We've received a fantastic set of updates for EA SPORTS UFC 3. Titled Gameplay Update #5, it includes new head movements and combinations to new evasive movements, as well as several new UFC fighters.
A number of movement enhancements and tweaks occurred with gameplay update #5.
Head Movement and Combinations
The single biggest change to head movement is in how it interacts with combinations. Prior to this content update, successfully slipping a strike would give you a guaranteed window of 36 frames in which you were safe to throw a counter strike. Now, the type of strike you evade and how you evade it will give different results, which provide you with different levels of safety.
Successfully evading a jab will no longer provide you with a safe counter striking window. This means that if you successfully slip a jab, throwing a counter strike will leave you open for potentially getting hit with a follow up strike that was thrown in combination with the jab.
Dealing with the Jab
With these changes, the jab becomes much more powerful as a leading strike. With the ability to slip and counter the jab diminished, it’s important to understand what options you have for dealing with it if you have successfully evaded one.
Ducking
Prior to this content update, ducking was the single most effective way in which to move your head. It successfully evaded or mitigated all strike types except for uppercuts and leg kicks. Players had come to rely on these properties to the point where ducking was a little too prevalent in the game and was considered by many players to be over powered.
This content update includes some important changes to better balance ducking with the other defensive options, while making its representation in the game much more realistic.
Back Sways
To balance out the changes to ducking, which makes evading hooks much more difficult (especially for taller fighters) we’ve improved the ability for the back sway to evade hooks and uppercuts.
Prior to this content update, the effectiveness of back sway was highly dependent on range. Back slipping standing a hook or uppercut would work from punching range, but from the same range a forward moving hook or uppercut would land.
Major/Minor Head Movement
The final changes to head movement are related to the controls, with the addition of the concept of major and minor head movement.
Starting with this content update, there are now two styles of head movement, each with their own sets of animations and control inputs.
Sway n’ Pray
Another change to head movement is something we’ve done to try and eliminate what the community has coined “sway n’ pray,” which is the practice of initiating every exchange with a slip followed immediately by a strike in an attempt to fish for counters. Aside from being unrealistic, this tactic forced players into a 50/50 and was really hurting the balance of the standup game.
To curtail this practice, we’ve made some significant changes to the stopping power of strikes that follow a slip that didn’t evade a strike. We’ve refer to these as “empty slip strikes.”
Evasive Movement
In an effort to help people create space against overly aggressive opponents, we’ve added some new footwork tools in the form of a faster evasive movement option.
Back Lunges and Straight Intercepts
We’ve made another small change to back lunges to further empower evasive footwork. If a back lunge gets intercepted with a straight punch, it will no longer be interrupted. The strike will still land and do damage, but the lunge will be allowed to complete, and the backwards momentum of the fighter preserved.
Front Kicks and Sways
Another change in the spirit of giving players more tools for outside fighting, we’ve fixed a bug that prevented the full push hit reaction from playing when a front kick to the body landed while a fighter was swaying. This change should help players who use the front kicks to create and maintain distance.
Catch Kick Counter Punch Block
You will now be able to block the counter strike that follows a catch kick. However, it will only be a partial block that protects you from half the damage. The other half of the damage will still bleed through the block.
Leg Damage and Grapple Advantage
We’ve made changes to how leg damage affects grapple advantage. Before this content update, current leg damage would grant grapple advantage, but long term damage did not.
We’ve changed that so that long term leg damage now plays a role, meaning investing in leg kicks, or checking your opponents leg kicks, will allow you to take your opponent down much easier in the later rounds.
AI Updates
- Add seven new fighter customizations and apply existing customizations to numerous templated fighters
- Reduce frequency of sweeps on the ground from standup-oriented AIs
- Re-tune AI submission competency on attack and defense on all difficulties
- Allow AI to perform correct evasion at the wrong time, mimicing users
- Increase blocks vs. slips, and increase leg catches
- Greatly increase grapple-oriented AIs tendency to takedown after catch-kicks
- Increase grapple-oriented AIs tendency to takedown after successful defense
- Improve AIs cage awareness
- Add tuning tendency for using strikes vs. denials to stop transitions
- Greatly improve AIs logic for defending takedowns in the clinch/standup
- Remove the ability for boxing-oriented AIs to throw as many kicks while at range
- Reduce tendency for AI to spam takedowns from certain clinch positions
- Split AI strike targetting tendencies for kicks vs punches
- Allow AI to make proper use of new major/minor slips
- Fix various holes in AI logic causing AI to idle unintentionally
Also included in this update are several new UFC fighters.
- Mike Perry – One of the most entertaining up-and-comers in UFC history, “Platinum” Mike Perry has combined a violent stand and bang style with the kind of trash talk that demands attention. A trained boxer with a variety of Muay Thai weapons in his arsenal, this well-rounded striker is capable of knocking out anyone willing to trade shots with him.
- Josh Emmett – After a vicious knockout over veteran Ricardo Lamas, Josh Emmett burst onto the scene in a way that only his trainers could have seen coming. An experienced wrestler and Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, Emmett is emerging as a complete mixed martial artist thanks to the help of his crew at renowned gym Team Alpha Male. Coming off a tough KO loss against Jeremy Stephens, he will be looking to get back on the winning track after finding overnight success.
- Paulo Costa – Unbeaten through his first 11 professional fights, Costa has proven his 3-0 start in the UFC is no fluke. Holding a significant size advantage over most of his opponents in the 185 pound Middleweight division, the young Brazilian known as “Borrachinha” is intimidating and has the skill to back it up. Play as “Borrachinha” now, and keep his undefeated streak alive!
- And a bonus update: Dana White – The Ultimate Boss Battle just got a little bit more intense. Dana White has been added to three new weight classes, giving you the chance to take over as matchmaker. Strut your way to a brawl with the Boss as Conor McGregor, or give Dana a taste of the Stockton Slap with Nate Diaz.
Content Update #5 is now live.
We've got the full list of EA SPORTS UFC 3 trophies - check the list for guides to unlocking them.