EA SPORTS have changed the way passes and crosses work in FIFA 22, meaning there are new ways to incorporate them into build-up and chance creation. Let’s take a look at everything we know so far.
FIFA 22 has a whole bunch of new gameplay changes that players can look forward to. In addition to what we saw in the official gameplay trailer, EA SPORTS dropped some extra details on how passes and crosses have been improved in the latest iteration of the game.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at what those changes are, before diving into some basic controls (which haven’t changed much from previous titles) so that you can take full advantage of them and become a maestro on the pitch.
FIFA 22 passing changes and improvements
EA SPORTS have made Ground Passes, Lob Passes, and Lobbed Through Passes more adaptable in FIFA 22.
- Read More: Ultimate FIFA 22 attacking guide
They will now better account for what’s happening in the play, including the positioning of teammates and opposition players, spacing, and more.
Here are some of the key improvements:
- Animation Refresh: New passing animations have been added and existing ones have been polished to allow for more consistency.
- Ground Passes: The ground passing targeting system has been revamped to allow for better target selection and spatial awareness.
- Lob Passes and Lobbed Through Pass: These passes will now be more consistent in terms of height, trajectories, leading, and gameplay.
- Semi-Assisted Through Passes: Semi-Assisted Through Passes have more assistance for close and simple passes and less assistance for far and difficult passes. The more difficult and the further the pass, the more precise the player’s aim and power input has to be.
- Pass Transitions: Improved responsiveness to allow for better transitions between different passes. In other words, players can now request different types of passes halfway through a pass request. The system will try to perform the new request instead, which can help when reacting to sudden changes.
- Through Pass Receiver System: This system has been reworked to be better and more consistent with pass targeting and receiver selection.
- Receiver Awareness: Teammates will now better understand when they are in a good position to receive a pass.
- Increased Personality in Passing:
- Through and Lobbed Through Pass quality will depend on a player’s Vision attribute instead of Short/Long Passing attributes.
- Ground and Lob Passes will primarily depend on Short/Long Passing attributes.
- The Crossing attribute will make Driven Crosses and Driven Ground Crosses faster.
- The player’s speed when requesting a pass can now impact the difficulty of completing that pass.
FIFA 22 passing and crossing controls
The passing and crossing controls aren’t too different in FIFA 22. There are 17 different combinations in total.
- Read More: Ultimate FIFA 22 defending guide
They include everything from basic Ground Passes and Crosses to more complex maneuvers like Driven Lobbed Through Passes, Whipped Crosses, and more.
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Here’s a list of them all:
- Ground pass (X/A) — Short pass is a ground pass that sends the ball to a teammate in a short distance.
- Lob Pass/Cross (▢/X) — Lob pass is an aerial pass used to send the ball to a teammate in a high arc. Players can also cross with this method.
- Low Cross (▢ + ▢/X + X) — By double-tapping the lob button, your player will perform a low-range cross when passing the ball into the opponent’s box.
- Through Pass (△/Y) — The through pass is a forward pass that travels into an open space through your rival’s defenders so your attackers can run onto the ball.
- Threaded Through Pass (R1 + △/RB + Y) — A through pass which is more straight and lets the ball bounce so it brings more perspective to your pass.
- Driven Ground Pass (R1 + X/RB + A) — A ground pass that is powered and is faster than a normal pass. This type of pass has better accuracy but is harder to control.
- Lofted Ground Pass (X + X/A + A) — A short ground pass that flies low and close to the ground in order to avoid interceptions by defenders.
- Lofted Through Pass (△ + △/Y + Y) — A through pass which goes over the head of your opponent’s defenders – technically, a combination of through ball and lob pass.
- Driven Lobbed Through Pass (L1 + R1 + △/LB + RB + Y) — A lobbed through pass which is more straight and lets the ball bounce so it brings more perspective.
- Driven Lob Pass/Cross (R1 + ▢/RB + X) — A lob pass with more power and pace than a lob ground pass.
- High Lob (L1 + ▢/LB + X) — A lob pass with more height. Can be useful for crossing to bypass your opponent’s defenders and keeper when you have tall strikers.
- Flair Pass (L2 + X/LT + A) — A fancy and powerful ground pass that is less accurate than Driven Pass, but more powerful.
- Flair Lob (L2 + ▢/LT + X) — A lob pass with even more height than a high lob.
- Whipped Cross (R1 + L1 + ▢/RB + LB + X) — These fast, dangerous crosses travel through the box and are perfect for a teammate to just ‘put their head in the way.’
- Driven Cross (R1 + ▢/RB + X) — Similar to whipped crosses, this cross is fast and dangerous but tends to travel at waist height, being ideal for a volley or shot.
- Ground Driven Cross (R1 + ▢, then ▢/RB + X, then X) — A swift cross that travels on the ground.
- Creative Runs (Flick R3 in desired direction) — Makes a teammate perform a “creative run” in a specific direction off the ball.
How to master FIFA 22 passing & crossing
Of course, knowing the buttons isn’t enough to master passes and crosses in FIFA 22. You’ll need to know when to do combinations, too, which all depends on the situation at hand. Don’t stress, though. We’ve got you covered with some tips.
The ground pass is the most versatile one. But there will be times where some of the other passes can be more effective. For example, a lobbed pass is great when an opponent is blocking the way, a driven ground pass is useful to send the ball hard and fast over a longer distance, and a lofted pass is somewhere in between.
These modifiers can be applied to crosses, too. The whipped cross, inspired by Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, makes it easier for players to get their head on the ball by causing it to dip and slow down right before contact.
- Read More: Best wingers to buy in FIFA 22 Ultimate Team
Last but not least, the creative runs command is a fantastic way to get more control over your teammates off the ball before releasing a pass. You can tell them exactly where to go, and time the pass so it flies into space they’re running into.
And that’s everything you need to know about passing and crossing in FIFA 22.
It might take a bit of experimenting to figure out what works best in any given situation, but it’s worth doing if you want to master the different options available and use them to their fullest potential.
The gameplay changes should make the process much smoother, too. The more polished the game’s mechanics are, the better the experience will be.
