Dev Notes - Return to the Class System

[T0TALfps]

Hello there,

Today we’re here to discuss the upcoming changes taking place with the return to the Class system and to go in depth on the improvements arriving with Update 3.2 later this month.

Specialists at launch were polarizing to some of our players, with feedback particularly around the loss of Class Identity, and a shift from familiar gameplay flow that you were used to.

We heard that feedback and immediately began constructing a team to analyze it and put a plan together to determine next steps. Here’s a look back through the journey that the team has traveled.

Core Feedback

Early on, the team analyzed the feedback from you all, and outlined the changes that we felt were necessary to improve the overall experience of moment-to-moment gameplay through the role of Classes, the suggestions that we made were validated by your response to our Core Feedback initiative, through which we held an open dialogue with you.

As our team began implementing these changes, we invited a group of players from a variety of backgrounds, disciplines and platforms across Battlefield to partake in feedback sessions. This allowed for continuous and open dialogue and ensured that there was a constant flow of information around a substantial change coming to Battlefield 2042.

After multiple iterations of design improvements on Class gameplay, we gathered that very same group of players - along with more participants - to play our latest build.

The latest changes were received positively from the group, but they also told us some aspects were still lacking:

Readability of encounters - Ensuring that you’re able to recognize the Class and potential loadout scenarios that they may be carrying.

Improve the sense of role - The changes were a great foundation to reintroduce Class gameplay to Battlefield 2042, however weapons needed to be included into this in some way.

Taking onboard that final round of feedback, further changes and improvements were made, such as Weapon Proficiencies which we will detail later on in this Blog.

But before we go into this, we want to state that your voice and thoughts have flowed through the entirety of this process, and it’s a testament to how we continuously strive to make improvements for you both big and small, by maintaining an open dialogue with you.

Thank you to every single one of you that shared your feedback and time with us.

Meta, Choice & Balance

The return to the Class system will shake up how you are used to playing Battlefield 2042, from Gadgets and Equipment now being attached to the Class of your particular choosing, to how you’re approaching the role of that Class as you play throughout your matches.

With Gadgets, previously every Specialist being able to choose from an open pool led to a lot of freedom and choice, but that came at the cost of balance in some parts of the game when that freedom is extended outwards to the entire team.

Not only was min/maxing becoming prevalent as the way to play, with sentiment often showing that it’s better to just reach for the same loadouts and the best combination available and stick with it, but also with balancing of gadgets towards other aspects of Battlefield - such as vehicular gameplay.

To provide you with an example, prior to these changes taking place every Specialist had the ability to use a Rocket Launcher of some kind. This means that if there’s a scenario where everyone can use a Rocket Launcher, we have to ensure that things are appropriately balanced for that type of situation.

Rocket Launchers being placed under within the Engineer Class will now ensure that while only a subset of our Specialists will be able to use Rocket Launchers - there will be more readability to who is carrying a launcher and allows for a vehicle player to adjust their strategy for that but also allows for further balancing for vehicles as time goes on.

While we’re on the subject of Rocket Launchers however, we do wish to note that while Lis is an Engineer, she will continue to be unable to use alternate Rocket Launchers as she is already equipped with the G-84 TGM Specialty. If you’re fond of playing as Lis, you can still select from the AT Mine, EOD Bot or C5 Explosives as your Gadget! 

We have introduced some limitations in the Class Gadget reshuffle but we believe that the changes we are making will address some of the balancing feedback that we’ve been receiving from you while also opening up for new Loadout and ‘meta’ scenarios.

With all the changes that we’re introducing with the return to the Class system, it should now feel much better to perform the Class and role as it was originally intended to be, and as you are used to doing so from previous Battlefield titles.

Going in as an Engineer? Your job is to deal with vehicles at any distance, fortify spaces and ensure your team’s vehicles are stocked up with repairs. 

Assault? You’re actively deciding to engage on the frontlines, taking the fight directly to the enemy through up close and personal combat, while also providing brute forced openings for your team to push up right behind you.

If you’re inclined to assist your teammates through more direct means, then Support may be the choice for you as you’re tasked with the resupplying of Ammo and ensuring your Squad gets back in the fight as quickly as possible through reviving.

