Remember the chaos in EA FC 25 when one simple button combination could turn any midfielder into a prime Mbappé? Back in the early days of that game, you could press and hold L1/LB and then tap Sprint to explode past defenders like they were standing still. It was broken, beautiful, and – thankfully – short-lived. As a player who lived through that era, I’ve been thinking a lot about how that one patch completely reshaped the meta, not just for Ultimate Team, but for every mode, including RUSH.

When the speed boost first surfaced, it felt like an unintentional cheat code. You’d see it everywhere: top of the box, hold L1/LB, and suddenly your player would warp through the backline for an easy 1-on-1. It was infuriating to defend because there was no real counter – just pray the server didn’t register the input properly. Did I use it? Of course I did. When the meta hands you a speed hack, you take it, right? But deep down, we all knew it was ruining the competitive edge.

The patch that dropped in late September 2024 was a wake-up call. EA didn’t just slap a bandage on the exploit; they nerfed the core mechanic that made it possible. Gone were the days of holding a modifier and suddenly becoming a rocket. And let’s be honest – wasn’t it ridiculous that a centre-back with 70 pace could outstrip a winger with 95 sprint speed just by using this glitch?

But the update went further. It also took aim at the lobbed through ball abuse that had plagued RUSH and kick-off scenarios. Before the fix, you could literally kick off, loft a first-time through ball, and be in on goal before the opponent’s controller even stopped vibrating. That glitch was so infamous that even casual players learned it within a week of launch. The patch notes clearly stated: reduced ball trajectory height for lobbed passes in RUSH, and a severe accuracy drop for first-time lobbed through passes at extreme angles. Finally, the silly “kick-off goal” meme died a well-deserved death.

Now, in 2026, looking back with two full years of hindsight, I can’t help but admire how that FC 25 patch taught EA a lesson about player behaviour. The Long Ball Pass Plus PlayStyle was the king before the update. Cards with that trait in RUSH could ping balls over the top with laser precision. After the nerf, the PlayStyle remained strong but no longer felt like a mandatory cheat sheet. It opened up the meta for more diverse builds – we saw more players experimenting with Tiki Taka, Whipped Pass, and even technical dribbling styles. Was the game instantly perfect? No, but it forced us to actually construct attacks instead of relying on a single braindead pass.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the key changes from that legendary patch:

• 🚫 Speed Boost Removed: The L1/LB + Sprint acceleration exploit was entirely removed.

• ⚽ First-Time Lobbed Through Balls: Accuracy reduced, especially at bad angles, making kick-off goals rare.

• 📉 Trajectory Adjustment: In RUSH, lobbed passes and crosses flew lower, cutting out unrealistic over-the-top spamming.

• 🃏 PlayStyle Impact: Long Ball Pass Plus remained viable but no longer dominant, encouraging positional variety.

Did the community overreact? Some players raged about the “skill gap” being lowered because their favourite glitch was gone. But I’d argue the opposite – whenever you remove an exploit that requires zero football IQ, you actually raise the skill ceiling. You have to think about runs, timing, and space. You can’t just hold a button and press sprint to bypass a well-drilled defense.

Fast forward to today, and even with FC 26 and now early FC 27 rumours swirling, I still see echoes of that patch in every title update. EA learned that players will always find the path of least resistance, so they started auditing modifier-button combos more aggressively. The result? Games where manual defending and creative build-up matter. Of course, new exploits always emerge – like the trivela finesse meta we saw in FC 26 – but the developers now respond faster, often referencing that speed boost fix as a turning point.

So, if you’re a new player picking up FC 25 on Game Pass or revisiting it for nostalgia, don’t bother trying the old speed boost trick. It’s long gone. Instead, focus on genuine skill moves: ball rolls, stepovers, heel-to-heels. Want to dominate? Check out our complete skill move guide to replace that muscle memory. And if you’re still addicted to long balls, just remember – the PlayStyle is still good, but you’ll need a striker with actual positioning and a midfielder who can spot the run, not just a button masher.

Ultimately, that one patch turned FC 25 from a one-trick pony into a football sim that demanded more. It was painful at first, but necessary. Didn’t we all become better players because of it? Now, if only they’d fix the goalkeeper movement in 1v1s… but that’s a story for another update.