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"College Football 25" has arrived, and gamers are all in on dynasty mode. Check out this guide from Kyle Lindemann to master recruiting and build a top-tier program.
Get ready, gamers! After a hiatus that felt longer than a halftime show, "College Football" is storming back onto the scene with its latest edition, "College Football 25." The beloved college football series, sidelined for over a decade due to copyright and player likeness disputes, has returned triumphantly. It's not just the nostalgia of hearing your school’s fight song or marching your alma mater to a national championship; it’s the revival of one of the most immersive sports gaming experiences.
This comeback is big news, especially for dynasty mode enthusiasts. "College Football 25" isn't just bringing back the thrill of game day; it’s deeply enhancing the dynasty mode where you can act as the head coach and the recruiting maestro of your favorite college team. The excitement of building a powerhouse program from the ground up, crafting the best recruiting classes, and making strategic decisions that will affect your team’s future for seasons to come -- this is where the real magic happens.
Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or new to the franchise, mastering dynasty mode’s new features will be the key to your success. In-depth recruiting tools, more realistic player development, and a dynamic AI that adapts to your coaching style are just a few updates we’ll dive into. Get ready to scout, recruit, and build a college football dynasty that rivals the legends. Let’s break down how you can dominate the recruiting trail and leave your legacy in "College Football 25" as well as your rivals in the dust! If you're looking for an audio/video version of this guide, it can be found here.
Introduction to Dynasty Mode
When you begin dynasty mode, you will be asked whether to pick "Single Player" or "Cloud Multi-User." If you decide to play your dynasty offline, you won't be able to use a TeamBuilder (custom school) or play against friends online. From there, you will either import your custom roster or use the game's default one.
Then, you will select the team you will be playing with and choose your role: head coach, offensive coordinator, or defensive coordinator. After selecting your school and role, you will create a new coach with three different classifications: recruiter, motivator, and tactician. If you want to have the best edge at recruiting, "recruiter" is what you want to pick. From there, you'll be given the option to completely customize your coach, including his alma mater as well as offensive and defensive styles. After this is completed, you will sign a contract with the school.
One cool note from the game, your coach's home state will become a pipeline state for recruiting purposes and you will have a better chance to get offers from whatever school you choose as your alma mater as well.
For those who never stopped believing...
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— EASPORTSCollege (@EASPORTSCollege) July 15, 2024
If you're feeling daring, you'll even have the power to completely realign conferences every offseason. In mine, I decided to bring back the old Pac-12 as well as to put Oklahoma and Texas back in the Big 12. (P.S. I'm sorry, but I'm just not ready for all of that realignment just yet.)
Once dynasty mode is entered, you will set up your recruiting board and begin to scout prospects. You can have up to 35 player targets on your board at any time, including up to 35 scholarships you can hand out. The good news for all of us starting up dynasty mode again is that there is a "Recommended" tab on your prospect list to give you an idea of what players you should be going after at the beginning of the recruiting cycle.
Screen capture from dynasty mode in "College Football 25."
Some advice to optimize your recruiting strategy is to know your school's place in the current pecking order. If you're a 1.5-star school on the prestige scale, trying to recruit five-star players will be impossible. That likely goes for the majority of four-star options as well. If you're the only school in a state, such as Hawaii, use that to your advantage by trying to find players who prefer to stick close to home and bring them in for a visit. Otherwise, without solid ratings in important categories, it will be difficult to recruit those highly coveted prospects.
There is also a "My School" tab to see how your program ranks in every category. Once you begin to learn more about all of the players you are scouting and what is important to them, you can try to capitalize on the strengths of your school and minimize your school's weaknesses when out on the recruiting trail. The top-tier schools in the country will have a pretty big advantage.
"My School" tab from dynasty mode in "College Football 25."
Recruiting Hours Explained
As the season kicks off, you've got to hustle to keep your recruits interested. Here’s how it rolls: recruits will whittle down their choices from open to their top eight, top five, top three, and finally to that golden commitment. Your game plan? Keeping your school in their favorites every single week.
Each player has different motivations for choosing their school, including the following:
- *Academic Prestige (you came here to win titles, not read "Voltaire")
- Athletic Facilities (difficult to improve, but increases with overall team prestige)
- Brand Exposure (how many local, national, and game of the weeks your school has on TV)
- *Campus Lifestyle (how much students can live that "party" life)
- Championship Contender (your chances of winning the whole thing)
- Coach Stability (how long you've been at the school and how long your current contract is for)
- Coach Prestige (where you rank among CFB's current coaches)
- Conference Prestige
- Playing Time
- Pro Potential (how many players your school has had drafted recently)
- Playing Style (varies by position, but if your current QB is throwing for a lot of yards, it helps you when recruiting other QBs)
- Proximity to Home
- Program Tradition (number of national championships, Heisman Trophies, conference championships, bowl games, and playoff appearances your school has)
- Stadium Atmosphere (can be increased by winning more home games)
*- cannot be improved
One important note: many prospects will have a deal-breaker ranging from minimum coach prestige to brand exposure or championship contender. If your school does not meet this requirement, you will be locked out from recruiting that player until it improves.
