Learning Resources: Where did you learn to improve your game?

For those that are self-learners, tips are always appreciated. For others that have looked towards external sources that don't rely on glitches / cheese but rather:

• focus on understanding and creating offensive / defensive schemes & gameplans
• tips / practical learning on switch sticking / effectively moving your user around. This one is tough I think because there's lots of advice on what to do, but not a lot of sources on how to move fluidly and for lack of a better term when to press what (I know this sounds dumb but if I had a dollar for every time the ball sails just over my user while I spam Y in hopes my user will blunder his way into that goofy animation that looks more like he's having a seizure rather than trying to pick off the ball

I've found ZanMadden to be a great source for understanding how the game works. Can be found on YouTube - some of his content is titled cringe but I've found he focuses on fundamentals and HOW to beat the glitches / cheese instead of encouraging it. That said, his focus isn't on stick skills and practical gameplay, just concepts. 

Would love to hear the community's thoughts.

EDIT: Also--- how the fook do you adjust settings to get your user to show his assignment while in the middle of a play. When forced to watch Twitch streams I notice that while controlling a user the player can see his assignment while the actual play is occurring... Not referring to the "control player art" adjustment in settings as that is only pre-play

Oh boy, here we go.  Me personally... I feel learning the glitches is cheating. That being said, I like to learn adjustments to improve my game, mostly coaches adjustments. I really can't do a bunch in game.  D is so bad this year, that is where I struggle the most.

Buccs4047 said:

Oh boy, here we go.  Me personally... I feel learning the glitches is cheating. That being said, I like to learn adjustments to improve my game, mostly coaches adjustments. I really can't do a bunch in game.  D is so bad this year, that is where I struggle the most.

I am pretty neutral on others using glitches / cheese given there's nothing we can do about it. But that said, yes I am 100% with you on learning adjustments / concepts to improve my game

Offensively I score 90% of the time. Defensively I get scored on 90% of the time lol. It is so frustrating

Mrosale2 said:

I am pretty neutral on others using glitches / cheese given there's nothing we can do about it. But that said, yes I am 100% with you on learning adjustments / concepts to improve my game

Offensively I score 90% of the time. Defensively I get scored on 90% of the time lol. It is so frustrating

LOL, same here.  And to clarify, A glitch is dumbing out the Ai...   cheese is cheese, you're correct.  So I don't really have a "big"  problem with that.. It's glitching the Ai that is cheating.

Currently, I'm using Civil.gg

Great group of people providing meta and off meta stuff (there are some cheesey schemes but it is your choice to run them or not), consistent weekly content with their META Busters, and a wide variety of schemes. Covers both Madden and CFB

I have also used MayzIsland 

They have some pros in there like Dottimus and Astro providing a bunch of meta ebooks but there is some off meta stuff as well. I just found that new content wasnt being added often, but for the price it was great. Both Madden and CFB

ZAN , AntCap and Phicam have consistently over the past 5 years have taught the game of Madden better than anyone else.. Best at explaining promos is Pop and this site.. My every man favorite is GuttFox

21bird314 said:

ZAN , AntCap and Phicam have consistently over the past 5 years have taught the game of Madden better than anyone else.. Best at explaining promos is Pop and this site.. My every man favorite is GuttFox

i wonder why GuttFox is ur fav, hmmmmmmmmmm

Please post links and resources! Always looking to improve!

RavensFlockLetsFly said:

i wonder why GuttFox is ur fav, hmmmmmmmmmm

😂 it has nothing to do with him being a Steelers fan. It’s actually because he seemed to be the one with a voice in the community that would actually speak out against EA’s greed when it comes to MUT while also giving praise where he see’s improvement in the mode. He has consistently done this without cease even tho it may have hurt his channel’s growth. Gotta respect a man that sticks to his values

Mrosale2 said:

For those that are self-learners, tips are always appreciated. For others that have looked towards external sources that don't rely on glitches / cheese but rather:

• focus on understanding and creating offensive / defensive schemes & gameplans
• tips / practical learning on switch sticking / effectively moving your user around. This one is tough I think because there's lots of advice on what to do, but not a lot of sources on how to move fluidly and for lack of a better term when to press what (I know this sounds dumb but if I had a dollar for every time the ball sails just over my user while I spam Y in hopes my user will blunder his way into that goofy animation that looks more like he's having a seizure rather than trying to pick off the ball

I've found ZanMadden to be a great source for understanding how the game works. Can be found on YouTube - some of his content is titled cringe but I've found he focuses on fundamentals and HOW to beat the glitches / cheese instead of encouraging it. That said, his focus isn't on stick skills and practical gameplay, just concepts. 

Would love to hear the community's thoughts.