Finally, if you’re looking to avoid direct confrontation you may be interested in Recon, they prefer to utilize vantage points to the best of their capabilities to detect enemy presence and immediate threats while also working to find backdoor opportunities for their Squad with sneaky Spawn Beacon placements.

Freedom and flexibility still play a major role in Battlefield 2042, with the choices you make now directly impacting your ability and efficiency on the field.

Your choice is now your role.

Know what you need!

With the Specialists now moving into specific Classes, it should now be easier to determine what you’re about to come up against during an encounter. 

As an example, with Irish moving from Engineer to the Support role, you will now be able to understand that if you encounter him on the field - he may be running with an Ammo Crate, Health Crate, Smoke Launcher or Claymores. Whilst also having the ability to revive anyone in the field, rather than only your Squadmates.

This in turn works for the enemy, as they’ll know to prioritize taking down the Support player first to prevent their team from staying in the fight through revives. We have also included Class Icons above all soldiers, allowing for more transparency on who you’re up against. Keep those eyes peeled!

Weapon Proficiencies

Weapon Proficiencies is a concept that came directly from our Core Feedback Player Sessions with some of you. Some elements of feedback that was highlighted to us was around considerations for Weaponry fitting into the overall changes being made and what improvements can be established to ensure they fit into a Class structure.

It is our belief that weapons remaining open to all Classes and Specialists is the right choice for Battlefield 2042. Previous Battlefield titles sometimes had systems that involved limiting Weapon Archetypes to only one Class, such as Assault only having the ability to use Assault Rifles, or Recon only being able to use Sniper Rifles and Marksman Rifles and this is not something we intend for this title due to the complexities involved with progression.

Instead, Weapon Proficiencies exist to encourage you to use a certain Weapon Archetype with a Class Role that you’d expect to see a synergy between:

Assault + Assault Rifles: 3 Extra Magazines

Engineer + LMG: Improved Dispersion while Crouched or Prone

Support + SMG: Faster Draw Time

Recon + Sniper Rifles: Immediate, constant and steady scope

The intent of Weapon Proficiencies is not to dictate what you equip yourself with, but rather to encourage and provide a recommendation on what may work best and bring further Class identity for those who enjoy that type of gameplay. In doing so, you will benefit from a passive improvement that should make your role more proficient.

Unifying your Loadout

As part of the overall changes taking place with the return of Classes to Battlefield 2042, we are also changing how Loadouts function within the game.

Loadouts will now be unified per Class. This means that if you were to alter your choice of Weaponry, Class Gadgets or Throwables for Crawford within your Loadout, then that same selection will be available to you when you choose to play as Boris as both are Engineers.

When Update 3.2.0 arrives you’ll find that your current Loadouts have been reset to their default status so you can focus on rebuilding them specific for each Class.

What’s next?

That’s a wrap today. We hope that you’ve enjoyed learning more about the journey we’ve taken and reading through the changes that are coming in Update 3.2. 

This isn’t the end of the work for this particular feature, and we’ll continue to take onboard your feedback as we review further gameplay improvements.

If you’d like to see another particular team take the wheel with an upcoming Dev Note, share your suggestions and what topic you’d like to learn more about in our Battlefield Community Forums.

Please keep sharing your thoughts, reactions and clips with the team,

See you on the Battlefield!

____________________________________

This announcement may change as we listen to community feedback and continue developing and evolving our Live Service & Content. We will always strive to keep our community as informed as possible.

[JaggyToo]

Why do a few loud twitter accounts get so much say in the game? I am content with the way things are with classes and do not like this. It would be nice if there was more time spent changing the game to not locking me into a squad I don't want to be with. In some cases I would rather be on my own. How about persistent servers I can stay in when I really enjoy the company? How about putting air assault vehicles back in Breakthrough mode (this was such a dumb move on your part to remove them).

[S3SSioN_SoL]

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@T0TALfps  wrote:

Specialists at launch were polarizing to some of our players, with feedback particularly around the loss of Class Identity, and a shift from familiar gameplay flow that you were used to.

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Like, just a handful? A few hundred? 

