So far this year it seems like the community is taking a "less is more" approach to the sliders in NCAA Football 13. The testing on this year's game has shown that tweaking too far in any one direction can cause different parts of the game to break. Whether it be too many dropped passes, no pass rush, or kickers who can't make extra points, this year, maybe more than ever, the OS slider makers have been more cautious in their approach. As it seems to be year in and year out with the NCAA Football games, the penalty sliders are either overpowered or completely useless.

Below I'll outline some of the sets that I like, and I hope you'll find something that helps you get the most out of NCAA Football 13.

Oraeon's Statistics in sliders for NCAA13

Every year I check out these sliders, make a few personal tweaks, and use them in my personal offline dynasty. A lot of good information regarding sliders has come from Oraeon and his testing over the last few years. Oraeon believes that both Varsity and Heisman difficulty levels create "speed cheats," and that All-American plays truest to the player ratings. These sliders also come with recommended sliders for offensive and defensive play calling for more realistic styles of play. For example, Army and Navy are going to really pound the football true to form, and teams like SMU and Hawaii are going to be chucking the ball around all game long.


ILiveForThis and authentic's Simulation Saturday Slider Project

This is one of the more in-depth slider sets, with many testers and three options for varying skill levels. These include a set for Heisman difficulty both with and without the tuner installed, a set for All-American difficulty with the tuner installed and a varsity set with the tuner installed.

Again, the name of the game with these is small tweaks on the user side, with some larger tweaks on for the CPU to make them more competitive, especially with their running game. These also come with recommended auto-sub settings, which is nice if you like to see your backups take the field when your starters are tiring out. Obviously the varsity set tries to negate as many human advantages as possible, while the Heisman set tries to bring the CPU down to earth just a bit while still making it tough on the user.

Jarodd21s NCAA 13 Heisman sliders

As user Jarrodd21 says himself, "...I tried to provide a great challenge for guys who are highly skilled veterans who a very good at the game and usually destroys the CPU on default setting or other lower Heisman sliders...". He's right. These sliders are very challenging for me. I consider myself a veteran of the NCAA Football franchise, playing nearly every iteration in the 20 years of NCAA franchise history, but I am by no means the dominant player that these are made for. Even with that said, these warrant inclusion on the list.

A lot of users on OS are that good, and they would be well served to give these sliders a shot. Playing with these sliders requires laser-like focus, so make sure the wife and kids aren't distracting you while you play with these sliders or you will find yourself totally frustrated. This set recommends game speed be set to "very fast" and speed threshold set to 0, among other eye catching tweaks.

Jarrodd21 recommends testing these in dynasty mode. As many OS users have pointed out, games play out very differently in practice mode or in Play Now games.


**AuburnAlumni's NCAA 13 All American Sliders**

OS user AuburnAlumni has taken the approach of subtle tweaks after testing and like most of the better slider makers, he's beginning to settle in on a set that complements a certain play style. He recommends the following "house rules" in addition to the sliders - No 4 verticals on offense, no switching players when the ball is in the air, and no using the big hits or aggressive d-line adjustments in game.

Everything comes together to make a solid slider set. One of the things this set keys on as I spoke about at the beginning, is not further breaking the OL/DL interaction. By default NCAA Football 13 has terrible trench play and no one wants to make it worse. Those seeking an All-American set that have the will power not to abuse some the of game's exploits (Four Verts and Aggressive Defensive Line for example) should definitely give these a run.

mkharsh33 All American Sliders - NCAA 13

OS user mkharsh33 is such a veteran and does so much work with so many sports games across the board, that I almost always make it a point to try out his slider sets any time he releases them for a game I'm playing. With NCAA Football 13, he's got his final pre-patch sliders complete and they play a well balanced game of football.

Using "slow" speed and a speed threshold setting of 69, the pace of the game may not be for everyone, but I think they're worth trying even if you usually play on "normal" or "fast". Mkharsh33 shares my sentiment that Heisman difficulty often feels cheap and the difficulty isn't in a better AI
and better decision making, but rather in unrealistic speed bursts and closing speed by the CPU and a somewhat psychic playcalling tendencies.


Matt10's Heisman **Very Slow Speed** Sliders

These sliders are a collaborative effort with user OUBryan and the stated goal is to promote the "very slow" speed setting within the game. Many users believe that the animations flow better and look more natural on "slow" speed, but this set takes it a step further looking for better WR/DB separation and a more realistic reaction to the ball by defenders by going with the "very slow" setting.

Another unique aspect to these sliders is the focus on run block ability. Matt10's testing has led him to believe that the RBA slider not only applies to running backs, but also to wide receivers and tight ends. I wish EA would come out and tell us exactly what slider affects what in the game, and give us a thorough explanation of how slider tweaks affect the awareness as well as other player attributes.

This is certainly more of a "feel" set than others that focus on a realistic box score after every game. The presentation of the sliders and explanations in the first post are very well done and it's worth a look for that alone.

So there is my list of the Top Slider Sets on OS for NCAA Football 13. Keep in mind however that it's early. A patch is scheduled to drop on July 31 to fix some minor issues and a major gameplay patch is expected in late August that will almost certainly have everyone re-adjusting their slider sets. So stay tuned to the OS NCAA Slider forums.

If you're sliders didn't make the list, please don't take it personally. There are many, many other great slider projects going on with more starting every day. I really recommend popping into the slider forums and spending some time digging. You're sure to find something that suits your style of play and enhances the out of the box experience of NCAA Football 13!