DICE wants your feedback on Battlefield 3 accessories

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 4 January, 2012

Suggests nerfs and buffs for potential update.

DICE wants your feedback as it works out how to tweak Battlefield 3's accessories.

Core gameplay designer Alan Kertz started a thread on Reddit titled "Discussion of BF3 Weapon Accessories, and their Futures!" in which he said said he was working on changes to the shooter's accessories because "I feel the player is limited in choice due to a few accessories being the clear winners in almost all categories".

He admitted those accessories that are over-used will be nerfed, but insisted the focus of his effort was to improve under-performing and under-used attachments.

"Additionally it is the intention for an unmodified weapon to offer the best balance of Recoil, Accuracy, and Stealth," he said.

Kertz was unable to promise there will be an update to the game to tweak accessories - right now he's just after feedback and a discussion.

But he did propose a number of changes himself. Kertz suggested a nerf to the Foregrip ("currently it has no downside") and Suppressor ("not an overpowered, just over used/general purpose, accessory"), and a buff to the Bipod ("doesn't offer enough benefits on Carbines and Assault Rifles to be worth using"), Heavy Barrel ("aimed accuracy increase is useless") and Flash Suppressor (underwhelming generally).

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About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

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Comments (47) Latest comment 5 months ago

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  • Sodding_Gamer #1 5 months ago

    Good idea. I think the only attachments I use now are the RDS sight and the heavy barrel.

  • kinky_mong #2 5 months ago

    Not an accessory, but the FAMAS definitely needs nerfing.

  • Moonprince #3 5 months ago

    Suppressor ("not an overpowered, just over used/general purpose, accessory";),

    So nothing wrong with it, just people enjoy using it: may as well fuck with it then right!!!

    Logical.

  • CFacto #4 5 months ago

    To be fair he's just thrown some ideas out there. If no-one agrees, hopefully they won't fiddle with them.
    There's no real issue with foregrips because they're easily accessible. The above air perks comment is true though - they encourage people who jumped into aircraft early on to carry on hogging them as later adopters have no chance in competition, and infantry weapons are now useless against them.

  • LazyNinjaUk #5 5 months ago

    Yes please nerf the Famas and G18c, I used both to see if they are just generally over powered or if I'm just unlucky. Within minutes I was racking up insane kills. Definitely over powered.

    Also please remove whatever bullshit collision damage variable which turns the UAV into a flying biscuit tin of death, so many times I've played when attackers are losing so they all camp in their spawn where defenders can't go. Then fly that fucking metal bastard all over the place killing people, if it's meant to be able to kill people at least give it a light machine gun like BF:BC2 so it has to stay still for accurate shooting.

  • Buran #6 5 months ago

    The only thing the game really needs is to nullify the tactical flashlight blinding effect in outdoors: in day time the pupil contraction must null that annoying effect. With all those flaslights and those stupid and irreal lenticular effects the game visivility suffers andlacks. Was the same problem with the Crysis 2 motion blur.

  • Syon #7 5 months ago

    I said it over the battlelog forums and I'm going to repeat myself here: NERF EVERYTHING and leave only sticks and stones. Thank you.

  • Arsecake_Baker #8 5 months ago

    @EddieMink

    Absolutely right! The chopper whores are back and back with a vengeance, Dice/EA in catering to the flyboy whiners in the last patch have completely unbalanced the game. (again!)

    Everyone is using a Famas, choppers are invincible and mines now disappear on death of the engineer, chuck in the IRNV scope which is now like looking at green fog, stingers so underpowered they are now completely pointless and the T-90 with it's nuclear shells and you have one hell of a mess.

    Great game but as usual with Dice they seem to have absolutely no idea how to make it all work properly!

  • DifferentClass #9 5 months ago

    Yeah, I agree MAVs shouldn't be able to kill you. Sure, I bop snipers on the head that camp high up on rooftops but it's annoying when you can't get in a fire fight properly because someone has made in their mission whiz around you like a giant, metal Bluebottle.

