balance.
The week-to-week management gets even deeper as players can set practice intensity levels for the team, such as going full pads or not and how hard to practice to balance XP gained and also having their team at maximum efficiency for the week’s game. This strategy is then echoed in-game as players can make halftime adjustments based on how well their plan is executed. For example, if they focused on taking away the outside run in their Weekly Strategy but are getting carved up in the middle, they can swap to an inside run focus.
While the updates to Franchise thus far may only be minor improvements to strategy and adding a bit more depth to the coaching mechanics, those little changes go a long way to building a more immersive Franchise experience. EA is rolling out new information about Franchise changes in Madden NFL 22 all summer, along with details on other modes. So players can get a full preview of what’s to come over the next couple of months.
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