On first hearing about Field Upgrades for Battlefield many thought there should be some changes and adjustments to the system. Last week DICE released a patch that actually fixed the Field Upgrade system correcting the bugs that would break the upgrade levels when moving to the next round as well as progression in the system itself. This update had me looking at the upgrade options again to see what “perks” did what as I have forgotten what my choices where. Like many that play Battlefield 4, I had forgotten because there is only one Field Upgrade to really use 3/4ths the time. I decided to post my changes and why while only working with what DICE already has in place. Some people like to invent some different options, but theory is not always as sound as what has been used in practice.
The Field Upgrade system allows your soldier or kit to do extra special things as it progresses. The progression works by doing teamwork points, such has following orders or performing your class function. These things give you points that unlock one of four “perks” in a specific order. This is all done by default in the game. The only thing a player needs to do is select the Field Upgrade they want and then play the game with objective playing in mind.
The idea of the Field Upgrade is actually really good and I like how it promotes teamwork and gives you reward for doing that as well as using your kit as you should. There are some issues, however, that makes the choices of selecting the field upgrades very easy and makes you overlook the other options. So I want to start by explaining the Field Upgrade that everyone selects and why:
The above picture is the Defensive Field Upgrade. You can see each level unlock and what it does. This load out is a very good defensive load out that makes a lot of sense in Battlefield. So what is the problem? It is the order of the perks in this field upgrade versus all the other Field Upgrades and what they have to offer.
The armor gives you the ability in the game to absorb one extra bullet to the chest. This perk is so effective that a close range shot with a shotgun in the game will not kill you, but changes a one shot kill weapon into two shots. This gives many people more than enough time to react and counter. The next perk greatly reduces suppression, which everyone hates when it affects them and everyone loves when it affects the other guy. This helps with shooting back while under fire. With the two together you can have someone get the drop on you, yet allowing you to react and counter and possibly win the engagement even though you may have been careless to begin with. I feel this field upgrade should actually be in reverse of how it is now. The level 1 perk is awesome versus the level 4 perk which takes affect after the engagement. You are getting a very useful and powerful upgrade out of the gate by selecting this and it only gets better as you progress.
Here is the Offensive Field Upgrade. Now compare that to the Defensive one above. You get to run faster? You get more ammo? Yeah, those can be helpful, but you can’t outrun bullets and you can always find ammo, if you really need to. There is nothing to protect on suppression. Hey, you get a grenade! Which is countered in the Defensive upgrade. Your fall damage is reduced! In a game where there is regenerative health, medics, and parachutes. There really isn’t a counter to the Defensive perk here. I admit, the ammo portion is useful, but that is a level 2 item. I would move ammo to Level 1, Grenades to Level 2, and it is a toss up on the last two to go against the current Defense.
Now what I would really do with these two upgrades is set them up like this:
Defense – Quick regen, Cover, Flak, Armor
Offense – Sprint, Ammo, Grenades, Armor
Thats right, the reduced fall is gone. Its not needed in the game. Yeah, it is useful at times, but again we have regen health and a parachute! With this setup you are countering each others field upgrades and also moving the really nice strong armor to the end. A worthy level 4 upgrade. The two upgrades now better counter each other, creating that rock-paper-scissors that we try to get.
Lets look at the others.
This is the last “all kits” upgrade. The Shadow upgrade was voted on by the community and many thought they would be like James Bond with this perk and it was actually a very bad idea because the new Battlefield games have all kinds of gadgets to spot and ruin stealth. When you compare this upgrade with the Defense and Offense option it leaves a lot to be desired. There are no stealth elements in Battlefield 4 and this was just a bad idea thanks to the community so I would simply remove it from the game.
NEXT!
Recon Kit
These both are OK for the class. As you can see, most the features in the Shadow upgrade are right here, so that makes the Shadow upgrade even more useless. So this is what I would change and why:
Spec Op – Quick Unspot, Motion Sensors, Cover, C4 Explosives
Sniper – Quick Unpsot, Cover, Advanced Spot, Claymores (Hold up to 3 claymores)
Again, no reason for stealth in the game. Its not a stealth game and there are no stealth objectives. There are people that shoot at you though, so giving cover for the Spec Op upgrade will be helpful. C4 is a beast and worthy of a level 4 spot.
The Sniper upgrade I removed holding the breath because there is a lot of time to hold breath already in the game and quick shooting is easy to learn and if you cannot learn that, you may not want to play sniper. Claymores make a good defensive area for the camper in us all.