    I'm surprised the suppressor is under used. I use it on most of my weapons. Why would you not want to remain hidden off the radar when you fire?.. it's great.

  • agparrot #10 5 months ago

    There is a downside to the foregrip for the Assault class, because it means you can't also mount the grenade launcher as an underslung feature and have to carry your M320's separately.

    I'm not sure why there can't be attachments that aren't allowed to have a solely beneficial effect, like the foregrip, that you gain from putting the time in to unlock them.

    The Suppressors already have a reduced damage over range, so it isn't like they have no downside (albeit a very minor one).

    Maybe they could look at changing which of the three attachments slots are used by which accessories, although presumably what you can and can't have equipped on any given gun at the same time is based in some sort of reality.

    The FAMAS is a great gun, perhaps overpowered, but the reload cycle takes longer than every other Assault gun, so it does have some downside. It does appear at odds with the rest of the 5.56mm guns though, as it seems to pack the same sort of punch as the 7.62 SCAR and the G3.

    Some of these issues were dealt with better in BC2 by, for example, initially not alowing scopes on the M14 (they were patched in later)... perhaps it isn't necessary to offer all weapons the same attachments - I know some of the ARs don't support underslung rails, perhaps it is time to take the foregrip away from the SCAR, M249 and FAMAS. I just don't know how you'd justify this in the 'realism' sense.

  • vert1go #11 5 months ago

    Nerf the license to remove the ability to spy on whatever you like on our PC's and share/sell that information without limitation to any third party. Then we'll talk.

  • TheRealBadabing #12 5 months ago

    If Assault HAS to equip defibs and the Support HAS to equip ammo and the Recon HAS to equip spawn beacon, then why doesn't the Engineer HAVE to equip the repair tool and move the mines to a slot 3 choice?

    Also, more Javelin ammo please.

  • Dyason #13 5 months ago

    I don't get the point of this. Why should there be downsides to things that you've put effort in to unlock? Yes some things will outweigh others, people loving the suppressor for example. And even if you do this there's always going to be some things that are pointless. Look at the scopes for example. Some of them are useless given the gun they can go on.

    Personally I think there should be more options of class things. Support get to choose between C4/Claymore/Mortar and Assault get a choice of defib/grenade launcher. Engineer gets mine/bot. Not really much choice there!

  • asharkman #14 5 months ago

    I wish they'd make it so that when I join a squad with my friends we stay in the same squad, even the same team would be a bonus.
    Ugh it drives me crazy.

  • arcam #15 5 months ago

    Last night I watched two full squads of four relentlessly pepper a Viper with non-stop Stinger missiles, to sweet fuck-all avail.

    Huh? 8 people shooting non-stop stinger missiles at a chopper and you couldn't bring it down? How does that work?

  • kadooosh #16 5 months ago

    <quote>CFacto wrote:
    To be fair he's just thrown some ideas out there. If no-one agrees, hopefully they won't fiddle with them.
    There's no real issue with foregrips because they're easily accessible. The above air perks comment is true though - they encourage people who jumped into aircraft early on to carry on hogging them as later adopters have no chance in competition, and infantry weapons are now useless against them.</quote>

    Soldan and stinger take a.chopper down in one missile. Jets though, no chance!

  • kadooosh #17 5 months ago

    <quote>EddieMink wrote:
    Huh? 8 people shooting non-stop stinger missiles at a chopper and you couldn't bring it down? How does that work?

    You tell me. I'd say it was someone cheating if it hadn't happened several times before.

    Not only did the thing take multiple rockets, it was also almost impossible to lock-on to it unless you were standing about twenty in-game feet away. By which time you were toast.

    It's broken</quote>

    That'll be someone in the.back.constantly i'm repair.. Repair is much faster than damage. U can keep a vehicle going the while game if someone is constantly on repair.

