MUT 25's pre-lit X-Factors at launch are disgusting power creep

I logged on for a couple of MUT games before starting work today. I finished a playoff run and was feeling good about myself and my game. When I ranked up, it was like I was playing an RPG and I had gotten into a part of the map I was underleveled for. For three games in a row, everyone had a Chad Ochocinco and CJ2K with glowing X-Factors.

I've written before about how X-Factors, even the normal ones, are gamebreaking. The ones that start the game turned on are insane. I had hoped that Madden had learned some lessons from NFL 100 Eric Dickerson. The only lesson learned appears to be that players will pull out their credit cards for broken cards.

I have covered Magic and numerous other CCGs for years, and power creep always rears its ugly head. To keep players buying new cards, the cards must do something the old cards don't. Even an incremental increase in power levels eventually turns to this. What Madden 25 is doing isn't incremental.

Pre-lit X-Factors in play less than a week after launch is unconscionable. Chad Ochocinco and CJ2K invalidate all the other players at their positions. The whole point of Ultimate Team is supposed to be the fun of constructing your own squad your own way. All our teams are starting to look exactly like each other. This isn't Ultimate Team, it's card-collecting karaoke.

There will always be cards that are better than others, or at least more obvious. But a game like football, with 22 players working towards the same goal, should have infinite card combinations. The only reason not to run a card that starts the game with an X-Factor turned on is financial.

Not everyone enjoys paying to win, nor can everyone afford it. Thus the financial restrictions on fielding a team like this prevented everyone from doing it. But for two straight launches, there has been a game-breaking glitch that allowed people to stack their teams. The overpowered squads steamroll opponents, stack coins, and get a lead they will never surrender.

Now you don't have to spend a bunch of money to get a god squad. You just need to keep plugged into social media and wait for the latest glitch. In EA Sports games, glitches are like buses. If you miss one, there will be another coming along soon enough.

Invoking the spirit of John Madden is rapidly becoming the new "NFL 2K was better." But the reason John Madden demanded EA figure out how to get 11-on-11 in a game was realism. Pre-lit X-Factors are the complete opposite of realism. No player shows up and has a perfect game every single time. Receivers drop passes, defenders miss picks, and give up big plays.

I don't believe John Madden would like players that show up with giant, glowing throw the ball here signals over their heads. X-Factors that have to be earned have at least some basis in reality. We've all seen a running back show up and build his strength over time, wearing the defense down with each play.

When done right, X-Factors are like solving a puzzle. If I want Derrick Henry to get his unstoppable glowing X, I need to break five runs of at least 10 yards. At that point, I've earned his ability to shrug off the first hit. Even still, if I get tackled in the backfield once it's gone, and I have to start over.

I love Madden and have been playing it for decades now. I love it so much I've made it my job. If you have managed to kill my hype after a week, you have done something seriously wrong. It's fixable, but changes need to start soon. One of those changes, perhaps the most important for this mode, is bringing an end to pre-lit X-Factors.