Long is one of the new buzzwords in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team. This is nothing new, of course. EA Sports likes to trademark the names of its gaming systems, and Accelerate is another of the latest examples. But, within this new system, Long is the only style of acceleration that has the community buzzing. Are your players long? Do you have enough ‘Long Wood’?
More than a meme, the ‘Long’ Acceleration style is particularly valuable for centre-backs, as it means they can often lure fast forwards into breakaways when they might not have could do it before. But how does it work? Is it really that OP? And who are the best players who have the Long style?
These questions seem difficult to answer, but good news! We’ve done the (long) prep work for you, and this guide should tell you everything you need to know about how to get Longand if it’s important for your team.
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If you’re interested in Ultimate Team, we have pages on Best Starting Squads, Squad Battles, Milestone Rewards and FUT Coins and Trading.
How does AcceleRATE work in FIFA 23?
AccelerATE is a new movement system introduced in FIFA 23 on next-gen platforms. This last part is very important. If you’re playing FIFA 23 on PS4 or Xbox One, you don’t have to worry about AccelerATE at all, as your players won’t be affected by it.
For PC, PS5, or Xbox Series X|S console users, however, AcceleRATE has an impact on your gamers’ acceleration. There are three types of acceleration:
- Control – Consider this the default, where players evenly accelerate in a controlled manner.
- Explosive – They are smaller and more agile players who cover short distances faster, but slow down after an initial acceleration. Think of someone like Luis Diaz, who can use his explosive acceleration to get past a defender.
- Long – Bigger and stronger players are slower over short distances, but can catch up over long distances. Think of someone like Virgil van Dijk, who may seem slow from the first few yards but can contain fast forwards from longer distances.
Unfortunately, EA doesn’t list the AcceleRATE type for every player on their card, but you can see it on the pause screen during matches and find it on all the regular FUT card database sites like Futbin and Futwiz.
You can also solve it yourself, as AcceleRATE is automatically awarded based on a combination of their size, agility, and strength.
Explosive players must have the following:
- Agility >= 65
- [Agility minus Strength] >= 15
- Acceleration >= 74
- Height <= 180cm (~5'11”)
Long-duration players should have the following:
- Strength >= 65
- [Strength minus Agility] >= 14
- Acceleration >= 55
- Height >= 174cm (~5’9″)
There are a few other things worth noting about the AcceleRATE styles:
- Global acceleration and speed still count – This should go without saying, but people seem a bit confused about it. If your player has high acceleration and sprint speed attributes, and the player they’re trying to pass has low attributes, it doesn’t matter which player’s AcceleRATE style is slower, because the faster player will win the race.
- Players can change the AcceleRATE style – If you apply certain chemistry styles to a player, it changes their stat distribution in a way that impacts the calculation above. This can be used to change a controlled player to long, for example, which is proving popular among the FUT community.
- Promo cards can have different styles AcceleRATE – Promotional cards that change player stats in one area more than others – Rulebreakers, for example, or Featured Team of the Week cards – can also influence the calculation, which can tip a player off from one AccelerATE style to another.
Is Long OP in FIFA 23?
So why is everyone obsessed with Long? The answer is probably a little more nuanced than people make it out to be, so let’s try to unpack it before we start talking about DA BEST LONG BOIS and all that good stuff.
First of all, if you have two players with the exact same pace stats – acceleration and sprint speed – and they are running side by side, they will reach their maximum speed at the same time. AcceleRATE doesn’t just make players faster overall. What it does is modify the throttle curve during the throttle period. So while these two players at the same pace are accelerating, which can exceed 20 to 30 yards or so, an explosive player would run ahead of the long player, but the long player would catch up towards the end of the acceleration curve as the player explosive went out. They would then continue at the same sprint speed. All other things being equal, of course.
The reason people like Long over other types is because having faster movement in that second boost phase is apparently more useful in many situations in FIFA 23. Here are some quick examples:
- Centre-backs chasing forwards – When reacting to a through ball, the central defender may seem to benefit more from prolonged acceleration, as the chase lasts for a while and allows him to peak in his acceleration curve at the right time.
- Attackers beat defenders – A striker or winger who runs to the end of a through ball can benefit from extended acceleration, as they will hit the peak of their acceleration curve at the exact point where defenders hope to reach theirs and catch the distance that separates them. .
In other words, Long is suitable for players who react to another player passing them – it feels like it gives them an advantage at the right time. And it suits players who are trying to stay ahead of a chasing player, as it gives them an extra punch that allows them to consolidate their lead.
