Why in the world has EA allowed players to pause before a penalty? Frankly, this community stands out as one of the most toxic in the gaming sphere. In previous game versions, you could queue a pause, but it wouldn’t activate until after the penalty. Your opponent could force quit the game, but you’d have just enough time to skip the cutscenes and take a quick penalty before the game ejected you, enabling you to score and win the game.

I’ve earned an early penalty at 0-0 three times this weekend league, and each opponent has simply paused and quit. Why do you condone this behavior, EA? Leaving at 0-0 serves no purpose other than to spite your opponent.

Competitive game modes really bring out the worst in people, yet EA provides no deterrents. This behavior could be significantly discouraged by implementing a temporary matchmaking ban for leaving a Champions game early, as many other games do. But clearly, EA seems to want to encourage this toxic behavior. It’s a shambolic situation.

I just played my last game of champs needing a win. I thought I would play conservatively, work the ball, and wait for my chances. However, my opponent, with a 92 pace winger, swiftly ran down the wing, cut it back, and scored. Despite playing well and creating chances, my opponent, on constant pressure, ran down the line with their speedy winger and cut it back again, making it 2-0. Despite hitting the crossbar and post within 30 seconds, the ball bounced to my opponent’s 92 pace winger, who once again ran down the line and cut it back for a third goal. Despite considering quitting, I needed the win, so I stayed and managed to equalize at 3-3 just before full time. We went toe-to-toe throughout extra time, and my opponent scored a goal that wasn’t a cutback. Despite rallying and equalizing, my opponent paused, quit, and I received nothing for playing 120 minutes of a champs match, I lost honor and FC 24 coins. I ended up losing the next game to someone legitimately better than me.

Does it really make a difference? This year they pause the game and quit. Last year they just closed the game. Same result, different steps.

Commenters have mentioned that giving a win for a 0-0 quit could lead to disconnect glitches or cheats. However, couldn’t they just as easily disconnect glitch when 1-0 up to secure the win and disconnect glitch when 1-0 down to avoid the loss? I believe the benefits of getting a win for a quit outweigh the drawbacks.

Instead of citing cheaters as a reason not to implement this change, why not take action against the cheaters? There’s no option to report a cheater, neither in-game nor on the website. And even if giving a win at a draw quit isn’t an option, there surely is a way to track if a penalty is given and start a period during which you receive the win if your opponent quits.

More FC 24 discussion at MMOexp.com, feel free to join in.