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Battlefield 5 gameplay loop changes, detailed

DICE has made several changes to Battlefield 5’s core gameplay loop, Daniel Verlin, Design Director, detailed.

It’s all about immersion

First, soldiers will react to the environments they’ll find themselves in. They’ll exhibit high leg raises when running through water, slip on rocks and mud and bump up against cover. Everything is material-based, meaning soldiers will have different reactions depending on what’s underfoot.

Moreover, the environment will also react to the soldier, causing grass to bend as a stealthy sniper crawls across it. This will make it easier for other players to target the threat.

That’s a good thing, as Battlefield 5 is going for real-world accuracy as much as possible. As such, Verlin said there’s no more video game-like spotting, marking and scanning – instead, you need to spot enemies in the environment with the naked eye.

There’s “no more shooting at icons, basically,” Verlin summarised.

Similarly, reviving is a wholly physical interaction — “you get syringe, you stab [a fallen ally] with the syringe and you pull them up,” Verlin said, meaning players won’t be able to simply hold down a button and chain-revive players as a Medic.

Gun play has been refined

Erratic gun play has been removed from the game, Verlin stressed, showing a weapon spray that was consistent with each and every burst of fire.

This new tweak allows players to test and understand how a weapon works, giving them confidence in how it will operate in a firefight.

Bullet penetration also plays an important role in proceedings, Verlin confirmed – bullets from LMGs will be able to tear through cover, assaulting those who sought refuge in what they assumed was safe cover.

Squad play is incredibly important

On the topic of revives, Verlin stressed that squad play will be paramount in Battlefield 5.

“We want to make sure that the squad is ever-present,” he said. “We want to make sure that every time you join a match, you’ll be placed in a squad.

“Being a lone wolf has to be an active choice.”

As a result, every single person within a squad, regardless of class, will be able to revive one another. Called a Battle Revive, non-medics will be able to bring those in the same squad back to life, albeit with a portion of full health.

“This doesn’t diminish the Medic,” Verlin stressed. “He can do super-quick revives and you’ll be back to maximum health” in comparison.

Squads will be able to stay connected always, Verlin added.

“We want you to be able to communicate at all times – chat and voip through loading screens” and every other situation, he said. Moreover, Squad Leaders will have “significantly more things to do,” leading to much-needed Squad Reinforcement points.

Squad Reinforcement points are rewarded for squads who play together, execute commands and simply – thankfully, finally rewarded — play the objective. The points can be spent on various tools like a smoke barrage, a supply drop, the devastating V1 rocket and more.

Squads even affect the way in which respawns work. Gone is the simple deploy screen, instead swapped for a kill cam that’s then followed by a screen that shows the over-the-shoulder actions of a squad member. Rather than pick a manual spawn point, this new interface encourages you to work with your squad, spawning beside your company.

Said respawns will keep you closer to your objective, and in turn, to victory, Verlin said.

“It ties into those lulls we want to create,” he said of a defending team. “I’ve wiped out an entire squad, now I get to resupply.”

The system creates lulls in action, Verlin said, necessary to help players appreciate tense moments by dialling action down from a 10 to a 5 at times.

Scarcity means you’ll have to scavenge

Scarcity is a major component in Battlefield 5.

Players will spawn into multiplayer matches with less ammo and explosives than ever before.

“You’re still going to be capable enough – if you want to dash into a firefight, you can still do that,” Verlin said. “If you’re good and get one, two or three kills, you’ll pretty much be out of ammo.”

Moreover, enemies you kill on the battlefield will reward you with ammo that you can choose to scavenge.

Finally, the new fortification system can provide further opportunities to gather medkits and ammo.

Battlefield 5 heads to Windows PC, Xbox One and PS4 between 11-19 October, depending on your level of access.

Battlefield 5: All you need to know

Stevivor was flown to London, England by EA for the Battlefield 5 reveal.


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Steve Wright

Steve's the owner of this very site and an active games journalist nearing twenty (TWENTY!?!) years. He's a Canadian-Australian gay gaming geek, ice hockey player and fan. Husband to Matt and cat dad to Wally and Quinn.