9 Beginner Tips You Should Know Before Playing EA Sports College Football 25

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EA Sports College Football 25 For the first time in more than a decade, college football has returned to the virtual world, and that means even the most battle-hardened NCAA veterans may have trouble shaking off some rust.

To lend a hand you get started right away, here are some of our top tips EA Sports College Football 25 tips for beginners something to keep in mind, whether you’re starting your first substantial Dynasty or collecting the best cards possible in Ultimate Team.

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Choose your favorite team

When you first start College Football 25the game will ask you to select your favorite team. While this will mainly affect the look of the main menu and which school the game starts you off with on the team selection screen, it also has a bonus in Ultimate Team.

To start playing Ultimate Team, the game will generate a fresh squad for you that will contain a few players from your favorite team. While it may seem like you should pick the best team you can, all of them will give you a squad that will have 65 points, and you will quickly replace the players you get from it. So don’t think about it too much; just pick your favorite team and don’t worry too much about the Ultimate Team squad it will give you.


Get started with Ultimate Team challenges

Photo: EA Tiburon/Electronic Arts

If you’re a virtual college football veteran, you’re probably itching to jump straight into your first Dynasty. But College Football 25 brings a lot of changes from the previous version of the game, and the easiest way to get acquainted with these changes is to operate the Ultimate Team Challenges, even if you don’t plan on spending a lot of time in the mode.

More specifically, you should go through the Ultimate Team 101 challenges as soon as you start playing. They’ll seem a bit basic, but they should lend a hand you get used to the fresh passing mechanics, the newly revamped gameplay options (which operate a different control scheme than before), and the fresh kicking mechanics.


Find your perfect textbook

College Football 25 has over 100 unique playbooks and 10 different offensive schemes, which can make choosing which one to operate a bit intimidating. Luckily, the Ultimate Team challenges are back in the game with the Offense and Defense Scheme Trials.

These challenges are designed to give you a taste of every scheme, from Air Raid to Spread Option, as well as show you which teams are using each. This should give you a solid foundation for your first few games and is a great place to start experimenting.


Jump into some games

All that preparation and planning is great, but ultimately the goal of the game is to play — and that’s also a great way to learn. Play a few games with your favorite school, and once you get the hang of it, switch it up and experiment with other playbooks and NCAA stars.


Experiment with the Switch Stick

Oklahoma Sooners' Gavin Sawchuk and Jackson Arnold take the field at Palace on the Prairie in this EA Sports College Football 25 screenshot

Photo: EA Tiburon/Electronic Arts

One of College Football 25The fresh feature is called Switch Stick, which lets you swap players on the defensive line with more precision than the one-button swaps of previous games. It may not seem like a substantial deal, but it can actually make a huge difference — for example, if you’re trying to switch to a safety to cut off a route rather than a cornerback who’s already in coverage.

But to get the most out of the Switch Stick, you’ll need to experiment a bit. The best way to do this is to simply play a few games, but you’ll probably miss a few embarrassing tries while you experiment, so it’s best to keep them in Play Now.


Start Dynasty mode with a trial

Dynasty mode is the real star College Football 25with all sorts of fresh additions to the formula that made it great more than a decade ago. But with all these fresh features, the mode is now even more complicated — and there’s a lot to mess around with in the menus. After all, if you’re going to build a Group of Five conference from the ground up all the way to the College Football Playoffs, the last thing you need is to lose a five-star recruit because you pressed the wrong button on the menu.

That’s why we think you should create a test Dynasty before you commit to one. Start with a school that’s not too vital to you, so mistakes won’t matter to you. You could even start with an existing powerhouse – that way you get a feel for recruiting and some strength before you crank up the difficulty and try to turn Old Dominion into a top-tier program.


Play every single solo battle possible

Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Travis Hunter makes a diving touchdown pass in a screenshot from EA Sports College Football 25

Photo: EA Tiburon/Electronic Arts

Ultimate Team Solo Battles is a mode that pits you against another player’s Ultimate Team. The catch is that it’s played by the computer, not the player who created it. Each Solo Battle offers more rewards than a regular game against the AI—for example, Solo Season games.

Solo Battles are technically community events that last about four days. During that time, everyone plays against the same user-created squads. New matches appear every morning, and you can play four of them per day. Each match earns you a Battle Score based on difficulty, how you play, and whether you win the game. At the end of each four-day event, the scores are tallied, a leaderboard is created for the best results, and everyone gets special rewards based on how well they did.


Check in with sets

Bundles are an Ultimate Team mechanic that lets you turn multiple lower-rated players into one higher-rated player overall. You won’t have to worry about this too much at first, but as you upgrade your team, be sure to check the Bundles menu to see if you can turn any of your venerable, unwanted players into significant upgrades.


Buy a daily Ultimate Team Recruitment Pack

You can buy a fresh Recruit Pack at a discounted price every day. The packs only contain low-rated players, but at only 100 UT, they are worth grabbing every day to round out your early builds.

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