This sections assumes you know literally nothing about football/soccer/futbol whatever you want to call it, or at least how KONAMI views it.
Positions
KONAMI has divided up the field into 13 positions, split more broadly into third wider categories, Defenders, Midfielders, and Attackers. An easy way to tell at a glance which is which is by their in-game position color: Defenders are blue, Midfielders are green, Attackers are red. Additionally, there is the Goalkeeper position, which is yellow and does not follow the conventions of the other positions.
- Defenders defend your net, while assisting in starting attacks
- Midfielders slow down opponent attacks, create chances for your attackers, and serve as your passing base, and can finish attacks if needed
- Attackers score goals, stretch out the defense, and are the first ones to press your opponent when they have the ball
More specifically, each of the above sections can be broken down further into KONAMI's positioning system:
- Defenders are Leftbacks (LB), Centerbacks (CB), and Rightbacks (RB)
- LB and RB are frequently referred to together as "fullbacks"
- Midfielders are Defensive Midfielders (DMF), Center Midfielders (CMF), Left Midfielders (LMF), Right Midfielders (RMF), and Attacking Midfielders (AMF)
- LMF and RMF are frequently referred to together as "wide midfielders" or "WMF"
- Attackers are Second Strikers (SS), Left Wing Forwards (LWF), Right Wing Forwards (RWF), and Centre Forwards (CF)
- LWF and RWF are frequently referred to together as "wing forwards"
Each position has a role or roles they fulfill on the field, with some having more specific/niche roles than others:
- Centerbacks defend the net with their full focus, they are the last line of defense before the net
- Left Backs and Right Backs also defend, prioritizing their side of the field, but also frequently push forward on that side of the field to assist in the midfield or even in the attacking area.
- Defensive midfielders primarily hang back at the edge where the midfield meets the defending third of the field, frequently serving as an additional Centerback when needed, but they are also known to be good attack-starters and dangerous header targets on corners.
- Central midfielders are the jack of all trades, they can do anything, defend, score, move left or right, press hard, create attacking mismatches. Managing their stamina and structure is paramount to their utilization.
- Left Midfielders and Right Midfielders are niche midfielders that serve on their respective side of the midfield, pushing forward to help deliver dangerous crosses or cut-inside towards goal in attack, they don't defend as much as Center Midfielders though.
- Attacking Midfielders are the heart of the team, they connect the midfield to the attackers and serve as the primary assister or attacking chance-maker. They can be prolific goalscorers in their own right but are often critical to the attack despite their role in the midfield.
- Second Strikers are supporting attackers who work in tandem with another striker to beat defenses. They assist and score similar to an Attacking Midfielder, with more of a focus on scoring.
- Left Wing Forward and Right Wing Forwards serve on their respective side, or wing, of the attacking area. They are primarily assisting attackers, preferring to cross the ball from the wing to a centered attacker, but they can cut-inside towards the goal and score themselves if the chance is right.
- Centre Forwards are head of the team, and often the primary goal-scorer of it. They are centralized, defender-beating, attack-continuing strikers who will almost always have the best chance to score out of any one on the team.
Formations
A team consists of 23 players, 11 of which are on the field at a time. Formations are counted from the back of the field towards the front, excluding the goalkeeper. Each number corresponds to a section of the field: the first number is the # of defenders, the second number is the # of midfielders, the third number is the # of attackers. For example, a 4-4-2 has 4 defenders, 4 midfielders, and 2 attackers.
PES likes to sometimes divide up the midfield into attacking or wide midfielders versus central midfielders and defensive midfielders, so you may see formations such as 4-3-1-2 or 4-4-1-1, but these can be understood as simply 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 respectively. If you ever see 4 digits in a KONAMI formation, simply add the two middle numbers together to get the base formation.
Cards, COMs, and Playstyles
- Cards, also known as Player Skills, are abilities given to a player that unlock or enhance their natural statistical abilities. Some cards, like Long Range Drive, allow the player to access certain animations they otherwise cannot do. Other cards, like One-Touch-Pass enhance their ability to pass in certain ways, but does not unlock any animation.
- COM Styles are behavior modifiers for a player when they have the ball. They do not enhance a player's abilities, but simply make it more likely for them to do certain actions when they have possession of the ball.
