The shift in FIFA 23's meta is due to EA Sports fixing a major dribbling bug, rather than nerfing the Lengthy AcceleRATE type.
Following EA's Title Update 4 being released into FIFA 23 this week, many players started to notice a big difference in-game, with Lengthy players no longer feeling as overpowered as they did before the update. It was assumed that EA had updated the game to stop Lengthy players from feeling as powerful, but there was no mention of an update to AcceleRATE types in the Title Update.
But EA has now confirmed they have fixed a dribbling issue in FIFA 23, with AcceleRATE values unimpacted by the update. Rather than Lengthy players being patched, EA has fixed a bug that has been impacting Controlled and Explosive players since the game's release.
New for FIFA 23, EA Sports introduced AcceleRATE types, with each player assigned either a Controlled, Explosive or Lengthy Accelerate type based on how they play in real life. Explosive players hit their top speed quickly and slow down, Lengthy players start slow but speed up, and controlled players maintain a steady speed.
Described by EA in their AcceRATE pitch notes as "able to catch up to anyone and even surpass them, provided they have enough distance," Lengthy players were quickly discovered to be the meta in FIFA 23. Players quickly learned that Lengthy players were much better than Controlled and Explosive players in-game, with the former two feeling extremely slow on the ball when dribbling, even with high dribbling stats.
It became apparent that the only way to beat Lengthy defenders was with Lengthy attackers, but after Title Update 4, EA has now fixed a dribbling bug, making Controlled and Explosive players feel much better in-game. EA announced the update on their FIFA Direct Communications Twitter account.
"We've seen some discussions about a specific dribbling line in the TU #4 notes and wanted to provide additional clarity surrounding the issue that was addressed," said EA. "In some cases, players could incorrectly slow down when attempting to dribble with the ball.
"The dribbling slowdown could have happened at times when sprinting with the ball, and the slowdown most commonly affected players with high dribbling-related Attributes. AcceleRATE values are unimpacted by this."
This update confirms that rather than players slowing down with the ball being a trait for Controlled and Explosive players, it was actually a bug in the game, ultimately making Lengthy players feel much quicker and better in-game.
Now, players with high dribbling stats who don't have the Lengthy AcceleRATE type are no longer incorrectly slowing down, and they are performing how they should be. This doesn't mean that Lengthy players are now completely useless in FIFA 23, but they are definitely much less effective and no longer the meta, with Explosive players now being much more usable.
FIFA 23 is developed by EA Vancouver and EA Romania and is now available worldwide on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Stadia, PS4, and Xbox One.
