It’s the end of another week, and that means another Battlefield V Weekly Debrief from DICE. While the studio dived deep into weapons and vehicle specializations, the big thing here is the Q&A part where DICE answers a ton of questions collected from Reddit, Twitter, etc., in one go!

Check out the full questions and answers below, with DICE’s answer in bold lettering.

Weapons General

• Any chance we’ll see mortars again?
• Florian Le Bihan (Game Designer): Not initially as we want to make sure we keep explosive spam as well as indirect fire kept in check. There is a chance mortars will return but with some changes to the gameplay design to ensure that we can minimize the frustration those can create.
• Can you elaborate on the mechanics for the new Throwing Knives? Damage? Dropoff distance? Can we pick them back up after throwing?
• FL: We’re actually modifying the design and giving it a final pass for launch. We used to spawn players with 6 throwing knives (that you can’t pick-up) dealing a flat 60 damage, getting a one shot kill would always require a headshot and the knife would initially fly at about 30m/s. This means it would drop very quickly and you would have to compensate quite a lot to hit targets at about 40 meters or so. Now, we are considering spawning players with fewer throwing knives, maybe dealing more damage in close range, and maybe some more changes.
• Will Pistol Carbines be considered as sidearms? Maybe as stock upgrades for pistols?
• FL: The Pistol Carbines will not be sidearms, more details on that soon!

Range

• Will you also be making the StG44 less effective at close range?
• FL: We’ve adjusted automatic-rifles base damage to be lower (25 instead of 27 with 2x headshot multiplier) after the Open Beta but we are still playing around with balance. More specifically to the StG44, it’s likely that we will give it some more tweaks that you will get to see in action when the game releases!

Balance

• A concern is that weapons will change too much from Beta. Some thought it was perfect when they played. Are you changing weapon gunplay drastically from now until launch?
• FL: We’re happy with how weapons felt and played during the Open Beta. At this point we are only looking at balance across the board (automatic rifles vs semi-auto for instance) so expect the gunplay to still be familiar on launch.

Controls

• Will there be an adjustment made to the sensitivity while using a scope on consoles? During the beta we noticed that making very slight point of aim corrections when using the long scope was difficult due to how sensitive the stick movements were. We tried adjusting all sensitivity settings to counter it, but none of them made any difference.
• FL: We’ve heard the feedback on that point, and we are looking at the issue!
• How are you adjusting or improving auto-rotation aim assist on consoles?
• FL: We are looking at it on a weapon classes basis and trying to make it non-exploitable, non-intrusive and fair. This applies to all controller inputs, not only console.

Recoil

• How will you balance weapon recoil between the platforms? For example, we’ve seen Suomi gameplay on both console and PC, and there is a stark difference between the two.
• FL: To clarify, the weapon balance and the amount of spread/recoil was the same for all platforms during the Open Beta. When it comes to the way forward, we aim to make weapon balancing as consistent as possible across all platforms.

Hitboxes

• How are you mitigating against “jack-rabbiting”? Ex. When a player jumps consistently in a firefight to avoid getting their head hitbox hit, meaning less damage is taken.
• FL: If a player jumps in a firefight they should be at a disadvantage already as it’s easier to track a target in the air given the direction can’t be controlled as much as on ground (more predictable). We’ve already made sure that the accuracy penalties are high enough when jumping which means there shouldn’t really need more mitigation for in-combat use. The soldier’s hitboxes are accurately representing the soldier model in the game too.

Squad Leader Reinforcements

• What are you doing to mitigate against a player jumping in a squad, working quickly to get enough points to call a V1 rocket, firing it off, then bouncing to another squad just to rinse and repeat? We saw this happen in Beta on numerous occasions.
• FL: I haven’t seen a lot of that, but to get multiple V1 Rockets by jumping from a squad to another you would need to take Squad Leader control from an idle Squad Leader since you can’t just join a squad and steal his spot! There is technically not a lot of room for abuse since the requisition points are tied to the squad itself and don’t carry over when you move from a squad to another.

Scopes/Sights

• Any possibility of canted iron sights for scoped rifles?
• FL: This is a good suggestion. We don’t have that option at this point but could be something interesting to add down the line!
• What are you going to do to make bolt action rifles with iron sights as viable weapons on the battlefield for players who want to go aggressive recon?
• FL: Iron sights actually are already the best choice if you want to play recon aggressively. It’s the sight that zooms in the fastest of all available choices and they often get some added benefits (for instance, the Kar98k gets the strip reload that isn’t available with a scope).

