CPU through balls undefendable

[tremolo arm]

I’ve been playing around with different levels and I find that Regular is too easy but Professional too hard. I enjoy the challenge on Professional, but one thing I can simply not defend is the CPU’s ability to needle a perfect through ball. That is just destroying me right now.

There are two elements to this issue:

First, the CPU has this magical ability to thread a through ball, always wrong footing my defenders. I watch the replay and I see the player just turning and running while my defenders are either standing of going in the opposite direction. Now I have tried this with several teams, among which some really defense based teams like Italy and Juventus. I have checked if I have set my tactics in any strange way, but everything is normal. Yet, on average the CPU gets at least 5 one-on-one’s per game, 2 of which will definitely go in.

Secondly, putting the CPU’s ball carrier under pressure counts for nothing in this game. They are able to hit a perfect through ball even when the player has his back to my goal. Again, I watch the replay, and the player just magically twists and delivers what is a faultless lobbed through ball, resulting in a 1 on 1 with my keeper.

How do you counter that from happening?

Any tips, suggestions, tactical changes I should do?

 

[Baddar]

Defend by putting pressure on a player in midfield using R2 and X. It'll move your player closer to the opposition and prevent it from happening.

Also, adjust your CB's position. Move them a little deeper/closer together. It'll give you a bit more of a chance to cut out the pass.

 

[tremolo arm]

Defend by putting pressure on a player in midfield using R2 and X. It'll move your player closer to the opposition and prevent it from happening.

This is exactly what I am doing. I am pressurizing the CPU as soon as they get the ball. Especially in midfield I always have a player breathing down the neck of the ball carrier, yet the CPU not only is able to play a pass, but more frequently than not it is a perfectly weighted through ball that sends a striker on a one-on-one situation against my keeper.

 

[marc110]

I’ve been playing around with different levels and I find that Regular is too easy but Professional too hard. I enjoy the challenge on Professional, but one thing I can simply not defend is the CPU’s ability to needle a perfect through ball. That is just destroying me right now.

There are two elements to this issue:

First, the CPU has this magical ability to thread a through ball, always wrong footing my defenders. I watch the replay and I see the player just turning and running while my defenders are either standing of going in the opposite direction. Now I have tried this with several teams, among which some really defense based teams like Italy and Juventus. I have checked if I have set my tactics in any strange way, but everything is normal. Yet, on average the CPU gets at least 5 one-on-one’s per game, 2 of which will definitely go in.

Secondly, putting the CPU’s ball carrier under pressure counts for nothing in this game. They are able to hit a perfect through ball even when the player has his back to my goal. Again, I watch the replay, and the player just magically twists and delivers what is a faultless lobbed through ball, resulting in a 1 on 1 with my keeper.

How do you counter that from happening?

Any tips, suggestions, tactical changes I should do?

thats the problem with AI they just keep making them harder and harder


but fifa's AI is far worse then pes

 

[tremolo arm]

Defend by putting pressure on a player in midfield using R2 and X. It'll move your player closer to the opposition and prevent it from happening.

Also, adjust your CB's position. Move them a little deeper/closer together. It'll give you a bit more of a chance to cut out the pass.

Just to make sure I understand. You mean R2 + X and not L2 + X, right. In other words, special control button and X?

 

[Baddar]

R2 and X, yeah. I find if you hold the two at the same time, your player will get goal side and stop any through ball being played. That, and the fact that by the time you're in that position, you can hit X again to steal the ball.

This is assuming you use X as your standing challenge. It might be O by default.

 

[tremolo arm]

R2 and X, yeah. I find if you hold the two at the same time, your player will get goal side and stop any through ball being played. That, and the fact that by the time you're in that position, you can hit X again to steal the ball.

This is assuming you use X as your standing challenge. It might be O by default.

I tried it and it's strange. I can't see any difference between just pressing X and pressing X + R2. It's the same animation, same movement.

 

[dodoegg1]

I think they've seriously messed up this year.

