FIFA 23 “Lobbed Through Balls Nerfed?”: Title Update 5 Changes

The 5th Title Update to FIFA 23 is now available for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (EA app/Origin/Steam/Epic Games Store), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Stadia.

While this update hasn’t been as game-changing as the infamous Title Update 4, which was referred to as the “Lengthy Killer” as we covered in our “Is the Lengthy Meta Dead” article, there have been some very notable changes to Lobbed Through Passes, as well as bug fixes related to Outside of the Foot shot, and goalkeepers reactions to Ground Passes across the goal.

Read on to find out all the latest updates that have been released in FIFA 23.

Lobbed Through Balls Nerfed?

A key aspect of Title Update #5 focuses on Lobbed Through Balls, with several changes implemented.

First of all, EA has “Decreased the accuracy of Driven Lobbed Through Passes aimed away from where the passer is facing.” A notable change to reduce the effectiveness of low percentage lobbed through passes facing in the opposite direction to the passer.

It is however worth noting that the accuracy of Lobbed Through Passes played in the direction that your player is facing appears to be unchanged.

Secondly, the ball trajectory height of Driven Lobbed Through Passes has been lowered. This is the key change, with lower Driven Lobbed Through Passes now being more reachable for the defenders, lowering the effectiveness.

On the whole, Driven Lobbed Through Ball effectiveness has been reduced, by the above change, however standard Lobbed Through Balls, at least when facing in the direction of the player, remain unchanged.

Does Darwin Nunez Have Hair In-Game Yet?

In a spin-off segment of these Patch Notes articles, let’s discuss the truly important issues at hand, does Darwin Nunez have hair in-game yet?

As of December 2nd 2022, no, Darwin Nunez does not have hair in-game, this is his “streamlined” look in-game currently.

Now that the important information at hand has been cleared up, let’s move on to the rest of the changes coming in Title Update #5.

Here are all the new updates to gameplay published:

Outside of the Foot Shot Changes

When requesting an Outside Of The Foot Shot in some specific situations, a Flair Shot could have occurred instead.

Passing

In some cases, appropriately powered Through Passes could incorrectly cause the ball to be hit out of play.

When requesting a Flair Pass while locked to one player, the CPU AI would not attempt to perform a Flair Pass.

Dribbling

In some cases, the ball carrier could unintentionally run over the ball when attempting to dribble with it.

Tackling & Defending

In some cases, appropriately powered Through Passes could incorrectly cause the ball to be hit out of play.

In some situations, a defender could incorrectly attempt to shield the ball without being requested to do so.

Goalkeeper

In certain situations, the goalkeeper did not react to Ground Passes across the goal. Sometimes a touch during a dribble could knock the ball further from the ball carrier than intended.

In some cases, the goalkeeper could have incorrectly been allowed to pick up the ball with their hands after a player-controlled teammate cleared the ball towards them.

Additional Gameplay Fixes

In rare throw in situations where an additional ball was present on the pitch and needed to be cleared, the player kicking the ball could have done it with unnecessary power.

The assistant referee starting position was not always correct at the start of a Playable Highlight.

Improved referee logic when determining foul calls in situations where a player makes contact with the goalkeeper.

During Set Piece Skill Games, the camera would not always correctly orient itself behind the kick taker.

Let us know how you’re getting on with Title Update #5 and the latest patch in FIFA 23!