BFV Open Beta

Hey y'all!

Seeing as how I only have a Macbook Pro at the moment, I can't really get into the BFV open beta. Started watching a few streams and the game looks pretty darn fun and fluid (although I did notice some sound bugs where footsteps or fire reports were silent).

For those who have played it, what do y'all make of it so far? And has GB crew mentioned anything about doing a QL?

Haven't tried it yet, but thank you for reminding me so i can pre-load now.

They are also apparently giving away the premium pass for Battlefield 1 for the "Road to Battlefield V" promotion, so jump on that on the 11th duders!

I just started playing it as I have pre-ordered it. im not gonna discuss why I pre-ordered it but what I will say is that I have had nothing but problems and discomfort with the beta so far.

Things like, constant frame skipping and glitching player models. The ui also seems really minimalistic in a way I don't like for my battlefield games. I am running the game on an Aero-15x laptop so maybe most of my issues with the game are stemming from overheating issues and whatever bullshit but the game seems competent. shooting feels good and the levels are really pretty.

Hate it. I just don't like BF games set in the past. I'm pretty much done with anything from DICE.

Really enjoying it. Took me several rounds to get used to the lower starting ammo amount but I like it. Forced me to be more patient and stick with my squadmates. I had to get over the idea of running and gunning so much. So far have only played Narvik, which is an ok map with incredible weather effects.

@mems1224: care to elaborate? lol

Sounds like even if it were good he wouldn't like it. I haven't played yet personally.

@moderp: Yeah most of the complaints I hear are coming from people reporting performance issues. Btw, is it just me or do some of the weapons seem to have little kickback even when hosing down a bullet stream?

Well, first off I do not like old guns. I don't find them enjoyable to shoot in games and I loved the large variety of weapons and customization options in BF3 and 4. Same goes for vehicles. There used to be a large variety of vehicles that had different functions and there were a lot of tools to take out all those vehicles. I was playing the V beta earlier and threw 3 dynamites on a tank and it did absolutely nothing whereas in BF3 and 4 you were rewarded by being able to take out a tank if you snuck up on it with some C4. The two maps I played were a lot more of BF1. Lots of infantry, maybe one vehicle, on one map there were some planes and it just seemed very quiet. In past BF games there was always more going on. Whether it was shooting down a chopper with a rpg or loading up a transport chopper with teammates and invading behind enemy lines, they games just felt like you were in an action movie with constant explosions and a large variety of tools on the battlefield. You also have barely any ammo. I don't mind reducing the ammo count to rely on teammates more for supplies but one engagement with a single enemy shouldn't use up most of my ammo. The maps just seem unremarkable as well. One map was just rows of buildings with some streets and a river down the middle, if you had told me it was a BF1 map I would have believed you.

Its just not why I fell in love with Battlefield games and DICE has had a steady stream of garbage games since BF4 which wasn't without its own issues.

@crazybagman: cool assumption bro. care to explain why you would think that?

So here is my 2 hours plus update: The ui has actually forced me to close and reopen the game because I literally couldn't spawn. Player models twitch and jostle around and not in the battlefield fluid way, it feels like the actual animations are not blending into each other just right and so the movement feels really awkward. The frame rate seems super inconsistent.

BUT AFTER ALL THAT, This is probably the most immersive battlefield i've genuinely ever played. The sounds and gameplay blend in with eachother so well that I smiled and laughed in awe. A plane straight up kamikazed its ass into the house I was in trying to shoot it down with my dumb pistol. The destruction, the explosion, the ragdoll of my little WW2 dude flying in air. I shit you not, I popped off laughing like "HO SHIT, That was fucking awesome and terrifying". The sound design is incredible in a way I was never able to grasp from a stream or game play video, playing it transformed my opinions on this game. Even though it runs like trash and fights back every time I try to play it, I cannot wait to play some more of it right now!

