DICE first showcased Battlefield V last week and is slowly peeling back the curtain to show some of the new gameplay modes and gameplay changes for the upcoming title.
On the Battlefield website, DICE has posted a long blog post detailing the main design philosophy of the team for Battlefield V. Two major points were brought up as being the cornerstones of the games development, immersion and squad play.
The immersion stems from quality of life improvements in Battlefield V. Most of this coming from improving soldier movement, removing random bullet deviation and in DICE's words, "ramping up the destruction."
"Drive a tank into a building, and the debris will instead move inwards." stated the blog. "No matter how a building is destroyed, different parts of it will crack, move, and then crumble in a more time-extended way than in previous titles, where the fun of destruction ended quicker. Each match in Battlefield V should and will be different, and destruction is no exception."
One of the major additions to Battlefield V will be the building of fortifications. DICE notes that players can build various types of military assets such as sandbags, barbed wire, foxholes, and more. Players can also reinforce destroyed buildings and create new defensive locations. Any player can build fortifications, but the support classes will be the most adept at it, providing a layer of strategy into the game.
In terms of squad play, DICE stresses that your squad will be more important than ever before. " To facilitate this, you’ll be automatically placed in a squad when jumping into Battlefield V (though you can leave it if you want)," stated DICE. "We’re improving the communication options, so regardless of where you are – in game or in a loading screen – you’ll be able to chat with your squad mates."
A lot of the pushes for squad-based play is to change up several of the mechanics to offer a more personal experience. For example, non-Medic classes will be able to perform revives on their own squad members. Players can also drag a teammate to safety from a major firezone. Medics, of course, will be faster and better at reviving allies, but the goal, according to DICE, is to convince players to stick close together with their squad due to this extra power.
To help encourage this, DICE is also balancing other parts of the game, such as limiting regenerating health and adding ammo scarcity into the mix for online play. Players who play more tactically with their squad will then reap the benefits, but this doesn't mean imprecise attacks or even lone wolf strategies will be ineffective.
All of this will hopefully unleash squad reinforcements. This addition allows squad leaders the ability to use accumulated resources from an online match which provide a powerful reinforcement to help turn the tide of battle. The reveal trailer showcased one of these reinforcements, the rocket attack at the end of the trailer, "bring mayhem to the battlefield." Other reinforcements will include supply drops, smoke screens, and tanks with flamethrowers attached to its sides. More will be added in future updates.
DICE also revealed one of the new gameplay modes on Twitter, titled Airborne. According to the tweet, Airborne is a gameplay mode where players will "parachute into the battlefield and work with your squad to destroy enemy artillery, or defend them and make sure the threat from above is dealt with."
There is no doubt that more of Battlefield V will be shown at EA play this year. Will we see the new Airborne mode in action though, or any other changes to the game DICE has in store for players?
Battlefield V is slated for an October 16th release later this year for the PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
What are your thoughts on Battlefield V? Leave your comments below and be sure to check out the rest of our E3 2018 coverage here.
