FIFA 23 BEST Controller Settings [Trial & Tested]

Many people long anticipate a brand new FIFA title every year, and the wait for those people has finally ended. FIFA 23 has finally been released, and here I will inform you of the best controller settings that will give you the most control over the players on the team. This way you can feel like a true soccer player while playing FIFA 23 on the platform of your choice. With these controller settings, players will be allowed to make their experience somewhat unique compared to most players, and which a little bit of practice.

Players will be able to fully utilize the new controller settings as it will give them an upper hand in most matches against different players or whether they are going up against the AI in the career mode or any other game modes available in FIFA 23.

Now, without further delay, let’s start my guide on the best controller settings in FIFA 23. This guide will cover the controller settings for both the Xbox and the PS controller.

Best Controller Settings

While it is true that people’s choices on “best camera settings” can change due to their preference and personal touch, here will give a general overview of what I think the best camera settings are, and feel free to edit any certain setting if you feel like it because, after all, the purpose of this article is to make your experience more worthwhile and unique.

One interesting thing that EA Sports has added to the controller settings in the game is a “Recommended” and “Not Recommended” on all setting options. While some of my settings may contradict EA’s recommendation, I are still firm believers in these settings being the best controller settings for the players.

Competitive Master Switch – On

Keeping this option on is mandatory if you wish to play the game online; turning it off is simply not an option if you plan on playing competitive matches, but if you are planning on playing the game offline only or if you are playing different game modes then you can turn it off without any worry.

Once you turn the Competitive Master Switch on, then a number of settings will be made locked to you as those settings are required to be the same for every player playing online; thus, I will be skipping those settings here as they are already perfectly optimized by the developer EA sports.

FIFA Trainer – Hide

These settings will determine whether the Trainer will be hidden or shown during gameplay. While these settings can be useful for beginners, I would recommend hiding them.

Through Pass Assistance – Manual

These settings will give the player more control over their passes. By keeping this setting on Manual, you will be able to choose the direction where you pass the ball. By keeping these settings on “automatic,” there is a chance that your player will pass the ball to the wrong player, and then you’ll need to rethink your strategy.

Timed Finishing – On

We would recommend keeping Timed Finishing on as it can aid the user by giving them more control over their shooting. According to the description, you will need to double press the shoot button. Press it the first time when you are ready to shoot, then press it the second time when your leg is about to touch the ball. If you time it perfectly at contact, then your shot will be more precise and powerful.

Pressing the button at the wrong time can also degrade the quality of the shot, and you will most likely miss the goal; therefore, spamming the shoot button inside the box won’t do you any good here. 

Next Player Switch Indicator – On

As the name suggests, the Next Player Switch Indicator settings will allow you to see a small indicator on the player who is currently the closest to the manually controlled player. The indicator will let you know which player you will switch to if you press the switch button now.

We would recommend keeping these settings on as it will aid the player in switching their control more precisely, and they will be able to keep following their tactics more accurately as they will have more control over the team and the players. 

Pass Block Assistance – On

Enabling these settings will most certainly make your FIFA 23 playtime a lot more bearable as it is simply not possible for a single person to control every player on the team at all times. Enabling these settings will simply allow the game’s AI to control a player on the team, and it will try to intercept a pass when the ball is near automatically.

Auto Switching – On Air Balls and Loose Balls

Out of all the options the game has provided for these settings, I would consider the “On Air Balls and Loose Balls” to be the best ones, as the game will only automatically switch your player if your opponent decides to shoot a Loose Ball.

If you were to switch to Manual, then it would become too difficult for you as you won’t be able to switch to the right character quickly enough when your opponent shoots the ball from one side of the field to the other. 

On the other hand, if you were to switch to automatic, the game will start automatically switching your character whenever the opponent team passes the ball, and that will most likely make things more complicated for you.

Auto Switching Move Assistance – None

It is a bit difficult to wrap your head around these settings as they are a bit complicated, but I will explain them in detail here. If the player you manually switch to is already running in a certain direction, then these settings will determine just for how long the player keeps moving in his current direction until you are given full control over the player.

