After back-to-back award-winning smash-hit football games including Dream League Soccer, Score! Hero and Score! Match, First Touch Games is back with Ultimate Draft Soccer, a brand new soccer title. The game encourages players to assemble a team of FIFPRO players, play simple-to-play, high-action seasonal football games, and compete in a real-time multiplayer action setting. In this Ultimate Draft Soccer Beginner’s guide, we are going to do a walkthrough on the various in-game resources on offer and share some useful tips and tricks for the newbies as they look to set out on their footballing journey with Ultimate Draft Soccer.
Decoding the Matchmaking
Games in Ultimate Draft Soccer involve quick little 90-second outings where you are paired up for multiplayer games against users online, based on your rank. After drafting an 11-man side, players must simply tap on the Play Match button in the main menu to start searching for a game.
At the end of 90 seconds, if the teams are un-separated, the fate of the match is decided by a penalty shootout. Some of the other salient features that make the matchmaking system unique in Ultimate Draft Soccer include:
Users will typically be paired with other players of the same ranking
If you are new to this game, fret not, because the game’s matchmaking algorithm is designed in a way, wherein inexperienced players(having an experience of less than 20 games), will not be matched with experienced players. However, Team Rating, Win Rate or Streak, any kind of ELO/Ranking/XP score, and anything pertaining to player expenditures are not taken into account during matchmaking. Only the player experience in terms of the number of matches played in addition to a player’s prior matches is taken into account so as to avoid repetitive matches.
Users get to secure their first kick-off
At the beginning of each game, players will get an option to bid using gems/Bux. The higher the bid, the higher their chances of securing the first kick-off. This would ensure that players get a head-on advantage as they go into the game.
Players carry contracts on a match-basis
When you get hold of a new Player Card, it comes with a 50-match contract by default. With each match that it features in your XI, the contract count drops by one for that player’s card. To renew/increase the contract tenure of their player card, players can either use Bux or keep Contact Freezes active which ensures that the match count doesn’t drop for the player after that match.
Mastering the gameplay controls
Now that we know about the unique features that are in store for us, let us now aim at grasping the in-game controls. Ultimate Draft Soccer comes with a simple touch and swipe controls that make it a pretty convenient and easy experience for even the newbies.
Being a soccer title, it expects a lot of aspects from users. When in possession, players are expected to pass the ball to their team member and move the ball ahead in the pitch, they are expected to make some crazy runs and dribbles, and finally, shoot the ball when in a shooting range. When not in possession, players are expected to make smart tackles in a quest to try and steal the ball from the opposition. Let us know about these controls in detail.
Take the ball, pass the ball
Passing is an important aspect of soccer that teams resort to, so as to keep the possession of the ball with them and move the ball up the pitch. To pass a ball to your team member in Ultimate Draft Soccer, players must simply draw a line to the team member they want to pass the ball to. However, make sure that the line is a proper one and ends exactly with your team member, or else, it would otherwise result in a miss-pass.
Dribble and make runs with your team member
Now that you have passed the ball to your team member, you must make him dribble and make runs on the pitch. To dribble forward, players must simply tap on any of the front regions. However, make sure to tap into a vacant region else, you will lose possession. In addition to that, you can drag your player to make him sprint past the opponent on the pitch.
Tackle your opponents out of the game
When not in possession, players must look to regain possession by trying to steal the ball from the opponent. In Ultimate Draft Soccer, you can mostly make sliding tackles only. To perform a sliding tackle, choose the player that is nearest to the opposition player who is currently holding the ball. Next up, look to pressure an opponent, by tapping on that player once. Then, tap that player again to try to make a slide tackle and reclaim control.
Score the important goal to take the lead
When you are in a scoring range, you must look to score a goal and take the lead. To shoot, one must simply draw a line in the direction of the goal to fire the ball there to score. You can either opt to go for the left, right, or central region of the net by swiping in that direction.
Understanding the in-game Resources
Talking about resources, the game provides Bux and Gems as the basic in-game currencies and Contract Freeze as a secondary currency. These resources can be earned by simply playing matches, unlocking reward packs(Rare, Epic, and Legendary), and as Season Pass and Level-up rewards. Let us now understand what they bring to our table, in this segment next:
| In-game Currency | Utility |
|---|---|
| Gems | Unlocking various Packages containing Player Pods, Player Cards, Bux, and Contract Freeze from the Game’s Store section. |
| Bux | -> Renewing Contracts -> Leveling up Players in your squad -> Selling a player that no longer features in your XI -> Used to Bid at the start of games to get the kick-off advantage |
| Contract Freeze | Elite in-game Currency, is used to freeze the drop-in match count of your squad member for that game. |
Ultimate Draft Soccer Beginners Guide: Tips and Tricks
Here are some additional tips and tricks that a newbie must know before starting their soccer journey with Ultimate Draft Soccer.
