Shooters!
Five ProTips for Enjoying Battlefield 3 Multiplayer
Did playing the Battlefield 3 Beta make you wonder what the hype is all about? Are you new to the Battlefield series? Emanuel Maiberg has a few tips to get you ready for one of the biggest games of the year.
The Battlefield 3 multiplayer received mixed reactions to say the least. Regardless of how you felt about it or if you even tried it, I suggest that you give the game another shot if you get the chance. If you do, I can guarantee that keeping the following tips in mind will greatly improve your experience.
1. Don't Be an Asshole
This tip applies to all multiplayer games and life in general but it is especially useful when playing Battlefield 3. There are some games where you can get away with and even thrive on jerky behavior. This is not the case with Battlefield 3. Hopping around like an A-hole will get you shot. Blocking teammates' path like an A-hole will probably get you shot. Tea-bagging your fallen foes in the open will get you shot. Try to actually play the game rather than use it as an outlet for your inner jerk, for others' sake and your own.
2. Leave the Flying to the Professionals
Watching Top Gun seventeen times does not make you a fighter pilot. I know it's hard to accept, but we can't all be Mavericks.
One of the best things about the Battlefield series is the steep learning curve for piloting the helicopters and jets. It makes what are potentially the most powerful vehicles in the game almost unapproachable to newcomers, but those who master and finesse the intricacies of aerial superiority are greatly rewarded and are very beneficial to their team.
Learn how to fly on your own time. Host a game and get used to the controls without annoying a 64 player server and embarrassing yourself. Don't hop into a helicopter that in capable hands can turn the tide of battle only to fly it upside down for two seconds before crashing it into your teammates. If you must get some air time jump in the gunner seat. Don't let your ego write checks that your body can't cash.
3. Be a Team Player
So, the thing about these team-based multiplayer modes is that they are actually meant to be played as a team. Battlefield 3 is good at encouraging teamwork and you'll have more fun with it if you took the hint. Always be in a squad so you can spawn on squad-mates and that so others can spawn on you. In fact, it is often much better to hold a position close to the front-line and ensure a steady stream of reinforcements than it is to storm it guns blazing. And the game will even reward you for playing nice. You gain points for every teammate that spawns on you, for following a squad leader's orders, for healing or supplying ammo, etc.
4. Battlefield 3 is Not Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Put down you tall boy Monster energy drink for a second and take some time to let that little factoid sink in because it's important. I'm not interested in predicting which of these games will sell more copies (MW3) or which one I'll like more once the dust has settled (BF3). I'm sure they'll both be great. The pertinent point is that you won't be able to enjoy the game if you expect it be something it's not.
Call of Duty's massive popularity has made it so all multiplayer first person shooters are at least a little bit like Modern Warfare. Even Battlefield 3 is guilty of this given its new emphasis on player progression, but it's still a fundamentally different game.
The crucial distinction you need to make in order to enjoy the game is that Battlefield 3 is much slower. Whereas Modern Warfare is largely a meat grinder, encouraging you to rush, die, spawn, and repeat, Battlefield 3 is better played methodically. Take some time to get in tune with the game's rhythm. Move with purpose, from cover to cover, looking for advantageous positions (higher ground, line of sight) and flanking opportunities.
You'll notice that the time you have to wait before you respawn in Battlefield 3 is a little longer than it is in Modern Warfare. You don't want to spend the majority of the match counting back from five anyway, so try to make each turn count. As stated above, it's important to be a team player, and you're pretty much worthless to your team if your contribution consists entirely of running into a storm of bullets like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It's not so annoying in a game where you can lone-wolf it and respawning is more or less instantaneous, but it is in Battlefield 3.
In short, don't expect Modern Warfare's dizzyingly fast, ADHD pacing. Take your Ritalin if you must.
5. No, Seriously, Don't Be an Asshole
I can't stress this enough. If you have a mic, use it for something other than heavy mouth breathing and expressing your homophobia. Try to actually play the game rather than trying to break it.