If it was just "some" players, then why rework what does not belong in a Battlefield game.

Literally, most of the gameplay issues that exist in 2042 stems from the lack of a traditional class system.

Here's a few:

• Tanks are underpowered because everyone runs rocket launchers.
• Helis "dominate" because a traditional vehicle system wasn't in place until recently.
• Nobody gets revived because everyone plays the most "meta" specialist.

And what results from this, is gameplay that does not belong in Battlefield.

It's almost as though, most of the issues with 2042 stemmed from the game trying to be something other than a Battlefield game.

That's just my views as someone who preordered this game and having over 500 hours, with probably 4000+ including all Battlefield games, I'm glad 2042 is moving somewhat closer to the traditional Battlefield experience every year.

[DarKPredatoX_VLK]

These changes look very good, but the community or the players will not stop feeling lonely, or players who cannot represent or defend their team, not being able to belong to a community and identify themselves in the game, with which they can Meet other teams from your country or nearby, give the option of creating matches, tournaments or leagues as was done in BFV at an amateur level, not being able to get together with several friends in several squads because it separates you from the game or the team where they are your friends, this is something so basic and at the same time so important and necessary... it is part of the essence of BF, and we don't even have news about it.

[nyyanks33]

You don't have a single period in your comment lol. It's one huge sentence. 

[Totenkrieger75]

While it's awesome to finally get back to somewhat proper class organization, I can't help but still feel a little disappointed with the proficiencies. 

Assault + Assault Rifles: 3 Extra Magazines

Engineer + LMG: Improved Dispersion while Crouched or Prone

Support + SMG: Faster Draw Time

Recon + Sniper Rifles: Immediate, constant and steady scope

Sniper and LMG proficiencies are fine. The AR proficiency is by far the strongest, especially since it's buffing what is already one of the strongest weapon/class combos. The SMG proficiency is by far the weakest and seems like nothing else could be thought of for it. Maybe I'm just a bit salty that LMG's aren't "tied" to the Support class anymore, but even then...If you were to swap LMG's and SMG's between Engineer and Support, which imo is what it should be anyways, as an Engineer I would probably be upset by the current SMG proficiency.

[nyyanks33]

I'm excited for these changes, as well as the additions to the Battlefield going forward. One thing I've been wondering is how to become part of the testers used to give feedback and analyze changes. I've been a BF player since BC2 and am only recently attempting to becoming more involved in the community. Posting videos, gameplay compilations, and being more active on the official EA forums. Idk if you may have seen any of my videos, they all feature HUDless gameplay and really let the game and it's gameplay shine. I'd love to have an opportunity to play future content and give my feedback, as I get to see a lot of aspects of the game that may be an afterthought, or unseen, when playing with a HUD. For example the section of your post, going over the ease of spotting enemy and what loadouts they use. I've been playing HUDless for years and I see big differences in the way Bf1 or BF4 play HUDless, compared to 2042 and other titles. I'd also be able to record, if allowed, gameplay and show it off to the community in its cleanest state. HUDless amd action packed. 

Anyways, just wanted to say thank you for all the continued improvements, and can't wait for Season 4. And if there's any chance to be involved in more direct feedback, I'd love the opportunity!

If you'd like to see what footage I'm referencing, my YouTube channel is NoHudBud. Thanks!

[Haiova]

Talking about choice, we could have the choice of playing the generic soldiers of each class the bots uses as specialists like a generic class. That means no bonus trait but could use a locked gadget + another of choice. E.g: In BF3 the assault had to use the defibrillator + a gadget of your choice. Or the engineer had to use the repair tool + a rocket of your choice. It may be too close for U3.2 for that, but we could see this at S4, or even use the lack of a new specialist in S5.

[FollowTheORI]

Nice try, but it is impossible to balance out the specialists...

[Talnoy1]

@JaggyToo Agree with you about Squad management but seriously, since *beta* the community has been SCREAMING that the Specialist system was thinly veiled attempt to cash-in on Battle Royale style characters and sell microtransactions. It was never designed with the players in mind to have fun, or evolve Battlefield as a series.

This is thankfully a step at creating a properly good evolution of what we should have had from the get-go.