------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Winning Eleven 8 FAQ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004 Daniel Tan This FAQ is created by: Daniel Tan 8th November 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- Disclaimer Notice This FAQ is only for personal use and should not be copied or altered for any purpose without the permission of the author. This FAQ should only be placed in http://www.gamefaqs.com and no other website or gaming sites --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- Version 1.0 []Started Creating - 8th November 2004 ---------------------------------------- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Contents -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [1] Introduction [2] Changes from WE7 to WE8 [3] Controls [4] Controlling your Player [5] Winning Techniques [6] Formation Settings [7] Master League [8] Winning Eleven Shop [9] Frequently Asked Questions -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Introduction -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Winning Eleven is a soccer game that is very addictive. Well, if you are reading this FAQ it means that you are currently playing it or having the intention to purchase it. I can gurantee that your day will be filled with fun after having this game. All soccer fans should actually try this game as it is very real and watching your friends play is almost close to real life matches. Winning Eleven has a very long history. I started playing it when it came out in the Playstation. At that time I was still not very into the game as the Playstation 1 version has very little ways of scoring and are stuck to the few ways. There are also many things that cannot be done in the Playstation version. However, after playing the versions in the Playstation 2, I started getting addicted to it. Hence, I RECCOMEND everyone to PLAY it. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Changes from WE7 to WE8 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This section are for those who played before Winning Eleven. There are many changes from Winning Eleven 7 to Winning Eleven 8 actually. The following are some of the things that changed: - Graphics (kinda obvious) - Realism - examples are the players celebrating goals even if it is offside giving you a shock when you realize that it was not a goal! - Difficulty to score - Through the many versions it is just becoming harder and harder to score. An example is that you cannot now just press [] when running towards the keeper and expect to score. - More clubs - More more more clubs. There are now 3 pages of clubs for you to choose from. This makes you not able to stop playing and trying out different teams - Different Strictness of Referee - You can now say that the referee is less strict compared to Winnning Eleven 7. Yup. Even if your last man slide their defender you might not get a red card (depending on how you slide though..). - Many More - There are just too many. I will slowly list them out as I continue with the guide. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Controls -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The controls for Winning Eleven 7 to 8 are still the same. But I will just list them out for the benefit for those who just started playing. ------------------------------------------------------------ While you are having the ball: ------------------------------------------------------------ @ Direction Pad - moving your player (err obviously) @ Left Analog - moving your player @ X Button - Short Pass @ Circle Button - Long Pass @ Triangle Button - Through Pass @ Square Button - Shoot (when you are in the opponents' half of the field) - Clear (when you are in your own half of the field) @ R1 Button - Sprint - Stop the Ball @ R2 Button - Side Step (when you are not sprinting) @ L2 Button - Tactic (explained later on) @ Right Analog - Spin (turn the analog stick one round) - Manual Pass (press down the stick with the direction) ------------------------------------------------------------- While you are not having the ball: ------------------------------------------------------------- @ Direction Pad - moving your player @ Left Analog - moving your player @ X button - Standing Tackle (hold on to chase after opponent) @ Circle Button - Sliding Tackle @ Square Button - Standing Tackle (more aggresive) @ L1 Button - Change player @ L2 Button - Tactic (explained later on) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Controlling your Player -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The KEY to winning is to control your player well! If you can control your player well, you can simply dribble pass your opponent's defence. However, it is much much harder to be done than said.. My guide will just tell you some tips to controlling your player. What matters most is still practice. Like what they say, practice makes perfect. ------------------ a. Dribbling ------------------ Whats about dribbling? Actually, there is a lot to dribbling. Follow my tips and you might just be able to dribble pass defences in a matter of time. (1) Do not Sprint too much - Sprinting will cause you to not able to control your player for a long time after he touches the ball. This will cause your opponent too easily tackle the ball away from you. You will easily run into your opponent also if you keep on sprinting. (2) Do not keep runnning straight - Keep turning, especially when a player is trying to tackle the ball from you. One good way is to turn around that guy. You can also keep turning till the player runs past you and you can continue dribbling forward. One other way is to suddenly turn when he is just about to tackle you. This could give you a free kick! lol. (3) Sidestepping - Sidestepping, one of my favourite part of Winning Eleven. One of the ways to go past the defender is by sidestepping. One way is to sidestep when he is about to tackle you. This will cause the defender to run pass you and you can continue running. However, if your opponent is more experienced, he will not tricked that easily. When that happens, try side-stepping diagonally down or up. You can also try to sidestep and then move another direction. All these will confuse your opponent. However, side-stepping will need lots of practice. - Press R2 with D-Pad to Side-Step. (4) Stopping the ball - A very good way of irritating your opponent. lol. It will also confuse your opponent. A good technique of dribbling. One way of making it to good use is to stop the ball when your opponent is just about to tackle you and he will just miss