**OFFICIAL** AT Battlefield 3 FAQ and News Thread

[Arkaign]

Thanks for your help. I am literally going to print this out and put it next to my monitor.

Cool, no problem.

I'll add a bit to general strategy here :

With RPG/Smaw, I don't recommend much using it as an anti-personnel weapon, although on maps like Metro you can shoot it down the hall or down/up the stairs where a large cluster of enemies might be.

As for tanks, there are a few things to remember : First, aiming for the side or especially the rear of the tank is much more effective. Second, try to find a spot to fire from that you can immediately get to cover and run around to attack from a different angle. As a tanker, I can tell you with certainty that basically any good driver will quickly check the angle of the rocket smoke trail to see where the rocket came from, and converge on that spot to take care of the threat. So if you can fire one hit, quickly circle around to another spot to pop from cover AFTER reloading, pop another one on him, rinse and repeat. It is almost always a TERRIBLE idea to try to continue to fire RPG/SMAW from a fixed position.

ALSO most tankers of any competence will be running proximity scan on maps with lots of infantry, so keep in mind that hiding in a building or something where a tank can get close to it will end with you dying, even if he can't see you from line of sight. So try to keep some distance if you can.

HOWEVER, if you have a tank that you have at least a little backup from your friends in taking on, and you can approach quickly from a side he's not watching, you can get your repair tool out and run up and burn him. The thing does damage quite quickly, so if you've got a disabled tank or whatever, you can really knock him down quick. But there's more to it than that. If the tanker is any good, he'll notice that he's about to explode, and jump out. You'll notice instantly if you're paying attention because your flame from the repair tool will change from red/burning to blue/repair. Hit E instantly, and he'll be stuck on the outside of the tank.

It's improbable that he's a C4 guy, so at this point he will either try to run away, RPG you, or burn your tank with the repair tool. Hit the C button to go to external view so you can see him if you don't have Prox on, then you can try to either gun him down (impossible if he's very close), or jump out behind him and quickly gun him down as he probably won't be expecting that. I've stolen many a tank in this manner. You can do the same thing to AA tanks.

Speaking of AA tanks, if you manage to steal the enemy AA tank on a map like Caspian or Firestorm, get it the hell out of there as quickly as possible. Camp in your own base with it if you have to, but the longer you keep it, that's time that the enemy team has NO AA tank, and it's an extremely large benefit to your team's air assets, particularly helis.

OH and as a general rule : SPOT things (q button), try to make it instinctive. It puts it on the HUD for your team (unless on Hardcore server). It's the most helpful and least used thing that is out there. In the example above, if you spot that tank, not only can you follow it around while it's out of direct view, but your team will know where that bastard is, and is more likely to effectively help you with it.

 

[Childs]

The Gulf of Oman map in the B2K expansion?

No, its in Armored Assault. Its Bandar Desert.

 

[sygyzy]

Cool, no problem.

I'll add a bit to general strategy here :

Hi, thanks for these tips. A few questions.

1. Can you really kill a tank with your torch?

2. What is proximity? Is that some sort of skill or perk? How do you activate it?

3. If you hop into his tank when he hops out, can't he easily C4 you, if he has it?

4. If I am a passenger in a tank and I have certain unlocks, does my tank driver get those perks as well, just by me being there?

5. How do I activate things like smoke while in a tank? Can only drivers activate?

I always spot, all the time. I am constantly pressing Q, even more than I press the trigger button. I wish people would spot more.

 

[chimaxi83]

Hi, thanks for these tips. A few questions.

1. Can you really kill a tank with your torch?

2. What is proximity? Is that some sort of skill or perk? How do you activate it?

3. If you hop into his tank when he hops out, can't he easily C4 you, if he has it?

4. If I am a passenger in a tank and I have certain unlocks, does my tank driver get those perks as well, just by me being there?

5. How do I activate things like smoke while in a tank? Can only drivers activate?

I always spot, all the time. I am constantly pressing Q, even more than I press the trigger button. I wish people would spot more.

1. Yes, it takes a few seconds, but it can be done. You can kill players and equipment with it, too.

2. Proximity is a vehicle specific passive skill that gets equipped at loadout screen. It shows moving enemies on your minimap.

3. You can easily be C4'd by anybody if they get close to you.

4. Yes, as far as I know. Your tank will have proximity for example, if you have it equipped but the driver doesn't. Not sure if this works for every skill, but it does in the heli (which I spend the most time in), so I don't see why it's not the same for every vehicle.

