Extremely player dependent. Rice is M/H and Odegaard is H/M but I never have issues using them box-to-box. On the other hand, Havertz being M/M makes me pull my hair out when I try to use him in the middle of the pitch (though as an attacking left back/left mid he’s not nearly as bad).
I wonder if it depends on the formation and instructions you use. I play him as a CAM in a 433 (4) and he’s wonderful off ball for me
I should clarify I had him at LB before but I didn’t love him there. So once I packed Di Lorenzo and Dimarco I moved him around
Depends what gameplay you get. Most of the time it's terrible and it makes work rates irrelevant because your AI players will do nothing in attack and defence regardless.
Work rates are much more important than people realize. A FIFA YouTuber called Tommo did extensive testing on them back in the day and found a lot of interesting results, but unfortunately, his videos are no longer public.
Oh really? That’s interesting. Yeah I’ve always noticed them really alongside attacking ai which I’ve seen people say doesn’t exist. In my opinion it definitely does
Depends on the position and style of play. Right now I’m in laying a 4-3-3 with a CAM. I like to manual press so my front line is all H/H. CAM is M/M (I find it matters less for a central position if he’s the one doing the passing rather than making runs), and both CMs are H/H. Back line is all H/H, but I also like M/H for CBS generally.
Yeah that’s a good point. I tend to use my cam more as a second striker making late runs into the box but yeah in a playmaking role it probably wouldn’t be as important to me
I think they’re more important for players who ply through the middle of the pitch than for wide players (within reason). For example, I feel like Havertz’s M/M really holds him back as a box-to-box CM but are less important if you put him at FB.
They’re also important in some specific contexts. I have major misgivings about this Thiago Silva SBC because High Attacking WR combined with a pace split where acceleration is relatively low mean that not only is he going to get caught further up the pitch more often, but he’s going to struggle to keep up when he does.
Agree about Havertz. I moved him to LB because i needed more cover in midfield.
I’m not sure about Silva either. Playstyles (jockey and anticipate+ are the best combination imo) and defensive stats wise he looks fantastic but he’s not particularly tall so I can just imagine him getting slam dunked by Sorloth, combined with the lower acceleration and work rates stop him from being a must complete.
For me they only matter for central midfielders and a little bit for fullbacks. I cant do m/m midfielders at all. Was mildly angry with myself when i completed havertz and forgot to check his rates.
Yeah I feel they matter. Also think work rates complement other players. Like I don’t really like having 2 strikers on high high together or CAM and striker on high high together.
Big deal. Shen Radioactive messi cam out I tried my hardest to make him stay in the starting XI. He was ofc good on the ball and great passing + shooting, but he was practically invisible on the pitch. It was troublesome to find him in counter attacks and such, so I just felt that a slightly worse player with better work rates would bring more to my team than messi.
workrates will completely make or break a card for me
in my first FIFA however many years ago before I knew what workrates were, I wondered why I didn't get on with so many cards and looking back, every single one was med/med or med/low
Work rates in my experience should match how a player will be used, for e.g.; if u have a dm on stay back but he is h/h he will push up the pitch regardless and create holes in your defence/midfield. Similarly, you want attackers with h/l but your b2b with h/h because thats the role they’ll be in. Its a preference and tactics thing ultimately. I like attacking with fullbacks so i look for h/h but most people like to keep them on stay back so they look for m/h.
Well, like you said, the CDM or the more defensive CM certainly needs to have a M/H and I feel like other than that you should be okay with any work rate for most other players. Unless you want your LB/RB to play either stay back or go forward, I noticed those guys don't care too much about instructions, so they will still go up if they have High attacking work rates, even if you put them on stay back oh and I also guess having a striker with low/high would be annoying since he might not run into space as often as he needs to. I had Hojlund's future stars as my starter striker since I recently got the game and even with Med/High he had some moments in which I was attacking and he was around the midline, not cool :)
Very Important.
Wingers , CAMs, LM/RM, basically the side players that are on CBOD, for them H/M is minimum. H/H Preferred.
Attacking Fullback must be H/H and both CMs.
I don't do the whole stayback DM thing.
Stayback FB needs high defensive Workrate.
Im ok with one Striker being H/L but the other one i want H/M.
Very higher work rates will fatigue players more, but they'll occupy more space and get around more the higher the work rates are.
All but 3 players and my keeper have h/h work rates.
Last year I packed r9 and I was bad with him initially until I got used to playing with him ie I learned a few skill moves and how to dribble better.
Extremely player dependent. Rice is M/H and Odegaard is H/M but I never have issues using them box-to-box. On the other hand, Havertz being M/M makes me pull my hair out when I try to use him in the middle of the pitch (though as an attacking left back/left mid he’s not nearly as bad).
I have Havertz too and use him at LB for that reason, he really bothered me when off the ball at CM
I wonder if it depends on the formation and instructions you use. I play him as a CAM in a 433 (4) and he’s wonderful off ball for me I should clarify I had him at LB before but I didn’t love him there. So once I packed Di Lorenzo and Dimarco I moved him around
He’s been fine as one of my two cms. He stays in a great spot to recycle the play and occasionally hit a finesse
Depends what gameplay you get. Most of the time it's terrible and it makes work rates irrelevant because your AI players will do nothing in attack and defence regardless.