The amount of time you can spend charming these potential stars depends on your school’s status. If you're running with the big dogs at a five-star program, you've got a hefty 1,000 hours to play with, but if you're hustling at a one-star setup, you're looking at a tight 350 hours to spend. Remember, you're capped at spending 50 hours per prospect unless you've snagged the "Always Be 'Crootin" perk from the coaching tree, which bumps you up to 70 hours for key positions. The rich truly do get richer even in college football, huh?
The clock icon next to each prospect is the maximum number of hours you can focus on a prospect per week. So, if you plan to use 30 points in an attempt to "sway" a recruit away from another school, you will have to give up recruiting efforts in other areas for that week. By upgrading your coach's recruiting abilities in the coaching tree, you can increase the number of hours you can spend on prospects by position.
Wondering how to allocate those 50 hours? Here’s the breakdown of how you can make each hour count for every prospect:
- Offer Scholarship: 5 hours
- Search Social Media: 5 hours (will help tell you more about what is important to this player)
- Direct Message the Player: 10 hours
- Contact Friends and Family: 25 hours
- Send The House: 50 hours (not exactly sure what this means, but it's provocative)
- Schedule the Player's Official Campus Visit: 40 hours
Then, there are sells and sways available when you are trying to keep your prospect away from that other school that is also going hard after them:
- Soft Sell: 20 hours (not available until the recruit is down to their last five schools)
- Hard Sell: 40 hours (not available until the recruit is down to their last five schools)
- Sway: 30 hours (not available until the recruit is down to their last five schools)
You will have a set number of recruiting points to spend each week, but the good news is that many of those activities carry over from week to week. If you are following a player on social media or even messaging them, you won't have to keep selecting that option each week, which makes the overall recruiting process not as daunting at it might seem.
Your final option available to spend your weekly hours is to scout said prospect (usually about 30 hours) to unlock many of their attributes and see what kind of prospect they truly are. If you are torn between two three-star prospects, why not scout them to see who might be the better fit for your school?
One tip for smaller programs is to try recruiting athletes instead of only going after positions. The recruitment of athletes tends to be less competitive, and you can take advantage of this by using your scouting points for each athlete you intend to recruit. Once your scouting is finished, some of their attributes are unlocked and you'll have a pretty good idea (along with that player's height/weight dimensions) as to what their position will be once they enroll. If you're having a tougher time with recruiting, this method has worked wonders for me.
Looking at Your Depth Chart and Assessing Team Needs
Your roster is capped at 85 players heading into the season, but if you recruit over that amount, you will be required to cut or encourage existing players on your roster to transfer. The caveat is you cannot do that with players you just recruited, so if you overrecruit, you could be stuck losing vital depth pieces on your roster. Make sure to be strategic with those scholarship offers!
Instead, it's better to keep track of how many seniors you have on your roster at the beginning of each season and how many of them you think will need to be replaced in the offseason, as well as your overall depth at each position group. Once you've determined that, you know where you need to attack once the recruiting cycle begins again.
You can give out up to 35 scholarships per recruiting cycle and I've found that it's better to focus on 7-10 recruits at a time in the hope of getting one to commit. Once that happens, it frees up the hours you are spending on that recruit to go recruit other players.
Recruiting board from dynasty mode in "College Football 25."
Coach Abilities and Spending Your XP
In "College Football 25," your coach is more than just a sideline presence; they evolve, gaining experience points and leveling up as the season unfolds. Each level-up nets you some spendable currency within the coach abilities section accessible from the coach menu.
Gathering XP isn't just about passing time; it’s about hitting benchmarks set across various categories found in the Coach XP Goals section, which includes draft goals, game goals, recruiting goals, and stat goals. Achieving these goals not only boosts your XP but also fills your coin purse, readying you to enhance your coaching prowess.
- Tier 1 – Ability to scout players in less time
- Tier 2 – Any of your recruiting actions will give that player a bonus
- Tier 3 – Ability to increase your weekly recruiting hours for players
- Tier 4 – Starting interest from players is increased
Opted for a Recruiter background? Here’s where you cash in. You'll find enhancements for every position on the field: QB, LB, DB, and more. Each upgrade offers four tiers of mastery, purchasable with your hard-earned coins. From reducing scouting times and boosting recruiting actions to increasing weekly recruiting hours and initial player interest, these upgrades are pivotal for crafting your dream team and greatly increasing your recruiting efficiency.
Conclusion
Wrapping up our deep dive into "College Football 25's" recruiting mechanics, remember that mastering recruitment is your ticket to building a college football dynasty that'll be the envy of gamers everywhere. Whether you're slinging XP into savvy coaching abilities, strategically managing your hours to woo top prospects, or just keeping your game goals on point, every choice you make shapes the legacy of your team. So put these tips to good use, keep your recruiting game strong, and before you know it, you’ll be the mastermind behind the next unbeatable college football powerhouse. Here's to your future seasons brimming with top recruits and championship banners!
Hopefully, you enjoyed this guide. Don't forget to follow me on X, and make sure to stick around with us here at RotoBaller if you're also a fantasy football enthusiast.