5. All vehicle countermeasures are activated with X by default.

 

[moonbogg]

I don't know. I hate to say it because I was looking forward to it so much, but I am not thrilled with the AK maps. They don't serve my particular skills well like the other maps. I can pound that ass on maps like caspian, firestorm, Strike at Karkand etc...but on these maps I feel like a useless piece of cannon fodder. Maybe I need to adjust and change my style for these maps. Unless you are on a really full server, then there are no soldiers to shoot at. Its all vehicles. This might improve once servers fill up, but right now there aren't too many full ones. I must say gunning in the AC130 is pretty sick. Too bad it only stays in the air for 5 seconds.

 

[scooterlibby]

How do you spawn in the helis? I keep waiting for one and someone is instantly in it when it spawns.

 

[Zargon]

Yes the ac130 needs more health

3. You can easily be C4'd by anybody if they get close to you.

Well....only support guys or people that picked up a support kit

Tapatalking on my pos thunderbolt. Sorry for teh typos!

 

[chimaxi83]

How do you spawn in the helis? I keep waiting for one and someone is instantly in it when it spawns.

Depends on the map. Some of them you can spawn into them from the spawn screen, others you have to go directly to the heli and wait for it.

Yes the ac130 needs more health




Well....only support guys or people that picked up a support kit

Tapatalking on my pos thunderbolt. Sorry for teh typos!

Yeah, that's what I meant

 

[llee]

4. If I am a passenger in a tank and I have certain unlocks, does my tank driver get those perks as well, just by me being there?

Yes. The three specializations that can be shared are Maintenance, Stealth/Thermal Camo, and Proximity Scan.

I keep waiting for one and someone is instantly in it when it spawns.

You can use the keyboard arrow keys in order to quickly select which vehicle to spawn in. Otherwise, just wait in line. Holding E over where the vehicle will spawn tends to get you inside quickest.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Having legitimate grievances = trolling. Great.

And you repeat yourself time after time. Again, no one gives fuck what you think in this thread. If you think your grievances are legit, guess what there are EA/Dice forums that ask for input. I bet I've given more input than you in those forums.

Get over it or cry somewhere else b/c all you're doing is trolling here.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

And you repeat yourself time after time. Again, no one gives fuck what you think in this thread. If you think your grievances are legit, guess what there are EA/Dice forums that ask for input. I bet I've given more input than you in those forums.

Get over it or cry somewhere else b/c all you're doing is trolling here.

Why not give feedback on why you don't think the game is fundamentally broken instead of trolling right back.
I've given tons of reasons why the game simply is broken and is NOT a battlefield game.

 

[moonbogg]

Why not give feedback on why you don't think the game is fundamentally broken instead of trolling right back.
I've given tons of reasons why the game simply is broken and is NOT a battlefield game.

I felt that way about the Geforce 600 series cards. I said they are not high end because they are the mid range chip in the kepler family but only sold as high end. Regardless of what the chip is or is not, they are the current high end Nvidia cards available.
Same with BF3. It is a legit BF game because Dice sais so and sells it as such. It is....ah screw it.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Why not give feedback on why you don't think the game is fundamentally broken instead of trolling right back.
I've given tons of reasons why the game simply is broken and is NOT a battlefield game.

I have given feedback as many others have about the game and if you followed any of the interviews that DICE folks have made, you'd discover that they do read those forums. They wouldn't have made some of the changes in their patches if they didn't. But instead you cry like a little troll here and no one cares. If you don't think it's a BF game then move on and find something else to whine about.

I bet you didn't even provide any feedback during the alpha or beta. The game has been out for almost a year and you think all of your crying here is going to change something? No. So, all you are doing is trolling.

 

[DeadFred]

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ, I just fell asleep in the game Nik and Arkaign described a page back.

Everything about CoD didnt suck (once upon a time, unless you are talking about MW2/MW3 then you may have a point) and everything about BF2 wasnt grand. IMO, BF3 strikes a good blend of both worlds. Its not perfect but its the best thing going atm.

@ Arkaign, your complaint about the tank destroyers being too fast is realistic, but damn if it aint fun to fly all over the map outrunning javelins and blowing the crap outta stuff. Ive already got one service star with them driving around like a lunatic. :awe:

The M1128 is tricky to maneuver with all of its bounciness but the Sprut drives almost like a sports car.

 

[Canbacon]

*snip*

I love taking the atv's and just doing jumps off of mountains at top speed. Super fun.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

I have given feedback as many others have about the game and if you followed any of the interviews that DICE folks have made, you'd discover that they do read those forums. They wouldn't have made some of the changes in their patches if they didn't. But instead you cry like a little troll here and no one cares. If you don't think it's a BF game then move on and find something else to whine about.

I bet you didn't even provide any feedback during the alpha or beta. The game has been out for almost a year and you think all of your crying here is going to change something? No. So, all you are doing is trolling.

It's obvious they don't really care about who writes on the forums. And I've read them, they're full of people who tell others to QQ that a feature is broken.

