FIFA 17: The Journey Tips and Tricks

There was all the more reason to go out and buy FIFA 17 or get a new console this year, as EA Sports for the first time introduced a journey mode to the FIFA franchise. You play as Alex Hunter on The Journey, a 17-year-old aspiring footballer who has one final shot at making into the big time. The decisions you make decide where Hunter’s career goes, so here at RealSport we have provided a quick guide on starting out in The Journey, with no spoilers.

Choose the right position

During the exit trials, you get the choice of what position Alex Hunter will play. This will be attacking midfielder, right wing, left wing or striker. Think about the club you are wanting to play for, and identify which is their weakest position. With Hunter starting out with just a 60 overall rating, you’ll want as little competition as possible in your position. Attacking midfielder could just be the best shout, as that will allow you to play as a central or wide midfielder also. If in doubt, just choose striker, as more goals mean more growth, and it will give you a better chance to impress in the 11-a-side game in the exit trials.

Starting your career

Perhaps the most unrealistic part of The Journey comes pretty much straight away. After a strong exit-trial performance, every single Premier League club wants to sign you. Yes, EVERY SINGLE ONE. There is no right or wrong answer, but if you listen to your agent’s remarks on each club, he is clearly pointing you in the direction of the smaller sides in the division. If you haven’t made up your mind, think about the position you’ve chosen to influence your decision. If you’re a left winger you are not going to get much luck at Chelsea with Eden Hazard in front of you in the pecking order.

Play as team or as Hunter?

Before every match you get the choice of whether to play as the whole team or solely as Alex Hunter. They both have their pros and cons, however. Playing as the team means you can pick the passes and make tackles as you please, but your man Hunter will be confined to one position.  Playing as the 17-year-old allows you to drift out of position, and catch the opposition cold, but it is sometimes frustrating when you teammates don’t make tackles or just kick the ball out of play. We suggest for the majority of games you start to play as the team, but if you come off the bench or it is a big match (cup games/debuts/derbies) play as Hunter to have a greater impact.

Use skill points wisely

Once again there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to skill points. Besides his natural growth, you can also increase Hunter’s overall rating by using skill points. As the young star improves, more skill points will come available. Be wary of the skills required for playing in your position, for instance, if you are a striker you will want to improve the skills that improve his shooting. Pace is always important regardless of position but perhaps stay away from the long throw and free-kick stats as they will be rarely be used in game, and will have little or no impact on your overall rating.

Average out your responses

When in post-match interviews, or chatting with coaches or teammates, you will get to pick Alex Hunter’s responses. This will be cool, fiery or balanced. Now you won’t get very far if you pick balanced every time, or keep mouthing off or become a ‘boring’ James Milner, so be sure to mix up your answers. If you want more social media followers which can lead to sponsorship deals, go for fiery, but if you are struggling to get into the first team, make sure you go for the cool responses.

Cheat?

We don’t recommend this, but if you are really struggling on The Journey, there is a way of making life a lot easier. If you go to settings, game settings and then user gameplay customisation, you can improve the abilities of your players. So can go the full nine yards and maximise every ability and remove every error, or tweak it slightly to give you a slightly better chance. You are better off changing the difficulty, but if you just want one game to find your feet on bang in a few goals, this is the way to do it.

Do you have any tips for The Journey? What has been your best moment as Alex Hunter? Let us know in the comments section below. 

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