DICE responds to Battlefield 5 TTK controversy
DICE has released a letter to the Battlefield 5 community regarding the recent TTK changes.
In case you missed it, DICE recently made a blanket change to the time to kill (TTK) in Battlefield 5, lowering the damage output for most weapons in an effort to make gunfights last longer, and allow players more time to react.
This update not only screwed up the weapon balance for many of the slower-firing options, it was made with very little prior communication, which naturally wasn't well received by the core community. When those changes rolled out, DICE added a new Conquest playlist dubbed Core, which retained the old TTK values.
The response to this was mixed, some saw it as a way for them to ignore the new damage model, while others rightfully called out the potential for different TTK playlists to split the community. In response, DICE issued a statement apologising about the lack of communication.
"We’ve seen [TTK has] been a big talking point and causing a divide in the community, which was never our intention. We have been listening closely to what you’ve all been saying," wrote the developer.
"Changes to the game carrying this kind of weight needs clearer, earlier communication before getting rolled out. We will improve how we roll out updates in the future and respond more quickly when you have questions or concerns."
In the message, DICE admitted that these changes rolled out when they did in order to improve the experience for new players over the holidays, many of whom will have just picked up the game. DICE believes the fast TTK is leading to players abandoning the game, but it also knows this is the opposite of what the vocal community wants.
As a compromise, the developer promised to add Core playlists of all Battlefield 5 game modes sometime this week. This will allow players to choose the TTK values they want to play with in all playlists/modes.
Many in the Reddit thread announcing the news are not happy with how this will further split the already small community, though some are satisfied they won't have to care about the updated values if they can continue to play the game they have been since launch.