r/Madden

Mostly an online h2h player but trying to get into franchise. So far it feels like a lot of busy work (negotiating contracts etc), which I know you can delegate or automate but I also like the idea of making my own choices and keeping players I want etc

What settings have you found that strike the right balance between being fun and immersive without too much menu clicking and busy work for the sake of it?

Type in Ricks Tech Repair and this genuis will walk you through it I haven’t had a crash mid game or at all for 24 hours already….i promise you won’t regret it.

My friends and I run online simulated franchises to see who can build the best teams and ultimately make it to the Super Bowl.

I like rebuilding the Dolphins, and I’ve completed four-year rebuilds three times. However, the same issue occurs every time.

There appears to be a glitch with the Dolphins where the quarterback rushes the ball 100+ times per season, regardless of the quarterback, playbook, or offensive scheme being used.

For example, in one franchise, I traded for Jordan Love and switched to the Packers playbook. Despite this, Jordan Love rushed for 133 attempts in back-to-back seasons.

In another franchise, I had a friend use the Dolphins and trade for Matthew Stafford specifically to test whether the issue was related to the quarterback. Stafford still rushed the ball 111 times in the season.

In another simulation with me as the Jets the Dolphins drafted a Rookie Quarterback and he rushed 100 times his rookie season  

This issue significantly hurts the Dolphins’ simulated offensive performance and makes the team very difficult to use in franchise rebuilds. The fact that it happens with different quarterbacks, playbooks, and schemes makes it appear to be an issue specific to the Dolphins rather than the individual quarterback or playbook.

Platform: PS5
PSN ID: UBERBALLER
Game Mode: Franchise

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So I'm an old guy. Still love this game but man is it getting harder as I get older. I still like to play on all madden but I don't know how many years I've got left till I have to bring down the difficulty.

At this age, I just dont have the reaction time and quick decion making I used to. I used to be able to scan the whole field in a microsecond, now it takes much longer and I often miss receivers that are open.

During the rush, sometimes you only have a second and a half a to make a decision and if your first look isn't open, it'll lead to a sack. So I've taken the liberty to up the pass blocking slider to help with this but it's never something I've had to do in the past.

Playing games that involve skill and quick decision making have always been some of my favorite. I've basically abandoned pvp shooters because I just can't compete with that 18 year old who can hit me before my old brain has a chance to even register they're there. Getting older as a gamer who loves madden and other skill based games just sucks.

As the title suggests, I want to reiterate that I am an offline player that simply plays franchise mode on PC. The last madden I bought was Madden 25 on PS4 with Adrian Peterson cover, but I have kept up on madden through my favorite content creators such as Bengal, C4, and Jeromepkr. Here is my review after a little over 100 hours of franchise simulation. (Yes I know I have no life but the game has sucked me in)

The rundown -
Once, I loaded up the game and got into franchise I was sucked in. I didn't even notice all of the flaws, I just enjoyed playing the game with the new rookies and with my favorite team. On a surface level the game performs fine until I hit about 50 hours.

Franchise immersion killers -
I started realizing how broken the game got in franchise JUST TWO years into my sim. Contract/cap management is completely broken. Contract cap hits are egregiously high, and by just a couple years into my franchise, nearly every CPU team seems to be dealing with negative or extremely limited cap space. This creates a massive domino effect across the league: teams can't afford to make trades, free agents are harder to sign, and it becomes nearly impossible to replicate realistic blockbuster trades. For example, a trade like the Rams acquiring Myles Garrett would be practically impossible to recreate because the CPU simply doesn't have the financial flexibility to move players. It also contributes to the lack of meaningful CPU-to-CPU trades, making the league feel stagnant. The fact that the salary cap becomes this dysfunctional only two years into a franchise is a massive immersion killer. Lastly, I have seen players signing 7+ year contracts which is just ridiculous.

Trade logic is completely broken. Quarterbacks are way overvalued, teams overvalue veterans even when they're clearly below .500, and teams that should be looking to buy or sell rarely make meaningful moves. You can legitimately trade Tua Tagovailoa for Brian Thomas Jr or a similar WR with his caliber with ease.