@mems1224: gonna hazard a guess here, but maybe it's because you said you "don't like BF games set in the past"? so even if it were some kinda amazing game to most other people, you'd still theoretically dislike it because of the setting. i don't think it was a personal jab or anything like that.

I never fully got into BF1. I thought they completely ruined the structure of unlocks and progression.

They completely nailed it in BF3 and BF4, got me totally hooked on working towards my next unlock.

If BFV is like BF1 in that sense, I might not even bother.

In fairness, I found the gameplay and setting of BF1 absolutely fantastic. I thought their take on WW1 was great and the moment-to-moment combat was a lot of fun. I just got bored when I wasn't constantly working towards a reward.

I was kinda done with the whole modern war stuff so i am glad, they got back to there roots, there's just something about the sound and look of WWII weapons that makes me care more, then a other version of a m16 rifle. And let's face it WWII tanks look way cooler then modern ones, Just look at the Tiger Tank! or the weird cast iron hull from a Sherman tank, i am getting a bit off topic but you get my point.

Just look at THE Juggernaut !

That's one Sexy airplane!

I played about two hours last night and enjoyed it. I'm still working over the map knowledge hump. For me, it's hard to really enjoy battlefield until I understand the map and the common points of ingress and egress around capture points. I still find myself defending in the wrong direction and putting mines down in dumb spots.

There are definitely plenty of bugs—defend orders seem jacked, some frame hitching on ps4, wonky reload animations, and the weapon reports seemed nonexistent if you were more than 50 feet away. That's probably the only bug that hampered my enjoyment. It made it tough to understand what was going on in a firefight.

Overall the guns feel great. Each one feels super lethal. I got into a long range stalemate with another squad that felt very authentic. Neither squad could move up and we both had effective cover. When someone tried to cover open ground they got killed immediately. Eventually I tried to flank through cover but lost track of one of them and got gunned down.

Buddy revives are awesome and it's easy to see how dragging bodies will improve squad play even more. It'll be fun when I get to play with my friends and really communicate too.

Rotterdam is my favourite Battlefield map since Battlefield 3 and I've only played 1 game on it. The weapon recoil feels really nice and the movement is super smooth. Plus, it looks incredible on PC.

@bollard: I need to play more Rotterdam. Definitely the better of the two maps in the beta but I kept getting turned around. I thought the game looked like crap on PS4 until I turned off the film grain. I just don't think that effect works at ≤1080p.

Honestly was surprised at how quick I went from "idk" to all in. I only got about an hour in, and I played some BF1 for the first time in a year over the last week, and forgot that I enjoyed parts of that game but wasn't my favorite by any stretch. I really enjoyed the intent I think DICE has behind the multiplayer aspects;

Squad play - with lower starting ammo you really need to stick with them, spawn on them, and work together the best you can. My first mistake was going gung-ho as soon as I spawned, getting mowed down, then having to wait to respawn again. I thought the game was jacked and wasn't happy at all, but once I had even one other person to spawn on, throw health to, revive, resupply and all that the game was a lot more fun.

Map design - I only played Rotterdam on Conquest, but man I really enjoyed the map and it reminded me quite a bit of the older designs in BF3/BF4. I loved the fact that it's got splashes of color, tight corridors and passages, as well as some good sight lines and flanking routes in the event that you're under fire. The construction stuff is cool too as depending on what a squad or team does, it can reshape how the points and maps work, making choke points and really extending the possible strategies. I was hoping COD WWII would do a lot more for me in terms of the set pieces and timeframe but BFV looks and feels far more intense and has a bit more style to it.

Weapons - Played a bit with the STG44 before switching to medic class and really dug the STEN as a SMG and it was great in close quarters, and still relatively effective at distance at the very least to suppress. I liked that they're also doing cosmetics unlocked by using the weapon more, so I just used the STEN for a bit until I got the green spray paint, and hopefully I'll get a reflex sight on there soon. I like that carrot to work towards and it kept me invested in BF4 when I just decided to go for all attachments on the guns. Speaking of - the more you use a gun, the more perks you unlock for the gun. For example at weapon level 2 you get something like either a quick draw, or snap sighting to make ADS quicker or moving up to level 3/4 you get something like faster bullets etc. I have a feeling these will have to be balanced a bit but it's a nice touch.

