FC 26: Is offline or online gameplay better?

FC 26’s most impressive features are spread across Ultimate Team, Pro Clubs, and Career Mode. Being able to play as a Manager and see your time rise through the divisions is one of the most highly lauded aspects of the game, and for the first time it’s seeing live-service, online features involved.

As of the latest version of the game, there are still some fundamental differences between how offline and online modes operate, and the inclusion of dynamic game modes such as Authentic and Competitive sees a real difference between the two for the first time. Here are all of the major differences you should know.

You’ll be playing EA FC 26 offline if you’re a big fan of Career Mode, either as a player or manager, and when playing locally with your friends.

In Career Mode, you’re going to be either a player or manager, and you’ll embark on a journey that involves high-value transfers, catastrophic injuries, and a shot at personal glory. Though the main gameplay elements of Career Mode are mainly offline, you’re also going to be, for the first time, connected to an online, live-service challenges hub, which allows you to compete with your friends.

The other major mode you can play offline is Kick Off, which is used when you’re playing locally with friends. Once you’re in this mode, you’re going to have options for the following variations:

One of the most interesting modes here is House Rules, which itself has a few different ways you can play EA FC 26.

This is an offline mode in which you’ll lead a team through a round-robin-style tournament. It’s a good choice for players who play locally with a group of friends and want to determine who is the best of the best.

If you play FC 26 online, you’re probably doing it in Ultimate Team. This is the gatcha/lootbox style mode that operates through what are essentially trading cards. In this mode, you’ll forgo the realism of Career Mode and instead focus on opening packs, building a team that doesn’t make sense but somehow works, and trading your cards to earn in-game currency.

This is the most expensive game mode to play and, unfortunately, is extraordinarily pay-to-win. There are alternative ways to earn packs and cards, which include Online Drafts, Bounties and Challenges. 

EA has been focusing on implementing features based on community feedback, and the feature that has received the most is Clubs. Formerly known as Pro Clubs, this mode allows you to create a team with several friends and create individual players, too. New Archetypes, used in Career and Player Mode too, allow you to define a specific playstyle for your pro player.

The game mode automatically uses the Competitive mode, which is the most appropriate as it removes many of the random, awkward kinks that make offline play so unpredictable.

Another important game mode in FC 26 is Online Seasons, which is quite simple, really. You will play through 10 different divisions, getting promoted or relegated depending on your performance, and it’s the perfect place to practice your abilities. There’s little change over previous games to note.

Unfortunately, FC 26 also features a season pass that is mostly designed to capture money from offline modes. For the first time, Icons and Heroes are going to be available in Manager Career mode, but they’re only going to be available through the Season Pass paywall.

Plenty of rewards are available through Ultimate Team, which has continued since its introduction in FC 25. 

The season pass costs 1,000 FC Points, or 500,000 UT Coins (the latter of which is incredibly extortionate).

The main difference between offline and online modes is how they feel while actually playing. This is primarily thanks to the introduction of the two new gameplay modes, Authentic and Competitive.

In most offline modes, players will use the Authentic mode, which exhibits more intelligent AI, more unpredictable physics, and rebounds, alongside weather, energy, and injury fatigue.

Competitive mode, on the other hand, is more suited to modes like Seasons, Clubs, and Ultimate Team. These modes will have you playing faster, smoother and more tameable football, without all of the frustrating quirks that make online play so infuriating at times.

It’s difficult to say which is better for most players. Personally, I play most of my FC games in offline modes – Career Mode, in particular. I prefer this as it’s a longer story to get involved with, and allows me to focus on tactics and strategy. Despite all of the reasons I love offline modes in FC, it’s hard to ignore the fact that playing against the CPU/AI is often quite tedious, repetitive, and boring. Sometimes you need to play against someone with a bit of flair, and the CPU rarely has that.

In opposition, Online modes focus more on saucy, sweaty play and RNG – aspects I categorically despise. That said, I have sunk countless hours into each iteration of Ultimate Team, which allows you to try and enact your footballing fantasies onto the pitch. It’s far more fun playing online against opponents whose skill varies dramatically, but it’s even more frustrating to lose like this, too.

Thanks to the focus on implementing community feedback in FC 26, most offline modes have seen impressive overhauls. I would hesitate to say the same about online modes, which have been padded with an overwhelming amount of live-service features tactically designed to suck up your money.

Choosing between offline and online modes depends on your preferences for how you want to play. I think, for many, this will be quite intuitive.