College Football 26 Adds Dynamic Subs, Improves Wear & Tear

The College Football 26 Gameplay Reveal showed off a new Dynamic Subs (Substitution) system along with reworks to the Wear & Tear feature. EA introduced Wear & Tear last year, which put damage on a player’s body the longer they played. While a fun mechanic, players often needed to pause and sub out players often to maintain their health. But we’ll see how Dynamic Substitutions completely change the ball game in CFB 26.

College Football 26 New Dynamic Subs Explained

College Football 26’s Dynamic Substitution feature allows players to manage their roster in real-time and on the field. You can apply these subs without having to pause, making game flow move more smoothly.

To enable Dynamic Subs, press up on the D-Pad to access who’s on the field. You can cycle out who you want to play. But once you make a change, it stays that way. Therefore, you can utilize this feature any way you’d like.

Furthermore, EA Sports added three new filters to help you get the right players on the field:

Defense – Manage entire unit at once, or jump in between groups like Defensive Line or Linebackers
Offense – Cycle between full offense, skill players, or offensive line
Reset to starters – Hit Square or X to bring starters back in.

Additionally, the On The Fly Subs Interface now features Wear & Tear Indicators, as well as a players’ Overall ratings.

Overall, these new improvements help you get who you want on the field, when you want. But this whole process also affects the Wear & Tear System, which received some tweaks in CFB 26.

Everything New With Wear & Tear in College Football 26

College Football 26 brings back the Wear & Tear System, but with new improvements to give you control over the experience. Firstly, there’s new Wear & Tear Option Settings for you to choose from:

Default – Standard CPU logic
Keep Fresh – Uses frequent subs to keep players safe
Grind It Out – Keeps best players on field no matter what
Custom – Players sub based on the lowest health of specific body parts to grant you more control

Furthermore, you can tailor subs to each position based on Wear & Tear too. This is accessible from the Coach Adjustment menu, giving you full control of when a player subs out.

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And most of all, you can now completely customize the Wear & Tear Impact of specific tackles. Want Hit Sticks to deal more damage? Or perhaps you want plpayers to heal faster during the game? The following aspects can now be controlled:

Normal Tackle Impact
Catch Tackle Impact
Hit Stick Impact
Cut Stick Impact
Defender Tackle Advantage Impact
Sack Impact
Block Impact
Impact Block Impact
Per-Play Recovery
Per-Timeout Recovery
Between Quarter Recovery
Halftime Recovery
In-Game Healing Reserve Pool

But it’s not just the hits, but the weather too that plays a role. Therefore, weather can significantly impact player health during a game. However, you’ll be able to see more clearly when your players are hurt. When a player hits a certain threshold of damage, they play worse. Therefore, you need to utilize this system well.

Lastly, your toughness rating continues to play a role in your player’s health. Players with more toughness recover faster, take hits better, and can stay on the field longer. They’ll be your bread and butter as you hope to win it all in Dynasty, Road To Glory, or other modes.

Abilities – Wear & Tear

Physical Abilities now share a more involved connection with Wear & Tear. Each Physical ability is now categorized into the upper or lower body. If your Wear & Tear builds up, your abilities may drop down a tier or two. So if you want to get that Heisman Tier level, you must be healthy and great.

This adds a new level of management that can make even your best players make big mistakes. If your best player takes too much damage, you’ll feel on in the field. Therefore, take extra precaution, especially in big games.

Overall, that includes everything you need to know about the new Dynamic Substitution feature in College Football 26. We look forward to trying it out, as well as seeing the new changes to Wear & Tear.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg, as EA Sports released tons of new information on the game. From new plays, new archetypes, and new defensive formations, CFB 26 brings a lot to the table. A lot of new features mentioned in the Madden 26 Gameplay reveal also make their way to CFB 26.

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