There’s nothing more demoralizing than booting up your favorite football game for a casual evening, only to get crushed 6-0 by the AI in your first match. I’ve been there too, ever since the old PES days, and I know that the default difficulty setting rarely fits every player’s skill level right out of the box. If you’re tired of either steamrolling every opponent or never getting a single shot on target, learning how to change difficulty in eFootball 2022 is the fastest way to make the game feel built for you. This guide walks you through every step, plus extra tips to pick the right level and use difficulty adjustments to get better at the game.
How to Change Difficulty in eFootball 2022 Across All Game Modes
The process of adjusting difficulty changes slightly depending on what game mode you’re playing, but none of the steps are complicated. You won’t have to dig through hidden menus or install any mods to make the change, everything is built directly into the game’s default interface. Default difficulty for all new players is set to Professional, which is a good mid-point for people who’ve played football games before, but too hard for total beginners and too easy for veteran players.
You can adjust difficulty at these key points in the game:
- Offline exhibition matches: adjust before confirming your team selection on the pre-match setup screen
- Career modes like Master League: edit in the mode settings menu before starting a new save file
- Dream Team single-player matches: toggle difficulty in the pre-match setup screen for non-event games
- Custom tournaments: set global difficulty when creating the tournament bracket, before adding teams
One critical note to remember: you can't adjust difficulty mid-save for Master League or other career modes. If you pick a level that’s too hard or too easy when you start your save, you’ll have to restart the entire save to change it, so double check this setting before you commit to a multi-season run. For exhibition matches, you can change the difficulty every time you start a new game, no restrictions apply.
How to Pick the Right Difficulty Level for Your Skill
eFootball 2022 has six difficulty levels, ranging from Beginner all the way up to Legend, and each one changes how the AI plays, how accurate their passes are, and how aggressive their defense is. The worst thing you can do is jump straight to Legend because you think it makes you a better player, or stick to Beginner forever because you’re scared of losing. The right difficulty is the one that makes you work for wins, but still lets you pull off the plays you practice.
As a general rule, your win rate should sit between 40% and 60% for the most engaging gameplay. If you’re winning 80% of your matches or more, you’re ready to bump up a level. If you’re losing every single match and can’t even get a shot on target after 5 or 6 games, drop down a level to build your confidence first. For example, if you’re new to football games entirely, start on Amateur for your first 10 matches to learn the controls, then move up to Standard once you’re comfortable passing and shooting.
You don’t have to stick to one difficulty level forever, either. I usually play on Top Player for most of my regular matches, but I’ll drop down to Standard if I’m testing a new formation or messing around with a team of lower-rated players for fun. There’s no shame in adjusting the setting to fit what you want out of your play session that day.
Common Issues When Adjusting eFootball 2022 Difficulty (and Fixes)
Most of the time, adjusting difficulty works exactly as expected, but there are a few common snags that players run into all the time. I’ve dealt with all of these myself, so I can walk you through why they happen and what you can do about them, no technical expertise required.
The most common issue is a greyed out difficulty option that you can’t click. This usually happens for two reasons: you’re trying to adjust difficulty mid-career save, or you’re playing an official Dream Team event match. For career saves, the only fix is to start a new save and pick your preferred difficulty before you begin. For event matches, the difficulty is locked by Konami to keep the competition fair for reward eligibility, so there’s no way to change it for those specific games.
Another common complaint is that the difficulty feels unbalanced even after you change it. This usually happens because the game’s AI adapts slightly to your playstyle over time, so if you’ve been beating Professional level easily for a few weeks, the AI will get a little better to match you. If that happens, just bump up to the next difficulty level to get the challenge back. Never use slider adjustments if you want to qualify for official in-game event rewards, because any custom slider changes will disable your ability to earn coins, player cards, or other prizes from official matches.
If you play co-op offline with friends, you might notice the game feels harder even if you kept the same difficulty level. That’s not your imagination, if you play co-op offline, the difficulty scales based on the number of players on your team. If you’re playing with 2 or 3 friends against the AI, bump the difficulty down one level to keep the matches balanced and fun for everyone.
Ways to Use Difficulty Adjustments to Improve Your Gameplay
Difficulty settings aren’t just for making matches easier or harder—you can use them as a training tool to get better at the game faster, even if you’re a competitive player who wants to climb the ranked Dream Team ladder. I use this trick all the time to practice new skills without wasting ranked matches on mistakes I could have fixed first in offline play.
Spending 1-2 hours per week on a lower difficulty to drill specific skills will speed up your improvement far faster than grinding matches on a level that's too hard. For example, if you’re struggling to defend against through balls, drop the difficulty down to Standard, play 10 matches where you only focus on defensive positioning and intercepting passes, and you’ll get the hang of it way faster than if you keep trying to learn on Top Player where the AI will punish every small mistake immediately. You can do the same for set pieces, skill moves, or new tactical formations.
If you’re introducing a friend to eFootball 2022 for the first time, dropping the difficulty down to Amateur for your co-op or friendly matches will make the experience way more fun for them. Nothing turns new players off faster than getting destroyed over and over before they even learn how to sprint or pass properly. Once they get the hang of the controls, you can bump the difficulty back up slowly so everyone stays challenged.
At the end of the day, eFootball 2022 is supposed to be fun, and adjusting the difficulty to match your skill level is the easiest way to make that happen. Knowing how to change difficulty in eFootball 2022 lets you tailor every play session to what you want, whether that’s a casual kickabout with friends, a serious practice session to improve your skills, or a challenging career mode run with your favorite team. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for playing on a lower difficulty, or for turning it up when you’re ready for a bigger challenge. The only right setting is the one that makes you excited to boot up the game every time.