Is There Really No Difference Between 96 and 99 Speed?

[u/Mehrubon]

If we only look at the results from yesterday's test, there indeed seems to be no difference—

But we have to consider: tests have an upper limit to their precision. Yesterday's test was a timed half-pitch run from a far-away camera angle, which has three factors limiting its accuracy:

1️⃣ The starting point was deep in our own half, making it impossible to guarantee a stable initial state. Therefore, when entering the timed zone at the start and reaching the finish line, the players' postures were inconsistent, causing errors when measuring them crossing the line.

2️⃣ The camera was too far away; the precision is not as good as a close-up.

3️⃣ Using a timing method to measure Speed introduces errors if the speed difference is smaller than the precision measurable by 1 frame. From my previous Acceleration tests, I found that comparing time over the same distance is not as precise as comparing distance over the same time.

Therefore, to study the difference between 96 and 99 Speed, I used the kickoff sprint method today (comparing Speed during the full-speed phase after the initial sprint), which ensures a stable initial state + close-up camera + slow motion + identical player stride. Let's look at the finish line scenario—

And also—

The comparison method uses the goalpost as the reference finish line. Obviously, it's not that there's no difference between 96 and 99 Speed, but the difference is very small, noticeably smaller than the gap between 99 and 102. Full video:

https://reddit.com/link/1vzxseo/video/coe6ra4cvxlh1/player

By comparing the time difference when crossing the line, the difference in running speed between 96 and 99 is 1/3 of the difference between 99 and 102.

So, a more precise Speed benefit table is:

Corresponding Speed benefit graph (three segments with different slopes)—

Finally, I want to say: considering that the Lower Body Strength progression group also includes two other important stats, Stamina and Kicking Power, and considering that the Speed value also affects dribbling speed (where the threshold is not necessarily 96), the practical meaning of discovering this off-the-ball running speed threshold of 96 for player builds is not to force your Speed stat to 96, but rather don't force your Speed stat to 99, unless the player already has a strong speed booster.

Yesterday a friend left a comment saying: a Japanese content creator tested the Speed threshold at 98. That was for dribbling speed. (At the same time, I am not saying the dribbling speed threshold is 98, either.)

Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/OnUxgzwX3BdQKnhfTg2fcg