Battlefield 1 – Spring Update (300 KILLS?!!?!)

What are you even doing, DICE?

Today, I’d like to talk about the newest update for Battlefield 1. The update included some new features: Platoons (clans), “Medic revive intent” (let downed teammates know you’re coming to revive them), and new ribbons and dogtags. Those are nice and all, but that’s not what I want to talk about.

Instead, today, I want to talk about one of the most perplexing decisions DICE has made to date. With the update, DICE introduced four new weapon variants. These are variants of weapons you unlock by reaching level 10 with a class, and only the base variant existed before the update, unlike most other class primary weapons, which have 3 variants. What annoyed me the most about this update is how you unlock these weapons.

Now normally, you unlock weapons and vehicle kits with “warbonds”; a kind of currency you get by leveling up. For weapons released after launch, they are instead unlocked by challenges. Case and point: you unlock the RSC 1917 Factory with 50 kills with the M1907 Sweeper and by performing 75 revives.

It takes 300 kills with the base variants to unlock these new variants.

Why would you even do this, DICE?! Why torture us like this?! Who came to the conclusion that there needed to be such a high bar to unlock these new weapons?! That’s 1200 kills in total! That’s going to take me ages!

And on top of that, you need 25 kills with various class gadgets. I’ve already completed 25 Rifle Grenade kills and 25 Limpet Charge kills for the Sebstlader 1906 Sniper and the Huot Automatic Optical, respectively, and I’ll get 25 bayonet charge kills for the Martini Henry Sniper naturally, but I also need 25 AT Mine kills for the Hellriegel 1915 Defensive. After two hours of consciously trying to get AT Mine kills, I got 6. Before the update, I had 11, and that was after playing ~260 hours. AT Mines are too visible, destructible, and niche to be a viable class gadget. You’re better off using another Assault gadget instead in most circumstances.

Oh, and not to mention the Martini Henry Sniper is complete trash. It has a bullet velocity half that of most sniper rifles, and a medium range “sweet spot” (range where bullets do 100% damage to the chest). Garbage decision making, I think.

I’m still going to complete these challenges; I’m too stubborn and addicted to back down, and I get the feeling DICE, or rather EA, knows that.

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One Response to Battlefield 1 – Spring Update (300 KILLS?!!?!)

  1. msh5379 says:

    I like the idea of having a medic revive intent because often times I end up deploying as soon as I can without giving my teammates a chance to revive me. I also think they should’ve included a more alerting sign when someone asks for medic or ammo supplies because the only way to currently request is through voice commands but players hardly hear them. I personally don’t respond to commands because I’m too focused on the game to pay attention to any dialogue.

    When I first got BF1, I thought it was ridiculous for the amount of time and kills you needed to unlock the different weapons and their variants. It’s a definitely a way for them to entice players to purchase the weapons shortcut pack. I was almost going to get it but I realized I spent way too much money that month (: . But I do think they should be more lenient or weapon progression and unlocking different variants.

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