Assault Kit
So the Assault class is either played as a medic or as a heavy attacker, depending on your equipment selections. Most run as medic as revives and health are very helpful, but these upgrades are meant to enhance the two roles the class covers. This is what I would change:
Combat Medic – Sprint, Cover, Defib Upgrade, Medkit Upgrade
Grenadier – Sprint, Grenades, Flak, 40MM Grenades
So for Combat Medic I removed the Medical Unit. I have never seen anyone use this. This might be because of the defensive perk option, but the days of the convoys are done and in the past with Battlefield 2. Many maps and game modes don’t really have the vehicles to pull this off anyway. This setup encourages and promotes reviving and then healing.
Grenadier is a toughy because grenade spam is so bad in BF4. I decided to put grenades level 2 as it is only one extra AND there is no protection until level 3. Its a bit of a balance idea. I thought about taking the grenade option and putting in cover, but that would make it close to the defensive perk setup, so what would be the point?
Engineer Kit
This is my favorite kit. It is the only kit I use the upgrades for it instead of the defensive perk. I have used the anti-tank kit a ton and know it very well. So here are my changes:
Anti-Tank – Flak, Mines,More Deployed Explosives, Rockets
Mechanic – Cover, Flak, Fast Repair, Rockets
Again, I took out the vehicle convoy idea. I know, I’m no fun. Though I love the Anti-tank upgrade the way it is, I am being honest in saying that all the extra mines and rockets up front really hinder vehicles a lot. Enough engineers can really make it close to game breaking and I have even seen teams give up using vehicles because of it. I added mines then more deployed mines because of logistics. You cant deploy more of what you don’t have. Both upgrades get more rockets because a Mechanic needs to defend their vehicle too. Repairing all the time isn’t always enough and it makes an awesome level 4 change. I made Cover first for Mechanic because most the times I kill an engineer is with a rifle when they are repairing. Flak would be better for the engineer that hops out to repair for the driver, but that makes it worth more and moves it to the level 2 spot.
Support Kit
I never understood this upgrade system for this class. Both upgrades have more ammo. More ammo to a class that has the ammo bag and gives ammo to everyone, including itself. I do not know who was in charge of this specific layout, but they may have never played a Battlefield game before. I understand that you do not HAVE to have ammo equipped, but the biggest complaint in BF4 about the kits, other than the worthless snipers, is lack of ammo. Everyone wants it and everyone needs it. This has been a requirement for every Battlefield game ever. Anyway, I’m ranting. Here is what I would do:
Indirect Fire – Cover, Ammo bag Upgrade, Flak, Indirect Fire
Perimeter Defense – Suppression, Cover, Flak, Claymores
So I took the approach that Indirect Fire you are being a bit offensive and Perimeter Defense is being, well, defensive. Removed vehicle thingy and made kind of an explosive guy with Indirect Fire and a super defensive guy with Perimeter Defense. I didn’t give the Indirect Fire C4 upgrade because….wait for it…. Support can resupply themselves! They can have all the C4 they want. Yeah, it takes time to reload it, but when you can reload versus the recon that has no reloading, that can be a lot of C4.
Here is my kit Field Upgrades I use today:
Assault – Defensive (Sometimes Offensive for the ammo)
Recon – Defensive
Engineer – Anti-Tank
Support – Defensive
Here are my Field Upgrade changes:
Defense – Quick regen, Cover, Flak, Armor
Offense – Sprint, Ammo, Grenades, Armor
Shadow – GONE!
Spec Op – Quick Unspot, Motion Sensors, Cover, C4 Explosives
Sniper – Quick Unpsot, Cover, Advanced Spot, Claymores (Hold up to 3 claymores)
Combat Medic – Sprint, Cover, Defib Upgrade, Medkit Upgrade
Grenadier – Sprint, Grenades, Flak, 40MM Grenades
Anti-Tank – Flak, Mines,More Deployed Explosives, Rockets
Mechanic – Cover, Flak, Fast Repair, Rockets
Indirect Fire – Cover, Ammo bag Upgrade, Flak, Indirect Fire
Perimeter Defense – Suppression, Cover, Flak, Claymores
With these changes I would run my kits:
Assault – Offensive
Recon – Offensive
Engineer- Anti-Tank
Support – Defensive
Now this looks like an easy list made, but I actually had a harder time selecting what Field Upgrade to use for each class. I actually had to take a few minutes and really think it over. I almost went with Perimeter Defense for Support, but my play style didn’t quite make that the best choice.
I hope you like the changes that I think should be done. Maybe in the next battlefield. I am going to post these changes up in the forums. Hopefully people will really think about the changes and like them, but I will probably get a lot of trolls instead 😀
Crunch Time 