you. - Press R1 when running (not sprinting) (5) Sprinting like mad - Yup. One way is to sprint like mad. However, this is only done when you get pass their defence. One way is to press R2 while you are sprinting, and keep changing your direction of sprinting. This will cause your player to move faster but will cause a big gap between the player and the ball. Hence, only use it when there are not defenders in front of you. This is especially useful when you are running the flanks. - Press R2 while Sprinting ------------------ b. Passing ------------------ Passing is one of the most important part of winning eleven. If you keep on dribbling and just refuse to pass. You will lose in no time. (1) Short Pass - The pass that you will be using 90% of the time. I will just give you some tips on short passing: - Only pass to players that are free. - Try not to pass to players too far away. One way of seeing is to not pass to players that you cannot see (not in your TV screen). - Do not pass to players that have opponent's players nearby them - Confuse your opponent by passing to one player and passing it back directly. (2) Through Pass - Very useful for creating chances especially in this version. In this version, it is surprisingly easy to through pass and create a chance for your striker to score. The following are tips that you can follow: - Try to look for open spaces for your striker to run - Always look out for offside (the computer tends to make your striker run offside) - Press at the right time, preferrably when the striker has started running. Pressing at the wrong time will result in an offside or the ball going into the opponent's possesion. (3) Long Pass - Not very useful when you are just trying to pass in the mid-field. However, it is very useful for creating chances to score, especially by heading. More will be explained in further sections on this long pass. (4) Manual Pass - Not very useful. I do not use it actually as there is really no point in using it. The only good thing about this is to score your own goal. lol. That what i usually do when i get bored. It will look as if you are scoring the opponent's goal. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Winning Techniques -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This section will tell you all my secrets of scoring wonderful goals. This section will consists of how to set up a chance, how to score a goal including set pieces and how to win each of the different difficulties. --------------------------- a. Goal Scoring Techniques --------------------------- This section will tell you the steps to scoring a fantastic goal. This is just a guide. Try to create your own personal style by customizing them. It will make the goal more beautiful. The number of * in the brackets represents the difficulty of doing them. The higher the number of the chance of scoring, the more likely it will score. (1) High Cross (*) [Chances of Scoring = 1] - This method is by making a player run by the flank and cross into the middle of the penalty box allowing your striker to head it into the goal. - Run a player to the right or left flank. - Press Circle ONCE to cross into the goal (Try not to let the defender block the ball) - Then press Square when the ball is in the air to head it into the goal. (2) Quick Cross (*) [Chances of Scoring = 2] - This method is the same as the one above just that the cross is much more accurate and quicker. This is a much prefered cross compared to the above one. As this cross is quicker, it prevents the defenders to prepare to head it away and prevents the defender from getting into the striker's way. - Run a player to the right or left flank. - Press Circle TWICE to cross into the goal (Try not to let the defender block the ball) - Then press Square when the ball is in the air to head it into the goal. (3) Low Cross (***) [Chances of Scoring = 5] - This method is much more effective but very hard to do. Actually, it is easy to do but very hard to find a chance to do so. This is very useful for counter-attack as the opponent will have very little defenders defending. - Run a player as fast as you can to the right or left flank - Constantly look at the radar for your striker - Once you reach the end of the field, if the space between the striker and the player you are controlling is free, quickly press Circle THRICE - Then quickly tap Square to tap the ball into the goal (4) Manual Cross (**) [Chances of Scoring = 1.5] - This cross is useful in a way that you need not run all the way to the end of the field. However, the bad point is that you have to control how much power the cross will be. - Run a player to the flank just before reaching the penalty box - Try to look out for strikers in the penalty box - If there is a reasonable amount of strikers inside, lightly tap Circle to send the ball flying into the penalty box. - Next press Square to head the ball into the goal. (5) Through Pass (***) [Chances of Scoring = ?] - Through passing in this version is easier than the previous versions, so make full use of it. To successfully through pass, you must have good precision and timing. The chances of scoring is put as ? because it depends on how you are going to make use of that chance to score a goal. One on one situations will be explained and how to score in such situations will be in a later section. (6) Dribble Through (*****) [Chances of Scoring = ?] - Sounds crazy? yeah. but it is possible. It just needs lots of practice on dribbling and you might just be dribbling through their defence. However, it can mostly be done in counter-attacks. (7) Long Range Shot (**) [Chances of Scoring = 1] - Well, do this only if you are leading. lol. However, this is possible. It is actually possible to score from 30metres or maybe even more. I shall tell you the secrets in doing so. - Look at the radar. When you see the opponent's keeper running out of his line, that is your cue. - Set up the ball like passing it backwards or just passing to allow the ball to be blasted with more power. - Sprint when you are doing this. If you just run normally and try to blast the ball, the ball will just go into the keeper's hands - Lastly, the power gauge that you are aiming for will be slightly more than half of the bar. However, more if you are further than 30m. - The good thing about this is that the chances of getting a free corner kick is rather high. lol. That corner kick might just bring you into victory. --------------------------- b. One on One situations --------------------------- What happens if you are in a one on one situation with the keeper? People tend