  • Iakona #18 5 months ago

    It's a shame DICE don't seem equally interested in our feedback regarding the broken VOIP or the input lag on the PS3.
    Edited by Iakona at 04/01/12 @ 12:40

  • MadDave123 #19 5 months ago

    I still can't believe the flash suppressor design in BF3. It decreases accuracy due to increased recoil? That's some crazy BS right there. If anything, flash suppressors should reduce recoil. >_<

    The mediocre +ve effect of a reduced muzzle flash is hardly a comparative benefit. I think it's the most useless weapon attachment of all the available ones. Not to mention the most stupid.

    I love BF3, but this is clearly pure dumb dumb!

  • DifferentClass #20 5 months ago

    If you're having trouble bringing down a chopper then you have to work with someone to get the thing laser targeted and use a Javelin (or any other guided shell) to bring it down. It's not completely accurate but you stand a much better chance if the pilot and gunner are avoiding heat seekers by spitting flares everywhere.

  • Ranger101 #21 5 months ago

    @EddieMink All it takes is a Recon with a SOFLAM and an Engineer with a Javelin, working together.

    Edit:
    Ah people have already suggested this.

    The other key thing to it is that the Recon should put the SOFLAM down, and run off to a safe area (preferably near a Support) and then continue targeting, so his physical person is not under threat.

    Alternatively 2 - 3 Engineers with Stingers and voice-chat do the trick. You have to co-ordinate the Stinger missile attack so that you time the missiles during the cool-down of the IR flares for the pilot and gunner. Eng. A fires, pilot flares. Eng. B fires, gunner flares. Eng C. fires, no more flares :-D
    Edited by Ranger101 at 04/01/12 @ 12:59

  • arcam #22 5 months ago

    If you've got a heli with squadmembers in the back repairing then you're being defeated by good teamwork, and it'll take good teamwork to counter it. A sniper with a SOFLAM and two engies with Javelins will make short work of it.

    This is the whole point of Battlefield and how the game is supposed to work.

    edit: Just saw your post - if it's an attack helicopter that can't be repaired mid-flight then I find it hard to believe a team of 8 engies with stingers couldn't bring it down. Flares and an extinguisher can only get you so far. Perhaps the pilot was using a cheat of some kind, that's the only explanation I can think of.
    Edited by arcam at 04/01/12 @ 12:58

  • geeza2020 #23 5 months ago

    I've only just worked out how the soflam works in the last couple of days, even though I've had the game since launch. So change all you want DICE, I never seem to know whats going on in a match anyway :)

  • arcam #24 5 months ago

    @EddieMink The SOFLAM still works when you are not actively controlling it. Set it, then run somewhere and hide where you can't be killed by the chopper.

    edit: I only started using the Javelin properly this weekend, and it worked so well I felt sorry for the chopper pilots. See here: http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf3/battlereport/show/14257399/1/238563639/ I'm skillian, 19 kills with the Javelin that game, and God knows how many vehicles destroyed.
    Edited by arcam at 04/01/12 @ 13:06

  • Po1ymorph #25 5 months ago

    Chopper armour needs nerfing, or a cap on flares.

    Tanks can be disabled with two, sometimes one RPG/tank round, choppers/jets should be the same.

    And they need to sort out the inability to "quit" on the round end screen, it is beyond me why they choose to make it so.....

  • arcam #26 5 months ago

    @Po1ymorph

    Press ESC on the round end screen, you can quit fine.

  • Nipples #27 5 months ago

    @arcam Consoles have an esc key?

  • Stratix #28 5 months ago

    I would prefer to pick my attachments based on what is going to be most useful at the time.

    If I am going a very enclosed map like Metro, I'll want flashlight, to blind them, or laser sight for hipfire accuracy.

    If I am on a open map, I will usually pick heavy barrel for a bit of long distance shooting.

    For a mid range map where I am playing a full on medic and do not want to draw attention to myself, I'll probably pick silencer. Hopefully they will not nerf this too much, maybe reduce the recoil reduction. But really, as soon as you have been spotted, you are put on the enemies map anyway and the attachment becomes much less useful.

    I don't see a huge problem with grip, as almost everyone is going to use it, and therefore it doesn't matter. I would prefer that they made the alternatives a better option instead of nerfing grip. As they said, bipod really does blow on assault rifles. I don't want to sit still for long, that's a great way to get a hole in the head.

