Battlefield 4 developer DICE shared new information about the game’s multiplayer component.
First, the four playable kits from Battlefield 3 will return in Battlefield 4: Engineer, Recon, Support, and Assault. This time around, however, players will be able to “more strongly specialize” their role, as the game will cater to “different play styles.”
More information will be shared in a follow-up blog post.
“Looking at Battlefield 3, I think only a fraction of our players have tried all available gadgets or vehicles in multiplayer,” lead multiplayer designer Thomas Andersson said. “Of course you don’t have to use everything in the game, but I think we can do a better job in BF4 of letting players make more educated choices in their kit loadouts and combat roles.”
Andersson said in Battlefield 3, some players stuck with the default Assault loadout. While there is nothing wrong with this, he said, they are also missing out on “so much amazing variety.”
“In Battlefield 4, we’re clearly displaying what gadgets can do for you, how different weapons compare, and how they affect your options on the battlefield,” he said.
Andersson also revealed a new concept for Battlefield 4 called Field Upgrades.
“If you’re a long-term fan that played Battlefield 2142, you will already have an idea what these are, but we have tweaked them for Battlefield 4,” Andersson said.
Field Upgrades are chained boosts that can affect gameplay mechanics, Andersson said. Similar to specializations in Battlefield 3, these Field Upgrades can provide players with faster sprint speed, stronger personal armor, or expanded ammo capacity.
“The idea behind Field Upgrades is to give individual rewards for squad based team play performance. You earn them through squad scoring such as squad healing, completing objectives with your squad members, squad resupplies, squad repairs, and other squad actions,” Andersson said.
Ultimately, Battlefield 4’s multiplayer mode has been designed as an open-ended experience that DICE hopes players will take full advantage of, Andersson said.
“If there is one thing I wanted to focus on for multiplayer in Battlefield 4, it’s the idea of an open-ended design,” he said. “We are creating a dynamic and complex ‘sandbox’ where you decide what you want to do with it. That’s an emergent type of gameplay that we pride ourselves upon here at DICE.”
Battlefield 4 launches for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on October 29. Versions for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are also in development.