It doesn't matter if you set man marking or not, the CPU can attack with 2 players, the ball carrier draws about 3 players to him, and under pressure turns in any direction then does a mid height chip through ball (that human players can't do; all we get is lofted through passes or along the ground)... then their striker runs through whilst 2 static defenders bounce forward (like David Luiz does in real life), watch the ball go past them, then run behind the striker and there is now no way to apply pressure like in the previous games by spamming X from behind as this will result in the defender lunging for it and totally missing the player.

Back to my PES12 league mode thanks, R2 to jockey and set DMF to mark the centre forward and it actually plays like a real game of football with equal chances given to either side.

 

[tremolo arm]

I think they've seriously messed up this year.

It doesn't matter if you set man marking or not, the CPU can attack with 2 players, the ball carrier draws about 3 players to him, and under pressure turns in any direction then does a mid height chip through ball (that human players can't do; all we get is lofted through passes or along the ground)... then their striker runs through whilst 2 static defenders bounce forward (like David Luiz does in real life), watch the ball go past them, then run behind the striker and there is now no way to apply pressure like in the previous games by spamming X from behind as this will result in the defender lunging for it and totally missing the player.

Totally agree with above assessment. I'm glad it isn't just me...

At the moment that's just killing the game for me. Typically I have possession at about 60 - 65 %, outshoot the CPU by at least 3-4 shots, but then the CPU will do one of these chips, coupled with the winger flying at what seems twice the speed of my defender, and pronto one one one with the keeper and I've lost the game.

This is happening on all levels from Regular to Top Player.

I don't know if it's just my impression but it feels like it's happening less on Top Player than Professional, so the last couple of games I have player on Top Player. I have not yet won, but have not lost either.

 

[lazysod]

Also, adjust your CB's position. Move them a little deeper/closer together. It'll give you a bit more of a chance to cut out the pass.

I think adjusting your defenders positions is a useful thing to combat the attacks of the AI. I do this frequently, mostly to defend crosses as often the AI takes your CB out of position to come across to block a cross... so I move him back into the middle and more often than not that guy ends up intercepting the cross. But I use the positioning to try and prevent through balls too, some are unpreventable... but you can move up and play them offside quickly or alternatively go with the player making the run and cut the pass off when it is made.

I can't even remember what the buttons are to change player but you can move away from the action to the player you want to control and position them where you want, and then return to the action.

That helps me defend on top player.

 

[tremolo arm]

Whilst on defense during a game last night, I could just "feel" one of those through ball moments coming, so I tried to prevent that by selecting my LB and starting a run towards my goal (ensuring I stayed in front of the CPU player). In doing so, the CPU striker was squeezed between the said LB and my CB. Not surprisingly, the through pass was played and (inevitably) it was a pin point pass to the striker. Despite being behind and squeezed by my players, he still managed to 1) take posession, 2) beat both my defenders, 3 advance one on one with my keeper and 4, you guessed it...

 

[ramthegamer]

Whilst on defense during a game last night, I could just "feel" one of those through ball moments coming, so I tried to prevent that by selecting my LB and starting a run towards my goal . Not it was a pin point pass to the striker. Despite being behind and squeezed by my players, he still managed to 1) take posession, 2) beat both my defenders, 3 advance one on one with my keeper and 4, you guessed it...

same thoughts here mate, absolutely, always there's the moment where a pin point pass comes where u can't beat it, and u know the result in the end, it is really messing the game, u sometimes feel the game is good, but there u have it those silly moments of pinpoint cheating pass, striker gets passed the cb like a ghost, one on one and goal, lost the game!!! i wonder those who gave the game a positive rating tell me how to counter these moments...

 

[topkop]

Guys, all you need to do is control your defender and follow the striker making the run. Then you can use teammate pressure button to make your AI-DMF close in on the ball carrier. I used Cardiff against Man Utd and had no problem defending at all.
Hope that helps.

 

[soc160]

This happened a lot in the last game before they updated it, the best way to deal with it is to just leave it to the cpu to deal with it, don't select your defender or put pressure on the player reciving the ball and your defender will just intercept it, i found myself rushing out trying to close them down too much and my defenders being caught on the back foot then and not making it back in time to stop them.

