When talking and listening to players, we kept hearing that being a star of their own football story would be fantastic. With that in mind, we crafted Face of the Franchise: QB1, where the story is not only about you, but one where the choices you make matter.
It kicks off with creating yourself as a quarterback – even using “face editing” to get an improved likeness. Once you have your player, you begin in college, choosing from top schools to attend, then competing for a national championship in the college football playoffs. Be the BMOC and take home the title, but bring your A-game, because your performance in college – just like on the real collegiate gridiron – has an impact on your capabilities and your draft stock.
The NFL draft doesn’t just happen, though – the combine comes first. Ever-increasing in importance and scrutinization, the combine is a key part of the process. And here, if you want your stock to soar, you’ll need to focus on every rep and decision you make to keep your name rising on draft boards. Where will you get picked, and where will your NFL career start? You’ll find out on draft day!
IN THE LEAGUE
No matter where you get drafted – from first round to last – once a team picks you, you’re going to have to show you belong playing with the pros. Whether you’re a first-rounder who needs to prove you were the perfect high pick, or a seventh-rounder busting your ass to make the roster, if you want success you have to work hard and make each opportunity count.
In the NFL, start building your legacy and taking your franchise to winning seasons, expanding your legend with each snap. It’s not about the cash your contracts rack up, but about how many Super Bowls you win as your legend grows. Give your all – and have fun – as you play your way into memorable moments. When you celebrate your career at the end, will you be remembered among the greats, placed alongside them in the Hall of Fame?
As you live your superstar story, Madden’s new Scenario Engine generates personalized playable scenarios, events, and dynamic challenges that tell the tale of a unique NFL career. Adding to it, in Face of the Franchise: QB1, like in Franchise mode, you choose your Archetype: Strong Arm, Scrambler, Improviser, Field General. Superstar abilities are tied to the Archetype you pick. Levelling up your archetypes unlocks different abilities.
It’s time for you to take your place as the face of the franchise.
OTHER MADDEN FRANCHISE IMPROVEMENTS
While we heard fan feedback for a superstar experience, we also dove deep into the forums and reddit and worked with Gamechangers to round out Franchise mode in other ways, too. With that, here are a few more things to get you ready to break the huddle.
Pro Bowl Returns to Madden NFL 20
The first thing you’ll see while Madden NFL 20 sets up is the Pro Bowl. You can play the pro bowl while the game installs, and you will also have the opportunity to qualify for the Pro Bowl during your Franchise seasons. It’s another opportunity to gain valuable experience and add to your Legacy.
Ratings Spread
We’ve adjusted the range of ratings that you’ll see on players. What does this mean? As examples:
The ratings difference between a 90 OVR player and an 89 OVR player is now larger
Each skill point you spend will be more impactful, and you can earn more skill points over the course of a career
In some cases, you will now see a starter with an OVR in the mid-50s.
New Scenarios
We’ve added an all-new in-game system that generates personalized playable scenarios featuring interactions with characters via a variety of ways including branching dialogue, dynamic events that reflect your performance and choices, challenges that build the story of your unique NFL career (from the moment you sign your rookie contract to you Hall of Fame induction), and more.
Development Traits
We’ve made large updates to our Development Trait system to support Superstar and Zone abilities. The Development Traits in Madden 20 are: Normal, Star, Superstar, and Superstar X-Factor. Both Superstar and X-Factors players can earn Superstar Abilities, but only X-Factors can earn Zone Abilities. We’ve also addressed one of the communities’ biggest complaints: players dropping down in Development Trait. In Madden 20, players can no longer go down in Development Trait at the end of a season.
Coach Mode
Coach mode is also getting scenarios. And the changes to Development Traits have a big impact on Coach mode. Coaches will want to build up their teams with Superstars and X-Factor Superstars via Trades, free agency, and the draft. We’ve also added an overhauled lineup UI to make Franchise mode even smoother.
