So I originally received BF3 for xmas - but for xbox. It was fun. I really haven't played a battlefield game since 1942 for pc.

It was fun, but some stuff never clicked. Either the level up system seemed dauntingly slow (go drive around in this tank, get blown up a ton of times, and then when you've done that enough we will give you minor countermeasures). It just seemed like vehicles were too long to progress, and everyone rushed for them. Also, I never quite figured out how to fly a plane/chopper. Always ended up kamakaziing into buildings.

So I traded it in. Along with a few other games. Recently (over the past few months) I have had a massive exodus of xbox games as I've slowly moved back to my (newly built) pc - which is where I used to game the most and where I feel most comfortable.

Star-wipe to early July and Amazon's massive pc gaming frenzy they are having. I was playing TF2 and not really enjoying the "randomness" of drops/upgrades so I pulled the trigger on MW3. Now, this may have been hasty of me, but I've been having fun. Although I get frustrated at times due to the twichiness. My biggest gripe (besides that, and thats not really a gripe since thats how the game is designed to run) has been the lack of dedicated servers and the lack of friends that play it. More of my friends play BF3 for pc, and I see that even GB has some servers up.

So my question is this. Is BF3 still fun? Are the upgrades still slow as shit? I started playing MW3 on Tuesday evening and I'm already level 20 - something that I never reached in BF3 after weeks and weeks of playing.

Bottom line: Is BF3 (right now) worth $35 on Amazon or even one of these various deals? I'm an old school shooter fella. I love original Team Fortress and Quake and Q2 deathmatch. I'm not a huge fan of vehicles, but I like that they are there simply to add another layer of complexity. How is BF3 now for PC within the GB community?

Ive heard they have killed most of the servers for the consoles. 

@bemusedchunk: The upgrades are still slow as shit, they use to have single player severs where you could drive up to flags and level vehicles that way but they've done away with that. The best you can do with fast leveling of vehicles is get 3 friends together and find an empty "fast vehicle spawn" server and mutually agree to take turns capturing flags in vehicles until the round ends.

...Or skip all that and pay them for a "shortcut kit".

i went back to BF3 recently and just found i wasn't having any fun with the looming "stats" systems in place. So i play Tribes: Ascend instead.

If the ultimate shortcut bundle goes on sale for 50% off i may jump back into BF3 and then, god forbid, i can just play the Battlefield game and not the stat management game.

@bemusedchunk: It's still Battlefield, why would everything be completely different? If you didn't like it then, you won't like it now.

I've been trying to get back into Battlefield as well (for ps3). Although, it's definitely starting to take a toll. I redownloaded the "Karkand" pack and now the Premium patch has been downloading for 2 hours and is only at 30%. I started it this morning, it got to %50 then froze. I can't figure out what the deal is with downloading from PSN. Most often, I can download a gigabyte demo in about 10-15 minutes or so.

Because there have been patches, which can change the game.

Anyway, after some awesome conversations with GBGH i've decided to give it another go.

I think $35 is a good price for the PC version.

There is a much more diverse package than MW3, that's for certain. You have the massive 64 player maps that gives the feeling of being in an actual battle, plus you also get the smaller stuff if that's more your thing, especially with the new Close Quarters pack.

I don't think the slow leveling is much of an issue, with the exception of air vehicles (It kind of sucks that you don't get anti-air from the start). There is so much stuff to unlock for literally every role that you can play, that you are kind of always unlocking stuff.

If you can afford it I would pick it up and also get the Premium package. You are forking out $85 at once but it is a hell of a value in my opinion. The expansions, in addition to the new maps, all come with their own unlocks you can persue. They are called "assignments" and they will keep you busy and also motivate you to try out everything. One of the assignments had me try and win some matches on Squad Death Match, a mode I NEVER would have touched otherwise. However, when I tried it out, I had a f'ing blast playing it. It is much more tactical with a much stronger element of hide and seek than the other modes.

Anyway, yes. You should try to jump into BF3 on PC.

If you're enjoying MW3 you might like the Close Quarters DLC. Lots of kills in a short space of time means quite fast unlocks, too.

Just jumped back into BF3 tonight since probably January.

WOW! What a blast that was. I really forgot how enjoyable the large scale maps are. Coordinating movements with others (albeit not many with mics on PS3) was a lot of fun. Lastly, I finally shot down my first helicopter and jet, which was great.

Assignments sounds like side-quests for shooters.

What an amazing idea. Are assignments only available in premium/dlc?

Recently got back into this when a co-worker said he's been playing a lot (360 version) I played without premium for a bit and realized that the community had got a lot better (there seemed to be quite a lot of COD type players) so I put the game aside. Now I've been having some great fun and even picked up the Premium pack and have to say those CQ maps are quite exciting to roam around with a shottie or a decent SMG. It's become so much fun that me and the co-worker have been talking about renting a server (the only downside I can think of which doesn't really apply is there's no "reward" for having a server like say, TrackMania 2, but hey ho).

I'd say if you're getting it on PC it's well worth it.

Pc version is the one to get, that's for sure. If your rig can handle it then it's a simply fantastic game. Also, don't worry about not being a big vehicle guy, there's still tons of stuff to do that will help the team on the ground. :)

@The_Laughing_Man said:

Ive heard they have killed most of the servers for the consoles.