The obvious question whenever something is deemed OP in FIFA is whether EA Sports could change it. In this case, it seems unlikely. The underlying design intent was to help differentiate players based on their real-world acceleration profiles, and based on that, the system works as intended. It also doesn’t feel as OP as, say, finesse shots did at the start of last game. It can make a difference, but it’s situational and to some extent overstated without being fully understood. As the play cycle progresses and the base pace stats of new cards increase, this should also become less of a problem, at least in theory!
FIFA 23 best long defenders
It certainly doesn’t hurt to have Long on the key players, so let’s take a look at the best players by position. If a player needs a chemistry style to reach Long, we’ve noted it by their entry in the table below. Here is an overview of the best Longs defenders, who will be Rare Gold players unless otherwise specified.
Player | Positions | Accelerate |
---|---|---|
Virgil van Dijk | BC | Long |
Reuben Days | BC | Long |
Kalidou Koulibaly | BC | Long |
Antonio Rudiger (rare gold or one to watch) | BC | Long |
Niklas Sule (On the way to knockouts) | CB, RB | Long |
Bremer (RTTK) | BC | Long |
Kyle Walker | RB, RWB | Long |
Theo Hernandez | LB, LLB | Long with the architect |
Raphael Varane | BC | Long |
Fikayo Tomori (rare gold or TOTW) | BC | Long with Anchor, Architect, Backbone or Sentinel |
Reece James | RWB, RB | Long with Anchor, Architect, Backbone or Sentinel |
Robin Gosens (RTTK Lens) | LWB, LB, LM | Long with the architect |
Ferland Mendy | LB, LLB | Long with the architect |
Presnel Kimpembe | BC | Long |
Ronald Araujo | BC | Long |
Diego Charles | BC | Long |
Throw a few of those LONG WOODS into your defense, and you should be able to catch most meta attackers if they fly a few yards at you. Unless they too are reclining men.
FIFA 23 best long midfielders
Moving on to midfield, there are also a bunch of long guys here who could form the backbone of your attacking or defensive designs in the middle of the park. (Can something be the fulcrum of a design? That’s beyond the scope of this guide to answer.) (Not really.)
Player | Positions | Accelerate |
---|---|---|
casemiro | CDM | Long |
rodri | CDM | Long with Anchor, Catalyst, Engine, Hawk, Hunter or Shadow |
Leon Goretzka | CM, CDM | Long with Anchor, Architect, Backbone, Hawk, Marksman, Sentinel or Sniper |
Federico Valverde (Rare Gold, TOTW, Player of the Month or RTTK) | CM, RM, RW depending on the card | Long with the architect |
Fabinho | CDM, CB | Long |
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Rare Gold or TOTW) | CM | Long |
Paul Pogba | CM, CDM, LM | Long |
Franck Kessie (Rare gold or One to watch) | CDM, CM | Long |
Emre can | CM, CB, CDM | Long |
Denis Zakaria | CDM, CM | Long |
Remember that Long may not be the best style of acceleration for all midfielders. Think about their role on the team before delving into it, or try it out and see how it fits your playstyle. If your player spends more time advancing and controlling play than chasing runners, it may make more sense to give him a chemistry style that improves other stats — like shooting, passing, and dribbling — rather than obsessing over his acceleration.
FIFA 23 best long forwards
Longtime players on offense had good early cycle PR thanks to the Alexander Sorloth Team of the Week card, which many people packed or received in their red Weekend League rewards. Sorloth’s combination of strength, height, very high sprint speed, and long acceleration type means he outruns defenses, stays ahead, and holds off attackers before unleashing highly accurate shots. Using Architect to change players like Ronaldo and Benzema to Long also brought them into the meta.
Player | Positions | Accelerate |
---|---|---|
Karim Benzema | CF, ST | Long with the architect |
Robert Lewandowski | ST, CF | Long with Architect, Hawk, Marksman and Sniper |
Cristiano Ronaldo | ST, CF | Long with the architect |
Erling Haaland | ST, CF | Long |
Harry Kane | ST, CF | Long |
mario gomez | ST, CF | Long |
Ciro motionless | ST, CF | Long with the architect |
Alexander Sorloth (TOTW) | ST, CF | Long |
Rafael Leao (TOTW) | LW, LM | Long with the architect |
Nicolas Fullkrug (POTM) | ST, CF | Long |
Eldor Chomurodov | ST, CF | Long with the architect |
So this is it ! No one knows if Lengthy’s dominance will last, but for now, go get their long wood!
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