Gato
Cat O' War!!
INTRODUCTION
Initially, Master League looks the same as last year. Choosing real life players or fake players is now a simple option, as Konami have removed the PES Shop. More on this element at a later date. After you choose the look and nationality of your persona, you enter the press conference where you are presented to the media.
Sat at your desk, you are introduced to your secretary, and she talks you through everything in ML, similar to last year. You are briefly introduced to the new boots acquisition and shop within ML, but nothing in-depth.
The start of change
As you enter your first match, you’ll realize all your players are wearing plain black boots. Not only that, the opposition players are also wearing plain boots. After the match, I was awarded a pair of Nike boots.
In ML, you unlock boots to assign to players, and this will give them a stat boost. The boots you acquire though can only be assigned to one player. I unlocked around 4 boots in my first season. They have different abilities, so by unlocking the Adidas F50 it will give the player I assign it to a boost in pace.
It’s important to remember that the opposition are going through the same process. I played Barcelona in the CL, and players like Messi and Iniesta were wearing fake boots. Not one of the opposition player was wearing a boot they would in real life, but they had on different boots with different abilities.
Micro-boosting
In ML you have a new menu called Items, which consists of ‘Shop, Item List and Equipment’. The shop has access to 18 different stat boosting abilities, from strength training with dumbbells, to a cycling machine that helps stamina. These items cost points, which you gain from playing the game in general. So, Konami have removed PES Shop of old, and implemented it into ML.
What’s key to remember is that each element purchased can only be assigned to one player. Also, some elements last for a set amount of time, like a season.
Each player in ML now has an Item menu, which allows 3 slots, plus a boot slot. So you can give them 3 different stat boosts, and then boots to compliment that.
As an example, you could give a player like Andy Carroll stat boosts in dribbling and pace, and Adidas F50 boots.
Here's a screen as an example, showing Abbiati with dribbling cones on one item slot, attacking stat boost on another, and Nike Tiempo boots: Please note, I purchased Götze in the first transfer window
Overall
To sum up, ML has become a mode that looks to move away from a traditional approach over the years, and incorporates a less authentic approach but heavy game elements in a bid to keep you playing for longer.
Discuss.
