Guide
Manual Passing and Shooting in PES 2013: The FullControl Deep Dive
Switch off the assistance and PES 2013 becomes a different, better game. A practical deep dive into manual passing and the series' first manual shooting.
Contents On this page
There are two games inside PES 2013. The assisted one is a fine football game. The manual one is the reason people still write about it. Turning assistance off is frightening for a week and liberating forever, and this guide manages the transition properly.
What manual actually changes
On manual settings, the game stops choosing your target. Pass direction is your left stick, pass weight is your power, and shots go where you aim them, including into the stand. Assistance levels in between exist, and most players settle one step more manual than they started with each month.
Setting up for manual play
Begin with passing one notch towards manual while keeping shooting assisted, or the reverse if your finishing is already deliberate. Changing everything at once teaches nothing except frustration. The settings menu is a staircase; climb it one step per week of play. For the complete picture of the game, start from our PES 2013 Fan Guide overview and work outwards from there.
Passing drills that teach aim
Performance Training's passing gates are the fastest teacher: they punish lazy stick angles instantly and visibly. Follow with ten minute free training sessions of one touch passing around cones of your own imagination, always calling your target before the pass. Aim spoken aloud becomes aim held under pressure.
The passes manual play unlocks
Assisted passing cannot bend a ball into the sliver of grass behind a full back, or slide a pass inside a centre back for a runner he has not seen. Manual passing can, because the space is the target, not the man. Overlaps, third man runs and disguised reverse balls all belong to manual players.
Manual shooting technique
Aim small: pick a corner, aim a foot inside it, and let power follow distance honestly. The classic early error is aiming while sprinting, which drags shots wide; slow the last stride and the same shot straightens. Finesse and power both live on the manual setting, but placement is king. We go deeper on the connected topic in our guide to playing PES 2013 today, which pairs well with this one.
Common mistakes and fixes
Heavy passes usually mean you are charging power while deciding direction; decide first, pass second. Shots ballooning means the stick is still drifting up as you strike; lock the aim a half second early. Every manual error has a mechanical cause, which is the good news: mechanical causes can be drilled away.
Defending against your own freedom
Manual play gives the ball away in dangerous places while you learn. Protect yourself structurally: keep a holding midfielder home, play the first pass of each attack simple, and accept a month of humble results. The players who survive the learning curve inherit a game nobody can take from them. We go deeper on the connected topic in our story of the Champions League licence, which pairs well with this one.
Why it is worth it
Every goal on full manual is authored. The defence splitting pass was aimed, the finish was placed, and the replay proves it. PES 2013 trusted players with this control before it was fashionable, and it remains the deepest satisfaction the series has ever offered.
Quick Answers
Should I play PES 2013 on manual controls?
Gradually, yes. Move one assistance step at a time, use the training passing gates, and accept a learning period. Manual play unlocks passes and finishes that assistance cannot produce.
Why do my manual passes go astray?
Usually because direction is being decided while power charges. Decide the target first, point the stick, then pass. Short drills in Performance Training fix the habit quickly.
Was PES 2013 the first PES with manual shooting?
Yes. PES 2013 introduced fully manual shooting to the series as part of PES FullControl, alongside fully manual passing and Dynamic First Touch.