 

[chimaira67]

Through ball is destroying the game but online is even worse i had no problem offline but as soon as i went online some matches are fine then some matches where your opponent abuses through ball you cant stop it ive lost games 7-0 and all 7 goals resulted through a through ball, your advise is good but online it wouldnt work you would have to take control of your CB every time you lost possesion for the whole time your defending, because the opposition is constantly hitting through balls all the time it has ruined the game and needs to be addressed urgently

 

[suhailio]

The through-ball is definitely being abused in this pro. I played a dude who had Ronaldo as centre-forward, and every time any of his players had the ball they would play through Ronaldo & I couldn't do anything no matter how hard I tried. I even man-marked him with one of my centre-backs, which didn't really help much. But the man-marking tactic could sometimes work, don't get me wrong. It depends on the condition of the player aswell as the momentum of the game (which is controlled by the CPU of course).

The thing is, because of how this game is, the slower centre-backs get destroyed by the quicker strikers. Even if the defender has a high defence stat, if he has poor explosive power/top speed, he will get left-behind when a through ball is played. I have Skrtel in my team & he is a rock when it comes to defending, but he can't handle the through ball properly. His explosive power is 67.

Looking at getting a quicker centre-back to partner Agger.

 

[ramthegamer]

The through-ball is definitely being abused in this pro. I played a dude who had Ronaldo as centre-forward, and every time any of his players had the ball they would play through Ronaldo & I couldn't do anything no matter how hard I tried. I even man-marked him with one of my centre-backs, which didn't really help much. But the man-marking tactic could sometimes work, don't get me wrong. It depends on the condition of the player aswell as the momentum of the game (which is controlled by the CPU of course).

The thing is, because of how this game is, the slower centre-backs get destroyed by the quicker strikers. Even if the defender has a high defence stat, if he has poor explosive power/top speed, he will get left-behind when a through ball is played. I have Skrtel in my team & he is a rock when it comes to defending, but he can't handle the through ball properly. His explosive power is 67.

Looking at getting a quicker centre-back to partner Agger.

i believe the game now is too centered on attacking through the middle to score, i barely see goals scored from crosses, variety of goals that we used to see in pes 6 for example.

 

[suhailio]

i believe the game now is too centered on attacking through the middle to score, i barely see goals scored from crosses, variety of goals that we used to see in pes 6 for example.

Agreed. I figured this out during the early stages of the game. Headers are harder to score too which doesn't help. This is why I play two-centre forwards (Higuain & Van Persie) & an SS (Suarez) just behind them in the middle.

But I'm kinda happy that it's not that easy to score from headers. People abused that alot by just whipping in crosses onto Andy Carroll's or Drogba's heads. They've made that more difficult which is probably a good thing.

 

[ramthegamer]

Agreed. I figured this out during the early stages of the game. Headers are harder to score too which doesn't help. This is why I play two-centre forwards (Higuain & Van Persie) & an SS (Suarez) just behind them in the middle.

But I'm kinda happy that it's not that easy to score from headers. People abused that alot by just whipping in crosses onto Andy Carroll's or Drogba's heads. They've made that more difficult which is probably a good thing.

but what i meant mate, is that the variety of goals is gone to the minimum, making most of goals repetitive and predictable on the eye, meaning, the game is less appealing to me, every since pes 2012, the game is too fast to my liking and lowering the game speed makes it unrealistic movement.

 

[suhailio]

but what i meant mate, is that the variety of goals is gone to the minimum, making most of goals repetitive and predictable on the eye, meaning, the game is less appealing to me, every since pes 2012, the game is too fast to my liking and lowering the game speed makes it unrealistic movement.

I don't agree with the variety of goals being gone to the minimum. Yes, there are easier ways of scoring goals (long-balls over the top), but there are many other ways too. I've scored allsorts of goals in this game including long-rangers, acrobatics & chips/lobs from outside the area. Maybe I'm just a very experimental type of player & you're not.