Bipods

• What was the bipod issue that was fixed?
• Dan Mitre (Global Community Manager): In Beta, the bipod animation was wonky as you ADS. If you were to ADS close to any object that you can bipod on you would lose in the firefight. Why? The bipod animation is much longer than if you were to ADS – the game instantly prioritizes bipod animation over your manual ADS. We fixed that. We also adjusted timings further across the board, deploying the bipod and aiming down sight can be done at exactly the same time now, which really helps with stop-and-go bipod gameplay and more particularly the MMGs.
• Any chance we’ll get an option to turn off auto-bipod?
• FL: If this is a common request we could definitely look into adding that feature.
• Any thoughts on adding freelook when using a bipod? So, you’re able to look right and left (albeit a little limited) and not lose your bipod weapon as often as you would when moving the sights right/left.
• FL: That would probably require us to either get away from auto-deploy bipod or add a key that can be used while bipoded, or maybe there is a better solution! I haven’t thought through it a lot, but the idea is interesting for sure – could be expanded to more than bipod I would say.

Panzerfaust

• Will the panzerfaust also be an effective anti-infantry weapon (within reason)?
• FL: I wouldn’t use the word “effective” but you can one-shot kill soldiers with a direct hit and a very close splash damage hit would deal significant amount of damage.

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Blog Feedback – Road to Battlefield V

General

• Why not just force the map packs as an update to BF1 so all the current player base can use them?
• Andrew Gulotta (Producer): With every update rolled out to Battlefield 1, all content was delivered to every player who owned the base game. However, each expansion pack and its content were locked. Access limitations are lifted once a player either purchases a standalone expansion pack or Premium Pass. So, in short, everyone who owns Battlefield 1 that has latest updates installed has all content readily accessible. Now, how do we ensure all maps are played regardless of parent expansion pack? We want to mitigate against segmentation as much as we can, so we’ve ramped up our weekly map rotations, which contains a thematically, curated list of maps (both base game and expansion packs) that all players can access (regardless if you own Premium Pass or not) for the week that the map rotation is active.

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Blog Feedback – The Importance of Bullet Penetration in Battlefield V

Weapon Types

• Does bullet penetration only work for LMGs and sniper weapons?
• Richard Antroia (Sr. Game Designer): Just as in previous BF titles, there are some materials that let through all types of bullets (glass, vegetation, etc.). This category now also includes wooden doors, but there are different weapon classes that have different degrees of damage after penetration. The general class collections are: Vehicle HMG/LMGs (shoot into buildings and through brick walls); Infantry LMGs (shoot through barricades); SLR, Slug and SemiAuto rifles (medium penetration through doors); SMG, Improved Buckshots (low penetration through doors and low on sheet metal); and finally Pistols/Sidearms (BF1 bullet penetration with the addition of low damage through wooden doors).
• This is an example of projectiles VS the damage class containing crates, carts, shelves and chests (wood)

Bullet Types

• Are you looking at any type of weapon specialization for increased penetration versus normal stats? Such as, the equivalent of a “steel core” or “high momentum” round.
• RA: We have projectile upgrades for Buckshot, Slug and LMG rounds. However, as new weapons and upgrades are added, this projectile set is ready to be expanded.
• Would it be safe to assume that the upgraded weapon penetration specialization maintains the same base material penetration rules, but increases damage when penetrating incrementally vs without an upgrade?
• RA: As we can see in the example above, both Slug and Buckshot actually open up their capacity to penetrate certain materials as they are upgraded.

Materials

• You didn’t dive as deep as we wanted into the different types of materials that different weapons can penetrate (Sidearms/Carbines – doors/thin assets, SMGs/shotguns – slightly better penetration values, etc.). Can you dig in a bit more?
• RA: See the first answer above. Here is another example of the penetration matrix for the sturdier “DamageClass4” material set. This is the category where LMGs and HMGs shine. Vehicle weapons are much more devastating in this game in order to give vehicle gunners an upper hand, increasing the danger of facing a fully “squaded-up” vehicle.

• Does each layer of cover add to the reduction in damage dealt per shot? Is there a limit to number of layers (sand bags for example) that a LMG can penetrate?
• RA: Yes, each layer has a reduction (even glass, even though it’s minimal). Each new surface keeps reducing the incoming damage until the projectile is so weak it cannot beat the defined threshold of the material (minimum damage required for pass-through).
• Can you blow holes in walls and see through them, using this as a tactical advantage?
• RA: Making holes are still a pure explosive feature, but LMGs/HMGs now have the functionality of deteriorating barricades and other “simpler” covers, breaking them down over time.

Kill Feed

• Can we can some sort of indication when we die through bullet penetration?
• RA: That is the intention, yes, and is a feature we are working on.