Player customization - haven't gotten there yet personally, don't know if it's in the beta but you get a great look at what you might be able to customize and I think it's pretty interesting - I'm not one of those to parrot historical accuracy in a battlefied game when you see things that are clearly not accurate like jeeps with C4 strapped to the hood. Kind of cool seeing trenchcoats and different helmets on the different classes, so I hope a good deal of that is something you can dial in for your own personality.

Overall I'm digging it the more I play, looking forward to see how things pan out and there are definitely bugs to be ironed out, but it's to be expected. The amount of shitting all over this game however has been pretty insane so I'm glad I didn't take those too seriously. I've had a good time so far, and will definitely put some more time in there, if anyone is on PC or PS4 and wants to play, feel free to DM, usually on around 4p-6p Mountain (US).

Is this open beta only accessible to pre-orders? Trying to look it up on the site but it only talks about pre-orders.

One thing I forgot to touch on that makes this game so much more my type of game is the fact that hitting head shots is significantly easier. I found that in all the battlefields, trying to go exclusively for headshots was a really hard thing giving the player models unpredictability but in this one, the heads specifically just don't sway much and so hitting headshots on top of the new predictable recoil makes the games sooooo much more enticing.

@seikenfreak: It goes completely open to all tomorrow (6th) but if you have a preorder or EA/Origin Access you could play from yesterday.

@moderp: I felt exactly the same way about the change in head-shots. They finally feel satisfying.

This is such a strange representation of WWII, but the game itself is exhilarating. Map design is definitely on point. The maps they gave us in the Beta are 5/5 in my book.

I'm unable to play the game, so I have no idea what it feels like when people talk about the change to head-shots. What exactly has changed?

Game just doesn't run well for me unfortunately. Makes sense considering how old my pc is now but BF1 still ran really well so I had hope

@pie: yeah Im on a gtx 1070 max q with an i7 8750h and I still have trouble just reaching 60 fps at 1080p at times... that raises red flags in my book...

It was meh, but I think it's more me than the game. After playing BF for so many years and so many hours conquest feels trite and kinda borking - I've never liked rush since it's too much camping on defense. I could see myself having fun with it, but I doubt I'll buy it unless there battle royale/PUBG mode looks really good. I'd rather the beta had been that mode since we all know what conquest and rush is by now. I do think the internet hate this game has gotten has been overblown and silly, since it's mostly about women and non-whites being in the game. Having women on all the loading screens and stuff does feel like a silly, marketing move, but people should get mad about real stuff, not that.

I just played it for about 10 mins. Not sure if I'm crazy but I feel like I was playing a level I've seen before. That snowy village alongside railroad tracks? Is that an old map? Maybe because of that, I felt like I was reliving a sad moment in my shooter history where it kinda ended for me. Surprise to me, the game seemed to be running very well at 3440x1440 with my 1080 and trusty old i7 2600k. People were saying it was running poorly for them on newer hardware so I expected worse.

I think the ship has loooooong sailed on competitive shooters for me. Something about starting, running aimlessly looking for someone, getting shot from who knows where and dying.. Then doing it over and over again. I just cannot be bothered anymore. It's a very depressing feeling.

I played CS when I was young. I did Battlefield 1942, Vietnam, 2, 2142, and Bad Company 2. Apparently I own 3 and I can't even remember playing it. So I at least played them at one point, if not enjoyed them. I have lots of good memories with 1942, 2, and BC2. But yea, now I try it and I want to stop before I even start.

Maybe I just want the bot mode back? I recently put together a WinXP machine, loaded it up with games, and proceeded to play some BF2 against the bots. Man they were pretty easy, but it was just the right amount of casual fun for me. Jump in a tank and start mowing all these enemies down. I could sit and snipe them, where as real players can somehow see you and kill you from a mile away. Its no fun. I'd be happy with a Co-Op mode of player vs computer.. Anything like that I find fun. If there is a single player campaign then I'll be a bit more interested.

