=========================================================================== || || || Fifa 2004 Training and Player Skill Guide || || by GigoloSam || || || =========================================================================== Game: FIFA 2004 Console: Sony Playstation2 Developer: EA Sports Genre: Soccer Sim Release: October 24, 2003 Author: Sam Morehouse (GigoloSam) Contact Email: samuelm@mail.utexas.edu Copyright 2004 Sam Morehouse //=================\\ || Table of Contents || \\=================// 1. Author and FAQ Info 1.1. Copyright Information 1.2. Contact Information 1.3. Version History 2. Player Skill Explained 2.1 Intro 2.2 Goalies 2.3 Defenders 2.4 Midfielders 2.5 Strikers 3. What Does Training Do? 3.1 Goalies 3.2 Everyone Else 4. Anecdotal Evidence 5. Conclusions =========================================================================== || 1. Author and FAQ Info || =========================================================================== --------------------------- 1.1. Copyright Information: --------------------------- This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. Please contact me on the email below to ask permission for use of this guide. ------------------------- 1.2. Contact Information: ------------------------- Before emailing me, please READ THE ENTIRE FAQ. If you need to contact me about the guide, please email me at samuelm@mail.utexas.edu. Please only email me with errors in the guide or requests for the guide. Any questions about the game (that do not have to do with things discussed in the guide) should be sent to a messageboard, like the one at www.soccergaming.tv . --------------------- 1.3. Version History: --------------------- 02/16/04- 1.0 First submitted version. =========================================================================== || 2. Player Skill Explained || =========================================================================== ------------------ 2.1. Introduction: ------------------ FIFA 2004 internally seperates players into four categories: Goalies, Defenders, Midfielders and Strikers. Strikers includes Center Fielders, but it does not include Center Attacking Mids (CAM's) or other attacking mids. Each one of these four groups responds to training differently, so I will now explain that. If you're curious as to how I tested these numbers, I opened the Fifa database and changed a players skill points all to zeros, except whatever skill I was testing. For more info on this you can email me. If you would like to test them, simply take the players skill in a specific category and multiply it by whatever percent I have listed that pertains to whatever position they play. For instance, let's calculate the skill rating for Senderes, he's a CB for Arsenal. His skill rating is 63. So since he's a Defender, look at section 2.3 to understand why I'm doing what I'm doing here. Here are his points in these area: Tackling : 66 Marking : 64 Heading : 63 Ball Control : 65 Longball : 56 Now multiply these by their corresponding percentages: 66 * .3 = 19.8 64 * .3 = 19.2 63 * .2 = 12.6 65 * .1 = 6.5 56 * .1 = 5.6 Add them all up, and you get 63.7 . Fifa rounds down, so it's just 63. I've tested this on lots of players, the following formulas are the ones I am using in my player database. ------------- 2.2. Goalies: ------------- Goalies skill rating are based on 3 things: Reflexes, Handling, and Rushing. Now I know what you're thinking, "What's Handling!?!". Well, I don't really know, but it's in the FIFA database under a players profile. Why this skill is not shown in the game is beyond me, but it's there, trust me. Here is how a goalies skill rating is calculated. Reflexes : 40% Handling : 40% Rushing : 20% --------------- 2.3. Defenders: --------------- Defenders skill rating are based on Tackling, Marking, Heading, Ball Control and Longball. Here are the apportionments: Tackling : 30% Marking : 30% Heading : 20% Ball Control : 10% Longball : 10% ----------------- 2.4. Midfielders: ----------------- Midfielders skill ratings are based on Passing, Heading, Ball Control, Tackling, Longball and Dribbling. Below: Passing : 30% Ball Control : 20% Tackling : 20% Longball : 10% Dribbling : 10% Heading : 10% -------------- 2.5. Strikers: -------------- Strikers skill ratings are based on Shot Accuracy, Shot Power, Heading, Ball Control and Dribbling. You get the idea: Shot Accuracy : 30% Shot Power : 30% Heading : 20% Ball Control : 10% Dribbling : 10% =========================================================================== || 3. What Does Training Do? || =========================================================================== So now that we know how a players skill rating is calculated, let's put this to practical use and train players in specific areas to up their rating. Training theory is explained in section 5 of the FAQ, so put