Contract Updates
We’ve taken a meticulous pass on existing player contracts to ensure they match the NFL. This will not only be more authentic, but it will also make managing your roster’s cap space more realistic.
Progression Updates
We’ve overhauled our progression tuning, including making changes to XP gains from weekly training, actions on the field, and goal completion. These changes should ultimately lead to users being able to increase the OVR of more players on their team meaning they have more option in how to develop their roster.
Draft Updates
We’ve taken a full pass on our Rookie Generators. People familiar with draft classes from the past few years are in for some new surprises, from names, to bodies, to ratings, and more.
One more draft surprise is that rookies with a Superstar Development or higher trait will have their development trait hidden until they’ve played through at least half of a season. These players have their abilities hidden until you reveal their Development Trait. This means that if you draft either a Superstar or an X-Factor Superstar you won’t know exactly what you’ve drafted until later in a season – use your preseason wisely.
Gameplay Effects Updated
We’ve implemented a ton of changes, like Throw Power overhauls to change QB trajectories. But that’s just one example! Tune in to our gameplay stream on 5/23 for more of the inside scoop on additions and changes you’ll find in Madden NFL 20.
Originally Posted by Easy 6:
Finally sprang for this today, cant wait to binge tomorrow
Anyone have any top 3 tips for a quick start?
what are you doing, franchise? Find some sliders that fit your skill level if you want the game to seem semi realistic. All Madden is too frustrating for me, they just cheat you but I tweaked the sliders on all-pro and I get semi-realistic games and I even lose some games, which is cool because I want it to be somewhat realistic.
I'm actually having fun with the solo franchise, I'm in year 3 of mine and the first draft I uploaded some draft roster that had all of the college players that will be in next years draft. The only thing about that is that most of the players are all first round pick quality, so I ended up getting ridiculous players even in the 4th round. Walker Little (LT), Jaylon Johnson (CB), Jacob Phillips (MLB) are college players that I got in that draft and they are pretty damn good. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Easy 6:
Finally sprang for this today, cant wait to binge tomorrow
Anyone have any top 3 tips for a quick start?
I-Form Close - HB Stretch is a great running play. Pretty much any of the "inside draw" plays out of shotgun are pretty good. I forget the exact formation but the 3 WR set where the slot is on the left - one of those - has a really good jet sweep. There's probably multiple formations with good ones. Sub Tyreek into the slot and run like the wind.
You can go to customize playbooks and make your own. Try plays out in practice mode and build your book around the things you like.
Drag routes are great across the board. With the weapons the Chiefs have, and I assume you'll be using the Chiefs, they're unfair. Actually the Chiefs offense period is unfair. Pretty insane. Here I've been playing Madden for 25 years with only shit QBs until I acquired a new one. Now we have the cream of the crop. [Reply]
Also when you get down to the opponents 1 or 2 yard line the goal line play QB Waggle is money. Block your RB and FB and Kelce is open 95% of the time. Just have to make sure you get the pass off before you get sacked. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bump:
what are you doing, franchise? Find some sliders that fit your skill level if you want the game to seem semi realistic. All Madden is too frustrating for me, they just cheat you but I tweaked the sliders on all-pro and I get semi-realistic games and I even lose some games, which is cool because I want it to be somewhat realistic.
I'm actually having fun with the solo franchise, I'm in year 3 of mine and the first draft I uploaded some draft roster that had all of the college players that will be in next years draft. The only thing about that is that most of the players are all first round pick quality, so I ended up getting ridiculous players even in the 4th round. Walker Little (LT), Jaylon Johnson (CB), Jacob Phillips (MLB) are college players that I got in that draft and they are pretty damn good.
Originally Posted by lcarus:
I-Form Close - HB Stretch is a great running play. Pretty much any of the "inside draw" plays out of shotgun are pretty good. I forget the exact formation but the 3 WR set where the slot is on the left - one of those - has a really good jet sweep. There's probably multiple formations with good ones. Sub Tyreek into the slot and run like the wind.