I also think that these games look so damn good and detailed now, that it makes it all that much harder to even distinguish a character in the environment. I've had this problem with shooters for some time now.

Hope other people can continue to enjoy the series. Its a great idea and I had lots of fun with them way back.

Edit: Totally forgot about Vietnam. Played that as well. Hueys rock.

I've played three matches so far. It seems fine, but not exceptional in any way. I'll probably play more of it, but I still don't get why they did away with vehicle spawns, and I think the Rotterdam map (which is the only one I've gotten matched into) is a little boring.

I hope the destructible environments are only scaled back for the beta, because so far I've barely seen any destruction at all despite seeing explosions all over the place. That E3 trailer featured a whole lot of it, though, so I assume it'll still be there in the final game.

I do enjoy that every class can do support actions for their squad mates now at least, though the implementation feels kinda finicky in comparison to how it used to work. Instead of being able to select ammo/health packs and throw them freely, the option is just greyed out when your squad mates are too far away, and it's just thrown automatically towards whoever is closest or something, doesn't seem like you can actually affect who'll get the stuff if there are more than one nearby.

Played a round. I like it. A bit slower pace, which I like personally. Seems to run well with a GTX970 and AMD FX-8350 @4.0GHz.

Yo, I was playing a sniper, headshot someone, and heard the guy I was playing say the German word for three to himself. I checked my score and, yep, he was audibly counting kills.

I don't know where DICE finds the time to put in this much attention to detail but this game is alright.

Also I put up fortifications in the middle of a street and then anti-tank mines behind them so when an enemy tank bulldozed through the sandbags and whatnot they blew up perfectly.

So far it feels a bit clunky, lots of goopy ragdoll stuff that stands out pretty bad, not as satsifying when the "cha ching" of kill score details pop up either, which is a major bummer. core gameplay feels pretty darn good though. hope they can iron it out

for running bf1 on ultra with no problems and solid 100+ fps. i couldn't run the game smooth on low settings. crashed in 5 min. uninstall. not getting robbed another $60

The BF-V beta doesn't run well with dx12 enabled run it in dx11 and it will run much better

@deanoxd: this is actually my problem, thanks lol

@moderp: Np

@ghost_cat The animations, the visual flair, the audio cues, (Think of that "ping" in COD 4) the general way the guns control. Recoil, and how much damage players can sustain just feels more balanced, and smoothed out from other entries in the series.

Note: I never played BF1.

The Good

They have really perfected rewarding players for proper teamwork without it feeling overtly tacky. Everyone is constantly healing, and throwing out ammo packs.

The resupply stations are well placed, and the weapons, classes, and vehicles all feel more balanced then I was expecting. The gun play is far more satisfying then previous entries.

As always, the Audio design is the true star. Turn it up!

- The Bad

Yes there's a lot happening on screen, but I've found it poorly optimized. I do recommend turning off DX12. It's broken, and will cause major stuttering and performance issues.

I will say that the destructibility is still a disappointment. I was able to take advantage of it a couple of times, but I really wish it impacted the matches and feel of the maps over time, but it just isn't there yet. I also had nothing but connection errors at the very early hours of the Beta, but it's been just fine for me all the rest of the day/night.

- The Verdict

I never expected to buy a Battlefield game again, but this is the most I've enjoyed Battlefield since 2.

I don't know why, as it seems almost the same as Battlefield 1(One? WWI?), but something about it just feels better.

The movement feels tighter and more fluid, you can crouch sprint which is a huge deal for tactical movement. I hope its not just the one beta map, but the map design is really well done. There is a way to flank almost any position on the map via side streets or alleys. If you are stuck in a choke point, chances are there's a way around it.

It feels like a more tactically sound battlefield, I can't remember if smoke grenades have been a thing really since maybe 3, I don't remember them in 1 or 4. But I found myself actually using smokes to cover assaults or revives.

