EA SPORTS released a new FIFA 22 patch for the PC version of the game — Update #4 — which includes nerfs to shooting and driven passes, goalkeeper buffs, and more. Here’s everything you need to know.

FIFA 22 Title Update #4 was announced on January 11. It’s much bigger than the last few patches, and changes everything from driven pass interceptions, shooting assistance in certain scenarios, goalkeeper positioning and animations, and more.

Initially, the patch will only be available on the PC version of the game. However, it will be added to console versions, including PlayStation, Xbox, and Stadia, at a later date. Let’s take a look at the patch notes in more detail.

Title Update #4 will soon be available for the PC (Origin/Steam) version of FIFA 22, and the full TU notes are available now.https://t.co/ZuVJmCVUlj

— FIFA Direct Communication (@EAFIFADirect) January 11, 2022

FIFA 22 Shooting and Driven Pass nerfs

Two things in the patch notes that stand out head and shoulders above the rest are nerfs to shooting assistance and driven passes.

In terms of shooting, the developers have reduced the amount of shooting assistance applied to shots in situations where the goalkeeper is positioned close to a goal post.

Essentially, this will make it harder for players to sneak the ball through consistently. However, with a bit of practice, it might even end up being a buff.

Driven Passes have also been tweaked in a way that makes them more likely to be intercepted by players standing in the ball’s travel path. This makes them less effective than they have been in the current meta.

FIFA 22 Goalkeeper buff

In addition to the shooting changes mentioned above, which inadvertently make goalkeepers more effective, they’ve also received a handful of buffs.

First and foremost, goalkeepers will now be more effective at saving shots aimed closed to them, particularly near their head and between their knees. They’ll also be more efficient at saving shots within their reach.

Goalkeepers will also no longer deflect saveable low shots into their own net as frequently as they have. It didn’t happen too often, but it was still an issue that the developers deemed worthy of addressing.

FIFA 22 CPU AI improvements

The CPU AI in FIFA 22 received three improvements in this patch:

• First, they will mark opponents more efficiently during short corners.
• Second, they’ve been given more variety to the shots they can pull off.
• And last but not least, they’ll slide tackle less often.

That just about sums up the major changes in the patch. However, it also includes a whole lot more, including more gameplay changes, issues with various modes, and other bits and pieces.

The full list of patch notes for FIFA 22 Title Update #4 can be found below:

FIFA 22 Update 4 patch notes

FIFA Ultimate Team

Made the following changes:

• During away matches, players will see their own equipped pitch line colors instead of their opponent’s.
• Updated Transfer Market and Stadium search filters to match the look and functionality of the Transfer Market Player Quality search filter.

Addressed the following issues:

• Addressed further instances of some players seeing an initializing message when attempting to matchmake in Division Rivals, and not finding an opponent.
• In some cases, Team Management options could not have been adjusted during a Division Rivals match.
• In a rare scenario, players were not able to enter the FUT Champions menu.
• Some SBCs UI elements did not display correctly.
• The match UI did not display an image for some Player Items when displaying the Players To Watch overlay.
• Images on FUT Heroes Player Items did not always display correctly.
• Flair Shots were not always being counted towards Objective progress.
• An Event countdown timer incorrectly displayed when no Event was active in the Objectives menu.
• The progress bar on the FUT Champions Play-Offs tile did not always display correctly after losing a match, this was a visual issue only.
• The FUT Champions preview screen did not always display its navigational tabs correctly.
• A placeholder UI element was unintentionally available in the menus and could have generated a message regarding Finals Qualification when selected.
  • This was a visual issue only and had no other impact on FUT Champions.
• The Captain of a Co-Op lobby could not select the Edit Squad option while they were the only player in the lobby.
• The in-game Friends List button callout could sometimes not appear.

Gameplay

Made the following changes:

• Driven Passes are now more likely to be intercepted by players standing in the ball’s travel path.
• Some dribbling animations triggered by moving the left stick which include the ball carrier taking small touches to avoid a potential tackle will now only occur when the Contextual Agile Dribbling setting is set to On.
• When defending a cross with the Auto Switching setting set to Automatic, On Air Balls and Loose Balls, or Only Air Balls, an automatic player switch will occur slightly faster than before.
• Reduced shooting assistance when attempting a shot in situations where the goalkeeper is positioned closely to either one of their posts.
• When playing matches with the Defensive Corners Custom Tactics slider to 1 or 2 bars, more players will now be positioned outside of the box and at the halfway line.
• Improved AI teammate defensive marking during short corner scenarios.
• Added more variety to the types of shots the CPU AI can perform.
• In a situation where a Jockeying defender is nutmegged, they will no longer perform an animation in which they slip while turning.
• Reduced the frequency of CPU AI slide tackles.
• Removed some lunging animations that could occur when the controlled player was attempting to block a Ground Pass or a short Lob Pass.