While keeping these settings at high can aid certain players in rethinking their strategy for a few seconds after they switch their players, I would recommend keeping these settings at None, as it will give the users more control over the player as they will be able to go in any direction they want, as soon as they switch their player.

Clearance Assistance – Directional

Keeping these settings at directional is recommended because the direction of the clearance will be determined by the game while taking the user’s directional input into consideration. If you choose the Classic settings, then the direction will be determined randomly by the game.

Player Lock – On

Player Lock is an amazing feature, and I would recommend keeping it On at all times. It will allow you to move different players manually. If you are not a fan of Player Lock, then you won’t be missing out on much, as it won’t affect your gameplay significantly.

Icon Switching – Off

While you can keep this option On during casual matches, I would recommend keeping this Off during competitive matches unless you have mastered this mechanic. If you press R3 during defending, then certain icons will appear over the heads of four defenders.

These icons will indicate in which direction you need to move the joystick in order to switch to that certain player. In an intense match, you will most likely have a hard time reading these icons properly in such a low amount of time, which will lead to you making the wrong decision.

Right Stick Switching – Player Relative

We would recommend keeping the Right Stick Switching settings to Player Relative because with this setting option, whenever you switch your player, then the player that the user is controlling will be kept as the center point of reference. 

While switching these settings to Ball Relative is also a good alternative, it will be disorienting for some players as the ball moves around a lot in a match; thus, I would recommend against it.

Ground Pass Assistance – Assisted

Unless you are some kind of a pro which is really confident in their passes, I would recommend keeping these settings at assisted. With these settings, the game will automatically aid you in passing the ball in the direction of the receiver.

Shot Assistance – Assisted

The same principle will apply here; these settings will allow the game to automatically set the direction of your shoots in the direction of your goals. 

Cross Assistance – Assisted

We would recommend keeping this on assisted as well. With these settings, the game will assist you in crossing the path of the receiver. Setting these options to Semi will allow you to control the power of your crosses, but I would recommend keeping it on Assisted.

Lob Pass Assistance – Assisted

It is similar to Cross Assistance. By using the Assisted settings, the Lob power and direction will be added by the game’s AI.

Save Assistance – Assisted

If you put these settings on Manual, then only Reflex Saves will be automatic, while you would have to perform every other save manually; thus, I would recommend keeping these settings at Assisted. With the settings on Assisted, if the ball is close to your body, then it will automatically be saved.

Analog Sprint – On

Here is an extremely useful feature in the game that I would recommend keeping on at all times. The amount of pressure you will exert on the R2/RT trigger will determine just how fast your player will run. If you have assigned RB/R1 for sprinting, then you won’t be able to take advantage of this option.

Pass Receiver Lock – Late

By settings these settings to Late, you will have the option to pass the ball in any direction you want until the player has kicked the ball to perform a pass. These settings are useful in case you change the direction of the pass at the last second after you have already pressed the “Pass” button.

User Vibration Feedback – Off

These settings are reserved exclusively for readers using the PS5 controller, but I would recommend keeping these settings off because, during intense matches, you want your controller to be as stable as possible. And the haptics of the PS5 controller can be distracting at times in this game.

Trigger Effect – Off 

This option is again reserved only for the users using the PS5 controller but similar to User Vibration feedback; it can be distracting at times, so I would recommend keeping these settings off during competitive matches.

Wrap Up

That concludes my guide on the best controller settings in FIFA 23. FIFA is one of the most iconic franchises that is still running to this day, and it is no secret that for some players, this will be their first game of the franchise.

Aside from being one of the ideal games to play on a console with a friend, this game also features multiple game modes, like the career game mode, that allow you to build your own team and make your way to the top.

We get a new FIFA game every game; the trend has continued for nearly three decades by EA as they are both the developers and publishers of the FIFA franchise. What makes this title different is that it is confirmed to be the last FIFA game. That’s right, the long-running franchise that a lot of gamers grew up with is finally ending this year.

But that’s all from me; I hope my guide helped you. The game is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Do let me know what you think about the game in the comment section below and if you think that I missed something, then let me know about it as well.