Focus On The Journey: P2P Snacks #20

Results are a temptress of disappointment

Hello my friends! It’s no doubt been a minute since I’ve shared an issue of Snacks. I fall prey from time to time with the FIFA blues. Not the blues that we all hoped to pack during TOTY, more like a “what’s the point if I’m not packing great cards and improving my team” blues that happened during TOTY in spades…

This TOTY was the worst in recent memory. The pack weight was terrible. The cards are so far beyond everything else on the market that when you come up against a team in the elite divisions that has multiple TOTYs, you’re going to have a bad time regardless of skill differences. I voiced a concern on a recent FUT Weekly Pod that TOTY could actually drive people away from FIFA. I’d be curious to know (and you can leave comments on substack!) whether or not TOTY made you more or less excited about FIFA now that we are almost 2 weeks removed. 

Regardless, it forced me to reflect and think and I realized this hits on a common theme that I fall into—focusing on the result and not the journey. I have always been this way. Did I get an A on the exam? Yes or no. It wasn’t about the process of learning, improving, and digesting information. It was always about the result. Life can be miserable when you live and die by the results because sometimes they don’t go your way. I’ve made a promise to myself to be present for the journey and enjoy the process regardless of the result. For life in general AND with FIFA. I hope you’ll join me in crushing the journey and not just the outcome.

Now on to some nerdy FIFA-related things. Some big news…I got fiber internet back. Praise be. I still have to figure out how to get a wired connection where I play, but I already feel like a whole new man. My connection dropped from an average ping of 30 to 18. If I can get wired, I bet I’ll go down to 10. Here’s the truth - the game is drastically different when played on a better connection. Everything feels crisp and smooth. Defensively, I can react and not just predict my opponents’ movements. I’m excited to play again :) 

Here’s my first goal following the connection switch…shoutout to Neuer for the Martinezesque WC Final save and the outrageous driven pass (RB+X) after a quick glance at the mini-map.

Because it’s been a bit, I’ll leave you with eight things I’ve learned over the past few weeks…

1. Low-driven shots are my bread & butter shot selection. Seriously, just tap the shot button in the box and aim for a corner. This is especially good against tall keepers. Also a bonus power shot from a tricky angle, which leads me to…

2. Power shots are under-utilized by just about everyone I come up against. I use them all the time and at worst get a corner out of them 90% of the time. Check out this common sequence in my 433(2)...

3. The reactions stat is still my favorite stat to look at. Seriously, I won’t pay a dime for a player that doesn’t have elite reactions. This means team 1 of Future Stars is an absolute flop for me.

4. Adding new players to the squad helps keep FIFA fresh. I need to switch up my squad more, but ditching players like Völler that give me a great chance to win is hard to do. I completed the Flashback Sadio Mane and went back to using WC Hero Kewell. Mane didn’t have the extra sauce for my style to make the first 11, but he’s consistently my 12th man.

5. TOTY players are waaaaaaay ahead of the power curve and EA didn’t do anything to remedy that with Future Stars. Even Courtois feels a level above all of the other keepers in the game. This needs to change soon.

6. LB/L1 skill moves are my favorite. They offer the smoothest and fastest changes of direction. They also showcase minimal setup. To elaborate, look at how easy it is to defend a fake shot or a berba spin…try doing the LB + Left +Right skill and see how quickly you change directions instead.

7. The 433(2) is still my favorite formation for how I feel soccer should be played. The 4321 x 4222 are superior meta formations but the passing and attacking sequences are repetitive and stale. The best players use a super boring 4222/442 setup and utilize manual run triggers (LB/RB).

8. Enjoying the journey and not the result in FIFA means pack pulls and champs results matter less. It means I get to focus on the butterflies of hitting a 30-yard power shot or attempting an outrageous skill sequence even if it doesn’t pan out. 

That’s all for this week. Thank you guys for your patience and continued engagement over the last few weeks. The P2P Snacks Disord is one of my favorite places to consume FIFA content and that is all thanks to you guys. I’ll be back next week with what better be a pack pulled Jamala Musiala Future Stars card…jk. That would be focusing on the result ;) 

Talk soon,

Japes