In PES 15–21, which version makes it easiest to score against the CPU?

[deadfall]

Hello,
I’ve been playing games like Master League against the CPU lately.
I want to beat the CPU by a big margin, like 9-0, without lowering the difficulty, but it’s really hard.
Whenever I get the ball, the CPU closes in on me instantly, as if they were Messi or Ronaldo, and steals it.
Even when a player with lower stats challenges me, I can’t hold my ground in physical battles and lose the ball easily.



I looked it up online, and it seems like each series has its own unique strategies:

PES 2015: Curved shots

PES 2016: Long through passes

PES 2017: Heading with tall players

PES 2018: Back-heel shots



I own PES 2015 through 2021.
Which installment is the easiest for scoring multiple goals against the CPU?



I came here because I heard there are many long-time PES players on this forum.
I’d really appreciate it if you could share any highly effective tactics against the CPU or “cheat-like” plays that make scoring easy.

 

[NeoRetro]

2016 and 2015, defs are ok but keeper awful. 2016 bowling ball to give a punchy feeling but they forget to caliber the GK to stop cannonballs.

2018 just after as it's too easy to dribble and face off the goal, but it's not always on target oppositely as the 15 and the 16.
You can also pass trough everyone without having a referee intervention as he's more inexistant than ever now be careful : he can give you a red card for nothing one game, but you can considers it as a bug as it's exceptionnal.

In 2014-15 i hated both of our 2 football games for the same reason (too easy to score), i prefered through the PES feeling, but relatively place even the despited PES 2014 if i want to replay one of those 2014-2016 versions by miles, catch-up system or not, bugs or not (lot gets corrected on the final version)

And from 2019 to 2021 the difficulty increases regarding to score, especially with the latest official game patch versions.
I retried the 2017 and i also found it way to easy to go from a goal to another, and to score too, but less than the others.

In reality i don't know if i'm the only one (sure not) but i always got easy to score or create occasions on any football games, PES, Fifa... But the only 2 which i finally found an interest regarding difficulty and retrieved scoring pleasure like the good old time was 2020 (post last bugged patch) but even more with 2021 version. I didn't get something challenging since years, not only to score but in every part of the game/probably the most defensive of all Ps4 even Ps3/PS2 versions with WE9.

No idea if there's an input or anything working better than another, to me it's the most balanced regarding real "easy to hard goal" reality so...
Depends on your players and tactics, that's all i see, at least the way i'm playing the game. You will probably found different approach here and there's people who are better at dribbling, others on crossing-header, some to play tiki-taka and enter litterally on the goal etc. etc.
Hard question for late versions.

 

[buczer]

2016 and 2015, defs are ok but keeper awful. 2016 bowling ball to give a punchy feeling but they forget to caliber the GK to stop cannonballs.

2018 just after as it's too easy to dribble and face off the goal, but it's not always on target oppositely as the 15 and the 16.
You can also pass trough everyone without having a referee intervention as he's more inexistant than ever now be careful : he can give you a red card for nothing one game, but you can considers it as a bug as it's exceptionnal.

In 2014-15 i hated both of our 2 football games for the same reason (too easy to score), i prefered through the PES feeling, but relatively place even the despited PES 2014 if i want to replay one of those 2014-2016 versions by miles, catch-up system or not, bugs or not (lot gets corrected on the final version)

And from 2019 to 2021 the difficulty increases regarding to score, especially with the latest official game patch versions.
I retried the 2017 and i also found it way to easy to go from a goal to another, and to score too, but less than the others.

In reality i don't know if i'm the only one (sure not) but i always got easy to score or create occasions on any football games, PES, Fifa... But the only 2 which i finally found an interest regarding difficulty and retrieved scoring pleasure like the good old time was 2020 (post last bugged patch) but even more with 2021 version. I didn't get something challenging since years, not only to score but in every part of the game/probably the most defensive of all Ps4 even Ps3/PS2 versions with WE9.

No idea if there's an input or anything working better than another, to me it's the most balanced regarding real "easy to hard goal" reality so...
Depends on your players and tactics, that's all i see, at least the way i'm playing the game. You will probably found different approach here and there's people who are better at dribbling, others on crossing-header, some to play tiki-taka and enter litterally on the goal etc. etc.
Hard question for late versions.

Did you try PES 2008 (PS2 version) on Top Player difficulty ? The CPU is really good

 

[Marreco]

Great question. I’ll share my “cheat” tactics, which basically exploit certain game mechanics. Over the past year, I’ve played almost every PES version from 2014 to 2021—some more than others—and almost always on FUMA, which makes a huge difference.

PES 2015:
Cut inside from the wing and shoot from around 16 meters. For some reason, after throw-ins, defenders on the highest difficulty allow you to pass from the wing into the center far too easily.

PES 2016:
Probably the easiest PES of all time. Just give the ball to your left or right back and sprint forward. The ball physics are amazing, but the game is simply way too easy.

