Last Thursday, EA Sports released a highly anticipated Patch #3 for Madden 23, and fans worldwide rejoiced, right? After all, this new patch was supposed to fix glaring issues with some of Madden’s single-player game modes like Face of the Franchise and Connected Franchise. In addition, we hoped to see some fine-tuning done to the gameplay issues gamers have experienced — like throwing a ton of costly interceptions. But like we’ve seen time and time again from EA and other video game companies, there’s only so much they can fit into each update, and everyone will never be happy with what has changed. This is no different. There is some good that comes with this new update, but for the most part, there’s still a lot that needs work. So along with the help from the Operation Sports community, I present to you our Madden 23 Patch #3 review.
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The Good
Interception Slider
One of the most frustrating things about Madden 23 early on was the insane amount of interceptions that would happen during most games, especially against the AI. There were times where despite what I thought was a solid performance, I’d be throwing two or three costly interceptions, some of which I felt should’ve never been picks in the first place. Fortunately, this wasn’t just a user issue. While playing on All-Pro, I watched the computer throw an obscene amount of game-changing interceptions. This was really only a major issue because the interception slider was not working right.
But all of that appears fixed — for the most part — with EA’s latest update.
PVarck31 saw a noticeable change in interceptions when using the slider:
Well I can say with 100% certainty the INT slider works. Turned it to 1 for both CPU and human. I threw no picks, and the CPU threw one which was off throwing off his back foot and across his body. This was 12 min quarters. Defenders dropped a couple and swatted more.
dh13king echoed his sentiment, but suggests the best experience can be found using Matt10’s sliders.
Can second the INTs seem to be fixed. I’m on Matt10’s sliders which has INTs at 25, and I have seen several passes that would’ve been picked, dropped or swatted instead. Going through menus also seems to be much faster post-patch.
He even tested it out on All-Madden and found similar results:
Played a game of Matt10’s AM set untouched – no INTs for the user or CPU, plenty of dropped picks and swats.
After further review, Madden 23 is good with the right tweaks to the human and computer interception slider. Interceptions still happen, but the ball is batted down more often than not. I even saw one instance where the ball was hot potatoed between the computer before falling mercifully to the ground. It’s not perfect, but it’s a massive step in the right direction compared to what we were given right out of the box. I even see improvement in how the cornerbacks play the ball and matchup one-on-one vs. wide receivers.
Again, the patch is a massive step in the right direction. Now, we just need to find the perfect sliders.
Other Gameplay Features
The interception slider wasn’t the only thing that seemed noticeably different with the gameplay post-patch. Tackling appears to be improved with the new update. The animations seem more fluid, and the defenders appear to take better angles. EA also added a new tackling mini-game. We always knew this was in Madden, but seeing it on screen made it much more realistic. And I like being prompted to smash the X button as I wrestle with a ball carrier for minimal gain.
The pass rush also feels noteworthy again. For example, if I control the defensive lineman, I can utilize the pass rush moves to get after the quarterback. To counter this, it appears EA has also improved the offensive line’s ability to pass protect, which was an issue pre-patch. Several tweaks have been made to fine-tune the offensive line. Overall, I think the gameplay is okay there, and they just need to continue to work on other aspects of the game.
KingsoftheValley2 has thoroughly enjoyed some of the new gameplay changes he’s experienced post-patch.
Impressions after update:
1. Interception slider definitely works now. I’m slowly increasing it from zero to get to a reasonable point.
2. CPU RB appears to be more aggressive. Especially when it comes to cutbacks to exploit open lanes. I’m going to do some ratings tests because if what has changed is what I’m thinking has changed, the RBs can have unique personalities based on which evasion technique has a high rating, I.e I hope all RBs aren’t tuned to just aggressively cutback, I’m hoping it’s tuned to ratings so if there’s a high truck rating they’ll truck more often.
3. Fatigue appears to have been tuned. I have fatigue slider at 70 and noticed more rotation with CPU RBs than before the update.
4. CPU QB Acc is better. When I say better I mean more errant throws to empty places on the field (my CPU QB slider is set to 40 by the way).
