Special abilities
Special abilities are extra talents that make the difference in decisive situations. They work on top of normal strength – sometimes in one concrete duel, sometimes across a whole team line.
Values & levels
Each ability has a level from −1 to +2. Positive levels are a bonus, negative ones a penalty. In the app you recognise the level by the icon colour:
- +1 light green — solid bonus
- +2 deep green — fully developed (maximum)
- −1 light red — small penalty
Newly generated players are now only born with −1, +1 or +2 – a hard −2 no longer occurs at birth. Older players may still carry −2; training raises it step by step (−2 → −1 → +1 → +2).
How many can a player have?
Every player is born with exactly one special ability. Through special training they can learn more – up to three abilities in total. Once a player has three, only the existing ones can be improved.
The limit was raised from 2 to 3. Three well-chosen abilities make a player far more valuable in his role.
Effect in matches
Most abilities feed into a concrete duel in the match simulation: the ability value is multiplied by 3 and added to the
relevant duel value. So an ability at +2 adds +6 to the decisive value – noticeable, but not a guaranteed win.
Three of the abilities work differently (on a whole line or on freshness) – see below.
Field players
| Ability | Effect |
|---|---|
| Finishing | Finishing: shots, headers and headers after a corner – works in three finishing situations. Very strong for strikers. |
| Flair | Technical one-on-one finish against the goalkeeper. |
| Free kick | Free kicks on goal and directly converted free kicks. |
| Penalty | Converting from the spot (as taker). |
| Crosses | Getting a corner/cross to arrive dangerously at a head. |
| Playmaker | Breaking through midfield via game intelligence (offensive). |
| Dribbling | Breaking through midfield via technique (offensive). |
| Work rate | Pace duels during breakthroughs – offensive and defensive. |
| Defensive specialist | Defence: against playmaker breakthroughs and against corners. |
| Composure | Defence: against dribbling breakthroughs. |
| Vision | Breaking through the defence via game intelligence – works for both sides (offence & defence). |
Goalkeeper
| Ability | Effect |
|---|---|
| Punching | Stopping shots, corner headers and free kicks – works in three defensive situations. Very strong. |
| Catching crosses | Defending headers and danger after corners. |
| Penalty killer | Saving penalties. |
| Acceleration | Rushing out against technical finishes (one-on-one). |
| Punts (new effect!) | Good build-up play: increases the chance that the next scoring chance belongs to your team by +2.5% per level (i.e. +5% at +2). If your team plays "Counter", this counts ×1.5 (up to +7.5%). |
| Throws (new effect!) | Like Punts, slightly weaker: +1.5% per level (up to +3%; with "Counter" up to +4.5%). With both abilities the effect stacks. |
The three "leader" abilities (new)
These three don't act in a single duel but on a whole team line (defence, midfield or attack):
| Ability | Effect |
|---|---|
| Leader | Makes the other players in the same line better: +0.5 line-up strength per level (+1 at level +2). Only affects team-mates without their own Leader ability and does not stack (multiple leaders = still only the highest bonus). A Leader in goal strengthens the defence. Negative values do nothing (no penalty). |
| Iron Lungs | Saves stamina: −12.5% freshness loss per level (up to −25%) in matches, and training of freshness & stamina works +7.5% per level better (up to +15%). Also for goalkeepers. Negative levels reverse the effect. |
| Aggressive Leader | Raises the duel success of everyone in the line – including himself – by 5% per level (−5% at −1 up to +10% at +2). With several, the highest value counts. |
Special training
Apart from the innate ability, you reach all others via the Special training unit. Each unit raises the chosen ability's progress by a few percent; at 100% the next level is unlocked. This now takes only about 40 units per level (was ~80) – so special training pays off much faster.
Special training is only applied on days where the team training actually includes the Special training unit. Choose the ability deliberately to match the player's role.
What to watch out for
- Match the role: Finishing for strikers, Defensive specialist/Composure for defenders, Punching for your first-choice keeper.
- Leaders are team-wide: A Leader or Aggressive Leader lifts a whole line – worth more than the market value suggests.
- Heal negatives first: A −1 ability tends to cost performance. Special training raises it.
- Fill the three slots wisely: three meaningful abilities beat three random ones.