The class system is neat, each class now has a special ability, for instance scouts run faster when critically low on health and each has their own skill tree.

Ammo has been reduced so you have to rely on resupplies(either via crates or players) more.

I too was thinking, "eh I don't need another battlefield", but this feels REALLY good.

I dont know... The game is good and plays good and everything, Its just that. It gets boring for me after 1 or 2 matches. unless they do some thing cool with the BR mode I wont be buying this game.

I gave it about 1 hour and something about the handling of the guns feels way off and the movement feels significantly more floaty than previous BFs.

I don't like it at all.

Probably going to skip this one entirely.

This is what I'm trying to figure out based on videos since I don't have the PC to play it. Something about the way people are aiming, and aiming for headshots, seems pretty different.

I feel like people are complaining about beta test problems.

Overall I fail to see how this isnt a giant step in the right direction in terms of movement, gunplay, destruction, and squad play.... ya know, the main aspects.

Played for probably half an hour or so?

Played as assault and medic (I think). Most of a match of conquest (which is called capture the flag now?)

As assault: It was okay, but the new spot system just feels useless. Maybe it makes sense after a while but it just felt like a complete waste to ever hit Q. Time to kill is short enough and new spotting is wonky enough that I should just take a shot in almost every situation. It is probably a step up over spamming Q randomly but... meh. Also, I apparently spawn with two magazines and (I think) a smoke grenade. I am sure the complete lack of ammo will be less of an issue if people work together but it just felt like it gave me a time limit per life and discouraged me from trying to "hold the line" while waiting for reinforcements to come defend a point.

As what I think was medic (I have the white cross): I am pretty sure medics have ammo packs instead of health packs now? Which is probably good considering the small amount of ammo to start with, but isn't how I prefer to roll.

Aside from that: Guns felt like guns. Game is gorgeous, as always. And I already remember how much I hate campers and snipers. Might reinstall to give Rush a chance (that is still there, right?) but not in a particular hurry. I have too many games to play and I don't see myself putting the time in for this.

Could you elaborate? What do you mean by "floaty"?

I personally feel like it feels extremely tight and responsive, it feels way more natural to how one would actually move. It is different for sure, but I don't think it feels bad.

I played about 30 minutes.

It's a Battlefield game.

Helped me decide about purchasing it or not.

Looking forward to it but I'm avoiding it til the full release. My favorite WW2 multiplayer game was Call of Duty 3, and I've been waiting for a good vehicle-based WW2 follow up since then. Battlefield 4 was the last military shooter I got way into, so I really hope this hits for me.

Learned something recently, if you're the squad leader then you can hold B (on PC) and spend the points on stuff like this:

@forcen: Yeah it's both shoulder buttons on consoles. The rocket is one of the most satisfying things when you hit an enemy group.

Man, this game has some intense film grain going on. I wish the option to turn it off was a slider instead of a toggle. I like film grain but man they really poured it on in this one.

It seems really similar to BF1 to me, which isn't entirely bad because I really liked BF1 but I don't see a lot of meaningful difference gameplay wise. I really can't stand the bleed out system, it takes way to long to die and respawn. I don't like that it gives you the "spawn on player" view when you respawn either. I really liked the way older games treated squads, it seemed more elegant to me. I like seeing the over map of everything that's happening so I can decide where the best place to spawn is. You can still do that but its one too many clicks away for my taste.

Is spotting different in this? I kept hitting Q on things and a marker would plop down where I was pointed and stay for a second or two and then disappear instead of leashing to the thing I was looking at. It didn't feel right. I only played one map and didn't see any vehicles to spawn into. Is it still the same system as 1 where most vehicles aren't actually in the world and you can't run up and get in them you have to spawn in them? If so that's a bummer.

I don't know it seems fine. I was expecting more but it's battlefield and that's ok I guess. This definitely tempered my expectations but I didn't hate it or anything.