harder to get started than I thought

[msubobcats87]

I am an ultimate team mode veteran but Im finding it really difficult to get started on ncaa for some reason. I've can't seem to scrounge up enough coins to buy one stinking All American pack (unfortunately i didn't start when it first came out). I bought bronze cards off of the ah to get the silver upgrade packs via collections which basically wasted my 6k for the 3 collections cause they only give you 4 cards per pack :P

My team is full of freshmen low rated starter pack cards and I can't beat any more of the challenges cause they are all ridiculous (vs. this crappy team). at least madden last year had all the team challenges you could play with your starter team to earn bronze packs and coins. At this rate I might as well wait for madden cause at least there I get loyalty packs to start.

Any helpful tips?

[eurojjj19]

There are tons of high 80s players on the market for 1k. Grab some of those to get yourself started.

[TDale5]

Yea don't buy packs but high silvers and low golds on the AH. You can get em for 1k or less a lot of times.

[TDpresents]

Quote: Originally Posted by msubobcats87

I am an ultimate team mode veteran but Im finding it really difficult to get started on ncaa for some reason. I've can't seem to scrounge up enough coins to buy one stinking All American pack (unfortunately i didn't start when it first came out). I bought bronze cards off of the ah to get the silver upgrade packs via collections which basically wasted my 6k for the 3 collections cause they only give you 4 cards per pack :P My team is full of freshmen low rated starter pack cards and I can't beat any more of the challenges cause they are all ridiculous (vs. this crappy team). at least madden last year had all the team challenges you could play with your starter team to earn bronze packs and coins. At this rate I might as well wait for madden cause at least there I get loyalty packs to start. Any helpful tips?

Do the solo challenges. Take a couple days off from playing online. I started off 1-4, and sucked. I did a bunch've solo challenges and got close to a 95 overall team from doing them. Don't buy packs, just go to the auction house. Think of a player, go to his team, and position, and go to the cheapest buy now one. You can get a ton of quality players for really cheap. Like I said I was 1-4 and now I'm 35-6.

Also, put on chew clock to get the challenges over with. They're easy!

[crowhop]

At first I never played online. I waited until I got a 90s rated team before doing anything head-to-head.

I remember early on, you're outmatched in most of the solo challenges and your team OVR has to get to certain levels before you can even attempt them. It took me more than a couple of tries to be a few of them. As mentioned above, chew the clock, run the ball and don't turn it over.

The hardest position to solidify is the OL because there aren't many good options, so always search there first and often in hopes of finding a steal. Just search by Player > Silver > RG, for example. There won't be many listed, but on occasion you can find decent players for around 500 coins until you begin to accumulate enough coins to get some better players there.

Did you complete any of the Nike Skills challenges? Those give you some decent base players to start off with.

You should have a Hines Ward Freshman (Gold) WR, at least. And possibly a Suh. And you'll be getting a Tommie Frazier Freshman QB this week.

Don't do any collections or buy packs until your team is good enough to compete against the Weekly Challenge teams.

Get a cheap Gold QB and RB. There are many, many good options available for less than 1000 coins.

Not sure if you're opposed to it or not, but the Gold Upgrade pack you can buy with real money instantly improves your team with low Gold level players at many spots.

[crowhop]

Also, use the Collections to your advantage...


For instance, right now there's a Silver collection for CBs. You should be able to get 3 or 4 of those guys for very cheap...possibly under 2000 coins total. And they're some pretty decent players. CB is a premium position, so getting them no on the cheap is the way to go.
Of course, as I say that there's a Gold CB Aaron Ross (86 ovr) for 1000 BIN. So, you can get useful players cheap.

And shop the Auction House from around 7-10 PM. That's peak time and that's when prices are lowest.

Tomorrow night they'll release the Premium Pack Special with 3 Golds per pack. That'll be the perfect time to get Golds at their very cheapest.

Once you have a "good enough" team, begin targeting players that will make for a big upgrade. Decide on your "dream" roster and work to make it happen. If you just want the best available, you'll end up going nuts because that is constantly changing. But if you know you want Percy Harvin at WR, you can shop and monitor the AH and wait for the absolute lowest price and get him.

[marks0124]

- Do the solo challenges(Nike Skills Trainer) as others have suggested. You can get several solid silvers players in some key positions. This will get you to a level high enough to beat the computer challenges and start gaining some of their rewards.

- Use your money at the AH, not on the packs. Espically at first. Lots of low level golds for very cheap. RB is an espically cheap position but TE's, OT's, DT's and DE's are available for cheap too. WR's and CB's are going to be your most difficult positions to add talent at but their are some mid 80 players out there that can be quite useful.

- Log on every day or check EA's twitter. They release freshman versions of elite players that are usually 85 overall just for logging on a particular day.

- When all else fails, don't be afraid to play online and lose. Yes - I said it. You should be able to get 600/700 coins per loss online. Yea it looks bad on your overall record if you care about that. But from a time in/coins out prespective that's not bad. Quarters are short. Just make sure to finish the game. If you can add 2400/3000 coins a night - you should be able to turn that around into a gold RB, gold DE and a gold OT. You can also work on playbooks, tirple option and all sorts of good stuff during this practice time.

Good luck. I was in the same boat as you. Started a week a late and didn't use money. Now sitting on a 97 overall team. And I made it a point to collect NC State guys early on too - even if it wasn't making my team better. And I could be further if I was able to put more time into it.

[TDale5]

Also get creative on the OL. A LT doesn't have to play LT. A 91 overall tackle is instantly cheaper than a 91 overall guard. Buy the tackle and play him a guard. He might lose an overall point but still makes the significantly cheaper price worth it.