PlayStyles+

Lore & Background

EA Sports introduced the PlayStyles system in FC 24 to give players a more granular identity beyond raw pace and shooting numbers. Each PlayStyle represents a specific on-pitch strength—hitting the ball with extra power, threading a curling pass, executing a nutmeg, or reading a defender's movement a half-second earlier. PlayStyles+ sits at the apex of that system: the same ability, but amplified. A player with a base Power Shot already hits the ball harder than a player with none; a player with Power Shot+ hits it harder still, and the visual feedback in-game (the shot's arc, the ball's speed off the boot) is noticeably different.

The design intent was to create a clear hierarchy without requiring a separate rarity tier for the card itself. A common-tier player card can carry a PlayStyle, while a rarer or special-edition card might carry the same PlayStyle with the plus. This means two cards with identical base stats can perform differently in-match purely because of the PlayStyles+ designation, adding a layer of strategic depth to squad building.

Within the Ultimate Team community, the plus became shorthand for 'the real version.' Traders and squad optimisers learned to scan for the small '+' next to the PlayStyle icon before committing coins, because the difference between, say, a base Interceptor and an Interceptor+ could be the gap between a defender who occasionally blocks a shot and one who consistently reads the striker's run. The symbol became a badge of quality in a market where every coin of premium matters.

Reader's Guide

PlayStyles+ is not a standalone card but a modifier on player cards in EA Sports FC 24 Ultimate Team. It appears as a small '+' next to the PlayStyle icon on the card face, distinguishing it from the base PlayStyle tier.

Acquisition: PlayStyles+ cards enter your club through the same channels as any premium player card—opening packs (especially higher-tier packs like Premium or Special), completing Squad Building Challenges, earning them as rewards from Division Rivals and friendlies, or purchasing them on the Transfer Market. They are more commonly found on Special Edition, Icon, and higher-tier player cards, though they can occasionally appear on standard cards.

In-match effect: The enhanced PlayStyle grants a greater performance boost than the base version. For example, a Power Shot+ card will generate a noticeably harder shot than a base Power Shot card, and an Interceptor+ defender will read and block shots more reliably. The exact numerical difference is not displayed on the card; players learn the gap through match experience.

Economy and trading: Because the plus sign represents a meaningful on-pitch upgrade, PlayStyles+ cards trade at a premium over their base-PlayStyle equivalents. Traders often list them at a 20–50% markup (or more for rare players), and squad optimisers routinely swap a base-PlayStyle card for the plus version when budget allows. In the community, the '+' has become a quick shorthand for 'the definitive version of this ability,' and auction-house searches frequently filter for it.