Yeah I feel that. Sometimes it looks like my players feet are stuck to the ground, no runs whatsoever
I play 4-2-2-2, so one CM and one ST has to be H/H to suit my style, one st that is constantly moving and a box to box cm
Work rates are much more important than people realize. A FIFA YouTuber called Tommo did extensive testing on them back in the day and found a lot of interesting results, but unfortunately, his videos are no longer public.
Oh really? That’s interesting. Yeah I’ve always noticed them really alongside attacking ai which I’ve seen people say doesn’t exist. In my opinion it definitely does
Depends on the position and style of play. Right now I’m in laying a 4-3-3 with a CAM. I like to manual press so my front line is all H/H. CAM is M/M (I find it matters less for a central position if he’s the one doing the passing rather than making runs), and both CMs are H/H. Back line is all H/H, but I also like M/H for CBS generally.
Yeah that’s a good point. I tend to use my cam more as a second striker making late runs into the box but yeah in a playmaking role it probably wouldn’t be as important to me
I like having my LMs/RMs to have H/H, especially if they have good defensive stats
Agreed I need my wide players to put in a shift defensively
For me it’s a must since I’m probably the only one that runs 41212 wide lol
I think they’re more important for players who ply through the middle of the pitch than for wide players (within reason). For example, I feel like Havertz’s M/M really holds him back as a box-to-box CM but are less important if you put him at FB. They’re also important in some specific contexts. I have major misgivings about this Thiago Silva SBC because High Attacking WR combined with a pace split where acceleration is relatively low mean that not only is he going to get caught further up the pitch more often, but he’s going to struggle to keep up when he does.
Agree about Havertz. I moved him to LB because i needed more cover in midfield. I’m not sure about Silva either. Playstyles (jockey and anticipate+ are the best combination imo) and defensive stats wise he looks fantastic but he’s not particularly tall so I can just imagine him getting slam dunked by Sorloth, combined with the lower acceleration and work rates stop him from being a must complete.
For me they only matter for central midfielders and a little bit for fullbacks. I cant do m/m midfielders at all. Was mildly angry with myself when i completed havertz and forgot to check his rates.
Yeah I feel they matter. Also think work rates complement other players. Like I don’t really like having 2 strikers on high high together or CAM and striker on high high together.
Big deal. Shen Radioactive messi cam out I tried my hardest to make him stay in the starting XI. He was ofc good on the ball and great passing + shooting, but he was practically invisible on the pitch. It was troublesome to find him in counter attacks and such, so I just felt that a slightly worse player with better work rates would bring more to my team than messi.
My two CMs must be High/High …attack together, defend together
I honestly never even look
Yeah I’ve quite literally have never taken work rates into account lol division 3, between 9 and 11 wins most WL
One of the main things I look at a card
workrates will completely make or break a card for me in my first FIFA however many years ago before I knew what workrates were, I wondered why I didn't get on with so many cards and looking back, every single one was med/med or med/low
Yep, med/med wingers are my worst nightmare, I wouldn’t use a 99 rated one
That’s how I felt about that Kubo SBC that came out. Decent looking card but the M/M makes him Invisible for me so I decided not to bother
M/M ensures I will never use that card
I run a 4-4-2 with both of my CM on balanced and H/H.
Work rates in my experience should match how a player will be used, for e.g.; if u have a dm on stay back but he is h/h he will push up the pitch regardless and create holes in your defence/midfield. Similarly, you want attackers with h/l but your b2b with h/h because thats the role they’ll be in. Its a preference and tactics thing ultimately. I like attacking with fullbacks so i look for h/h but most people like to keep them on stay back so they look for m/h.
Very important. When I have a player sent off, If I need a replacement I’ll take off a player with medium or low defensive work rates.
Hierarchy for me: Work rates
Well, like you said, the CDM or the more defensive CM certainly needs to have a M/H and I feel like other than that you should be okay with any work rate for most other players. Unless you want your LB/RB to play either stay back or go forward, I noticed those guys don't care too much about instructions, so they will still go up if they have High attacking work rates, even if you put them on stay back oh and I also guess having a striker with low/high would be annoying since he might not run into space as often as he needs to. I had Hojlund's future stars as my starter striker since I recently got the game and even with Med/High he had some moments in which I was attacking and he was around the midline, not cool :)
If possible, I have as many H/H players I can afford in every position. Except for CBs for them I prefer M/H
Very Important. Wingers , CAMs, LM/RM, basically the side players that are on CBOD, for them H/M is minimum. H/H Preferred. Attacking Fullback must be H/H and both CMs. I don't do the whole stayback DM thing. Stayback FB needs high defensive Workrate. Im ok with one Striker being H/L but the other one i want H/M.
Very higher work rates will fatigue players more, but they'll occupy more space and get around more the higher the work rates are. All but 3 players and my keeper have h/h work rates. Last year I packed r9 and I was bad with him initially until I got used to playing with him ie I learned a few skill moves and how to dribble better.
For a CM I’d take anything that isn’t M/M