'Battlefield V' Is Adding New Playlists Following Controversial Balance Changes

New playlists are coming to Battlefield V following some debate over balance changes made to the game's Time to Kill (TTK) mechanic.

Time to Kill and Time to Death (TTD) are two systems that determine how long it takes to kill an opponent and how long it takes to get eliminated by someone else. Weapon damage, netcode issues, and other variables play into TTK and TTD, and EA DICE addressed some of those components recently in an update that essentially lowered the max damage of many different weapons. Vocal parts of the community argued that the changes weren't necessary, and while some feel the TTK changes are appropriate, the debate largely seems to be between core players and the developer.

Since that update went live, existing frustrations were fueled by a lack of response from EA DICE as players voiced their concerns. Battlefield V's community manager Dan Mitre posted on Reddit to say the developer had been listening even if it hadn't been answering questions and responding to comments.

"On behalf of the Battlefield team, I'd like to apologize for the silence over the past couple of days on the TTK topic. We've seen it's been a big talking point and causing a divide in the community, which was never our intention. We have been listening closely to what you've all been saying."

To appease those who preferred the old TTK values, Mitre said a new set of "Core" playlists will be added next week that use the pre-update settings to give players an idea of what the changes feel like.

We know many in the Battlefield community have concerns about the recent changes to TTK. We’ve outlined our reasoning in a letter to you, and confirmed new “Core" playlists with the original TTK values are coming to #battlefield. Read it in full: //t.co/2yFzcZ5QNJ

— #Battlefield V (@Battlefield) December 14, 2018

"As many of our veteran players know, Battlefield games constantly evolve and change over time in our collaboration with the community. Battlefield V is no exception. We heard your feedback that many of you prefer the old TTK values, with one playlist featuring only Conquest using the 'Core' settings clearly not being enough. To fix that, we will be adding a 'Core' version of all playlists in the game next week, giving you a clearer choice between new and old settings. We'll update you early next week on when the new playlist will be added."

The community manager added that EA DICE will continue looking at players' feedback as they test the new playlists that are coming next week.