  • DifferentClass #29 5 months ago

    Remember you can also laser target from the third heavy tank seat if you've unlocked it. It's much safer than using a SOFLAM.

  • ronuds #30 5 months ago

    I'd hate to see it happen, but they "should" probably either nerf grip or enhance the bipod. With how it stands, it seems to me the grip is just -- or almost -- as effective as the bipod. Who in their right mind would use the bipod if that's the case?

  • BobsUncle #31 5 months ago

    @Ranger101 Last night my friend and I repeatedly killed the Viper using this tactic. A javelin strike on a designated Viper is a one-hot insta-kill. As is the guided shell, I know that as I was on the wrong end of it a few times. It's also impossible to dodge once fired as flares have no effect.

  • Douche #32 5 months ago

    What downside could you give to a grip? It's a grip!

    I think bullet damage in general may need looked at - the amount of times i have shot someone with like half a clip and they run away is pretty irratating.

  • Cardiff1 #33 5 months ago

    I just use Jets on the Vipers. Instead of firing both heatseekers just fire one to force them to use their flares. Wait for lock & fire again.

  • Po1ymorph #34 5 months ago

    @arcam On console you have to wait for the next map to load up to get back to the main menu, it's bizarre.

  • Arsecake_Baker #35 5 months ago

    @DifferentClass

    The problem with this on a console, is it takes two peope out of the game, two more if others are trying, that's practically half your team.

    It's broken and needs fixing badly!

  • sjmlondon #36 5 months ago

    If you've played the game long enough you'll probably realise there about about 10 good weapons which get you kills again and again. Why are Dice obsessed with nerfing everything to bring weapony down to the same level?

    You need to play the game and work out what works best for you and what is the most appropriate weapon / kit selection to use in a particular part of a Rush game for example.

    If you they muck around / nerf stuff you have to adapt. Forget about the mines and thermal scopes and use C4 / claymores instead.

    Having said that there should doing something about the mortar which is becoming very tiresome and usually a sign the atacking side are getting desperate. The Mav shouldn't be able to take out a vehicle either, it is supposed to be a spotting device not a demolition ball against vehicles.

  • Sora888 #37 5 months ago

    @kadooosh laser designated air vehicle then launch a javelin. Only way to avoid it is using ECM jammer which only lasts a few secs. Also javelins take out all air vehicles in one hit.

  • cyber_nicco #38 5 months ago

    I don't know what the big deal about the famas is. People are using it a lot now because it was a recent unlock with Karkland. I don't feel like it is particularly damaging - or even useful. Certainly not as good as that KH2002 (or whatever it's called).

    In fact, I am seeing less and less of it used here on servers nearby to me (California).

  • darth_paul #39 5 months ago

    is DICE kidding or what. F****** patch the bugs 1st! Start by fixing broken VOIP and crippling input lag on the PS3 1st, damn! reta***... here goes my feedback!
    Edited by darth_paul at 04/01/12 @ 17:25

  • Po1ymorph #40 5 months ago

    @cyber_nicco I agree. I don't see the famas being used anymore so than any other weapon.

    @Arsecake_Baker True, on console with only a 12 man team, with 2 in jets and 2 in the helicopter, that leaves only 8 ground troupes, If two are focused on ground to air defence that leaves the rest of the team extremely short of man power.

    The balance is wrong for console.
    Edited by Po1ymorph at 04/01/12 @ 17:45

  • DOTshima #41 5 months ago

    Mac support please.

  • arcam #42 5 months ago

    @Po1ymorph Then do it alone, no problem ;)

  • Sockiplast #43 5 months ago

    First of all. i have been playing Bf2 since it came out here in Sweden.
    The maps that comes with the Bf3 game are not that great. And the weapons are very boring. i really want that Bf2 feeling back. I was allways running as a support with Mg's or a medic.
    Assault ''medic'' is fine but as a Support with a mg is crap. (Imo) Not going to do deeper in this subject. I guess you DICE ppl ''Vet vad jag menar'' and what to do.