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Blog Feedback – How to Customize and Specialize Weapons in Battlefield V

Trees

• Are we reading this correctly that there are effectively eight different “maxed” variations for each gun?
• FL: That’s correct!
• Will there be ‘optimization’ trees for handguns as well as the rest of the weapons?
• FL: Handguns do not have access to specialization trees.
• Will Specializations have no negative side effects? Will there be any downsides, or do they only provide advantages?
• David Sirland (Producer): There are disadvantages on top of the missed positives from the other side of the tree you did not pick in most cases, but not all.
• If we can own multiple EMP, please can we modify weapon’s title, i.e. EMP-hip and EMP-ads for ease of mid-operation switching?
• DS: If and when we add multiple weapon support, some sort of naming will have to be included.
• Can we expect to see Specializations changed if one side is significantly better than the other side?
• FL: Absolutely. We will keep a close eye on how the specializations perform and we are open to tweaking them or replacing them if needed to maintain a healthy balance.

Re-Spec

• Have you considered allowing us to de/re-slot a weapon perk in between spawns to adjust to changing situations? This would mean we don’t need duplicates of the same weapon in my inventory.
• DS: Yes, we want to add in-game re-specialization, but starting with re-specialization and unlock handling in between rounds (as part of the end of round flow of results which is where you unlock new things).
• Will we be able to set Specialization while on the server or do we have to back out to the menu to set?
• DS: That is the long-term goal, yes. Initially, we’ll add this between rounds in connection to where you unlock/rank up your weapons and vehicles in the first place.

Customization General

• Can we expect more weapon cosmetics than what we saw in the beta?
• FL: Absolutely, there will be a lot more weapon customizations available at launch!
• Will any sight be available on any weapon?
• FL: No, sights are part of the weapon balance and we want to make sure to add sights that properly fit the weapon’s intended range. In general, all weapons have access to at least 3 different types of sights including the iron sight.

Blog Feedback – How to Specialize Vehicles in Battlefield V

Trees

• Will this be all the specialization options, or will the trees have more than 4 choices to choose from?
• DS: All trees have at least 2 choices per level as launch. However, this is only where we are starting with. Upcoming weapons and vehicles might utilize more than that, and there is always a possibility to add to existing trees post launch as well.

Movement

• Will top gunners be able to duck into the turret?
• FL: This is something we are investigating. It would be a great thing to add some elements of survival!

For more Battlefield V reading, head on over to the game’s hub page here on MP1st!

Make sure to check out our first look at the game’s dog tags right here. We also posted what the in-game ammo timer looks like as well for you Support players.

One of the things that carried over from old Battlefield games to the current ones are the dog tags, and how they’re used both as a bragging tool and as a way to personalize your character. In Battlefield V, it’ll be the same, though this time, you’ll be able to rotate the Battlefield V dog tags and see them shine and all that.

This was revealed by Ryan McArthur, one of the Producers of Battlefield over on Twitter, where we also got to see silver and gold dog tags looking all shiny.

This is a personal favorite of mine, These are good looking dog tags pic.twitter.com/FrABnTo9Ot

— DICE (@EA_DICE) October 11, 2018

While we got a glimpse of the progression hub for upcoming unlocks yesterday, check out how the actual visual customization looks in weapons!

Signing off for the day and the week. Here is one last video. Thanks for all your questions and feedback, just a few more weeks to go. pic.twitter.com/RIxWKGM1S5

— DICE (@EA_DICE) October 12, 2018

Speaking of visual customizations, DICE has heavily hinted at gold gun camos finally being available in Battlefield V! Of course, it remains to be seen whether we actually see it in the game.

For more BFV news, make sure to check back regularly on our Battlefield V hub page.

Battlefield V is set for release this November 20 on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Don’t you just hate it when you’re groping in the dark when it comes to upcoming unlocks in multiplayer games? While you can check each gadget or item coming up as you level up online, DICE is doing it one step better by including an actual progression hub in Battlefield V that shows what upcoming unlocks are lined up!

Check it out in the short clip below courtesy of Ryan McArthur, Producer on Battlefield V.

One thing we want to players to know is how and when they get stuff. So we built a progression hub to so you can see whats coming. Here is an example of one of the class journeys… note this is not the final layout. pic.twitter.com/pQPUpUV82H

— Ryan (DICE) (@EA_DICE) October 11, 2018

Not bad, right? This makes aiming for specific gadgets, weapons, etc., a wee bit easier. Are you happy with this new addition or is it not even needed that much?

Don’t forget that DICE also laid out the weapon specializations and vehicle specializations today. We also posted what a base level soldier looks like in the game, and how the timer looks for ammo crates.

As part of DICE’s week-long info drop on weapons and vehicles, DICE has now lifted the lid on how vehicles are upgraded in the game!

Players will be able to obtain vehicle Specializations by spending the in-game currency called Company Coin, which will allow them to tailor vehicles to how it fits their playstyle. Using the Panzer IV as an example, DICE outlines what a complete vehicle path looks like, and how it will work to create a vehicle that you want to use.