Addressed the following issues:

• Goalkeepers were sometimes unable to make saves when shots were aimed close to them, between their knees and head.
• When playing matches with the Defensive Depth Custom Tactic Slider set to 7 or above, defenders could unintentionally drop too deep into their own half.
• When attempting to perform a right stick Player Switch to a Center Back, a different player could sometimes be switched to instead.
• In some situations, goalkeepers were not making successful saves on shots that were within reachable diving distance.
• When performing a right stick Player Switch, the Next Player Indicator could sometimes appear over an unintended player as opposed to the player that was originally switched off of.
• A white placeholder UI element could have sometimes displayed near players during matches.
• In rare instances, a goalkeeper could deflect a saveable low shot into their own net.
• Sometimes, a goalkeeper could commit a foul without a referee awarding a set piece to the other team.
• The Team Press meter would unintentionally decrease while Team Press was starting up after its activation.
• When activating Player Lock, a Player Switch could not be requested until the player let go of the right stick input and then made a Player Switch request.
• Sometimes, a foul was not called following a tackle that was clearly late.
• When losing the ball, in a rare situation, the original ball carrier could become stuck in place.
• When requesting a first time Driven Pass, the Let Ball Run command was sometimes being performed.
• In rare situations, play could continue for a short period of time after a penalty kick was called.
  • The correct penalty kick would eventually be awarded.
• In a rare situation when passing with a goalkeeper in Co-Op play, the goalkeeper would remain the selected player until a manual Player Switch was requested.
• When standing up after a slide tackle, a foul could be incorrectly called on the player standing up.
• In situations where a defender would make an unsuccessful attempt to block a shot, an animation could occur which involves the player moving their leg away from the ball.
  • This was a visual issue only and did not affect the outcome of the situation.
• In rare situations when the ball was far from the ball carrier’s feet, a requested Pass or Shot could take too long to occur.
• The defending player could unintentionally decelerate when chasing after an air ball.
• When rushing the goalkeeper towards an incoming ball, sometimes the goalkeeper would get close to the ball without reacting to it, resulting in a loss of possession.
• The Next Player Switch Indicator could sometimes unintentionally switch from a Center Back to another player in inappropriate situations.
• In some rare situations, a requested Fake Shot would not be performed and the controlled player would not animate correctly.
• In very rare circumstances, the goalkeeper could teleport when making a diving save.
• Sometimes, the Drag To Drag Skill Move could have been unintentionally requested.
• When making a catch, the goalkeeper could sometimes unnecessarily fall to the ground.
• The ball could travel through a defender in a rare situation when the ball receiver would make a touch on the ball, prior to the defender attempting to make contact with it.
• When performing a Clearance, the ball would not always travel as far as intended.
• Players could sometimes stumble in inappropriate situations.
• A goal celebration could rarely get stuck repeating over and over, resulting in a delayed continuation of the match.
• In some situations, the CPU AI team would not attempt to win the ball back.
• The CPU AI team could sometimes take too long to perform a free kick.
• When the ball was received via chest following a lobbed pass, it could bounce high enough in the air to cause unintentional player switching.
• Addressed potential stability issues that could occur during Penalty Shootouts.

Career Mode

Addressed the following issues:

• Youth Players could have been generated with unrealistically proportioned arms.
• Youth Player names and numbers did not appear on their kits during matches.
• In Player Career, the Pro’s OVR and positions could be unintentionally changed after editing them.
• When coming on as a sub in Player Career, the team’s tactics, play style, and difficulty level could get reset.
• Youth Players born after 2005 were showing a 1980 birth date when being edited.
• Youth Player progress could sometimes become unintentionally stuck.
• In some cases, renewed contracts could apply to players with 1 year less than what was agreed upon in negotiations.
• Editing a player’s boots could sometimes result in them wearing gloves.

VOLTA FOOTBALL

Made the following changes:

• During matches, the Skill Meter now displays which actions contributed towards its build up.
• Added 2 new Stadiums.
  • These will only be available following a server update. Please follow @EAFIFADIRECT for updates on when this will be live in-game.
• Added 4 Party Games to VOLTA ARCADE.
  • These will only be available following a server update. Please follow @EAFIFADIRECT for updates on when this will be live in-game.

Addressed the following issues:

• In rare situations, some players could not matchmake in VOLTA SQUADS when grouped together.
• When viewing the Season Progress pop up, the correct level was not highlighted on the UI, this was a visual issue only.
• The Season Progress button callout was not always present in the UI.
• When attempting to trigger a run, a Simple Skill Move could have unintentionally been performed.
• The Closest To The Pin and Bucket Ball party games could have sometimes used an unintended camera angle.
• In some instances, a VOLTA ARCADE tournament did not begin until at least one player left before the first party game took place.
• The Season Progression post-match screen did not always display correctly.

Pro Clubs

Made the following change:

• Slightly reduced the reactions of CPU AI teammates when attempting to contain a player who is dribbling.
  • This change only affects CPU AI teammates on teams with human players and does not affect Practice Matches.

Addressed the following issue:

• The Customise tile did not display correctly.

General, Audio, and Visual

Made the following changes:

• Updated some kits, stadia, sound effects, celebrations, ad boards, sound effects, broadcast packages, stadium announcer lines, crowds, and balls.
• Added and updated a total of 124 star heads.
  • These will only be available following a server update. Please follow @EAFIFADIRECT for updates on when this will be live in-game.

Addressed the following issues:

• When changing the right stick input in Accessibility Settings, some parts of the UI could not be navigated.
• Some typos were present in the UI.
• EATV videos did not always have sound.
• Some main menu tiles did not always display the intended content.
• The Parental Control Settings were not always available through FIFA Playtime.
• Addressed some potential stability issues.

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