- Playstyles are the most important part of any export: each player can be assigned a playstyle that wholly determines how they act. Choosing your playstyles is critical to a good export, and you should ensure that your substitutes have the same playstyle as the starter for a consistent, reliable export. However, players can be left without a playstyle, known as a Blank, and they will not perform worse and as such, Blank can be considered its own playstyle to be used if you like how the player(s) act while using it.
- Playstyles only work for specific positions. For example, the 'Goal Poacher' playstyle only applies when the player is playing at CF or SS. If they are playing elsewhere (i.e. AMF), they will play as a Blank playstyle player. This can be used to your advantage, as players can be forced to be Blank if needed, and any players that are naturally Blank can be given a playstyle to hold they could use elsewhere if needed.
Pitfalls to Avoid
- Always return to Select Teams when testing; doing Rematch supposedly fucks with the AI. It's nearly impossible to confirm, but it is long-standing tradition to use Select Teams over Rematch.
- Do not run a defensive backline of an LB, 1 CB, and RB. PES does not like this and you will lose.
- You have access to three presets. You should use all of them, even if the difference between two presets is a small slider change.
- Do not try to be overly-flexible with your export. It is good to have a backup plan or two, but spreading a player's abilities too thinly will cost you in the long run.
- In order to swap players on a single preset, drag the player to the other player you want to swap him with. Click-swapping will swap them on all three presets, while drag-swapping on swaps them on the current one you are adjusting.
- This is also true for fluid formations; drag-swap will only swap the players on that specific part of the fluid formation
- More attackers does not necessarily mean more goals or even more shots. If you have more attackers, your opponent will have all of them marked with a defender and you will not accomplish as much as you hope. Playmaking is important.
- It is generally recommended to keep your defender count between 3 and 5, your midfield count above 2, and your attacker count between 1 and 3.
- While other formations are possible, both literally in-game and figuratively successful, doing so requires a stronger command of PES than a beginner is likely to have (and a lot of luck).
- Defenders are not smart in PES. High defensive stats are woefully underutilized by KONAMI's system, and no amount of elevated stats can make up for a player who is not close enough to their mark to interact with them As such, medal defenders (LB, CB, or RB) are generally not recommended.
- Footing matters! Players will always prefer their dominant foot, even with 4/4 footedness stats. Keep this in mind when considering how players will need to pass and to who. The 1-second it takes for a player to shuffle the ball to their other foot to pass could be the difference maker between an attack progressing or the pass being cut out by a defender.
Sliders
PES has two sections for sliders: When In Possession and When Out of Possession. The former is when you are attacking, the latter for defending. It is very important to understand that for any of the sliders that they are preference sliders for your team. They will try to follow the game plan selected when they can, but it will not set in stone. Generally, you must sacrifice defense for offense and vice versa. Another rule-of-thumb is that a conservative attack/defense will result in more time/room for your opponent, while an aggressive attack/defense will be at risk of big breakthroughs more.
More specifically, when in possession is broken down further into the following sliders: Attacking Style, Build Up, Attacking Area, Positioning, and Support Range. Here is the in-game definition of all of these terms, but these definitions are rather obtuse and do not tell you the consequences of each selection. The following is a more in-depth explanation of each choice for each selection:
- Attacking Style: Counter-Attack or Possession Game
- Counter-Attack is the defacto choice for most teams and gameplans. It involves your players surging forward and looking to overload or beat the defense before they are set. They will rush past their defenders and drag them out of position. PES defenders can only be in one place at a time, regardless of their stats, so this becomes the generalist way to attack and score.
- Possession Game is about building up your attack more methodically. You will see more backpassing and passes with your players with their back to the defense as they wait for a teammate to deliver them the ball. They will pass the ball around, prioritizing controlling the ball over immediately charging in to score. Possession Game is a more niche choice than Counter-Attack and requires more work to get to perform correctly, but if you can get it to work, your opponent will struggle to break up your attack. Possession Game can also be tuned to reign in an overly-aggressive export to keep a strong level of attack without overcommitment by the offense.