questions aside until then. This section is just to show what skills raise by training a specific thing. --------------------- 3.1. Goalie training: --------------------- Goalies can only train in 2 areas, so here's what they raise: GK Agility : Reflex and Rushing GK Skill : Throw (Anyone else feel ripped off?) I have not tested which of these, if any, affects Handling. If anyone tests for this and finds out EMAIL ME!! ------------------- 3.2. Everyone else: ------------------- So every other position in the game trains in different areas, here they are and what they raise: Sprints : Pace, Aggression, Stamina, Strength Shooting : Shot Accuracy, Shot Power Passing : Longball, Passing Heading : Heading, Balance Tackling : Marking, Tackling Technique : Awareness, Ball Control, Dribbling =========================================================================== || 4. Anecdotal Evidence || =========================================================================== Anyone who has played this game for a season or two can attest to the fact that some players seem to train better than others. While this FAQ hopes to demystify part of this phenomenon, I cannot disprove that it exists. To shed some light on the subject, here is some in-game testing that I've done. I hope this isn't in vain :) So I started a career with Austria Memphis, for no special reason. I simulated a season with them, while training J. Blanchard. He's a RDM with a skill of 49, so I can train him in 3 areas with my mere 1000 prestige points no problem. I'm training him in Passing, Technique, and Tackling which file 90% of his total skill point allotment. Here are my results: Season 1 start : 49 Season 1 finish : 54 Season 2 start : 55* Season 2 finish : 59 *change due to training during off season. I also tested S. Rushfeldt as I was doing this. He is a Striker with a skill rating of 55, allowing me to train him in 3 areas as well. I trained him in Shooting, Heading and Technique, which fills his skill areas 100%. Here are his results: Season 1 start : 55 Season 1 finish : 60 Season 2 start : 61* Season 2 finish : 66 *change due to training during off season. Rushfeldt trained a little better, so there might be some truth to these claims that some players train better than others. As a precaution I tested both these players while they were on the Reserve list, so people couldn't claim that match performance or fatigue mattered. I also did not do any team training. After this I tested the same players, but in areas that would not affect their skill points to prove that this works. I am going to start the players this time to see if that matters. I trained J. Blanchard in Sprints and Shooting, as any other category would raise his skill. Here are his results : Season 1 start : 49 Season 1 finish : 49 I trained S. Rushfeldt in Sprints, Passing, and Tackling. Here are his results: Season 1 start : 55 Season 1 finish : 55 I stopped here, as I think my point is proven. =========================================================================== || 5. Conclusions || =========================================================================== In my experience with Fifa 2004, there are really only two reasons to train a player. The first is to make him better so you can use him better when you're playing the game, and the other is to raise his skill rating so you can sell him and make some money. As I've proven in a previous FAQ (Budgets), simulating games does not depend on how good your team is, just how good they were when you started the career. Because of this, if you aren't training a player to sell him then you should train him to be better for when you play with him. An example of this is training a player on Sprints, which doesn't affect the skill rating of any position. I often do train Sprints though because I like playing with a fast team that has good stamina. If you're buying a player as an investment then first off I'd recommend buying players around 79 or 89, because raising them one point will greatly raise their value. Other than that, you'll want to train these players in areas that will raise their skill rating, which are listed above in section 2. If there are other reasons to train players then let me know. As far as the "some players train better than others" myth, I still can't disprove it. There is a field in the player database entitled "Work Rate" that most people believe tells if a player responds well to training. I have not tested for this yet, if anyone does please email me with your results. Also, if anyone know why it's good to train your team let me know. I've heard that is raises Condition, but if it does this then what good is Condition? Again, if you know then email me. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** Copyright 2004 Sam Morehouse All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.