If Dice actually cared about what people say, they would take out this retarded blue filter at the VERY LEAST, and add in VOIP, some of the most requested changes. Also fix the damn console UI to make it something less retarded and consoley. These are the most basic issues that EVERYONE has issues with, but they don't change/add in.

 

[destrekor]

It's obvious they don't really care about who writes on the forums. And I've read them, they're full of people who tell others to QQ that a feature is broken.

If Dice actually cared about what people say, they would take out this retarded blue filter at the VERY LEAST, and add in VOIP, some of the most requested changes. Also fix the damn console UI to make it something less retarded and consoley. These are the most basic issues that EVERYONE has issues with, but they don't change/add in.

Is that how you think the world works?
Any company that takes consumer input, will immediately change things, completely? That they will alter every little detail due to what may be perceived as a large group begging for change?

If you have followed the patches and watched how much has changed, you'd see they listen to what is arguably the most important aspects that need addressed.

UI? Color filters? They have their place, they earn their scorn, but they aren't making or breaking the experience in the grand scheme of things. The actual competitive aspects of the game, you know, balances and quirks that factor into combat or the immersion factor (heat of the moment immersion factor)... those are constantly getting tweaked.

You aren't going to see them completely rewrite everything, especially if it is merely a "it would look better if..."

Would it be great if they tweaked the UI or the excessive blue filter? Sure. I'm of the opinion that the blue filter is likable, and would be best if they merely toned it down. Would I cry if they got rid of it completely? No. I also won't cream my pants if they did.
Some tweaks to the UI would be great, but that introduces other issues. What about the voiceless group (or the vocal minority) that will be pissed if they alter the UI?
Perceived negatives get ranted about - but a large majority of people who are okay with things rarely speak up and offer praise on forums - because a lot of people avoid game-specific forums. BF3's forum is the first game-specific forum in which I've actually made more than a handful of posts (most such forums I don't even touch - they are quasi-cesspools, only slightly better than 4chan in most instances).

You won't see any game developer completely change everything just because a lot of people rant. Why? Let's consider a few things: 1) in this case, the game is still making them money; 2) they are the CREATIVE people, they have an ART DIRECTION in mind... regardless of opinion, as long as concern #1 is met, they'll likely keep plodding along the course they have charted, because that is their intent as the designers of said project; 3) they may in fact consider the "minor issues", but instead of completely mucking up things with what has already become well-established, they'll save them for future projects. You can damn well bet they will heavily consider both the amount of vocal complainers (as well as supporters), and also try to gauge how much money those groups represent... and use feedback received throughout this project to help steer the development of future projects.

There is, however, another factor, that all of us will agree does us little or no good: game publishers have reached major-media levels, and along with that comes design-direction dictation from the corporate types that just don't care how many people they piss off, if, in the end, it doesn't hurt the bottom dollar.

How many of the complainers of various game series' returned time and time again, purchasing the sequel or some other title of a studio they have sworn off forever? If there isn't a subscription fee, these types don't care if you play online for one week or four years - they have their money.

DICE is actually a reputable studio that has always actively listened to the community, but we have EA holding them back to some degree. Development has also been rushed at various points, so we get to enjoy a thousand different bugs on some occasions. And there will be things DICE ultimately stands firm about, simply because that is the creative direction they wish to maintain. And, for multi-platform titles, there is a certain tendency to desire a minimization of differences between development direction for each platform - it keeps things moving smoother if they don't turn around and completely change everything about the UI and other UX concerns, for only one platform when they develop for three or four. Especially if that platform isn't the leading sales platform... but I won't develop that point further, as I don't care to look up the BF3 sales by platform.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

I have a similar issue with the game, in that capping flags is pointless because they are taking the second you go to cap another one. I don't remember the name, buts its a desert map with like 6-8 points, but there are 3 in the middle, A, B, and C. I spent almost the whole game moving from A, B, and C, and as soon as you ran the 100m to the next point, the flag you just capped was retaken by the other team. Just one long circle jerk.

I will give the AK maps another try on Rush, otherwise, I would rather play Metro or rush on the shipping and B2K maps.

This is the problem. The main reason why BF2 maps were better in this respect is because the terrain actually limited the directions a person could travel to get to the flags. On these expansion maps with huge open expanses there is nothing to funnel the action in between the cap points.

In BF2 the only way you could really back cap on another team was to fly there, or get extremely lucky. Now you just drive in the flags direction across a flat open expanse and never see anyone. These maps aren't that good.

 

[Arkaign]

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ, I just fell asleep in the game Nik and Arkaign described a page back.

Everything about CoD didnt suck (once upon a time, unless you are talking about MW2/MW3 then you may have a point) and everything about BF2 wasnt grand. IMO, BF3 strikes a good blend of both worlds. Its not perfect but its the best thing going atm.