    Or do you?

    We dont need 10k different scopes or special bullets.
    We just need good balance between few weapons.
    If i wanna drive a tank and be able to blow some got damn smoke on my enemys. I don't want to lvl up to get that. You do that in real life?

    -No man! i can't turn this car to the right yet!
    -What?! why?
    -I unlock that when i get promoted to lvl 23

    I mean it. Stop the CoD thing.

    a lvl 1 guy who just changed name and restared or something. He should have the same chance to kill the guy who is lvl 40. This is not WoW!

    Bring back that Bf2 feeling. Don't go CoD all in on it.
    Och sparka han som gjorde dom nya kartorna och återanställ snubben som gjorde Strike at karkan, Masthur City!

    This is my 2 cent. Peace!

  • Djimm #44 5 months ago

    BF3 has the potential to be a great game, but DICE just seem to have no idea how to balance it up (and I say that as a massive DICE fan - Mirror's Edge is my favourite ever game).

    Here are the problems as I see them:

    1) Too many attachments on too many weapons. Inevitably, something was going to end up broken.

    2) Reactionary over-nerfing when they deem something a problem. IRNV, SCAR, Stingers, all nerfed into oblivion when they really weren't that much of a problem.

    3) Huge patch/DLC that includes new weapons. Back to Karkand was a huge mistake IMO, new(old) maps is a good thing, new weapons are not.

    4) Really weird design decisions over what weapons/kit gets unlocked in what order. I hate to bring up MW3 (because God knows IW really shouldn't be hailed as balance gurus) but the philosophy of later unlocked weapons not being better just different has really worked. In BF3, the unlock structure seems to intentionally start off with crap guns so higher ranked players have an advantage (this is certainly the case with vehicle unlocks as well). I can only imagine the number of players that have bought BF3 and traded it immediately because they got murdered by sqauds of high rankers with top tier guns and fully juiced vehicles that simply can't be killed.

    Also, players shouldn't have to find YouTube vids just to work out how to use kit like the SOFLAM properly. And, why is a piece of kit that is so team oriented unlocked so late in the progression? Shouldn't the team helping kit be unlocked early and the more selfish stuff be given to the more experienced players who are better able to make use of it as lone wolves?

    Why aren't the US/Russian starting guns available to both sides, so if you prefer one over the other you can work on advancing that one instead of having to split early unlock progression over them both?

    Vehicles - how are you supposed to learn to use them? Without the perks, they're super easy to kill, with the perks they are invincible. Shouldn't all vehicles have a baseline difficulty to kill (regardless of pilot), with the perks just adding things like better awareness of enemy location, alternate weapons etc? Or how about perks that make vehicles more deadly also make them more vulnerable, so you have a choice - hard to kill or kills you hard.

    I know, TL;DR...

  • Po1ymorph #45 5 months ago

    @arcam lol, there's some crazy shots there :D. I may have a go but I think my sniping skill will be found lacking.



    Dice also need to separate Conquest Assault instantly and leave Conquest mode alone.

  • Zebulonswe #46 5 months ago

    No nerfs or buffs necessary. Just fix the painful system of changing the current equipment. I want to change sights and add ons for the weapons quickly depending on the current situation. Don't want to go in to a separate menu to manage my soldier. This was much better in bfbc2. In bf3, there are too many weapons and too much of an hassle just to change minor stuff (like sights).

    It's also no fun having to unlock everything one more time for that particular weapon if I want to try a new weapon.

    Oh, and bring back the old bf theme song. This should be bf not mwf!

    Thanks

  • Agente_Silva #47 5 months ago

    I don´t see how foregrip or supressor need to be nerfed... they do exactly what it is supposed and, as it is easy to get them, it is available to everyone. The only acessorie that was overpowered was IRNV, being some sort of "official cheat", in my opinion. Heavy barrel accuracy increased really works, maybe people didn´t notice that... :)

    Maybe DICE should pay more attention to cheaters!! They should be PREVIOUSLY detect before joining a server and not after, when they already ruined several rounds of good game!