Madden 22 has arrived, and Face of the Franchise remains the game's premiere single player campaign experience.
However, recent bugs have been getting on the nerves of the game modes players, but we might know a fix that can help.
With several changes to the mechanics this year, we've got all the details you need to know in this Madden 22 Face of the Franchise Beginner's Guide.
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Madden 22 Face of the Franchise Beginner's Guide
Madden 22 Face of the Franchise is, first and foremost, a narrative story mode about your player's journey to the NFL and through their NFL career.
As a result, you need to go in expecting a lot of cutscenes. Like, however many cutscenes you think is a lot of cutscenes, it's at least ten times that.
It's up to you whether you watch every cutscene in full or choose to skip them, but you won't receive any negative penalties for not watching them.
One thing to be careful of if you're skipping frequently is that cutscenes often have a decision or answer somewhere throughout, and recklessly hitting buttons to skip the cutscene can easily cause you to pick an answer you didn't intend to select.
Even with those issues, the challenge of Madden 22 Face of the Franchise can be a lot of fun as you tackle unique gameday goals influenced by the story and your own decisions.
Everything has to start somewhere, and for Face of the Franchise that begins with you deciding what kind of player you want to be.
Best Position, Class, and College to Pick for FOTF
Face of the Franchise lets you play as one of four positions: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and linebacker.
The most important factor in which position you choose is what kind of actual gameplay experience you want, as the two player-locked positions are very different.
If you're playing as a wide receiver or linebacker, you'll only be able to control your player, and be at the mercy of the AI's decisions outside of that.
However, quarterbacks and running backs (halfback) are team-control positions, and that means you'll have full game control just like any other mode in Madden 22.
If you want to be drafted first overall, which we'll cover more below, your best choice is quarterback.
Ultimately, all four positions provide their own unique experience, and the class you select will depend on the kind of way you plan to play and what kind of player you hope to create.
Picking a college is the least consequential choice you make at Madden 22 Face of the Franchise creation, as it will only influence your jersey number and some aesthetics from college-themed gloves you receive.
The following colleges are available to be selected in Madden 22: Clemson, Florida, LSU, Miami, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and USC.
How to be drafted first overall in Face of the Franchise
If you want to be that coveted first overall draft pick in Madden 22, it will take a combination of the right decisions and the right performances.
Quarterback gives you the best chance to be selected first overall, a pick that will land you with the Jacksonville Jaguars in a position where Trevor Lawrence was the real-world number one pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
You'll face some early training drills, and succeeding in those will definitely affect your draft stock, as will whether your team wins in the College Football Playoff.
You'll face a series of interviews, and you generally wanna pick the most humble and least abrasive answers to improve your draft stock.
The cockier you seem going in, the less likely you are to be taken as the top pick, but seeming more collected and mature will help your cause.
After you make a decision, you should see "Draft Stock Trending Up" or "Draft Stock Trending Down" in the top left to indicate how your answer affected things.
The biggest pre-draft decision you'll face is deciding to play at a Nike Launch Event or a Charity Game in Hawai'i.
While it's not confirmed yet that you're required to choose the Nike Launch Event to be drafted first overall, that seems to be the trend so far.
You'll need to perform well in that game, which will take you into The Yard temporarily, and continue excelling in drills to get the nod as number one overall.
Of course, keep in mind that being drafted first overall may not be the best thing, and intentionally choosing worse answers or bombing these early performances can land you with a better overall team.
How to increase your Rating and Stats
As you play through Madden 22 Face of the Franchise, you'll earn XP and level up your player class with each game and successful scenario.
While there are other things that can boost your stats, the most direct way is by increasing your class level and using Skill Points in class customization to boost particular stats.
One of the biggest things that helps with this is succeeding in gameday goals, which can often pertain to either the team as a whole or your specific player.
These can be triggered by scenarios and answers chosen in cutscenes, but once active the only way to complete them is play the best game you can.
Always try to complete your gameday goals and challenges, but not at the expense of winning the game, which is ultimately the most important part of each week.
Your side activity decisions can affect your ratings, and we have some more details below and how to best navigate those.
You also have the option of playing in The Yard with your Face of the Franchise character to further upgrade your Class without progressing in FOTF.
Make sure when you launch The Yard that you're playing as the proper class, as it defaults to The Magician, which may not be the one you chose and need to improve.
Correct Interview Answers & Side Activity Choices
As mentioned above, the answers you choose in the early interviews will want to lean towards being humble rather than brash or self-centered.
However, after you get out of that early pre-draft section, things will be a bit more open-ended and your choices will instead influence gameday goals and other challenges you face.
There are no wrong answers, and it can be best to decide early what kind of player you hope to be and choose to answer things in a way that character would.
Most weeks you'll be able to choose a Side Activity or have a scenario with a decision related to training or who you spend time with, and each of these will affect the challenges you face as well as bonuses you receive.
Most of the time, you'll see which kind of bonus you have to pick from, and the first thing to keep in mind is always choose the permanent boost, if one is offered.
While not the most likely option, some side activity picks will give you an option that provides a permanent boost to a particular stat like Stiff Arm or Trucking, and you always want to choose the boost that lasts the longest.
Similarly, you'll often have to pick between a boost for only your player or a boost for the team. Boosting the team usually has a bigger impact on the game, but if you trust your player to be the difference maker, boosting yourself can work.
How to Win MVP and ROTY (Rookie of the Year)
Two of the biggest goals you can have in Madden 22 Face of the Franchise are managing to win MVP and Rookie of the Year when the regular season comes to a close.
The main reason is that these are the two primary Achievements or Trophies connected to Face of the Franchise, and you can manage both at the same time.
The short answer is that you need to perform extremely well throughout the season to win each of these, and how you do that can vary.
It's likely much more difficult to manage as a wide receiver or linebacker without full team control, but both running back and quarterback are viable options.
We pulled this off on our first attempt as a running back with the Juggernaut class, and during that season the player set team records with 2000+ rushing yards.
You don't necessarily need to replicate that exact formula, but a similar level of success will likely be needed to snag these awards.