What’s the story?
The Bundesliga player ratings of EA Sports FIFA 17’s wildly popular “Ultimate Team” gameplay mode went through its annual winter update concluding with the announcement of EA’s Winter Ratings Refresh campaign. The Ratings Refresh campaign has resulted in hundreds of Bundesliga player ratings being permanently altered after taking into account player performances and form up until the winter break.
In case you didn’t know
FIFA 17 allows its users, via the Ultimate Team platform, to buy and sell players in an open market which follows a bidding system. The player in question usually goes to the highest bidder within the specified time frame allotted for the bidding process, much like the transfer markets, except this one goes on all year round.
Players are given ratings by FIFA as per the performances and form of the featured players. These ratings are regularly updated to keep with the latest upturns or downturns in form.
The Winter Ratings Refresh is an attempt by EA to update the attributes of the players relative to their recent form.
Heart of the matter
The Ratings Refresh sees Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang become the highest rated player in the Bundesliga after his goalscoring exploits see him get a one rating point boost which moves him to an overall rating of 87.
Notable players who have received a boost to their rating include Thiago Alcantara, who receives a one rating point boost to move to 85 and likewise for Bayern Munich teammate Javi Martinez and Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papasthopoulos.
A few Bayern Munich and Dortmund stars have suffered a drop in ratings in spite of their teams enjoying impressive runs of form. The German giants’ Jerome Boateng(from 90 to 89) and Xavi Alonso (from 84 to 82) suffered significant drops in ratings. Borussia Dortmund midfielder Shinji Kagawa also dropped a level from 83 points to 82.
What’s next?
The updates are likely to come into effect instantly with a statement on the EA website saying, “The updated ratings will apply to new base items which are found in packs, however some existing In-Form versions of select players will be automatically updated.”
Packs containing Bundesliga players will now be updated to the new ratings and players with Bundesliga picks now need to take that into account. EA have also released a Premier League Ratings Refresh.
Sportskeeda’s Take
The updated FIFA 17 FUT ratings provide a fair assessment of the recent changes in form the players have undergone. Jerome Boateng is still an immense presence but that little bit of a fear factor has gone out of the Bayern side, resulting in rating drops to their players. EA, as usual, have done a great job and we encourage them to keep up the good work.
