Nothing beats watching the two-star freshman you recruited in year one become a senior superstar and lead your team to a national title. It's all about progression in College Football Dynasty mode, and EA Sports College Football 25 (CFB 25) has released a deep dive covering some new changes on how your players go from riding the bench to winning the Heisman trophy. Let's dive right into player progression.
Just like the NCAA games of the past, player progression in CFB 25 is divided into two separate categories: in-season and off-season.
In-Season Progression
In-season progression is based on on-field performance, which is nothing new for veterans of the game. However, in NCAA 14, for example, we didn't often see large jumps in progression throughout the season. Our players to make throughout the season in CFB 25, especially in situations where you have freshmen that break out for monster years.
Off-Season Progression
While in-season progression seems simple enough, off-season progression is where the new features come into play. Off-season progression is the most impactful time of improvement for college football players, and they reflect this in the game. In CFB 25, progression in the off-season will be based on three factors: school year, coach abilities, and development traits.
School Year: Younger players will see more significant boosts in their off-season than the vets, which makes sense. Freshmen and sophomores are often still learning the ropes of off-season strength and conditioning programs, while upperclassmen are more acclimated to the off-season grind.
Coach Abilities: Coaching staff and abilities will now play a significant role in player progression. If you choose to be a motivator, for example, you can have the Pay It Forward ability, which awards bonus XP to a position group every time a player at that position is drafted in the first three rounds. Turning out NFL talent will now benefit the improvement of an entire position on the team. Motivators can also have the Puttin' Workability, which gives a general off-season development increase for players in a particular position group. It looks like between motivator, recruiter, and tactician, the motivator will give you the best opportunity to improve the overall of your players. So, if you don't choose a motivator as your coach archetype, you better search for a coordinator who is one.
Development Trait: Finally, progression is further modified by a player's development trait. In CFB 25, there are four player development traits: Normal, Impact, Star, and Elite. Normal players are the most common and progress at a steady and standard rate. Impact players are game changers that progress faster than normal with a higher upside. Star players are potential NFL talents who are rare and progress quickly. Finally, elite players are the cream of the crop with the potential to be all-time greats.
So how do you know what a player's development trait is? The thing is, a recruit's development trait will be hidden until National Signing Day, so you won't be able to tell ahead of time unless you have the strategist archetype's Mind Reader ability, which gives you a chance to learn their development trait when they come for an official visit. This ability could be a game changer when it comes to recruiting talent that can progress into school record-breakers.
Attribute Progression
But how does attribute progression actually work? Instead of attributes progressing on an individual basis, they will progress as an entire skill group. These skill groups are collections of related attributes. Let's say you have a running back. The power skill group will include trucking, strength, arm toughness, jumping, and injury. Instead of improving just a single one of these attributes, you would improve across the board. Each of these skill groups has a max level of 10, with each upgrade providing progress across all attributes in the group.
Not all players can reach level 10 at every skill group, as some may have a max level cap under 10, which adds yet another twist to player progression. Skill group caps can be thought of as a player's maximum potential in that area, varying by player, skill group, position, and archetype.
Breaking Skill Group Caps
Now, I did say there is a skill group cap, but if you have the architect archetype and the Limitless or Put A'en On ability, you can go above and beyond. Limitless gives you a chance to increase a random skill cap every time a player levels up, while Put A'en On provides a chance to increase their highest skill cap after winning a conference or national championship. Things like this get me excited to play Dynasty mode because it clearly shows two things: first, there are so many different ways to build your coach, providing for tons of replayability, and second, it is clear they put so much effort into this game mode—something we have been begging for for years. Well done, EA. Never thought I'd say that.
Physical and Mental Abilities
Last but not least, players also have physical and mental abilities, up to five physical and three mental. Each ability has four tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, similar to NBA 2K's badge system. Your player's physical abilities are determined by archetype, while mental abilities depend on a player's position. You can improve physical abilities once you meet specific requirements, such as 95 toughness for the Platinum Workhorse ability. Mental abilities, on the other hand, are not upgradeable, so what you see is what you get as a freshman.
Conclusion
All this adds up to make player progression one of the most dynamic aspects of the game. While gameplay is core to any sports game, recruiting and watching your players progress from freshman to senior years are what make college football video games the gems that they are. And if what we've seen in the deep dive is a sign of things to come, EA College Football 25 is platinum tier-worthy.
So there you have it—how player progression works in EA College Football 25. Tons of new features and mechanics make this year's game more engaging than ever. Whether you're a seasoned Dynasty mode veteran or new to the game, these changes are sure to add depth and excitement to your experience. MMoexp will be there for you this year, providing you with the best College Football 25 coins and guidance as we cheer together.
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