Specializations for the Panzer IV
To give you an inkling on how a Specialization journey may look like, let’s look at the Panzer IV, the German medium tank used extensively during World War 2. As shown in the image above, there are three columns to navigate between in your Specialization route. First, look at the four upgrades in the left column, which will be extra interesting if you want to create a tank good at fighting other tanks.

Smoke Launchers: Fits multi-barreled smoke grenade launchers to the side of the turret. Allows the driver to launch smoke grenades in the direction of the turret, providing a dense smoke screen that obscures vision. Replaces the default Smoke Generator.

Armored Skirts: Attaches metal plates to the sides of the hull for increased track protection, making tracks less vulnerable to incoming fire.

Pak 40 L/43: Replaces the default tank gun with a long-barreled Pak 40 cannon. Improves muzzle velocity for increased range and a flatter shell trajectory. Reduces the rate of fire slightly.

Armor-Piercing Round: A limited quantity shell that has increased damage and penetration versus armored targets.

On the right side of the tree you’ll find Specializations tailored towards making your Panzer IV more efficient against infantry. Again, you can choose to stay exclusively on this side when specializing, or take detours to the left and middle side.

Zimmerit Paste: Coats the tank in paste, which makes it impossible for grenades and mines to stick to the hull.

Flare Launcher: Fits the tank with turret-mounted launchers, for launching flares that spot enemies in an area for a limited time. Replaces the default Smoke Generator.

Improved Turret Transverse: Improves the turret motors for faster turret rotation, allowing the turret to easier track fast moving targets.

S-Mine Launcher: Fits the tank with multiple launchers that deploys air-bursting explosives in a 360 pattern around the tank, for proximity defense against infantry.

The middle column has two Specializations to offer: one which is available as your second choice, the other a perk that can wrap up your Panzer IV Specialization journey.

Field Repair: Limited quantity specialized equipment for instantly fixing damaged tracks, engines, and turrets. Replaces the default Emergency Repair equipment.

Case Round: Allows the tank to load a shrapnel shell for blasting soft targets at close ranges.

Same as in weapon specializations, players can re-spec the vehicle upgrades to try new combinations. And coming post-launch are Special Assignments just for vehicles that will let players unlock cosmetic rewards.

Source: EA

In a new post on EA’s website, DICE has given us an in-depth look at how the Battlefield V weapon upgrade tree and specialization will work in the game. According to the studio, Battlefield V’s weapon customization will emphasize “quality over quantity” compared to BF3 and BF4.

DICE has made a point this time around that a fully specialized weapon will not be tied to how it will look. As an example, the studio used the EMP submachine gun and highlighted how its upgrade tree will let players choose how to want to use the gun. While the BFV beta only had four paths to go through in the weapon upgrade tree, the final game will have eight paths! DICE says they increased this to “provide more choice.”

As an example, the four specializations on the left path will buff the EMP mainly for close-range engagements, while the right side will improve it mainly for medium and close-range situations. It will be up to the player if they want to go all in on one side, or get a little from both left and right paths.

Let’s start with the four Specializations on the left side of the EMP tree.

Slings and Swivels: Allows swapping to your EMP or sidearm faster. This comes in handy when, for instance, you’re in a firefight and you don’t have time to reload your EMP. Swap to your sidearm in 0.65 instead of 0.75 seconds and win the fight. You’ll also shoot sooner after sprinting.

Enhanced Grips: This improves your base accuracy when firing from the hip. Unlock this and get 25% less hip fire-related spread and 33% better range.

Polished Action: Decreases hip fire inaccuracy and makes your EMP stay accurate for a bit longer. You’ll get around 40% less inaccuracy from hip firing with this unlocked.

Recoil Buffer: Keep your EMP steady with this Specialization. It reduces vertical recoil by 20%.

Moving on to the right side of the tree, you’ll find these Specializations tied to aiming down the sights (also known as ADS).

Quick Aim: Makes your EMP zoom in faster when going into ADS. Instead of 200ms, it will take 133ms to line up your weapon.

Custom Stock: Stay on target. This Specialization reduces spread by 33% while moving aiming down the sights.

Lightened Stock: Peak around corners more quickly while aiming. In your ADS view, you’ll move 60% quicker with this one.

Barrel Bedding: Reduces spread by 75% for ADS. Use it to get an extra headshot or two and enjoy the slightly longer sustained fire.

DICE also mentions how weapons can be re-specced, and that there will be weapon-specific Special Assignments as well which will be introduced once the Specialization tree is completed. Completing these in-game challenges will unlock “stunning, unique” vanity items for the weapon, and according to DICE, “Master these chained challenges; the end goal is truly golden . . .” Does this “golden” term mean anything? is it a hint at gold weapon camos now being in a Battlefield game?

For more on Battlefield V weapon info, check out how bullet penetration works in the game. We also posted what weapons each class can wield at launch too.