Assistance
Hardcore FIFA gamers will insist that Manual is the only way to play the game. It is true that turning all of the assists on Manual can result in amazing organic football. However, for the average gamer, going all Manual is just a bit too hard to handle.
If you do decide to make the transition to Manual play, do it gradually. Start with Manual Through ball, move to Manual Crossing, and then take on passing and shooting. You may need to even drop a difficulty level until you become comfortable with your new skill set.
Let’s take a quick look at each of the Assistance options in the game and how they affect the way you play.
Pass Assistance
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Assisted (Default) |
Pass direction and power will be assisted to help play passes into the receiver’s path and avoid opponent players. |
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Semi |
Pass power is assisted, but the CPU will only help you a little with the direction. |
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Manual |
The direction you point is the direction the pass goes, and the longer you hold the pass button, the stronger the pass will be. |
Assisted passing is the default setting in the game. You’ll be able to knock it around pretty much as you please without having to think much about where or how hard you are hitting the pass. As long as you point in more or less the correct direction, the ball will reach its target. Semi-assisted passing takes care of the power for you, but you will need to be a bit more precise with your aiming. You can’t be totally sloppy here.
Manual can really put your skills to the test. You’ll need to think about pass weight and direction every single time you hit the ball. Once you master it, you can put the ball right where you want it. The game flow totally changes when you go Manual.
Through Pass Assistance
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Assisted (Default) |
Through pass direction and power will be assisted to help play passes into the receiver’s path and avoid opponent’s players. |
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Manual |
The direction you point is the direction the pass goes, and the longer you hold the through pass button, the stronger the pass will be. |
If you are looking to create a more organic experience for yourself, then putting Through Pass Assistance on Manual is a good choice. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll actually have some tactical advantages over players that have their settings on manual. In FIFA 09, every touch that a player takes on the ball slightly diminishes their speed. If you can play a through ball further ahead of him, then he can run further without the ball before touching it. With a speedy player like Cristiano Ronaldo, you can clear your defenders by 15-20 yards by the time you pick up the ball.
Ronaldo is tearing down the line when he sees Scholes cutting in from the middle of the field.
A standard through pass would result in a ball played into the box in front of Scholes. This would be right in the teeth of the defence. Since we have Manual Assistance on, we are able to put the ball down the line instead.
Scholes receives the ball in space and has time to put in a quality cross.
Shot Assistance
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Assisted (Default) |
Shot direction will be assisted to always aim towards the goal. |
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Semi |
You have to aim toward the target to keep your shots on target. |
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Manual |
Shot direction will be assisted to always aim towards the goal. |
With Semi and Manual settings, you have to be much more precise with your aiming. With Assisted shooting, the CPU will pull your aim inside of the post. With Semi shooting, the CPU will pull your aim in a bit, but if you push the Left Thumbstick too far to the outside, the shot will go outside of the post. On Manual, you have to have your aim down perfectly or you will miss the goal. This can be pretty frustrating, especially if you have worked hard to build up to a quality chance. We recommend Assisted or Semi for most gamers.
Cross Assistance
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Assisted |
Cross direction will be assisted towards a teammate. Cross power will be assisted to front or back post areas and there will be no power bar on the cross. |
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Semi (Default) |
You have to choose the right power, but the cross will be assisted to front and back post areas. |
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Manual |
The direction you point is the direction the pass goes, and the longer you hold the button to perform crosses, the stronger the cross will be. |
By default, FIFA 09 defaults to the Semi Assisted crossing setting. For most purposes this is perfect. You can pick out where in the box you want the ball to go by adjusting the power of your kick. 50 percent power results in a front post ball. 70 percent power will put the ball on the back post. Manual control will allow you to control both power and location, but this can be tricky to master.
Lob Pass Assistance
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Assisted (Default) |
Lob pass direction and power will be assisted so that lob passes will be played towards a teammate. |
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Manual |
The direction you point is the direction the lob pass goes, and the longer you hold the lob pass button, the stronger the pass will be. |
Manual versus Assisted Lob Pass Assistance works very much like the through ball mechanism. You’ll have more control over your lob passes and can drop the ball into dangerous spaces. Manual settings as a whole give the game a more organic texture and allow you to play with more creativity. As we have said all along, being unpredictable is a big plus when attacking in football.
