Hello, Madden NFL Mobile Fans!
First and foremost, thank you all for playing Madden NFL 22 Mobile! We feel the excitement from you each year and we know how passionate you are about the game.
In this edition of Gridiron Notes, we are going to discuss Competitive modes and Leagues in Madden NFL 23 Mobile. On 8/3/22, Game Designers Jeff and Bey joined the Madden Mobile Segment and discussed how users can play competitively and in leagues throughout the season!
The conversation began with Jeff and Bey taking a wholistic perspective of competitive, discussing the current landscape in Madden NFL 22 Mobile, and what will be returning and changing in Madden NFL 23 Mobile. Jeff then dove into each Arena mode in depth.
Daily and Unlimited Arena began in Madden NFL 22 Mobile and will be the launch point for Madden NFL 23 Mobile. Both modes have been tweaked and adjusted to offer a more competitive environment with better rewards and more productive engagement.
Daily Arena
Daily Arena in Madden NFL 22 Mobile was a good starting point, but Jeff and team really worked out some of the kinks for Madden NFL 23 Mobile. Users are still going to be playing representations of their team but the OVRs are more appropriate per tier. This should provide much better matchmaking and an overall better feel and experience with the mode. To that end, as users beat or fall to those teams, the ranking up and ranking down is much more representative than before with much more useful rewards. Weights, Weights, and more Weights will be available for you and of the utmost importance to keep your team at the tip of the OVR spear. You can also trade in weights for more players to help fill out your roster!
Unlimited Arena
Jeff then started the discussion on Unlimited Arena by unveiling some new tech to be used for better matchmaking: Team and Player OVR restrictions. Now, unlike in Madden NFL 22 Mobile, user’s teams can be restricted by both team wide OVR, AND the individual players OVR. This allows Jeff and the dev team to offer a robust series of tiers that have much more manageable restrictions. To that end, Unlimited Arena will be launching with 3 Tiers: 2700 Team Max (115 Individual), 3500 Team Max (150 Individual) and 4250 Team Max (No Individual). These 3 tiers will have 50 total milestones of rewards for users to earn as they play. These rewards are flat across the tiers, that means no matter which one you’re playing in, you will be earning progress towards those 50 milestones. The rewards include Weights, Weights, and more Weights. These rewards will also mostly be earned the frontside, but those who want to engage heavily in the mode, will be able to earn the remaining weights offered. The 50 Milestones reset each week, so users who want to grind and earn all possible rewards, can do so week in and week out.
Once Jeff completed the Arena discussion, Bey jumped right in to discuss Leagues and League Vs. League. These two modes received the biggest updates they have ever seen since the launch of Madden NFL Mobile. Visually, they are almost entirely refreshed, offering a beautiful new layout and design. These updates also include more information and utility than ever before!
Leagues
Bey led off league changes by announcing that there is now a 20-member limit. Previously 32, the dev team cut the total members by 12. Bey explained this was to encourage more participation in more leagues by more people. Rewards throughout the game are going to require league participation more than ever before, so getting more users involved was a huge motivation in this change. This design decision immediately promoted questions around how leagues will rollover and transfer into Madden NFL 23 Mobile. Bey explained that your entire league, no matter the size, will transfer over. So, if a user is currently in a league of 32 in Madden NFL 22 Mobile, those same 32 people will be in that league in Madden NFL 23 Mobile on launch. However, users will not be able to add any new members until they are below 20 and there are also some negative League vs. League implications Bey discusses when we talk LVL.
Some other updates to leagues include the League Store returning and replacing the Championship Store from Madden NFL 22 Mobile. A unique feature of this new league store is a user’s league placement/results in LVL will directly determine what offers and rewards they will see in the store. Another returning feature is Weekly League Achievements! These will offer users more opportunities at Weights to increase their OVR via the Weight Room. Finally, League Tier will be visible in the League Hub. What is League Tier? Bey kindly takes us through League vs. League where we can find out!
League Vs. League
The first and most prominent update to LVL is the structure of the mode itself, specifically around League Tier and the Leaderboard. Leagues now will be promoted/demoted into various League Tiers and earn rewards based on their performance against other leagues over 7 days. You read that correctly, in Madden NFL 23 Mobile, each LVL season is 7 days. How many TOTAL POINTS a user and their league racks up over those seven days, in those seven matches, will determine which tier they end up in the leaderboard. Wins still matter, as they will offer additional weights, so getting the W as well as scoring the most possible points is the optimal choice. Rewards include Weights, Weights, and more Weights. The number of weights will differ based on which tier a league finishes in on the Leaderboard. Wins currently do not fluctuate based on tier, but Bey said some change(s) to make wins more rewarding should occur shortly after launch.
Some more LVL changes Bey discussed also included new roster/spin configurations. Universal Spin is now at 16 AND ONLY at 16. Leagues REALLY REALLY want to be at 16 to spin. If a league doesn’t have 16, their opponents will play their drives against generated defenses that are DESIGNED to be average based on which tier a user’s league is in. They also DO NOT play offense, so a league is losing 3 drives of scoring potential for every member under 16 it is. This one is important: A member of a league is REQUIRED to play AT LEAST 12 drivers, PER WEEK, to be eligible for rewards. As mentioned in the above section, this is the negative implication of users who transfer in leagues above 20. It is virtually impossible for every single user in a league with over 20 members to get 12 drives in. This will mean users are not getting rewards, not completing daily goals, and most importantly, not receiving all possible Field Pass points (but we will get into that next week).
Last but not least, Jeff surprised users with a special playbook reveal, discussing the major changes to the general playbook in Madden NFL 23 Mobile. He also discussed some changes to playstyles and what users can expect in terms of updates throughout the year.
Playbooks
The first item on the playbook’s agenda Jeff touched on was the general playbook. Overall, he took out some plays to make it more streamlined and easier to use. Using data and player insights, Jeff removed the statistically bad plays like HB Counter and also some of the more..lucrative plays..like TE Out. Jeff also touched on the new playstyle adjustments. The plays are now more balanced and include more higher quality plays overall. As an example, Jeff mentioned Spread did not have the greatest plays last year, specifically PA Bubble, which boasted net negative average yardage per play. Jeff also added some classic plays from years past and some plays that historically have been popular. Jeff also took a TON of feedback from Game Changers, who were allowed to submit wholesale changes to playstyle plays and even the general playbook. What is going in at launch is the first iteration and what Jeff and team decided made sense to start with. They will keep an ear to the ground and make any changes if needed. To that end, Jeff wouldn’t commit to a timeframe but will be looking to adjust the playbook multiple times over the course of the year. Some changes are planned, some changes will be made based on user feedback if needed!
Want more discussion on Competitive and Leagues? Tune into Sponsored Madden NFL Mobile & EA Creators karltonmm & 3rdandRun on Thursday, 8/4, at 8:00 PM ET on Twitch! Click HERE to be taken to karlton’s channel. They will be discussing the details gone over on the Madden Mobile Segment as well as introducing their own thoughts and opinions on what Competitive and Leagues will look and feel like in Madden NFL 23 Mobile.
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