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Playing out of position
Position & managerStill being reviewed
In one sentence
Away from his bright-green positions a player loses 4 to 20 % of most stats, and his playing style mostly stops counting.
Who does this affect?
Every player on the pitch: the stat cut applies to the player you control and to CPU-controlled players alike. The playing-style part matters for what the game decides for him, which is most of the match for every player except the one you are controlling. Found on: Every card. Each card has a Position Proficiency at all 13 positions: high (bright green), intermediate (faded green) or low (uncoloured). A card's own position is always high.
How it works
The game looks at the position of the formation slot each player stands in and at his Position Proficiency there. High (bright green) costs nothing. Intermediate (faded green) cuts 22 of his 26 ability stats by 4, 6 or 8 %. Low (uncoloured) cuts them by 16, 18 or 20 %. Separately, most of the code that uses his playing style only does so when the slot is one of the style's compatible positions. It applies in every normal match; Strike Arena switches it off, and Path to Glory does in some stages.
When it applies
- The level comes from the position of the slot he is deployed in (GK, CB, LB, RB, DMF, CMF, LMF, RMF, AMF, LWF, RWF, SS or CF) and his Position Proficiency at that exact position.
- It is worked out again whenever the position of his slot changes, for example after a formation change or a substitution.
- The match code reads one proficiency level per position. A Position Proficiency learned with a token is simply a higher level at that position; the code has no separate input for it.
- The cut is skipped for the whole match when a match-setting switch is on (see the limit under the rules).
Without it
At a bright-green position (his card position or any other high-proficiency position) every stat stays at its normal value and every playing-style check can pass.
Which stats it reads
Dribbling, Ball Control, Finishing, Low Pass, Lofted Pass, Heading, Tackling, Set Piece Taking, Curl, Speed, Jump lowered out of position
Cut hardest: ×0.92 at faded green (−8 %), ×0.80 at uncoloured (−20 %). An 80 becomes 74 or 64.
Offensive Awareness, Defensive Awareness, Kicking Power, Acceleration, GK Awareness, GK Catching, GK Parrying, GK Reflexes, GK Reach lowered out of position
×0.94 at faded green (−6 %), ×0.82 at uncoloured (−18 %). An 80 becomes 76 or 66.
Physical Contact, Balance, Stamina lowered out of position
Cut least: ×0.96 at faded green (−4 %), ×0.84 at uncoloured (−16 %). An 80 becomes 77 or 68.
Defensive Engagement, Tight Possession, Aggression, Weak Foot Accuracy not affected
Never cut, at any position.
In numbers
Card value → · Value in the match
Chart values
| 60 | 56 | 48 |
| 70 | 65 | 56 |
| 80 | 74 | 64 |
| 90 | 83 | 72 |
| 99 | 92 | 80 |
Common questions
Does playing out of position lower all of his stats?
Short answerPartly
22 of 26 ability stats are cut; Defensive Engagement, Tight Possession, Aggression and Weak Foot Accuracy are never touched.
Are booster points reduced out of position?
Short answerNo
Boosters are added after the position cut and the 40–99 limit, so a +2 booster is always worth +2.
Is faded green as good as bright green?
Short answerNo
Faded green still costs 4–8 % of most stats (an 80 Speed becomes 74).
Does his playing style still work in the wrong position?
Short answerMostly no
About 450 style checks also test that the slot is a compatible position; about 85 do not, so some of the style can survive.
Does a winger style work on the opposite wing?
Short answerYes
The style check puts LWF and RWF in the same position group. His stats still depend on his proficiency at that exact side.
Does the penalty get worse as the match goes on?
Short answerNo
The cut is fixed for the position; tiredness is a separate effect that is multiplied in.
Do condition arrows or skill boosts get cut too?
Short answerNo
Only the card value is scaled; the condition bonus and skill boosts are added on top unchanged.
The maths
StepThree levels: bright green ×1.00; faded green ×0.92 / ×0.94 / ×0.96; uncoloured ×0.80 / ×0.82 / ×0.84, depending on the stat group.
DetailThe cut is worked out from the card's own stat value (without boosters): change = (multiplier − 1) × card value, rounded toward zero, so 80 × 0.92 = 73.6 loses 6, not 7.
DetailIt is multiplied together with the other percentage effects (tiredness and the manager's Team Playstyle Proficiency) before rounding.
LimitAfter all cuts and skill boosts the stat is held between 40 and 99; booster points are then added on top (up to 120) and are never reduced by position.
ConditionPlaying style: about 450 places in the code that use a playing style first check that his slot is one of the style's compatible positions (the in-game 'Compatible Positions' list). The check works on 10 position groups; the left and right versions of a position (LB/RB, LMF/RMF, LWF/RWF) are in the same group.
DetailAbout 85 other places read the attacking or defensive playing style without checking the slot, so part of these styles keeps working in any position: Goal Poacher, Dummy Runner, Fox in the Box, Target Man, Deep-lying Forward, Creative Playmaker, Prolific Winger, Roaming Flank, Cross Specialist, Classic No. 10, Hole Player, Anchor Man, Orchestrator, Build Up, Defensive Full-back, The Destroyer and the GK styles. For Extra Frontman, Attacking Full-back, Full-back Finisher, Box-to-Box and the other defensive styles every reader of the style found in the code also checks the slot, so out of position they are off. What each surviving check does is on that style's card.
DetailThe Destroyer is accepted at LMF and RMF by the code as well, although the in-game list shows only CMF, DMF, CB, LB and RB.
DetailStyle check and stat cut are separate: a player can keep all his stats at a bright-green position that is not one of his style's compatible positions, and then his style is mostly off.
ConditionWhere it applies: in every normal match (online and Division matches, Events against players or the CPU, Campaign/Tour, offline Exhibition, Friend Match and lobby rooms, co-op, Season and competitions) this effect is applied. In Strike Arena matches and Strike Arena practice the game switches it off for the whole match. In Path to Glory it depends on the stage: one of the mode's two setup branches switches it off; which stages use that branch comes from stage data that could not be matched to in-game stage names.
DetailNot used by this style: Defensive Engagement, Tight Possession, Aggression and Weak Foot Accuracy — the position multiplier is fixed at 1.00 for them; Weak Foot Usage, Form and Injury Resistance — not part of this effect; Height, weight and stronger foot — not touched; Booster points — added after the cut and never reduced; Skill-based stat boosts and the condition arrow — added on top, not scaled by position
Booster points per stat
Dribbling, Ball Control, Finishing, Low Pass, Lofted Pass, Heading, Tackling, Set Piece Taking, Curl, Speed, JumpBooster points do not count here.
Offensive Awareness, Defensive Awareness, Kicking Power, Acceleration, GK Awareness, GK Catching, GK Parrying, GK Reflexes, GK ReachBooster points do not count here.
Physical Contact, Balance, StaminaBooster points do not count here.