They took down most of the official servers. There are hundreds and hundreds of rented servers.

@bemusedchunk: I guess you could make that comparison. And I am pretty sure you get assignments with the normal retail game, but the expansions and premium membership all come with extra assignments with their own rewards.

I hadn't played in a while (PC) but recently started back up again and put about 15 hours in the past week or two. This happens a lot as I go in gaming taste cycles, but Battlefield is always something I come back to. I still think the game is great, better than ever even but I'm a huge fan so totally biased. I guess slow upgrades just depends on how you play and how good you are. I find myself mostly playing conquest and I get rank ups fairly fast, but I'm also pretty good at the game.

I'm playing a little game with myself right now where I'm trying to get at least 100 kills with every weapon, the crazy thing is I'm up to 65 weapons with over 100 kills (and some with many many more than that) and I still have like 35 weapons to go. The worst are the Surface to Air missiles, holy cow I can't shoot down crap with those.

I tried it recently and still had some issues with it. Mostly the fact that there are practically no normal games of BF3 going on. That is to say 64 player Conquest without a billion fucking tickets with some actual map rotation. But no it's all 1000 tickets 24/7 one map servers.

Still my favorite FPS on console right now. I play it on xbox and it's great. To OP's point, no the leveling has not changed much but they have added loads of new guns (there's over 60 now I believe), new maps (total of 16 now), and a few new vehicles. So there is definitely something to come back to if you're considering a return.

Also, and this is important: BF3 still has the best server browser of any FPS on console. This, combined with EA allowing players to rent servers and set up their own map rotations means that it's very easy to find a server you enjoy, save it to your favorites and then come back whenever you feel like it. That being said, PC is still probably the optimal platform provided your machine can handle it.

My only problem with the game are the rented servers. It makes me feel like the online code thing was a lie with this game.

I've always defended a game that wanted to lock multiplayer with an online code (I mean why not. You buy the game and get online multiplayer. You buy it used then the people behind the game never got your money) but taking down the official servers for servers people are paying for is stupid. I miss Bad Company 2's online code. How it got you all the DLC for the game.

Sorry for the rant. The game is basically the same other then bug fixes. They've added more unlocks using the "assignments" system but I've pretty much ignored them. The game was worth $60 on PS3, and if you can get it cheaper on any platform, then get it.

BF3 on PC is great. The problem with consoles getting dedicated servers is that it's too much power for stupid babies to handle. It's like giving children a loaded gun. You're not going to get kicked from a PC game if you're doing well.

@djhicks1 said:

BF3 on PC is great. The problem with consoles getting dedicated servers is that it's too much power for stupid babies to handle. It's like giving children a loaded gun. You're not going to get kicked from a PC game if you're doing well.

I really want to hop into Battlefield with the new rig I just built a couple months ago. And I need something to break up my Diablo 3 treadmill.

I was thinking of hopping into this or Starcraft 2. Except starcraft 2 is 60 bucks and this is like 40, but with the premium pack it kind of jumps to 90.

Is the premium pack necessary? Am I going to be missing out on much from the community or do I just wait until that stuff goes on a crazy sale?

@Doctorchimp: Premium is great, but I'm going to play BF3 for a while because it's one of my favorite franchises. I have taken breaks between expansions and the new assignments are fun goals that suck me back in. I guess it just depends on how much you like Battlefield. I look at it like Team Fortress: it's always there and populated. So, why not get all the expansions at a discount?

@Doctorchimp said:

@djhicks1 said:

BF3 on PC is great. The problem with consoles getting dedicated servers is that it's too much power for stupid babies to handle. It's like giving children a loaded gun. You're not going to get kicked from a PC game if you're doing well.

I really want to hop into Battlefield with the new rig I just built a couple months ago. And I need something to break up my Diablo 3 treadmill.

I was thinking of hopping into this or Starcraft 2. Except starcraft 2 is 60 bucks and this is like 40, but with the premium pack it kind of jumps to 90.

Is the premium pack necessary? Am I going to be missing out on much from the community or do I just wait until that stuff goes on a crazy sale?

Didn't they just announce a package deal of the base game + premium for like $70 or something? I can't necessarily say if its worth it for you, but if you are into shooters and like team based multiplayer I would say its the best in the business. But I'm biased as I love the entire battlefield series and especially BF3. I play karkand maps a lot and I think the new CQ stuff is also very awesome. I'm super excited for Armored Kill, I think that expansion is going to be bananas. I think if you are a big FPS player, and like military shooters its worth it to get premium if you are in it for the long haul.

I love this game, but some of the original maps are just terrible.

I've been playing a lot recently, it's really great. The new Gun Master mode is crazy fun and freaking intense. I've been looking for some people to play with since most of my friends have the game on the 360 (I got the PC version).

If anyone wants to play add me on battlelog and/or Origin: MusouBR

Been playing a lot since I got Premium. More than 100 hours since mid-June. While I still hate so many particular designs and mechanics original to Battlefield 3, I still love Battlefield with all my heart. Mostly playing 'Back 2 Karkand' maps these days on 64 player servers.

Armored Kill's going to be intense. Can't wait.