Have you ever wondered about Battlefield 1‘s weapons and classes and how they will affect battles and play in the upcoming iteration? Well, if you are curious about what EA and DICE plan to do with the first World War, and the weapons of that era, the two cover that in a new Q&A with a player. This news comes directly from Battlefield 1’s official site, in the newly revealed section “Weapons Q&A.” Battlefield 1 will be available on October 18th for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Being a fan of the first and second World Wars, and the Korean war, it’s nice to see a big and massive series like Battlefield touch on “the war to end wars” spectrum. In addition to the first World War, we don’t see all that much regarding the conflict, and if we do a lot of the games are quite old and dated. The only recent WW1 game I can think of that’s similar to Battlefield 1 is Verdun: 1914 – 1918, by Blackmill Games. With that said, this leads me to my one concern I have about trench warfare: will the battles be like when Squire plays Verdun and runs the war-torn field sweeping through trenches like it’s nothing, or will the game have trench warfare to be something fun and intense?
Those questioning the same thing about the weapons and trench warfare will gain a somewhat better grasp on the battles in the game thanks to Twitch streamer Darkness429. The player had a nice little Q&A with weapon designer Julian Schimek, and partially details the classes and weapons of the FPS.
According to the Q&A the game will feature six weapon classes, which includes shotguns, LMGs, SMGs, side-arms, semi-automatic guns, and of course sniper rifles. I’m sure all of those weapon types are nothing new to those who avidly search information regarding BF1, but we learn a little bit more by Schimek regarding the weapons, as noted below.
“The weapons of Battlefield 1 are a bit more specialized. To get the most out of them, you have to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and use the right one in the right situation. Putting your weapon to good use will feel more rewarding than ever before.”
Furthermore, we learn that the German MP-18 will be in the game as a usable weapon, though that is nothing new because we can see it clearly near the featured character’s hip (pictured above). We also learn that melee weapons will play just as an important part as primary weapons, and side arms, during trench and field conflicts. Schimek also mention that Battlefield players will feel right at home with the new weapons.
“Our Gadgets may look different, but you’ll feel right at home with them. World War I drove innovation, which resulted not only in things like tanks and armor-piercing rounds, but also in the sorts of medical and scouting gadgets that revolutionized the next century of war.”
Moving on to the most important question that I see a lot of fans worried about, will there be gun customization? There will still be weapon customization in battlefield 1, although we’re looking back 100 years, but yes, it was still a possible thing back then.
“Most weapons will allow you to equip bayonets or alter their handling, as well as changing your weapons sights’ magnification. We also have amazing weapon skins, which we’ll talk more about in the coming months.”
As for the role of a sniper and how they will fair in the upcoming version sounds interesting since they are mixing both real WW1 sniper tactics with Battlefield tactics. Schimek provided Darkness429 with the following answer:
“The way they work will feel familiar to players who enjoy playing the sniper role in Battlefield games, but they aren’t exactly the same. The biggest change is that you will actually be the most effective when you stay at the right distance to your target. It’s not all about being as far away as possible. You’ll want to make sure you’re not too close, but also not too far away.”
Looking over to the last question of the Battlefield 1 Q&A by Darkness429, he noted that “Do melee weapons play a greater role in close-quarters combat?” If you are curious about how melee weapons fair the answer is below.
“Getting up-close and personal with your enemies was much more common in World War 1 than in other wars of the 20th century. We designed a number of distinct melee weapon types to take advantage of this, each featuring different attack speeds and damage output.”
And that’s about it with the Q&A. I’m really looking forward to the game mainly because it deals with one of my favorite wars, which we don’t see very often. I just hope the game doesn’t launch broken with a mass hysteria of glitches, or play out like Star Wars Battlefront EA…
If you are excited about EA and DICE’s Battlefield 1 you will be able to catch more information during this year’s E3, and I’m sure later on leading up to its launch. If you want, you can read the full Q&A over on battlefield.com. The game will launch on October 18th for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
