Battlefield V: What We Learned From the Alpha

Now that the closed Alpha for Battlefield V is wrapped up and the team over at DICE has outlined their plans for changes to the game before launch, it’s time to reflect on some of the aspects we did learn about the upcoming FPS.

From the weapons, to the vehicles – even the gameplay features themselves; here’s a general overview for what you may have missed during this exclusive closed Alpha.

“Before we get into the gameplay side of the Battlefield V Closed Alpha,” DICE began in their most recent blog post, “we want to stress that the Alpha was a tiny sliver of a complete package – featuring only a sub-set of vehicles and weapons that the final game will contain.”

Gameplay: Revives and Ammunition.

Battlefield V is the most immersive entry in the franchise yet and because of that, DICE has made some pretty interested changes to how the overall mechanics work. One of those features altered is how the Revives work in-game, which DICE explains as follows: 

“After the Alpha, we will be adjusting both the Medic revive and the buddy revive. It will overall feel less clunky and we’ll also fix some delays – such as when you were done reviving and couldn’t move for a full second. We’ve already made the buddy revive around 2.5 seconds faster and we will also assess if we need to adjust the Medic revive accordingly. We’re also aware that it could sometimes take quite a while before a player could initiate a revive and that the revive icon tended to be delayed. We are actively working on the issue.”

The ammunition in-game has also been altered to give a more realistic approach to a limited amount of bullets during deployment. Because of the overall reaction to the war of attrition, DICE said that they will “tweak these numbers slightly for some weapons to get an optimal balance. There are other factors that affect ammo availability, too. For instance, the possibility of looting dropped ammo from dead players benefits certain classes more than others, and we’ll need to adjust the balance accordingly.”

Gameplay: Reinforcements and Time to Kill

During the closed Alpha, players had the opportunity to call in two of the special squad reinforcements introduced into the game: The Churchill Crocodile Tank and the V-1 Rocket. Though they will be tweaked to provide a more progressive gameplay experience instead of a flat line request, overall these were met with pretty solid praise. For those that were as annoyed with the V-1 Rocket as I was, however, don’t worry – those are being changed as we speak. 

As far as Time to Kill goes: 

“When it comes to the Time to Kill, or TTK, we’ve seen some polarizing feedback where some players felt they were being killed very fast when encountering enemies, while others felt the TTK was just right. This is something we will keep tweaking.

It’s worth mentioning that TTK is not just determined by how powerful weapons are. For instance, it’s also related to how fast the game lets you react to being fired at. We’re looking at how fast can you assess a threat and understand from where the fire is coming. Giving you good communication on enemy fire will let you fight back and survive longer. We’re also fine-tuning the amount of camera shake that occurs when you’re hit. If these adjustments aren’t enough, we’ll look at tweaking the damage of weapons.

Other factors affecting TTK (or “Time to Death” in this case) include what game mode you’re in. If you’re defending a sector in Breakthrough, you’ll often experience fire from one direction. Defending the same area in Conquest will present threats from different directions, but on the other hand, this is a mode where you are less likely to run into a higher number of people attacking you simultaneously. The visibility of other players, the new spotting system, and other variables will all need to be tweaked to get a TTK that we and the community are happy with. Finally, as a general tip: observing more, choosing your engagements, and playing as a squad will always keep you alive longer!”

Weapons and Vehicles

The maps themselves will be evolving before launch as well, making it easier to engage with enemies and clear and objective. But to be the MVP of the Objective playstyle, you’re going to need some cool gear. That’s where the new weapons and vehicles come into play.

According to DICE: 

“A plethora of weapons and gadgets will be tested in the Closed Alpha, a complete list of which you’ll find at the bottom of this article. Alpha players using this hardware will be able to take out enemies from afar with the Kar98k bolt-action rifle, use Dynamite to demolish enemy vehicles, or rack up kills using smoke and fire and grenades – and much more. No matter the gun you choose in Battlefield V, you’ll notice that we’ve removed the random bullet deviation from earlier games. Basically, this means you’ll hit where you aim (excluding natural bullet drop, of course).

Reinforcements are extra powerful attacks that can be called in by the squad leader, after the squad has earned enough squad points, which are earned by performing well on the battlefield. In the Closed Alpha, there are two types of reinforcements. Players will be able to unleash the mighty V1 Rocket, the blast of which can be devastating. There’s also the Churchill Crocodile Tank, a flame-throwing beast equipped with a main gun and a coaxial machine gun.”

Classes and Combat Roles

What’s an FPS without classes? “In Battlefield V, the new Combat Roles will let you tailor your play style even further. These can be described as specialized “sub-classes” to the Assault, Support, Medic, and Scout. The Closed Alpha will contain five of these Combat Roles. For instance, the Field Surgeon Combat Role is particularly fitting for Medics extra keen on keeping teammates alive, with its Syringe and Medical Crate. Should you play as a Machine Gunner – a Combat Role for the Support class – you’ll be equipped with an MG34 and the Ammo Crate and Flare Gun gadgets.”

The progression and missions in-game have also seen a pretty heavy revamp, though changes are also being made following closed Alpha feedback. “There are also some in-game challenges set up for testing in the Closed Alpha: one Special Assignment and several Daily Orders. Challenging your weapon, vehicle, and other skills, the Special Assignment is made up of various sub-tasks. Complete them, and you’ll earn a Battlefield V Dog Tag, which will be added to your profile if you buy the full game once it’s released. Activate the Special Assignment in the “ASSIGNMENTS” tab in the main menu. Daily Orders are mini-challenges that will be rotated, and can, for instance, challenge you to damage enemy vehicles or kill enemies of a certain class.”

For the full list of which regions will be getting what items during the next Alpha testing period, you can check out the full blog post from DICE right here.