Battlefield 4 new multiplayer details revealed

While we have already seen a fair amount of Battlefield 4’s multiplayer in action, DICE has revealed some new details about the online component of the upcoming sequel.

Firstly, DICE said that the four playable kits from Battlefield 3 will return – namely the Engineer, Recon, Support and Assault. In Battlefield 4 however, players will be able to “strongly specialize their combat role while also increasing flexibility and catering to different play styles.”

“Only a fraction of our players have tried all available gadgets or vehicles in multiplayer,” said lead designer Thomas Andersson. “Of course you don’t have to use everything in the game, but I think we can do a better job in BF4 of letting players make more educated choices in their kit loadouts and combat roles.”

“In Battlefield 4, we’re clearly displaying what gadgets can do for you, how different weapons compare, and how they affect your options on the battlefield,” he added.

Battlefield 4 multiplayer – players will be rewarded for working successfully with their squad.

Andersson also elaborated on the new feature in Battlefield 4 called Field Upgrades.

“If you’re a long-term fan that played Battlefield 2142, you will already have an idea what these are, but we have tweaked them for Battlefield 4,” Andersson said.

Field Upgrades are chained boosts that can affect a number of gameplay mechanics for your player. Similar to the specializations in Battlefield 3, these can for example provide you with faster sprint speed, stronger personal armour, or expanded ammo capacity.

The idea behind Field Upgrades is to reward individuals for their interaction and play with their squad. Squad healing, completing objectives with your squad members, squad resupplies, squad repairs, and other squad actions will earn you Field Upgrades, so instead of one single specialization like in Battlefield 3, you can now pick from different upgrades paths, each containing four specializations.

Battlefield 4 will release on 1 November 2013 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, with next-gen console release dates to be announced at a later stage.