You can go to customize playbooks and make your own. Try plays out in practice mode and build your book around the things you like.
Drag routes are great across the board. With the weapons the Chiefs have, and I assume you'll be using the Chiefs, they're unfair. Actually the Chiefs offense period is unfair. Pretty insane. Here I've been playing Madden for 25 years with only shit QBs until I acquired a new one. Now we have the cream of the crop.
Just played 5 games and wow, this is absolutely the best Madden yet
Havent even played in 2-3 years and even then was just renting them for a few days at a time... but man is this new version user friendly, intuitive and smooth with the gameplay, everything looks sooo good and natural
Most of the pre snap adustments from the old days are still there, so it was easy to get back into the groove... the running is so realistic, same with the passing... everything just looks sooo smooth, right down to the player celebrations and announcers that dont constantly repeat themselves
Loving it, feels like being a kid again... rookie mode is already waaay too easy
But a few serious gripes remain... do you actually have to sign in with EA sports online to access functions like in game depth chart management, or say swap out Hyde for McCoy before games?
Every time I wanted to substitute, it gives me the "roster moves unavailable during a play" or whatever... it used to be you could swap players around before a game even in exhibition mode, like ditching Hyde and bringing in McCoy, or releasing Tremon Smith as kick returner etc
I was always a stickler for making the roster right before a game, and being able to situationally substitute players during the game... if theres a way to do those things without signing up with EA online I'd love to hear about it [Reply]
Not sure if anyone will see this or can help me, but I rented Madden 20 a couple days ago to mess around in Franchise with the Chiefs.
My goal was to see what options we have with salary cap etc. The problem is, it seems very difficult to navigate. I also don't know a ton about the cap and was hoping it would be more intuitive.
By default, I don't have enough cap space to sign Chris Jones. If I cut Watkins and others, I can but that leaves no room for anyone else. And Fuller demands a huge contract, is that gonna happen for real? And then I don't know how much to save for my draft picks or even how to sign my draft picks.
Can somebody help me with this? I just want to know what type of semi realistic options I can create for the off season. [Reply]
Madden is pretty limited as far as contracts and money management are concerned. I don't believe there's any way to backload or frontload deals to make room.
But it's kind of realistic in the sense that you'll need to make some tough decisions at key positions. You can't sign Mahomes, Chris Jones, and Kendall Fuller to long-term deals while also keeping Watkins.
It's been a while since I've played franchise mode but I pretty much unload Watkins as soon as possible. Then I target OL for retooling. Fisher and LDT are both like 76-80 OVR but taking up massive amounts of cap space. You can find rookies just below that OVR range making a fraction of what they do and contribute just as well. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Hammock Parties:
just do trial and error
more fun to make mistakes that way and deal with the consequences :-)
Yeah. That is what I've been doing. It's fun, I was just hoping to get a better feel of what we can actually do this off-season. Cap magic will need to be worked lol.
Also, Frank Clark's rating is that low. An 83? Should be closer to a 90. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ThaVirus:
Madden is pretty limited as far as contracts and money management are concerned. I don't believe there's any way to backload or frontload deals to make room.
But it's kind of realistic in the sense that you'll need to make some tough decisions at key positions. You can't sign Mahomes, Chris Jones, and Kendall Fuller to long-term deals while also keeping Watkins.
It's been a while since I've played franchise mode but I pretty much unload Watkins as soon as possible. Then I target OL for retooling. Fisher and LDT are both like 76-80 OVR but taking up massive amounts of cap space. You can find rookies just below that OVR range making a fraction of what they do and contribute just as well.
Okay thank you. And funny you mentioned the O Line. One of the big things I've been trying to do is find a way to beef that up while keeping it realistic. I'm trying to see what options we have in real life with it.
Or I can cut some people and trade picks for Jason Kelce :-) [Reply]
