Today EA released another edition of Gridiron Notes that include the Madden 21 franchise mode update that is expected to release mid-November. I’ve been critical of EA for their lack of attention and commitment to Madden 21 franchise mode. Today I’m going over the planned updates and will be giving my thoughts.
1. X-Factor/Superstar Ability Customization: This highly requested feature by the community allows commissioners to assign X-Factors to any player via the edit player feature. Once a player has met the criteria to unlock an X-Factor ability, commissioners will be able to edit their player’s Superstar abilities and Superstar X-Factor ability by selecting from those available within his position group. Users will have control over this functionality in both offline and online Franchises.
This falls under the category of “Why wasn’t it already in the game??” If it was such a “highly requested feature by the community” then why wasn’t it already in the game? Also, when Superstar and X-Factor abilities were introduced, did EA not think that us as fans would want to customize the abilities our players have? Come on EA, this is just embarrassing. It’s a step in the right direction but we’ve been saying this for years now, it’s time to actually make a difference.
2. Player Card Career Stats UI: A top community request for several years now, the team is revamping the statistics on the player card to include more context in season stats, like week, opponent, and outcome, while also providing what team the player was on for every year of their career.
This again, falls under the category of “Why wasn’t it already in the game??” Basically the same explanation as the first one, if it is a “top community request for several years” then why wasn’t it already in the game at launch? Why wasn’t this feature in past versions of Madden? While I appreciate this feature being added into Madden 21 franchise mode, why was it not already here?
3. Dev Trait Regression Tuning: The team is doing tuning work to player development traits in Franchise mode to ensure a proper balance of Superstar and X-Factor players when progressing multiple years in a Franchise.
I like this fix because most players don’t want their league filled with 100+ superstar X-factors after year five in franchise mode (If they even make it that far, not much substance). This issue comes with adding X-Factors. I like it when players can lose development traits for crappy years if Brady throws more interceptions than touchdowns, no way he deserves to keep his X-Factor.
4. Playoff Bracket: A visual playoff bracket will be added into the game that reflects the new Wild Card format, allowing users to see the full playoff picture.
The final update we will be getting is a playoff bracket visual. Again, “Why wasn’t it already in the game?” The bracket is something so small, and I cannot understand why it was not in the game at launch. Again I appreciate that EA is adding it, but they could have done better if they didn’t neglect franchise mode over the development cycle.
Overall, this is a step in the right direction for Madden 21 franchise mode. However, it is not enough. While they are adding new stuff to franchise mode, they are only adding features that should have been in the game at launch. #FixMaddenFranchise #EndMaddenMonopoly
