FIFA 21 Winter Refresh Event – Ratings Refresh and Winter Upgrades

Q: What is the Winter Refresh event?
A: Winter Refresh is one of the biggest content updates of the entire year in FUT. It usually features new versions of ICONS, themed items, upgraded ratings for 50 players, new players in League SBC rewards plus repeatable and non-repeatable SBCs, New Player SBCs, Themed Daily and Weekly Objectives and more!

Q: When Winter Refresh event took place for the first time?
A: Winter Refresh was released for the first time ever in FIFA 19, replacing Ratings Refresh.

Q: Which offers can we expect to be released on the Winter Refresh event?
A: ICON Moments, Winter Refresh team, skills and weak foot upgrades and Ratings Refresh. There is also room for new players, League SBCs updates and League Objectives Players updates.

Q: How are players upgraded in Ultimate Team?
A: Different to what happens on other game modes, and excepting the dynamic items, the FUT players aren’t automatically updated throughout the season according to their appearances in real life. Some may receive In Form cards, but most players remain with the characteristics they were given at the start of the season. In Ultimate Team, upgrades are made through the release of new cards in two specific times: Summer and Winter upgrades. When a player is upgraded, the cards that start coming in packs have got the new ratings and attributes according to their performance on the real-life pitch.

Q: What happens to the items of players who were upgraded?
A: To each player who is upgraded during the Winter upgrades season, it is assigned a new regular card which becomes available in packs until the end of the game, replacing the correspondent day 1 regular card. In other words, as soon as the new card is inserted in FUT packs, the old ones can only be found in the existing clubs and in the transfer market. Your odds of pulling the new card from a pack are exactly the same as pulling the original regular card before the update. If you own the day 1 card of an upgraded player, your card will keep unchanged. If you want the improved version, you will need to buy the corresponding new card in the market or cross your fingers when opening a pack.

Q: Which players were upgraded?
A: Only players who are rec Scream items. Future Stars Objectives Players will not be upgraded.

Q: How does an upgrade item looks like?
A: Upgraded Players Cards are physically identical to the originals, except on rating and stats. In some cases, the position can also be updated.

Q: Who chooses the players to be upgraded?
A: A dedicated team from EA Sports.

Q: How long are Winter Upgrades Players items available in FIFA packs?
A: As soon as they are released for the first time, they remain in packs until the end of the game, replacing the day 1 cards.

Q: If I own a card of a player that is to receive an upgrade, will this card get upgraded?
A: No. It remains exactly the same, with the original rating and attributes that were defined initially in the game.

Q: Can a player change categories if he is upgraded enough for that to happen?
A: Yes. As long as the upgrade gives him enough points for that, a player’s NIF card can go from bronze to silver or from silver to gold.

Q: If I own an In Form card of a player that is to receive an upgrade, will this card get upgraded?
A: Depends. Different to what happens with the NIF cards, the IF items released before the Winter Refresh will be upgraded in the same proportion as those (but automatically) if an upgraded player’s new OVR rating or one of the face stats equals or surpasses his existing first in-form’s. Only the face rating and the face stats matter for the winter refresh upgrade formula.

Q: Do Team of the Year Nominee cards trigger an upgrade?
A: No. The only cards that matter for triggering an upgrade are the winter NIF and the first earned special card (or FUTmas). It is likely that TOTY Nominee cards will increase if that player receives a winter refresh increase even if they don’t trigger an upgrade of the other special cards,

Q: Why are there some In Form cards that didn’t receive an upgrade although their NIF did?
A: Probably the upgraded player’s new OVR rating does not equal or surpass his existing in-form’s rating.

Q: It is possible to exist two regular cards of the same player with different ratings?
A: Yes. That’s what happens when a player receives an upgrade, two cards start coexisting: one corresponds to the start of the season and the other has got improved ratings and attributes.

Q: When there’s an upgrade, which cards are the ones that come in packs?
A: The new ones.

Q: Which cards are released first: transfers or upgrades?
A: Transfers.

Q: Do all upgraded players get a new card?
A: Yes. Although, if you own a regular card of a player that was upgraded there won’t be any alterations.

Q: The NIF and TOTW cards are the only ones to be upgraded? A: No. Every single special card has the chance to be upgraded, which includes, for example, the Heroes and Record Breaker cards.

Q: How can I predict which players have good chances of receiving an upgrade card?
A: Even if you don’t keep up much with the real-life football, there are two indicators to help out in this prediction: the number of a player’s IF cards; constant rating upgrades on H2H.

Q: Can a player be downgraded?
A: No.

Q: Can I have both the original and the new card in my club?
A: Yes. However, a squad can only have one of them.

Q: Can a transferred player receive an upgraded card? A: Yes, he can. Although EA Sports try separating player transfers/player upgrades, there are rare cases in which the same player is both transferred and upgraded at the same time. In that case, both situations are passed on to one single card.

Q: What advantage do the Winter upgrades bring us?
A: The upgrades increase the squads’ quality level, diminishing the differences between the game and real-life football. Besides, they can also represent good trading opportunities, mainly when it comes to IF cards.

Q: I already have a squad. What is it good to me?
A: If you’re already “done” with your squad, the upgrades increase your improvement opportunities. If your squad is based on a league, for example, upgrades can improve the players you already have or they can promote others for a position or two.

Q: What cares should I take with these new cards coming?
A: If you want to buy a NIF, make sure you’re not paying the price the UP demands. If you want to sell an UP, make sure you’re not selling for the corresponding NIF price.