PES 2017:
Crossing + headers are extremely effective. High team spirit combined with tiki-taka works incredibly well.

PES 2018:
Use one-twos with lofted high passes.

PES 2019:
Finesse shots are super overpowered if your player has the Long-Range Curler trait.

PES 2020 / PES 2021:
If the box is crowded, a finesse curler is almost an instant goal because of how the goalkeeper’s line of sight works. But the best method on FUMA is the super-cancel “bug”: play a manual through ball behind the defensive line and immediately press super cancel when control switches to your striker. This freezes the defender for a moment, giving you a small window to burst through for a 1-on-1.
Without this trick on Legend difficulty and FUMA, the only consistent scoring method is attacking down the wings and hitting a very short near-post cross.

These are just the methods I remember and figured out myself. Of course, the most fun is when every goal feels different and there’s a lot of variety.

 

[danek235]

PES 2015 and PES 2016 definitely. Almost identical game where defending and goalkeepers identically suck, both versions keepers jump looks like they are in slow motion, everything shot from less than 20 meters is 90% goal, also passing and shooting is just to OP.

 

[Madmac79]

Yeah, my vote goes to 2015 and 2016 as well.

I tried to enjoy 2015 so hard (love the graphics, love how CPU attacks, love players ID), but once I saw that defenders simply can't defend close dribbling due to lack of reflexes in standing tackles, and general lack of aggressiveness, it was impossible for me to keep at it. I tried to play with stats for a long time but even making attackers as slow as possible and defenders/tactics as harsh and responsive as possible, the result is still that if I try and dance with small changes of directions CPU lets me do my thing in a comical fashion... it's cooked too deep in the core of the game. Also keepers are bad (even if imho not as bad in 2016).

2016 indeed was even generally overall worse and a complete joke of a release (IMHO it should be reminded as the worse ever, not pc 2008) as defenses were the same (plus every through ball or so was a goal chance) and goalkeepers were totally broken, a possible disaster awaiting at literally every ball directed towards them.

So, in short, if you want a game where it's consistently easy to score and exploit the CPU even at Superstar, you can't go wrong with either of these two.

 

[deadfall]

Great question. I’ll share my “cheat” tactics, which basically exploit certain game mechanics. Over the past year, I’ve played almost every PES version from 2014 to 2021—some more than others—and almost always on FUMA, which makes a huge difference.

PES 2015:
Cut inside from the wing and shoot from around 16 meters. For some reason, after throw-ins, defenders on the highest difficulty allow you to pass from the wing into the center far too easily.

PES 2016:
Probably the easiest PES of all time. Just give the ball to your left or right back and sprint forward. The ball physics are amazing, but the game is simply way too easy.

PES 2017:
Crossing + headers are extremely effective. High team spirit combined with tiki-taka works incredibly well.

PES 2018:
Use one-twos with lofted high passes.

PES 2019:
Finesse shots are super overpowered if your player has the Long-Range Curler trait.

PES 2020 / PES 2021:
If the box is crowded, a finesse curler is almost an instant goal because of how the goalkeeper’s line of sight works. But the best method on FUMA is the super-cancel “bug”: play a manual through ball behind the defensive line and immediately press super cancel when control switches to your striker. This freezes the defender for a moment, giving you a small window to burst through for a 1-on-1.
Without this trick on Legend difficulty and FUMA, the only consistent scoring method is attacking down the wings and hitting a very short near-post cross.

These are just the methods I remember and figured out myself. Of course, the most fun is when every goal feels different and there’s a lot of variety.

After hearing your advice, I’ve been focusing on PES 2016.

When I play a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 formation and pass the ball to the left or right fullback,

the CPU opponent immediately applies intense pressure to try to steal the ball.

It’s tough... Do you happen to remember any other tips for crushing the CPU?

 

[Madmac79]

After hearing your advice, I’ve been focusing on PES 2016.

When I play a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 formation and pass the ball to the left or right fullback,

the CPU opponent immediately applies intense pressure to try to steal the ball.

It’s tough... Do you happen to remember any other tips for crushing the CPU?

What experience do you have with football games? Even if the titles we suggested you are pretty exploitable for veterans (16 in particular is flat out broken), they may feel tough for somebody picking them up for the first time or similar.

Either way, I suggest you to try from like Professional at first and work your way up until you are confident in each difficulty level.

For the gameplay, the suggestions I can give you are more or less what I wrote above, spam through balls, crosses and shots at every chance, also try to dribble with small changes of directions of the left stick, once you get decent with it CPU won't be able to get the ball from you like at all.

 

[naczelnik5]

Hello,
I’ve been playing games like Master League against the CPU lately.
I want to beat the CPU by a big margin, like 9-0,


I came here because I heard there are many long-time PES players on this forum.
I’d really appreciate it if you could share any highly effective tactics against the CPU or “cheat-like” plays that make scoring easy.

I'm asking out of pure curiosity, why are you looking for a game in which you can easy win, for example, 9:0?

