Chemistry 101
In FIFA 15 Ultimate Team, you can have the best 11 players in the world on the pitch--but if they don’t have Chemistry it doesn't matter. Teams with a high rating and low chemistry are routinely picked apart by lower-rated teams with high chemistry. So how do you fix that? Let’s talk Chemistry and how it will help your squad be better than the rest.
There are two things that go into a players chemistry rating--the position they are in and the players around them. As an example, let’s look at a middle line that’s been created here using the Concept Squads screen we previously discussed.
Starting on the left we have Chelsea’s LM Eden Hazard. As you can see from the Green dot below his card, he is extremely happy with playing the position of LM. Because of that, he gets 3 points of Chemistry, along with the 1 point he has for being in the starting lineup.
Next, we add in Bayern Munich’s CM Thiago. As you can see, they have no connection to each other as signified by the red line between them. This is due to the fact they hail from different countries and play in different domestic leagues. Because of that, they both only have 4 Chemistry; thankfully they at least have that, which comes from playing in their correct positions.
Now, if we add Dortmond’s CM Gundogan, you’ll notice that Thiago gets an added 3 points of Chemistry. That is because he and Gundogan are both on Bundesliga teams. You’re probably wondering why Thiago is only a 7 while Gundogan is a 10. That is because currently Gundogan has no one else effecting his Chemistry. On the other hand Thiago is getting 6 points of Chemistry from Gundogan, but he also has to factor in Hazard on his left. Because Hazard does not match Thiago in any way, he is receiving -3 chemistry from him. Bummer!
Now say we bring in Barcelona’s CM Iniesta to play to the right of Gundogan. You’ll see his Chemistry drop to a 7, because his base, 4, is having 6 added from Thiago, but then is getting -3 removed due to Iniesta being there.
So that's not going to work. Instead, let’s bring in Bayern Munich’s CM Schweinsteiger and you see Gundogan goes back up to 10. What's interesting is that shows 10 because that is the limit that can be displayed. In actuality, behind the scenes, they have a Chemistry of 16 (the hard cap). There is base 4 plus 6 from being from the same league, plus 6 more from being from the same nation. Because of that, no matter who you put next to Schweinsteiger at RM, the lowest he’ll drop to is 13. It would take 3 players pushing -3 Chemistry at him to bring him down to a 7. So in theory, two players playing next to each other that share a league and a nation, plus playing their correct position, will have a Chemistry rating of 16. Sweet! You'll only see 10 on their card, but behind the scenes you'll be at the maximum value.
The best thing you can do is always have your players in the correct position with at least two players connecting to them that match either their league, or nation or origin. This is the FIFA 15 Ultimate Team Chemistry Golden Rule. Just remember that even though a card says 10 Chemistry, he could actually have a 16 behind the scenes.