Free agency is an utter and complete joke! I've offered complete mega deals to top free agents and they have never signed with me. Every contract negotiation is just adding extra years or adding an insane bonus. None of this is realistic. The UDFA frenzy is a also complete joke - the addition of the UDFA bidding was great but the execution is a complete whiff.

CPU Roster management is horrdendous. There is no logic behind it. I've seen CPU teams keep 4 quarterbacks on their team and 3 cornerbacks. How is that even possible? I've seen CPU teams draft the same position four years in a row and they have 4 80 overalls in the same position. An example, I have is the NY Jets. They have Mason Taylor and just drafted Kenyon Sadiq in real life. Literally in 2 years - they draft TE back to back in the first round making them have 4 TE's on the roster that are all comptenent starters.

Simulation is still completely playbook based which is awful. I've noticed this is always a trend in any madden YouTube rebuild video I have watched over the years. Right now the most broken offensive playbooks look like the Rams and Giants. It almost seems like player overall never matters unless the player is a running back. Also, simulation stats are way over tuned. There are way too many QB's throwing over 4000-4500 yards and running backs running over 1200 yards.

There is still no way to implement a running back by committee that simulates good stats. Also, you want to utilize 2 tightends in simulation? Forget about it - it is useless. I've found to get the best simulation stats regardless of playbook is to have a super high overall RB (90+ overall), any quarterback over 85 overall will get the job done, and at least 2 receivers that can just be 80+ overall. Tightend overall hardly matters. You could throw a 70 overall tightend and the stats will simulate the same depending on playbook.

Player progression is way too linear. I am just not a fan of the player progression flat out. It is so repetitive and boring. You have an 81 overall normal DEV QB that is age 26. He could throw for 4000+ yards and 40 TD's and all he'll get is maybe to an 84 overall if you're lucky. There are no year 3 or later breakouts like there are in real life. (AKA Bakey Mayfield, Seahawks Geno Smith, Sam Darnold, etc.) There needs to be a more in depth way for player progression rather than just age and development trait.

I just don't know how you can release a game and not even test simulation 2 years deep. I was really enjoying the game for the first 50 hours and then after further playing just realizing how broken the game was is infuriating. I'm not even going to touch gameplay because I don't really load into games to play, but I wish there weren't so many immersion killers for me. If you were to ask me what I would rate the game for the first 50 hours - it would've been 4/5 for me. Now after playing a little over 100 hours its like a 2/5. The problem is that Franchise Mode falls apart once you actually spend significant time with it.

Not being notified of some players contracts expiring, real time free agency where you get no chance to bid, and mostly the default offer being far too low. The default offer should be the minimum viable number so every negotiation isn't a 10 minute death march to double their initial value that they don't deserve only to reject you. Not to mention the cap scaling being broken.

Just an awful "what were they thinking" moment, just like wear and tear and the draft scouting system. Maybe it's time to be done with Madden for good. I'm tired.

I, unlike a lot of folks, enjoyed 26 for the most part. Of course it had its flaws but all maddens do. But holy shit I have about 12 hours into 27 so far and this is almost unplayable.

I was genuinely excited for the catch meter but this thing does not work at all like it should.
I thought it would give me the ability to win more one on one battles but it seems to have only gotten worse. It does nothing more than give you the illusion that this is skill dependent. It doesn’t seem to matter where or how I throw the ball, or how many times i put it in the green, they will not catch the fucking football. It is infuriating. I counted 12 drops in a single game. 12. How is it that Justin Jefferson can’t hold onto a ball in his chest and drops it at the slightest bit of contact almost a full second after the ball arrives, but the 3rd string corner can pluck balls out the air like he’s fucking Megatron? Also the pass blocking is absolutely atrocious.

Fix your game EA.

Side note I do like all the presentation and other things they’ve added to franchise mode but it means nothing when the game plays this poorly.