 

[Marreco]

After hearing your advice, I’ve been focusing on PES 2016.

When I play a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 formation and pass the ball to the left or right fullback,

the CPU opponent immediately applies intense pressure to try to steal the ball.

It’s tough... Do you happen to remember any other tips for crushing the CPU?

As mentioned your experiance is extremly Importend. PES 2014-2016 are extremly clunky and unresponsive, which is initialy Hard to learn, but with experience after a Short period of time you Can blow out the AI easily, which I Hardly disliked about these Games.

 

[deadfall]

I'm asking out of pure curiosity, why are you looking for a game in which you can easy win, for example, 9:0?

I always struggle to score goals,

but the CPU scores way too easily and unfairly.



They slot home rebounds with mid-range shots way too easily, and their free kicks always go in.



Plus, the higher the difficulty, the more even players with a 70 rating feel like Ronaldo and Messi.

I'm asking out of pure curiosity, why are you looking for a game in which you can easy win, for example, 9:0?

I always struggle to score goals,

but the CPU scores way too easily and unfairly.

They slot home rebounds with mid-range shots way too easily, and their free kicks always go in.

Plus, the higher the difficulty, the more even players with a 70 rating feel like Ronaldo and Messi.

 

[NeoRetro]

Did you try PES 2008 (PS2 version) on Top Player difficulty ? The CPU is really good

We2008 (more acceptable speed) and JL2008CC (most ideal/realistic speed) are my 2 favourites games on PS2.
I like PES 2008 too, but the game is a bit too fast for pass/building play... And i hate stats decreased, it's my own opinion but i found that method very "cheap" and if the vanilla game got a small problem for my taste and it's corrected on another version from that era : i just switch from a game to another.

But honestly, i replayed PES5, JLWE2007, Even PES3 and all are quite the same speed and it doesn't botter me : in fact that makes the game a bit more intense so, difficult to build. Now i noticed that PES 2008 speed isn't the issue, but passes are fast and players are super reactive for good to super teams.
I would place it 3rd ex-aequo with PES5 in terms of gameplay (even if i got enough of that version as i think i played it too much since 2005-06... But i rediscovered PES 2008 and the 2 others from the same season only 4-5 years ago and i was quite surprised.

There's some others good later version like WE 2010 aoki but it doesn't reach the "real PES" feeling i got with PES/WE/JL2008: the game feels "simplified" and converted from PSP. But on ps2 the one that resume every version except 2 is probably PES 2009 perhaps the AI is the same but it's the most simplified version and easy and there's less interceptions, goals are easy and lookalike etc., then their top speed are higher, so it's easier to overlap defenders.

Now i founded PES 2014 quite different and interesting. It doesn't feel like an old Pes but the game is fun. Now i tried recently PES 2013 (never tried before as i through it was the same, but no : the game is more physical and dynamic, and better than 2009-2012 version but also 2014. I can't place it on a top due to older PES with unique feeling like WE7i, WE8LE, WE9, even a big fan of PES1/WE5FE, then you got WE6FE which is probably the most special gameplay and graphically version, etc.
So to me the golden PS2 era was between 2001-02 to 2007-08, and for the others there's some good/average, basic version with some exception but less replay value.
Now that i don't wait like when we all waited for a new engine like it was the case for 2011 to 2013 version : i love them and play it often, i don't have a real favourite but to me the best "mix" is 2012 version, even if i'm more a 2011 first time fan. But there was also Fifa 11 at the time... And i just replayed it yesterday and it's still a banger, probably my favourite Fifa with the 14 on PS4, Now the feeling is too different and they got their pro and con (you feel better players stats in Pes, while animations transition is better in Fifa but players feel a bit too much the samey and keeping the ball is easier, scoring isn't etc. etc.
I will stop to write a light novel at every post now ....

But i'm ATM totally on those games playing and editing, switch and test... Even if i own tons of others Ps5 games (fighting games/practically all souls like and some arcade/fun racing game more accessible than sim so less harder with a DS5 sticks) so those games will wait that at least i will finish one or two patchs i'm on it. As to me it's the last good Football games i will play, i want them almost perfect as i'm that kind of editor spending sometimes 30 minutes to found a face formula even if it's with the IG PS2 editor lol or 45-60 minutes for a single player stats But at least i'm satisfied at the end

 

[NeoRetro]

@deadfall everyone told you that PES 2016 is bad and to avoid, aren't you a bit masochist lol.
Skip that one and try at least the 2017 as it's the only one balanced if you like the first 3-4 years with "old Fox engine" starting from PES 2014 or 2015, the feeling is still almost the same as it's the same pitch size, but they just added a Keeper and it was a game changer. Algorithms except for shoot variation a bit less repetitive, etc.
Now i said "if you like that feeling", well personnally after replaying it i didn't liked it everything seemed to miss real physics, in comparison to 19-20-21 which are bangers to me even if no games are perfect, neither GTA or MGS even the last good NBA2K.