to panic and one very good chance of scoring is just wasted. Hence, the following will teach you what to do in one on one situations and also how to score beautiful goals. (1) Blasting into the Goal - Obviously, the most simple method is to just press Square and hope that it gets into the goal. However, there are several things to take note if you are going to do this. - Make sure the keeper is at caution position (he squats halfway and walks towards you). Your chances of scoring will be higher when he does this - Get the power gauge right. It should be less than half of the bar but not too little. The best is a bit lesser than half. (2) Lobbing - Chances of scoring through lobbing is very high. Lobbing is one of my favourite way of scoring as it kinda tease the opponent as the ball goes slowly into the goal. - Makes sure the keeper is at caution position - When he is a few steps away from you, press Square to 1/4 of the bar and quickly press R1 - This will cause the ball to be lobbed over the keeper - Lobbing needs practice as you need to get the distance from the striker and the keeper right in order to successfully lob the ball into the goal (3) Faking the keeper - This is one of the best ways to tease the opponent. You can actually run into the goal if you do this actually. lol. - When the keeper is at caution position, press square and quickly press X. This will cause the keeper to dive. - If you are good enough, you can run inside the goal. However, the chances of running in are not very high - If not just turn away for the keeper and tap Square to send the ball into the goal - There are many ways of faking the goalkeeper. - Even turning will cause the keeper to dive down if you are at the correct distance from him - You can spin around to fake him also - Side-stepping will also cause the keeper to dive down. - The most important part about faking the keeper is the distance from the striker and the keeper (4) Running around the keeper - One easy way of scoring is to run a different direction so that the keeper is not in the middle of the goal and the striker. This is a very good way of scoring as it is easy and the chances are rather high if done correctly. --------------------------- c. Set Pieces --------------------------- Set pieces are actually very fun, especially the free kicks. Although it is rather hard to score from a set piece, it gives the challenge. (1) Corner Kicks - Corner kicks are rather easy to score. Follow the below steps: - Turn the screen abit nearer to the goal - Hold on to up and press Circle to a bit less than half bar - Next, quickly press Square to head it into the goal - The chances of scoring if you do this method is rather high actually (2) Free Kicks - Free kicking is an art. In order to free kick well, one must need lots of practice. One must also try all sorts of different ways to kick the ball into the goal. - For direct shot into the goal, I might not be able to teach you as this will need personal style. However, if you are crossing from a free kick, then try the following: - Aim into the centre of the penalty box - Lightly tap Circle - Quickly press Square to head the ball into the goal -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Formation Settings -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Formation Setting is an important factor in Winning Eleven. If the formation is just not good, you will not be playing well. Hence, one must know how to do the formation settings. For non-Japanese speaking people, I suggest you refer to the other guides that translates the Japanese for you. You will then be much more familiar with how to do so. Formation settings is actually to your preference. No one can and should actually tell you how you should put your formation, etc. However, listening to advice might be good. The following are tips that you can follow: - Always look into the reserve bench before the start of the game and compare them with the main team. Most of the teams have their star players in the reserve bench in default - Try out different formations. My favourite is the 4-4-2A formation. Try to get the formation that you can play the best with. - If you are bored and want to try something different, you can always change the defenders with the striker and vice-versa and see what happens when you play. lol. It is rather fun. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Master League -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- I will just do a short introduction to the master league as the other guides are definitely very informative enough. The following are tips that you can folow: - Always look out for young talents, they are your club's future - When a player get to around 31 years of age, consider putting him into the reserve bench as he will start to not perform well4 - Try to win most of the matches especially the WEFA Cup or Division Cups. They give a lot of money if you are the champion - Players "reincarnate" when they are of a certain age. Hence put them in your favourite list and wait for them to come back as 17 years old. Nice, isn't it? - Do not keep buying star players like Zinedine Zidane, etc. Their stats will drop very fast as they are mostly all rather old in the game -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Winning Eleven Shop -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The winning eleven shop has many extra features that you can buy after earning WEN from playing matches or winning leagues/cups/etc. There are many things that can be bought in the WE shop. The most important is obviously the classic teams as they are really fun to play with. The players are insane as they are super inhumanly good. Each match played will earn you 50WEN. The best way to earn WEN is still to play the Master League as winning the division cups and WEFA cups will earn you WEN also. Refer to the other FAQs to see what the shop provides. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Conclusion -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This is the first version and hence more will be updated as the time goes by. Thank you for reading my FAQ and have a nice day. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SPECIAL THANKS -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- I would like to thank the makers of Winning Eleven 8 for making such a wonderful version of it. I would like to thank all the readers out there for reading my FAQ. I would like to thank GAMEFAQS for hosting this FAQ up their site. I would like to thank myself for making this FAQ. Lastly, I would like to thank her (iwantyoubackk).