Battlefield 4 multiplayer: squad unlocks, melee counters & more revealed
Battlefield 4 multiplayer offers a selection of new features such as squad boosters, a revamped suppression system and take-down reversals. Get the details here.
MP1st has written a nice hands-on impressions piece on Battlefield 4 while at E3, with input from DICE's general manager and vice president Karl Troedsson.
While playing, the site noticed a green bar above the mini-map that tracks 'Field Upgrades', and it fills up whenever squads pull off team achievements. Troedsson explained, "Basically, it’s a non-persistant upgrade system that goes for you and your squad, meaning that if you play together and you have team scoring events, you will upgrade in various tiers on this Field Upgrade list. You will unlock things like more ammo, more grenades, and various boosts that can help you and your squad.
"If your squad, for instance, is wiped out, you will fall down a tier, and it’s also, as I mentioned, not persistent, so this will just be per-session, and then you have to restart. We put this in there because we really wanted people to play – be recognized for playing even more together. This then replaces the old specialization system that we had.”
On the matter of reverse melee take-downs, Troedsson went into detail and said, “This isn’t entirely done, but as it currently stands, if somebody comes up to you and you actually have the opportunity to see them – so there’s an element that you can actually sneak up behind somebody and they can’t counter you, as it is now. But basically, if somebody melees you, and you melee them back with the right timing, you are actually the winner instead.”
Troedsson added that suppression over close-quarter battles will not be as blatant in Battlefield 4, and that most weapons actually allow for less suppression. He confirmed that LMGs are the most suppression-heavy weapons in the game.
There's also a zoom-peek feature that lets players pop in and out of cover by aiming, but Troedsson stressed that its far from complete at present.
What do you make of the above? Let us know below.