Ten days ago, EA Sports released the first information on Madden 19, all of which can be found here.

 

Over the next couple months, the company will have “playbooks” for a deeper dive into different parts of the game, and I will provide some of the key takeaways with my own thoughts for each blog every Monday.

 

I think getting to the heart of the new information is crucial, as EA will use a lot of “buzz words” to hype the game up while providing no significant changes in the actual product from year-to-year. Let’s start with the deep dive for Madden Ultimate Team.

 

Key Updates

 

Player Upgrades

 

EA has completely changed Power Up Players. Instead of having to upgrade players through sets like last year, cards will be “powered up” through Training, which you can earn points for by selling items you don’t need. For example, a Base Power Up card for Aaron Rodgers might be an 80 OVR, and you need 100 Training to get Tier 1 (82 OVR), then 200 Training to get to Tier 2 (84 OVR), and then Rodgers’ Core Elite card to get to Tier 3 (87 OVR).

 

And if you ever decide you made a mistake by upgrading a card, you can downgrade it back—meaning you would get the Core Elite back, which you would be able to auction/trade if it wasn’t originally NAT. This is undoubtedly a nice addition because you would be able to upgrade players without making it permanent if you ever want to sell/trade.

 

Another improvement for player upgrades is Chemistry. Instead of previous years where EA determined the Chemistry for a card, almost every card in Madden 19 will allow users to determine which Chemistry they want for their guy. Again, this is a nice addition because your player pool isn’t limited for those who want to maximize their chemistry.

 

I know I wasn’t alone in wanting Patrick Peterson in MUT 18, but not getting him because he had Toughness Chemistry instead of Blanket Coverage Chemistry. That won’t happen this year, and it’s worth noting that players need to reach a certain attribute threshold to be able to have a certain Chemistry unlocked, which is how it should be (for example, Christian McCaffrey shouldn’t have “Battle Ready”).

 

Solo Battles

 

Solo Battles will be a weekly mode designed for those who want to earn rewards similar to Weekend League without having to take on other users. Instead of going head-to-head with others in online games, users will play 13 full-game challenges (3-minute quarters) against the computer—with the objective being to earn the most Battle Points for the week.

 

Battle Points will be earned by accumulating stats, and users will get to choose their own difficulty and game style (higher difficulty means a higher score multiplier). Personally, I will play this mode a lot because I like waiting until at least the Halloween or Thanksgiving promo before spending coins on cards, and I should be able to hold my own against the computer with a weaker team.

 

Squads Challenges

 

The final “major feature” in MUT for Madden 19 is Squads Challenges, which is geared to create some variation for gamers who play MUT Squads. Similar to the new Solo Battles, this mode will be a way to play without having the stress of facing other users online.

 

Instead, you and two friends will be able to play weekly challenges as a squad against the computer to earn rewards. And Squads Challenges is also a de facto practice for your team to build some chemistry with one another before competing against others.

 

Apparently, this is “just the tip” of “a long-term roadmap” for Squads in MUT, but it doesn’t sound like we will get much more than Squads Challenges in Madden 19.

 

Other Features

 

Madden Ultimate Team will have seven new “specialist positions” for your lineup, which includes slot cornerback, power half back, and sub linebacker. They don’t really go into this much (and I wish the terms were more refined), but it should help to have a short-yardage back ready in goal-line situations without having to manually sub them in all the time, for example.

 

Plus, EA has improved the lineup screen to get rid of “excess” like a third-string center or a fifth-string punt returner. In Madden 19, there will be 25 lineup slots on offense and defense—and chemistry will count for all of them, which is a welcome change.

 

Finally, in perhaps the best news of the entire blog, contracts will no longer exist in Madden Ultimate Team. This might not seem like a huge deal because of all the solo challenges in Madden 18 that helped with the issue, but it still felt like a burden to play a short solo just for free contracts every week.

 

My Thoughts

 

I don’t think any of these additions should be looked at as a bad thing, but there are definitely more drastic changes that could have been made to really improve MUT in Madden 19.

 

First of all, Power Up players should have been done away with completely in favor of dynamic base cards like in MLB The Show’s Diamond Dynasty. For example, if Baker Mayfield is a 78 OVR in regular rosters, he should be a 78 OVR to start MUT. Then, if he comes out and plays great for Cleveland and his ratings increase in the regular rosters, his card would see the same increases in MUT; on the other hand, if Mayfield struggles, he would see his ratings decrease in both regular rosters and MUT.

 

This wouldn’t impact EA making a profit either, as they could simply improve the Team of the Week and holiday cards, which would remain static. For example, if Mayfield throws for 300 yards and three touchdowns one week, he might be given an 87 OVR TOTW card despite his base overall just going from 78 to 80. And then later, he might be given a Ghost of Christmas Future card that is a 97 OVR and shows what he might be if he reaches his potential. People would go crazy for that.

 

The other big feature I was hoping would be in MUT is full team customization, and there’s actually hope that it might still be included because a pre-order bonus for the H.O.F. Edition is “2 custom uniforms in Madden Ultimate Team”. However, that could be a bait-and-switch with “custom” meaning the pre-set teams from CFM like the Huskies.

 

Hopefully it’s full customization—team name, logo, colors, jersey style, stadium, etc.—but we should get a definitive answer sometime before release.