FIFA 22 Passing guide - How to pass, systems, and more

FIFA enthusiasts are excited for what the latest entry in the annualised franchise, FIFA 22, can bring to the table in terms of brand-new mechanics that make the football simulator worth the purchase.

Through a series of developer articles, EA Sports has slowly lifted the curtain on what system changes we can expect when FIFA 22 releases on 1st October, with passing receiving some overhauls.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, perhaps you're a newcomer to the series and are looking to start learning the basics of such a key component like passing. Want to know when and how to use a through ball? All the types of crosses you can pull off? Well, keep on reading!

• Read more: FIFA 22 Perks system - All perks, modes, and more

FIFA 22 Passing guide

Take a look at the slick table down below, which has every type of pass and input required for both PlayStation and Xbox users.

Knowing the inputs is half the battle, it's also important to remember when to use every type of pass. Regularly, you'll want to use the ground pass the most, it's simple, efficient, basic, gets the job done, however, there will be times when the opponent is pressuring you or you need to make a break with a counterattack, this is when you got to mix things up.

The second most common type of pass are through balls, which can be paired with a variety of techniques. A regular through ball is perfect to split defences with lots of space in-between them, however, you'll have to consider lob through balls if things get dicey and you're pressured or are facing a crowded defensive unit.

In fact, most of these types of passes have received some changes in FIFA 22 due to how strong the community and pros thought they were, with EA Sports addressing them with the upcoming entry.

FIFA 22 - Passing balance changes

In one of their recent Pitch Notes, EA explained that they have "focused on Ground Passes, Lob Passes and Lobbed Through passing systems to better account for context of play, including opposition player positioning, teammate positioning, general spacing, and many types of situations."

This is just a fancy way of saying they're tweaking certain animations and how the systems interact with each other, and how attributes impact the way players pass the ball.

For instance, Vision will now have a bigger impact on a player's ability to successfully pull off through and lobbed through balls rather than short/Long Passing.

Take a look at the full changes down below:

• Animation Refresh: New animations have been added and a major cleanup and polish of existing passing animations has been done, allowing for more consistency and animation selection.
• Ground Passes: A revamp of the ground passing targeting system, allowing for better target selection and spatial awareness.
  • Semi-Assisted Ground Passes were also refreshed with the new system. 
• Lob Passes and Lobbed Through Pass: these types of passes have more consistency in height, trajectories, leading and a better understanding of contexts.
• Semi-Assisted Through Passes: As part of the Competitive Settings, Semi-Assisted Through Passes were expanded from last year to have more assistance for close and simple passes, and less assistance for far and difficult passes. The more difficult and the further the pass, the more precise the player's aim and power input has to be.
  • Vision assistance: Assistance increases based on the player’s Vision Attribute starting at 85 and up to 99.

Additional Passing Improvements

• Pass Transitions: This refers to a system that improves responsiveness and allows for transitions between different passes. 
  • You can request a different type of pass halfway through a pass request, and the system will then attempt to stop the current pass and perform the new request. This can be especially useful when reacting to sudden situational changes.
• [NG] The Through Pass receiver system is able to analyze more receivers, resulting in better overall pass targets and more consistent receiver selection.
• Receiver Awareness is increased in order for teammates to understand when they are being considered as a possible pass receiver, increasing pass rate completion.
• Increased personality in Passing:
  • Through and Lobbed Through Pass quality is mostly determined by the Vision Attribute, and less by the Short/Long Passing Attributes.
  • Ground and Lob Passes are mostly determined by the Short/Long Passing Attributes.
  • The Crossing Attribute can increase the speed of Driven Crosses and Driven Ground Crosses.
  • The player’s current speed when requesting a pass alters the difficulty of that pass. The higher the speed, the more negative impact to the pass.

And there you have it! For more on all things FIFA 22, check out our dedicated section filled with news, guides, and more.