Nov 12, 2011
Battlefield 3 is here, with myriad unlocks, tech and combinations to use it can be overwhelming for newer players. Add in the extra dimension on Jets and it can become a system overload if you end up spending your time looking at the killer cam.
Although DICE aim to provide more realism in their games than other titles they also have to balance that with the fact that it’s still a game. Not many soldiers get to respawn after being fatally injured in real life, and most normal humans would become combat ineffective after one bullet to the chest let alone half a magazine.
Where DICE have added the realism is in the way you need to move around the battlefield. Although some of the multiplayer maps such as Seine Crossing, Grand Bazaar and arguably Tehran Highway have a more Call of Duty feel to them than the usual Battlefield offering for the most part that’s as close to Call of Duty as you’re going to get in this franchise. Running and gunning, for the most part, is not going to end well for you, or your team.
We can’t move on before mentioning the elephant in the room at this point. Compared to other Battlefield games, Battlefield 3 seems to have been designed to be as attractive to ‘traditional’ Call of Duty players as possible. Although you don’t get as much quickscoping and dropshotting (due to restrictions in movement/damage) as in Call of Duty the damage models of most guns and pace of some maps seems to be directly aimed at Call of Duty players.
Now that’s out there for discussion. Let’s look at how to actually survive and enjoy the game.
Firstly we have the game types:
Rush
The purpose of Rush is for the attacking force to arm and explode two ‘Mcom Stations’ in a series of bases before their reinforcement tickets run out. The defenders job is to deplete the attackers tickets by killing them while defending the Mcoms and disarm them when necessary.
Should the attackers run out of tickets when the final Mcom on any base is armed, the defenders must disarm the Mcom before it explodes. If they fail to do so the Mcom will explode and the base is lost (resulting in a win for the attackers if it’s the last base, or a continuation to the next base).
Attacking
In Rush, when attacking, you need to be weighing up the options of when to make a mad dash for the Mcoms, and when to play more tactically by flanking or utilising vehicles where available (vehicles are there for a reason). Not all maps, or even bases are born equally and as such you need to be aware of the sections where you will need to rush and where you’ll need to clear the areas first. On some bases the best tactic is for your team to push forward as quickly as possible, on others this is not possible and could result in a loss due to quickly running out of tickets (map analysis in a future guide).
Defending
When defending your mission is two-fold: kill the enemy, protect the Mcoms. If you’re not doing both then you’re doing it wrong and potentially helping your team to a loss. In general you need to be in a position between the Mcoms and the attackers in order to prevent them from getting to the objectives. Be aware of flanking routes and keep an eye on the mini-map (in core modes only) to ensure that any gaps in the defence are quickly filled.
Variation: Squad Rush
Same concept as Rush but pits two squads of four against each other, one attacking, one defending on a cut down version of the standard maps on a smaller amount of bases.
Tips: When attacking, you’re job is not to get kills, it is to destroy the Mcoms. Killing defenders may help you get a wonderful KD, but if you still lose then that means nothing. Your priority should be the objective, not your vanity. When defending your main role is depleting the attackers tickets. By any means be a killing machine, but make sure you can still provide support for the objective.
In Part 2 we’ll look at the Conquest game mode.
David Nicol is a gamer, blogger, podcaster and video creator based in the UK. Find me on:
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