- Build-Up: Long pass or short pass
- Long Pass is seldom used due to its natural tendency to turn the ball over. Long-ball playing teams frequently have pass-completion rates lower than short-pass playing teams, closer to the 50-70 range. Long ball is typically unreliable at best and serves only for extremely niche usages like kickoff abuse or simply hoping you get lucky with your pass completions. Long Pass typically prefers lofting the ball in the air for a striker to win close to the net for a good shot chance, but if it fails, your attack ends immediately and you will have to start all over.
- Short Pass is used in 80-90% of cases for any team. It is the easiest way to progress forward on the field without turning over the ball while consistently applying pressure to your opponent, methodically building up towards the attacking area. Short passing will result in higher shot amounts and better pass-completion in most cases, while dispossession or interference with the pass is far less catastrophic.
- Attacking Area: Center or Wide (of all the sliders, this is the most that is more like a suggestion for your players)
- Center attacking primarily relies on midfielders, CF and SS to build up the attack. Center play will result in more direct shots towards the net by your medal players, but at the cost of the defense being able to congregate in front of the net to defuse the attack much easier. As mention, Attacking Area is merely a suggestion, and even on Center attack, you will frequently see passes dumped off to wide players (such as a fullback or wide-midfielder) to continue the attack when the centralized player's options are limited.
- Wide is nearly or equally as good as Center attacking area. Wide players will be more involved than with Center, but players that can roam wide (i.e. SS) will do so more frequently. Wide does not mean that you are focusing on crossing as your primary means of attack; it simply means you are involving the wide players more in your attack than with Center. While Center has issues dealing with congregated defenders in the box, Wide's pitfall is being the lone wide-player being cut off or forced out too wide by a defender, leaving them isolated and an easy dispossession, even for 1 or 2 defenders.
- Positioning: Maintain Formation or Flexible
- Maintain Formation will keep your players from swapping positions or roaming away from their game-plan placed position as much as possible. This means you may keep more structure in your offense and defense. The build-up of an attack will be more consistent and recognizable. If your players are able to support each other naturally like this, this is the most consistent and solid way to have the team function.
- Flexible is a more attacking-oriented way Positioning style, with players roaming closer together or swapping on-the-fly with another player to continue attacks at any cost. You can swarm in attack like this, and more frequently keep the ball as players move together to try and assist one another, even when the formation shape suggests they should not. The downside is that this can result in misshapen attacks or defenses where your players are stretched out or scrunched together poorly such that your opponent can easily counter attack you.
- Support Range: 1 to 10
- Support range is how close players will be when attacking and often this extends to defense as well as the spacing rarely changes. Typically, an SR between 3 and 8 is recommended. A lower support range will result in players closely packed together, with players close enough to pass the ball around to keep the pressure of them individually. Lower SRs are better at quickly counter-attacking the opponent with numbers, pulling defenders one way and passing around them and then overloading the box with a better chance of rebound control. While a great way to defuse pressure, this also means your team becomes easier to counter-attack and play around if a pass is cut out. The team will naturally have to pass more as each individual pass is a short distance often, resulting in a decent chance of any given pass being cut-out. Higher SRs involve more of a player individually beating their mark and getting open for a longer pass. Strikers will be less likely to play off the midfield and instead look forward to finish the attack. If the pressure from the opponent is lacking, a higher SR can be a great way to get through them and attack their weak-spots or get an easy through-ball to a striker.
When Out of Possession is, as mentioned, your defensive slider set. It should be noted that, more so than In Possession, the sliders here work more in tandem. The sliders chosen here can result in drastically different permutations of your defense. It is broken down into Defensive Style, Containment Area, Pressuring, Defensive Line, and Compactness:
- Defensive Style: Frontline Pressure or All-Out Defense
- Frontline Pressure is more common than All-Out Defense, as it is a more proactive form of defense. Players will step in or rush the player with the ball to try and dispossess them when they can. It is a more aggressive form of defense than can allow you to easily counter-attack or shut down your opponent's attack via smothering the ball-player or their passing options. However, players can easily be beaten in 1v1 or even 1v2 situations with Frontline Pressure. If a player fails his takeaway chance, a large amount of space will open for your opponent to play through. Frontline Pressure is also more likely to result in fouls simply due to the aggressive nature that players will charge in to press.
