Alright, let's dive into some killer tactics for FC25! I've got five custom tactic setups for what I think are the best formations in the game. I'll break down each one, highlighting their strengths, weaknesses, and of course, sharing the codes with you. Let's get it!
4-2-3-1: The Easy Mode
First up, we're starting with the 4-2-3-1. Personally, I think this is the easiest formation to play in the game. It's all about soaking up pressure, winning the ball back, and then immediately launching that through ball to your strikers who are waiting for the ball.
Here's the lowdown on the tactics:
- Build Up: Balanced
- Defensive Line: 70 (High)
- Offside Trap: On (Very OP after the patch)
- Instructions:
- Sweeper Keeper
- Fullbacks: Defend on both
- CDM: Deep Line Playmaker
- CAM: Playmaker
- Right & Left Wing: Inside Forward
- Striker: Advanced Forward
The code is popping up now, so feel free to copy it.
Let's look at a quick example. When your opponent has the ball, check the minimap. You'll see their fullbacks pushed up, and your attackers aren't defending. This means two things:
- Positive: When you win the ball, you can immediately find your attackers and go forward.
- Weakness: You're defending with only the four defenders and your two CDMs.
But, in this formation, your strength is also your weakness. You're banking on being good enough to defend with six. In the clip, we win the ball, and it's one pass forward, and we're in! That's why I say it's easy. You don't have to do a lot. I've got tons of clips where we get the ball and immediately look for the three forwards, or maybe a connecting pass to the CAM and then into the forwards. The CAM with high passing stats helps a lot.
The main strength and weakness are clear: you defend with six. But when you defend well and survive their attack, you get an immediate chance. It also forces your opponent to play with their fullbacks on defend, which can even out the numbers.
The deep line playmaker in the build-up gets the CDMs involved, and the inside forwards come inside, so you have your whole team, except for your defenders, around the box. It's a perfect formation to break down your opponent because you have a CAM to pass through, forwards coming inside, and a striker. Lots of passing options!
4-2-3-1 Wide: The Defensive Fortress
Next up, we've got the 4-2-3-1 Wide. Now, you might be asking why this is a good formation. Well, in this game, there are tons of variations possible. If you look at the FC Pro Open, where the top pros play, everyone was using different formations. So, it's all about finding what works for you.
The 4-2-3-1 Wide is the opposite of the previous one. Defensively, it's rock solid. Offensively, it could be better.
The tactics are actually the same as the 4-2-3-1 because I think these are the best roles. If your opponent isn't playing the 4-2-3-1, you can put your fullbacks on balanced. The deep line playmaker in the build-up helps a lot in a 2-CDM formation.
Inside forwards are crucial because of the defending team's fullbacks not being involved.
- Build Up: Balanced
- Defensive Line: Balanced
- Instructions:
- Sweeper Keeper
- Fullbacks: Defend on both
- CDM: Deep Line Playmaker
- CAM: Playmaker
- Right & Left Wing: Inside Forward
- Striker: Advanced Forward
The strength of this formation is how tough it is to break down. You can hold off the opponent, closing all the passing lanes. There are almost no forward passing options for your opponent. This is what makes this formation so strong.
If you're a good attacker, you'll score anyway, no matter the formation. But if you need help defensively, this is the perfect formation. The CDMs will sit in, your right mid will defend, and even your CAM can drop back. The striker stays up front.
4-4-1-1: Midfield Maestro
Now, let's talk about the 4-4-1-1. This formation is a bit more attacking because we use CMs instead of CDMs. The CMs are a bit better in attack.
The tactics are almost the same as the 4-2-3-1. I've just gone for "Holding" instead of "Deep Line Playmaker" on the center mids because they're already more involved in the attack.
- Build Up: Balanced
- Defensive Line: Balanced
- Instructions:
- Sweeper Keeper
- Fullbacks: Defend on both
- CM: Holding
- CAM: Playmaker
- Right & Left Wing: Inside Forward
- Striker: Advanced Forward
This formation is great for playing around the midfield because the CMs and the CAM are close to each other. You can work it from the wing towards the striker, opening up gaps. The CAM is so important in this formation because everything goes through them.
The weakness is defensively. Playing with CMs, no CDMs. If they cross the midfield, the CMs don't run back. The CDMs will always track back, but the CMs kind of give up.
This formation is so good in attack that you take the risk and try to score on your opponent.
4-4-2: The Aggressive Attacker
Moving on to the 4-4-2. I made an in-depth video on this one, so check that out if you want more details.
- Build Up: Balanced
- Defensive Line: High
- Instructions:
- Fullbacks: Balanced
- CM: Holding
- Right & Left Wing: Inside Forward
- Striker: Stay Central
I like to put "Holding" on my CMs, just like in the 4-4-1-1. I take a bit more risk in this formation by putting the fullbacks on balanced. It depends on how much you suffer from the 4-2-3-1.
This is an aggressive formation where you have to press early to get the most out of it. The four attackers are amazing. If you have good passers up front, even better.
It's great on the counter because you have four guys running, and they don't defend much. The right and left mids are higher up the pitch when you win the ball.
The most important thing is to keep triggering those wingers for overlapping runs. Whenever your striker hits the ball, there's always the danger of a winger taking over.
The same weakness as the 4-4-1-1 is that the CMs don't track back as much as the CDMs. But other than that, it's a perfect formation for attacking.
4-5-1: The Controlled Approach
And finally, the 4-5-1. This is a formation that pros like Ley and Abu Makaka use. It's a very controlled formation. You have three CMs, which makes the middle difficult to break down, even though you don't have a CDM. These three CMs act as a wall in front of the defense.
In attack, you can surround the box. The obvious weakness is that you have one less attacker. The obvious strength is that the midfield is more packed, making it harder to pass through the middle.
- Build Up: Balanced
- Defensive Line: High
- Instructions:
- Fullback: Defend (on one side)
- Fullback: Balanced (on the other side)
- CDM: Deep Line Playmaker
- CM: Box to Box (on both sides)
- Winger: Man Mark
- Winger: Inside Forward (on the other side)
- Striker: Stay Central
I've gone for one fullback on defend and one on balanced. You want to attack through the side you have imbalanced. I've gone for deep line playmaker in the middle and box-to-box on both left and right CMs. I've gone for man-mark on one winger and inside forward on the other.
So, there you have it, guys! The top five formations. Copy the codes, try them out, and you'll be fine.