Power Ups in Madden Ultimate Team are a new concept for those just starting out, but understanding how they work and their importance will go a long way when building your squad. Today’s article will answer a lot of common questions surrounding Power Ups and teach you everything you need to know to begin powering up your players.
What are Power Ups?
Power Ups are unique items in Madden Ultimate Team that allow users to upgrade one player card each time a new version of that player is released, rather than always needing to buy the new version and sell the old card for pennies on the dollar. Training Points and player cards or Power Up Passes are used to upgrade the Power Up. Training Points are the purple currency found at the top of your screen and most commonly acquired by discarding players. Power Ups can be found in packs, earned through solo challenges, or purchased on the Auction House for Coins. See the image below for examples of Power Ups:
Why are Power Ups so important?
- Power Ups will always be +1 OVR better than the current highest-rated version of that player when fully upgraded. For example, if the highest-rated OVR version of Adrian Peterson is currently 93, his fully Powered Up item will be 94 OVR.
- They provide one path for users to upgrade players instead of rendering current player cards obsolete when a new version of the same player is released.
- Boosts from fully powered-up players can be enough to meet thresholds and unlock Abilities and Chemistries not currently available to the player’s highest-rated card.
- Power Ups allow you to change the Team Chemistry of your player to any team the player has previously played for in a regular-season or playoff game.
- Power Up Passes can be used in place of player cards when upgrading your Power Up item (more on this next).
What are Power Up Passes?
Power Up Passes are wildcards used in place of player cards required in the Power Up path. In other words, if you are upgrading the Power Up item of Jonathan Jones and need his 80 OVR Core Elite card, you can use the 62-81 OVR Power Up Pass instead. Passes are earned by increasing your MUT level and completing Daily Engagement Tasks. You should keep track of the Power Up Passes you use and for which player item somewhere like your phone, computer, notepad, etc. This will make your life much easier later if you would like to switch your Passes to new players.
How do I upgrade a Power Up?
Locate the Power Up item you would like to upgrade in your item binder and tab over to the “Upgrades” screen. Let’s walk through an example using 68 OVR Power Up Jonathan Jones:
At Tier 1 we are upgrading Jonathan Jones to 70 OVR and unlocking his Team Chemistry Slot for 5 Training Points. Simply hit “A” for select on Xbox and click “Accept” to confirm the upgrade. See the image below:
Tier 2 upgrades Jonathan Jones to 72 OVR and unlocks his Scheme Chemistry Slot for 5 Training Points.
Tier 3 takes our Power Up to 74 OVR and unlocks the Physical Chemistry Slot for 8 Training Points.
Tier 4 upgrades Jonathan Jones to 76 OVR and costs 10 Training Points.
Tier 5 upgrades Jonathan Jones to 78 OVR and costs 17 Training Points.
At Tier 6 we are now required to add Jonathan Jones’s 80 OVR Elite card to upgrade the Power Up to 81 OVR and unlock Ability Slot 1. I could purchase his player card from the Auction House for Coins, but I will use my 62-81 OVR Power Up Pass instead. See the image below:
Tier 7 unlocks the Superstar X-Factor Ability Slot for Power Up Jonathan Jones and costs 5 Training Points.
Tier 8 upgrades the Power Up to 83 OVR and costs 220 Training Points.
Tier 9 takes our Power Up item to 85 OVR and unlocks Ability Slot 2 for 450 Training Points.
Tier 10 upgrades Power Up Jones to 87 OVR and costs 900 Training Points.
Tier 11 upgrades Jones to 88 OVR and costs 700 Training Points.
Tier 12 is currently the final step available for Jonathan Jones’s Power Up and upgrades the item to 91 OVR while also unlocking Ability Slot 3. I do not have an extra 89-90 OVR Power Up Pass but purchased the required 90 OVR Super Bowl Past Jonathan Jones card from the Auction House instead.
After we have added the player card to the Power Up for the final upgrade, our Jonathan Jones is now fully powered up with every Ability and Chemistry Slot available! If any future version of Jonathan Jones is released in MUT, additional Tiers will become available for our Power Up to always have the ability to remain +1 OVR ahead of his best card.
For reference, it required 2,320 Training Points and 2x player cards or Power Up Passes to take Jonathan Jones’s Power Up from 68 to 91 OVR and unlock all of his Ability and Chemistry Slots. However, every player’s Power Up path will be different and require different items and amounts of Training Points.
Can I downgrade a Power Up after I have upgraded?
Yes. You can downgrade a Power Up item at any time and receive the exact player cards or Power Up Passes used in it. However, any Training Points spent on upgrades will only be refunded at half the value (50%). If you are running a theme team or simply know of players you will have for a while, these are the first players to buy their Power Up items.
Why is my Power Up NAT and can not be discarded, traded, or auctioned?
In order to sell a Power Up item, it must be fully downgraded. If your item has the “NAT” symbol in the bottom right corner, you most likely need to downgrade your item back to Tier 1. After fully downgrading, your item should no longer be NAT and allow you to discard, trade, or auction it.
Now that you know how to upgrade Power Ups and why they are so valuable in Madden Ultimate Team, you can see which of your players have Power Ups in MUT by heading over to our Player Database. If you’ve already decided on a team to build around, check out our Theme Team Depth Charts to see which Power Ups could work best on your squad!
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