- All-Out Defense is more niche than Frontline Pressure. It works by having the team stop what they are doing when dispossessed and drop-back to form literal lines of defense against the attack. They will still step in to try and dispossess but they will not try so further up the field and they will rarely rush the ball-player. A more solid option of defense, but can result in your opponent easily marching down towards your defensive area.
- Containment Area: Center or Wide
- Center containment involves keeping most of your defense centralized to try and block the path to the goal or taking shots at it from afar. Players will try to win the ball at the edge of the box or in front of it, trying to do so with an advantage in numbers over the attacking team, forcing bad passes or dispossessing via 2v1 scenarios. Typically, Center is the safest choice for most teams in most situations
- Wide containment is about forcing your opponent wide and cutting them off whenever they approach the defensive area. A fullback or even DMF can screen the ball-player enough to leave them isolated on the wing with very few progression options. It can be brutally difficult to break through a well-functioning Wide containment area for either of a team looking to cross or a team looking to surge up the middle. However, if the wrong players are drawn to try and shepard the play wide, a central mismatch can be created, resulting in very easy shots/goals for your opponent's medals.
- Pressuring: Aggressive or Conservative
- Aggressive Pressuring is far more common than Conservative. It is the easiest and quickest way to defuse an attack with a defender coming up and directly trying to step in or tackle the ball-player. It can result in a quick dispossession or the defender being beaten. Aggressive pressuring also means constant pressure on the attack, meaning more of your opponent's choices, passes etc. are made under duress and can be forced to be sloppy.
- Conservative Pressuring is rarely seen. It is a rather confusing defensive type that involves more screening of a attacker than pressing them, trying to cut off passing lanes and force a bad decision out of them rather than beating them directly foot-to-foot. Conservative pressuring means your defense is less likely to break from pressing, but it allows your opponent to build up and plan easier as well.
- Defensive Line: 1-10
- Defensive Line is how high up your defensive line is on the field. Higher DL means a higher position for your entire team. As the defensive line moves up, the midfielders will as well. A higher defensive line is riskier as your begin to rely on high-pressing and stuffing the attack before it can really begin. The risk is allowing easy through-balls past your defense if the high-press fails. A lower Defensive line is safer at not allowing chunk plays past the defense, but also means your opponent can build-up easier and work down the field, spacing out your defenders as they need before reaching your box for their attack. Generally, a defensive line between 3 and 8 is recommended, with 7-8 recommended for high-pressing.
- Compactness: 1-10
- Compactness is how compact the defense is. This is a straight-forward slider; higher Compactness means more bodies closely together in defense, usually in the box. However, it should not always be assumed that higher compactness is better for defusing central attacks, and lower compactness for wide attacks. For example, lower compactness is easier to beat in 1v1 situations, such as a cross or header battle that could arise from wide play. Despite this, common Compactness sliders are between 5 and 8. Very rarely will teams run below 5.
Slider Notation
Sliders are complicated and have long names that are often abbreviated in conversation. You may, for example, see the slider set of CSCM4/FMA47, a common slider set. This is simply a quick notation for sliders that can be read as Counter-Short-Center-Maintain-SR4/Frontline-Middle-Aggressive-Dline4-Compact7. The part before the slash or space is the offensive sliders, the part after is the defensive sliders. Counter Attack is abbreviated C, as shown. Possession as P, and so on; the numbers pertain to the 1-10 sliders. The only odd one you may see is that defensive containment area is often abbreviated as 'M' for Middle rather than 'Center', due to how KONAMI named said slider in other versions of PES.
Testing and Export-tuning
Don't kill yourself with massive volume testing, it simply does not return the time invested.
It's not meant to burn you out either, so don't go crazy on testing lots. A better recommendation is to do a limited amount of testing, looking not so much for the result, but how the team plays in each match. Watch for macro-level behavior: are passes being strung together consistently, are strikers getting separated from their marking defender, is the opponent getting to your net too quickly, is [player name] doing what you want them to do, etc.
PES will bullshit out score-lines and goals as it pleases, all you can do is build the team to play consistently well and pray PES smiles upon you. Try and do your best, but remember at the end of the day, PES is in control.
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62', 87' 
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76' The Eminence in Mayo!
