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How to cheat in FIFA 20
Sportsmanship is overrated. Here are five ways to deploy the dark arts on the latest instalment of EA Sports' classic football title...
For football fans, there aren't many multiplayer titles that can rival FIFA 20. Not only is it the ultimate virtual kickabout with friends, it also provides an opportunity for you to showboat, talk trash and perform goal celebrations with the same exuberance you would on the park with jumpers for goalposts. And in a sportsless world right now, it's the perfect sports medicine.
And just as with those park-based shenanigans, sometimes you're not blessed with the goods in FIFA. Sometimes you need to practice to get one over the competition. Or - well - you can could cheat.
Let's be clear here: cheating in FIFA 20 is for mind games against your mates whether it's online or on the sofa. This isn't a list to help you grind your way up the ranks, buying coins from dodgy sites or deliberately messing with your connection, as EA could swing a ban your way if you try any of that...
With that in mind, take these tips as an opportunity for good clean fun. That, and some sweet bragging rights.
1. Turning off the assists
Tweaking your opponent's shot assistance setting is devilishly effective
© EA Sports
FIFA 20 wants to help you. It's only natural, football videogames can be tricky and we can't all be perfect at them. As a result, FIFA 20 turns on a chunk of gameplay assists by default to make you feel like a superstar.
But there's a catch. Every controller handles these assists separately. If you're a sneaky so-and-so — and if you're reading this then you are — all you need to do is go into the menus and turn all of the assists from your mate's controller, switching all of the toggles from Assisted to Manual.
Suddenly, they'll be struggling to land a simple pass, while you're knocking in goals from all over the place. If they're not used to playing without the assists, FIFA is about to get a lot more frustrating for them.
2. The FUT psyche-out
Use your FUT squads to start the mind games
© EA Sports
Cheating online is bad. We've said that right? But if you are playing a mate online, you can pull a cheeky little trick to catch them off guard, at least once, with this little trick:
Give your FIFA Ultimate Team squads second-rate names like Reserves, The B Team or something else that suggest they're not all that great. When you start a FUT match online and you connect to a game with a friend, they'll think they're facing off against a second-string team, causing them to perhaps, field a weaker squad themselves to make things fairer.
It could also make them overconfident, giving you more opportunities to attack when they over commit against a solid team.
This one is tough to pull off because rather than promising victory, you're actually just messing with their mindset. You'll still need to be a good player to win, this just lets you knock them off their game.
3. Stat Up
Turn even the most middling players into world class stars
© EA Sports
One for those of you supporting a football team that, well, EA perhaps doesn't rate that highly. However, it can be useful for dominating competitive matches on your sofa, too.
You can duck into the game's extensive customisation options and choose edit player, giving you access to the stats of each player. If you're annoyed that EA hasn't given enough love to your favourite club and the players in it, this is a perfect chance to turn a League One middleweight into a Lionel Messi.
After that, you can duck into the teams your rival often plays with and tweak all of their players' stats downwards by five or 10 points, making their team a little slower, a little less accurate or even a little less good in the air. You'll seem like the better player, but actually you've just given yourself a solid edge on the field with sneaky editing. Most players will never even notice you've hoodwinked them.
4. The 'sweaty goal'
FIFA 20
© EA
This isn't a cheat, so much as it is a guaranteed goal-scoring trick that EA hasn't quite worked out of the game yet.
For over a decade, it's been super easy to snag a goal by approaching the goal as close as possible with one striker, drawing out the keeper, and then slipping the ball to another player to knock it into the now-open goal. This cutback has been a guaranteed goal.
Is it cheating? It sparks debate in all corners but it's definitely frowned upon over at Red Bull Towers.
5. The Nuclear Option
When all else fails, go for the nuclear option
© EA Sports
If none of these tricks are helping you out, you're going to need to play really dirty. Roping in a partner, housemate or willing friend could let you fake a power cut, having them mess with the fuse box to end a bad loss early for you, letting you claim the moral victory.
But now you've come this far, take the ruse up a notch by asking your friend to yell about something, causing both players to ditch the game and come running.
Bonus tip: if you can get them away from their controller, there's no reason you can't recruit your partner-in-crime for the ol' one-two, turning off their assists while they're away.
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