5. Observed some amazing Dline play here and there as the CPU D line crashed down on running plays.
6. DB / WR play seems to be more smooth. More swats, etc.
7. I’m noticing speed threshold having more visual effect as far as pursuit.
This is only two games in. I didn’t really notice too many major issues before the update, so for me to notice these things, they definitely did a good job. Will report back as I go.
I would say this is how a majority of the OS community felt after Patch #3.
The Bad
Madden Ultimate Team
I haven’t played as much Madden Ultimate team as I would like. But when I logged on for the first time after the new patch, my team returned to where I started: Level 1. I was missing quite a few of the tasks I had completed previously. This is frustrating, considering how much time and effort I put into the game mode early on, which probably isn’t close to the amount of time some of our readers have devoted to MUT.
One player that devoted his time and money to MUT who wasn’t pleased was Ueauvan:
Can’t get to my MUT team, stuck at start your team where I have all faded out things to complete as I’ve completed them.
EA continues to release one new theme after another, but with every new fancy card or ability, a new issue arises. The latest mishap saw EA warning gamers not to upgrade their latest Most Feared Monster Maker players because consumers were getting locked out of their accounts.
The Ugly
Face Of The Franchise
Everyone always said that EA doesn’t care about single-player game modes because they don’t make the company any money. I usually scoff at that, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s true. They did nothing to improve the game-breaking bug in Face of the Franchise. This mode, which the company and developers spent X amount of money on, has one objective: winning the Super Bowl or joining the iconic Madden 99 club. I guess winning the Super Bowl is achievable if you find yourself in the perfect situation — and play the quarterback position — but for the most part, none of those objectives are obtainable when the game doesn’t allow for you to continue after one season.
As a result, Face of the Franchise is not playable. And it doesn’t appear to be playable for the foreseeable future.
PhillyPhnatic14 is all of us.
LOL! They completely ignored the mode breaking bugs in FOTF. What in the world. Glad they apparently fixed online franchise. Hopefully it works.
Do better, EA.
Connected Franchise Mode
Face of the Franchise is a relatively new game mode, so it hasn’t been neglected for the last decade like Connected Franchise. Unfortunately, not only has franchise mode somehow taken a massive step back from the early games but some things are downright broken. This new update appears to do very little for some of the game-breaking bugs gamers have found over the first few months of Madden’s cycle regarding CFM.
People experience issues when jumping ahead to later dates in their franchise or playing through various seasons. At one point or another, the game can not create enough coaches and it crashes — at least, that’s the theory. Some workarounds have been found, like user-controlling all 32 teams and setting them to auto. But, unfortunately, without moving heaven and earth to make franchise mode playable, there are still way too many glaring issues.
It’s been reported that sacks don’t even record, which seems essential in a video game that promised to be the most-polished version ever. Instead, there are many bugs, and it looks like one step forward is always two steps back.
I’ve enjoyed playing this game, but when you can’t seamlessly play multiple seasons in a watered down franchise mode, that’s alarming.
British Bronco has been diligently searching for a CFM workaround and believes he’s narrowed the search down to the game not generating enough head coaches after simming 10+ years.
Just tested a 10 year sim with 32 team control and coach firing ON. No custom draft file. I’m afraid it is as before. I didn’t even have to play a game. All 32 real coaches had been fired. I went to retire one so I could create a new character and the game instantly crashed and could not be recovered. I will now test 32 team control with coach firing OFF and this time download a custom draft file.
Bottom Line
For months we waited anxiously for EA Sports to patchMadden 23, hoping we would be able to continue our Face of the Franchise or Connected Franchise. Unfortunately, very little has changed with Madden’s single-player game modes, making both FotF and CFM unplayable at points. The latest patch wasn’t all bad, however. Patch #3 fixed many of the issues gamers were experiencing with interceptions. The same is true regarding the minor tweaks to the offensive line and wide receiver/defensive back battles, so Madden 23’s gameplay feels more polished than before.
I just really wish EA would take the time to fix franchise mode or their incomplete single-player story. Until then, Madden 23will continue to fall short of the mark.
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