EDIT: Also--- how the fook do you adjust settings to get your user to show his assignment while in the middle of a play. When forced to watch Twitch streams I notice that while controlling a user the player can see his assignment while the actual play is occurring... Not referring to the "control player art" adjustment in settings as that is only pre-play

There's a lot to unpack here.  Defense is extremely difficult this year, the game has devolved into basically a CFB clone, which tends to cater towards both the casuals and the hard-core, Comp scene.  I don't know how anyone regards this game as a fun, fair, balanced, let alone competitive online H2H video game -- it's unfortunately in a horrendous overall state.  Even if you can cobble together the best scheme in the world and know how to get through your read progressions, you'll still inevitably end up having to overcome the madden / ea gods, which perpetually crap on all of us.

During the MCS LCQ event a couple/few weeks back, you can hear all the announcers and fans going crazy as some dude speed boost glitches his way to an improbable, come from behind victory, by returning a walk-off punt for a touchdown with Deion Sanders.  I don't really know what my point is here, but probably makes sense to invest 10-15+ minutes in practice mode (Offense Only) to figure out the speed boost nonsense, otherwise you won't stand a chance in hell of competing.

Madden is not real football.  You're not trying to apply an NFL scheme to this video game, the best players in the world are able to put together route combinations that will effectively dumb out defenders, while generating some type of pressure, be that through overload or loop blitzes, etc.  I find that less is more on defense.  Start simple, call a lot of Cover 4 Drop, shaded down to apply Hard Flats (often manually set at ~10 yard depth, then adjusting to whatever your opponent dictates).  You'd be amazed how many games you can win by simply taking away your opponent's tendencies, eliminate that primary read and hope for the best.  A lot of Madden players, especially newer/novice ones will predetermine their reads.  Heck, you'll face opponents who literally call the same play(s) over and over and over.  Don't be shy about Pass Committing.  It'll get you gashed in the run game, but it's a passing league after all.  I probably pass commit on 80+% of plays.  Sometimes more.

In terms of getting better with your USER, it's a matter of getting sufficient reps.  Make sure you have a tall, fast (LB or Safety), with high Change of Direction (COD).  If you don't have at least 90+ COD, your player will potentially lumber around the field.  Player model and specific stride type matter a LOT this year.  Don't go pay for some e-book, you can find all the information you need, for free, on YouTube, or Twitch or where ever.  Watch channels that review the latest high level Comp games, which typically means MCS, but there's plenty of quality players showing concepts which you can apply to your own world.  Start small / slow... find a handful of plays that can cook both man and zone, don't stress too terribly much about reading defenses, just focus on calling good plays.

Probably makes sense to start with your playbooks, what do you prefer?  How do YOU liek to play the game?  Hope some of this rambling is relevant or useful for your purposes.  ZAN is great, if you can suffer through his cringe, sometimes abrasive attitude.  I cannot stand that guy, but respect the quality of his videos.  Good luck and welcome.

21bird314 said:

😂 it has nothing to do with him being a Steelers fan. It’s actually because he seemed to be the one with a voice in the community that would actually speak out against EA’s greed when it comes to MUT while also giving praise where he see’s improvement in the mode. He has consistently done this without cease even tho it may have hurt his channel’s growth. Gotta respect a man that sticks to his values

haha, jk. i like him too and i agree with all of your points

Zan. 

He’s the guy, as I got older and have less time to learn myself

He explains why, and not just do this.

Knowledge is one of the skill gaps of madden

Offensively, schemes are in depth but simple to understand as each layer provides complexity for the opponent

Defensively, he’s the match guy. He provides all the rules. He tells you your responsibility based off the meta

My only complaint, is his freestyle segments. I wish he slow it down and explain what the keys are a bit clear. Like what he’s looking for with those adjustments or how he sets up the opponent.

As a content creator and person he supports my learning style

Buccs4047 said:

Oh boy, here we go.  Me personally... I feel learning the glitches is cheating. That being said, I like to learn adjustments to improve my game, mostly coaches adjustments. I really can't do a bunch in game.  D is so bad this year, that is where I struggle the most.

It’s still important to know what glitches you may be up against so you can combat them.

GGerz said:

Zan. 

He’s the guy, as I got older and have less time to learn myself

He explains why, and not just do this.

Knowledge is one of the skill gaps of madden

Offensively, schemes are in depth but simple to understand as each layer provides complexity for the opponent

Defensively, he’s the match guy. He provides all the rules. He tells you your responsibility based off the meta

My only complaint, is his freestyle segments. I wish he slow it down and explain what the keys are a bit clear. Like what he’s looking for with those adjustments or how he sets up the opponent.

As a content creator and person he supports my learning style

Ya I tried his gameplan one year and he just gave too many options. For example vs bunch he’d just say something like “you can do this, or this, or this or that” while some other players give you more of a “if they do this, counter with this” 

He’s obviously super knowledgeable, it just didn’t work for me.