1. Log in each day so as not to miss out on the free package
Every day when you log in, your first objective should be to check the game’s Shop section. Each day, a free package is rolled out for users to obtain exclusive rewards in the form of Player Cards and, a certain amount of Bux and Gems as a free gift. Even though it is very tough to get a player with an OVR above 70 from these packs, they can come in really handy for a newbie whose goal is to field a decent XI on the pitch, first. Additionally, Bux and Gems are resources that players would love to take home anytime. So, make sure you log in each day and do not miss out on these freebies.
2. Do not forget to check the milestones section
When you are on the game’s home screen, you will discover a three-line bar on the upper left corner of the screen. Tap on that to make an additional list of menus pop up in the top-left corner. If you navigate to Milestones from this list, you will discover that the game rewards you with in-game resources like Gmes, Bux, and Experience Points upon completing certain objectives that are set there.
To be honest, these objectives are pretty simple and easy to complete. Basic targets like scoring a fixed number of Goals, keeping a fixed number of clean sheets, winning a fixed number of games, and recruiting players are set. So, make sure you keep a tab on this section frequently to check your progress so that you can plan accordingly and get your free rewards from this section.
3. Play as many games in each Season to unlock Season Pass Rewards
In Ultimate Draft Soccer, three new seasons are rolled out every month, with each season lasting approximately 10 days. During an ongoing season, Season Points can be accumulated by just playing matches. Mathematically speaking, players receive:
- 100 SP for each win
- 25 SP for each game that they finish with a Clean Sheet
- 10 SP for each shot that they take in the game.
As they go on accumulating Season Points, new tiers get unlocked at certain junctures. Like for instance, the first tier gets unlocked after accumulating some 250 SP points. With each tier that you clear, you will be rewarded with in-game resources in the form of Player Pods, Player Cards, Bux, and Contract Freeze. Unlike Milestones, the Season Points that you earn in a given season, are reset at the end of the season. So, make sure you are utilizing each season to the fullest by playing as many games so as to unlock some of the Elite Player Cards available for redeeming during that season.
4. Secure the first kick-off by going for the pre-match bid
Just as we stated earlier, you will be asked to bid a certain number of gems at the start of each match. The higher the number of Gems/Bux placed as a bid, the higher your chances of securing the first kick-off. Even though you can always opt to not bid, we would suggest you go for the highest bid as a newbie.
It would cost you a very small amount of Bux/Gems that you can easily recover from the match rewards. and provide you with an advantage as you head into the game with possession.
5. Consider fielding an XI, in Harmony with the ongoing season
Ultimate Draft Soccer comes with a new and exciting concept of Player Harmony that makes it stand out from the next. If specific requirements in your Starting 11 are satisfied, boosted stats are applied based on harmony requirements. The Harmony is predicated on a set number of players belonging to the same nationality. Say for instance, in the USA season, you may be provided with a requirement to try and field players from say the Italian and USA nationality.
The player cards on the Squad screen will start to pulse once you fulfill these requirements. Even though it is tough to fulfill these requirements as a newbie, when you have a good enough line-up of players try to keep at least one player in your pot from every nationality. This would ensure that you can reap the fruits of this feature in the long run.
6. Closely watch the clock timer when you hold the ball possession
When holding possession of the ball, you always have to decide on your next move, be it passing to another player, dribbling with the player who is holding the ball, or even going for the shot if you gain possession in a shooting range. You will see a timer running on your screen, while in possession. Make sure to be quick with your next move and go for it before the timer exhausts. If you somehow fail to decide on your next move before the timer ends, you will end up losing the ball to your opposition.
7. Level up your player cards whenever possible
Unlike most other soccer titles, you just cannot simply level up your player cards if you possess the in-game monetary resources. Players can be leveled up by collecting a fixed number of player cards obtained from winning matches during a season.
Each time your preferred player card is eligible for an upgrade, you will see an exclamation mark on your desired player on the squad screen. Tap “UPGRADE” on the player you want to upgrade. Make sure you have enough Bux or Gem currency because every upgrade requires it in order to be completed.
8. Keep enough resources stacked up for renewing the contracts of your squad members
Just as we have already discussed in this article, your player card comes with a 50-match contract when you initially get hold of him. With each passing match, the contract count of your player card drops by one. Players can either use Bux or keep Contact Freezes active, which prevents their match count from dropping after a match, to extend or lengthen the contract tenure of their player cards.
However, Contract Freezes are an elite resource, so make sure you are stacking up good enough Season Points as you can earn these Contract Freezes in the form of rewards as you progress through the tiers.
Final Thoughts
Though not as varied as Dream League Soccer when it comes to features, Ultimate Draft Soccer undoubtedly is a good choice for soccer fans who wish to experience playing with real-life players and try out their strategic tactics with the starting XI. They will get to build their own dream, XI of players, and travel to different parts of the globe with each season, and as players earn experience points and level up they can even unlock new crests, kits, and own mascots that take realism to a whole new level. After all, the developers at First Touch Games aren’t the ones who’d let you down, would they?
That’s all for today’s Ultimate Draft Soccer beginners guide. Did you find our Ultimate Draft Soccer beginners guide helpful? Do let us know in the comments below!
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