@ Arkaign, your complaint about the tank destroyers being too fast is realistic, but damn if it aint fun to fly all over the map outrunning javelins and blowing the crap outta stuff. Ive already got one service star with them driving around like a lunatic. :awe:

The M1128 is tricky to maneuver with all of its bounciness but the Sprut drives almost like a sports car.

I hear you, and that's why I wouldn't want my proposed changes to be mandated everywhere, but to offer server operators the ability to build out very different games for different types of players.

Offering a super hardcore mode for certain groups with limited spawns and such, while still offering super spam to folks like yourself could be just the ticket.

Some of my ideas, such as the rework of the tank destroyers, well that would lmiit your fun a little I guess I almost wish I hadn't looked up the specs and real-world usage of those things, as it's so off-the-charts bizarrely wrong I can't even begin to describe it.

Perhaps for fun, they could add in Nissan Patrol SUVs with roof-mounted rocket launchers and/or .50 cal guns to serve the spaz purposes, and jack the tank destroyer back down to a more believable level.

 

[Phoenix86]

Why not give feedback on why you don't think the game is fundamentally broken instead of trolling right back.
I've given tons of reasons why the game simply is broken and is NOT a battlefield game.

Well at least you admit to trolling us.

Also, guess what, it IS a battlefield game. Know why? It says so in title.

 

[Arkaign]

Well, after giving it a bit more chance, I've determined that Armored Kill is pure shit. It's just garbage in every conceivable way, and attracts the worst statwhores I've ever seen. People drop from the losing side, so autobalance takes some of the players from the winning team that joined last. They don't want to play on the losing side, so they switch back, only to be rebalanced. Then they leave the server, wait for some fodder to join the losing team, then rejoin to play on the winning team again. If they can't do that, they simply leave. But yeah, I've yet to see a good match on any AK map, it's always been an absolutely staggering blowout. And the tank destroyers are the most idiotic vehicle I've ever seen in a game like this.

 

[Arkaign]

Well, the mountain snow one is decent actually. But I still think the others are shit, at least as things stand.

 

[DeadFred]

I hear you, and that's why I wouldn't want my proposed changes to be mandated everywhere, but to offer server operators the ability to build out very different games for different types of players.

Offering a super hardcore mode for certain groups with limited spawns and such, while still offering super spam to folks like yourself could be just the ticket.

Some of my ideas, such as the rework of the tank destroyers, well that would lmiit your fun a little I guess I almost wish I hadn't looked up the specs and real-world usage of those things, as it's so off-the-charts bizarrely wrong I can't even begin to describe it.

Perhaps for fun, they could add in Nissan Patrol SUVs with roof-mounted rocket launchers and/or .50 cal guns to serve the spaz purposes, and jack the tank destroyer back down to a more believable level.

Im all for more server options to allow people to play the way the want.

Id hardly call myself a super spamming spazzer though.

My preferred mode is hardcore and I like things to be more on the realistic side, especially weapons damage. But I will take advantage of any thing they screw up, like fast moving vehicles or M26 dart glitches when they are available. :biggrin:

Edit: If you mean that someone who hates not being able to spawn immediately back into the action is a spazzer, then yes Im a super spazzer. Im married with kids and have a ton of responsibilities, my gaming time is precious and I dont want spend it humping all over creation to get back to the fight. I would refuse to play a game that required me to spectate if I died.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Well at least you admit to trolling us.

Also, guess what, it IS a battlefield game. Know why? It says so in title.

Well that's a stupid argument. And stop trolling. All you've been doing is insulting me, instead of answering why the game isn't fundamentally broken.

Im all for more server options to allow people to play the way the want.

Id hardly call myself a super spamming spazzer though.

My preferred mode is hardcore and I like things to be more on the realistic side, especially weapons damage. But I will take advantage of any thing they screw up, like fast moving vehicles or M26 dart glitches when they are available. :biggrin:

Edit: If you mean that someone who hates not being able to spawn immediately back into the action is a spazzer, then yes Im a super spazzer. Im married with kids and have a ton of responsibilities, my gaming time is precious and I dont want spend it humping all over creation to get back to the fight. I would refuse to play a game that required me to spectate if I died.

Which is why BF2 encouraged you to not die and stay with the squad in the first place.

 

[Zargon]

Nik there are posts all over about how to get rid of the blue filter


if you raelly cared, instead of wanting to crybaby, you would have done it already I imagine, as it takes a few minutes


90% of your complaints are Server options, get some scatch and some friends together and get a server

if its so great....people will fill it


seriously, health, vehicle health, and their respective repsawn timers are 100% configurable for servers, you can have your 30 second to 3 minutes or whatever spawn timers, and turn ticket count down some to make lives matter even more(I think you can configure ticket bleed, but not sure)