My name is Funkycorm. I am here to release my XP sliders for Madden 23. This is the second year of this thread and the 4th time I have made XP sliders. I am very pleased with the results I have gotten the last few years and even more so this year.
This is for Madden 23 next gen. Everything has been tested on the PS5.
A bit about me first since I am newer to the madden slider subforum. I am a perfectionist. I like things a certain way. I strive to make the best experience in the game for myself. My motto in games is chase fun, not stats. This approach and these sliders embrace that.
I look at how the short term impacts the long term. And that is exactly what XP sliders do. XP sliders don't impact the game in one week like gameplay slider adjustments do. You have to look at how the XP sliders impact the health of a franchise long term. I do not focus on stats as that is not what XP sliders are about. They are about growth and regression.
I take a week by week and a year-by-year approach both. What this means, is that I don't run a multiyear sim at once without stopping so I can just see where the numbers lie down the road, I sim week to week and look at what an individual player/position gains in a week based on various factors. We don't just want to see where league is in x number of years. This approach doesn't give us any idea on how we got to end.
We want to see where the league is at after year 1, 2, 3, etc. The league may balance out in 10 years but what happens in those first 9 years is important as well. Especially since more players probably tend to play 3-5 seasons in a given cycle.
This year, it was a bit harder to narrow these down because there are more factors involved than previously. Just like in 22. But like any game, there is a pattern. Progressive fatigue plays a big factor in this and we have to take into account all situations here. The fact that you can now focus train up to 6 players is a big monkey wrench as well. As well as the scenarios and coaching trees.
Without further delay though, here are the sliders:
Madden 23 Next Gen XP Sliders:
QB 84
These need to be lowered as most user QB will get at least one scenario per year. Lowering this helped to even out the high base ratings more.
HB 80
This is a group that needs a lot of lowering because of the high inflation on the base roster. It will start to balance over time but until then you need to keep weekly progression in check. There are also a few too many high rated, star or better HB prospects out of generated draft classes yearly.
FB 99
The fullback position is less common in today’s game but this number where it is at let’s a few elite guys emerge through the years. Something that does happen in real life.
WR 88
Progression here has always been hard to lock down in the past. This year was no different because of the inflated ratings on the roster this year.
TE 95
Here, even with a small drop, it lets some of the elite guys emerge in future seasons.
G 90
T 90
C 90
Traditionally, you have needed a huge boost to the OL positions in previous games. Not this year. This is a position grouping where the numbers needed to be lowered slightly.
DE 93
DT 93
The DL positions need brought back a bit this year. With the slight drop in OL, the DL needs just a slight decrease as they traditionally have higher ratings across the board. They are also the recipients of XP bonuses.
OLB 96
This was a tough one. Pass rushers tend to start off higher than the other archetypes. There is also a discrepancy between ROLB and LOLB. Same as last year. A small drop is needed.
MLB 103
Just needed a slight tweak above default to feel right. There is a lack of MLB emerging from draft classes this year. This helps to alleviate that deficiency.
CB 95
We need a slight drop here to keep up with the WR ratings to keep WR/DB interactions good long term. But not as much of a drop as the WR position is more overloaded.
FS 103
SS 103
Safety is usually the weakest position in most draft classes so this slight boost here is to help the league keep a balance here in future years.
K 100
P 100
No comment needed here.
A few things to note:
1. Even with a lot of factors at play, once again a good share of our XP sliders will remain close to default.
2. If you are using custom draft classes, I cannot recommend these. I use only default generated classes as custom ones are typically way too inflated and poorly designed across the board. Plus, with the crashing bug having custom classes as a trigger, I will not even edit a generated class before the draft. If you need to, edit at the draft recap screen. It causes no issues at that point.
3. I also feel that the default rosters are inflated at a few positions as I mentioned above, so these are designed to lower that inflation and do so over the life of your franchise.
4. Also, XP scenario bonuses only apply to user-controlled teams. Using 32 team control can even the playing field but takes a ton of extra work. This is personal discretion. I ran user scenarios for a few teams to get a better look at numbers and various influences.
Other Highly Recommended Settings:
This is also where I differ in my approach. There are other setting recommendations that go hand in hand with XP sliders. These are my additional settings and what I used to test these XP sliders. They are not required but are preferred and recommended for better results.
Star: 320
Superstar: 70
X Factors: 50
So, these settings are vital when it comes to sliders. The way the game is, it is too easy to have an entire group of starters all have star development. When this happens, it puts the league way out of balance.
What these lower numbers do is help control progression and regression. With these settings, teams can still have 2-4 superstars/x factors as well as an average of ten star dev players. After year 1 you will see a lot of dev trait regression. It's okay. Just roll with it. Trust me. It improves the health of your franchise long term and makes it more dynamic and keeps that ratings inflation in check. Though you may be tempted. Don't go and edit players back to where they were. It messes with the XP sliders and will put your league out of whack.
Progressive Fatigue:
This year you must have it on. It has been fixed. And it must be on for any of the above to work. It makes a vital and essential difference in the amount of progression that happens in a season. If left off, I cannot guarantee any of my slider settings will work for you as it was never tested that way. But my theory is that it will lead to bloated ratings as you can fully train everyone each week.
Rules of the thread:
1. Be courteous and respectful.
2. Do not quote this first post to keep the thread less cluttered.
3. Please do not share your XP sliders in this thread. It causes confusion and clutters up the thread.
4. Be constructive. These are final unless I want to update something. Therefore, I am not looking for direct feedback or changes to be made at this time. You may ask questions but I will not entertain requests to make changes. If you feel a change is necessary, you can change it on your end. Remember, my approach to XP sliders is different so I will hold constructive discussion on the process. But I won't hold discussion on changes.
Thanks for checking these out!