Battlefield 3 asks for much more of you as player than most popular shooters. This means that it's not as forgiving of some of the shenanigans you're used to (it has its own brand of shenaniganery), but the rewards you get for playing seriously are well worth a little discipline.
The Battlefield 3 multiplayer received mixed reactions to say the least. Regardless of how you felt about it or if you even tried it, I suggest that you give the game another shot if you get the chance. If you do, I can guarantee that keeping the following tips in mind will greatly improve your experience.
1. Don't Be an Asshole
This tip applies to all multiplayer games and life in general but it is especially useful when playing Battlefield 3. There are some games where you can get away with and even thrive on jerky behavior. This is not the case with Battlefield 3. Hopping around like an A-hole will get you shot. Blocking teammates' path like an A-hole will probably get you shot. Tea-bagging your fallen foes in the open will get you shot. Try to actually play the game rather than use it as an outlet for your inner jerk, for others' sake and your own.
2. Leave the Flying to the Professionals
Watching Top Gun seventeen times does not make you a fighter pilot. I know it's hard to accept, but we can't all be Mavericks.
One of the best things about the Battlefield series is the steep learning curve for piloting the helicopters and jets. It makes what are potentially the most powerful vehicles in the game almost unapproachable to newcomers, but those who master and finesse the intricacies of aerial superiority are greatly rewarded and are very beneficial to their team.
Learn how to fly on your own time. Host a game and get used to the controls without annoying a 64 player server and embarrassing yourself. Don't hop into a helicopter that in capable hands can turn the tide of battle only to fly it upside down for two seconds before crashing it into your teammates. If you must get some air time jump in the gunner seat. Don't let your ego write checks that your body can't cash.
3. Be a Team Player
So, the thing about these team-based multiplayer modes is that they are actually meant to be played as a team. Battlefield 3 is good at encouraging teamwork and you'll have more fun with it if you took the hint. Always be in a squad so you can spawn on squad-mates and that so others can spawn on you. In fact, it is often much better to hold a position close to the front-line and ensure a steady stream of reinforcements than it is to storm it guns blazing. And the game will even reward you for playing nice. You gain points for every teammate that spawns on you, for following a squad leader's orders, for healing or supplying ammo, etc.
4. Battlefield 3 is Not Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Put down you tall boy Monster energy drink for a second and take some time to let that little factoid sink in because it's important. I'm not interested in predicting which of these games will sell more copies (MW3) or which one I'll like more once the dust has settled (BF3). I'm sure they'll both be great. The pertinent point is that you won't be able to enjoy the game if you expect it be something it's not.
Call of Duty's massive popularity has made it so all multiplayer first person shooters are at least a little bit like Modern Warfare. Even Battlefield 3 is guilty of this given its new emphasis on player progression, but it's still a fundamentally different game.
The crucial distinction you need to make in order to enjoy the game is that Battlefield 3 is much slower. Whereas Modern Warfare is largely a meat grinder, encouraging you to rush, die, spawn, and repeat, Battlefield 3 is better played methodically. Take some time to get in tune with the game's rhythm. Move with purpose, from cover to cover, looking for advantageous positions (higher ground, line of sight) and flanking opportunities.
You'll notice that the time you have to wait before you respawn in Battlefield 3 is a little longer than it is in Modern Warfare. You don't want to spend the majority of the match counting back from five anyway, so try to make each turn count. As stated above, it's important to be a team player, and you're pretty much worthless to your team if your contribution consists entirely of running into a storm of bullets like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It's not so annoying in a game where you can lone-wolf it and respawning is more or less instantaneous, but it is in Battlefield 3.
In short, don't expect Modern Warfare's dizzyingly fast, ADHD pacing. Take your Ritalin if you must.
5. No, Seriously, Don't Be an Asshole
I can't stress this enough. If you have a mic, use it for something other than heavy mouth breathing and expressing your homophobia. Try to actually play the game rather than trying to break it.
Battlefield 3 asks for much more of you as player than most popular shooters. This means that it's not as forgiving of some of the shenanigans you're used to (it has its own brand of shenaniganery), but the rewards you get for playing seriously are well worth a little discipline.