If you’ve tried to take to the skies in Battlefield 3 as a newcomer, you’ve learned a hard lesson that resulted in your going down in blazing flames. Nearly everyone has more equipment than you do, and you don’t stand a chance.
Speaking to VG247, DICE creative director Lars Gustavsson admitted to the team being unhappy with Battlefield 3‘s unlocks system. He said:
We shipped Battlefield 3, which we should be slapped for, with probably the worst set ups ever.
He continued:
As a pilot, you had to fly your plane and only kill other planes with your cannons. You didn’t have any counter-measures; you didn’t have any missiles. And that’s basically for the best of the best pilots; that’s what they should do to show their skills. [As a beginner], you should have counter-measures, you should have heat-seeking missiles to give you a smooth ride into the game and then from there on you should customize.
Gustavsson added that DICE has learned from their mistakes, and is using the learning experience to make Battlefield 4 a much more balanced experience for players. That means everyone starting with some level of survivability and having unlocks that are enticing to work toward, but don’t offer an unfair advantage.
This same design philosophy will apply to ground vehicles and loadouts. The disparity between weapons will be smaller, and you won’t have to use a crippled tank for hours in order to unlock key offensive and defensive options.
I get the feeling some hardcore players aren’t going to be happy with these changes, but it’s for the better. BF4 is supposed to be a moderately competitive environment, and using MMO-style designs goes against its principles.
Look out for Battlefield 4 when it releases on current-gen hardware and PC on October 29th, and PS4 and Xbox One at launch.
