To be clear, I do prefer classes and the weapon type restrictions that brought. Made playing a certain way feel special.
Bf1
Medics specialized in healing and rifles
Assault specialized in destruction and shotguns/smgs
Support specialized in resupplying and LMGs
Recon specialized in spotting and snipers
Bf4 probably did it best with the overlap between weapon types and weapon classes while still making some weapon types class specific
Regarding skins, surely they can make different models dependent on faction? Bf4 Chinese and American class models looked very different
Who's to say they can't? Perhaps I have a fundamental misunderstanding of T1 skins.
In addition to having different character models for each faction, the blue/red glowsticks can also be present
So those that have T1 skins unlocked will still be able to use them. This is under the assumption that the added character models have the same T1 skins
BF2042 - this is what might be done to partially undo the game design choices. No time for courtesy, just straight to the points and much-needed rework.
1. Reassign specialists to 4 classes at least in Conquest, Breakthrough, Rush, or any vehicular game mode, try to balance the current balance in the game finally. The feel of free for all experience is unbearable like its Vehicular TDM with flags and free for all cartoon characters in a sandbox. Conquest used to be a vehicular/infantry Objective-wise Sandbox with self-complementary classes.
2. Make Specialists look more serious, grounded in real-life scenarios in design, no funky funk with entire purple outfit - pants and socks might be the exception, I`m being serious now.
3. Everything may look a bit grittier but this should not mean an automatic depression-inducing experience.
4. Perhaps limit commentary and voice lines to only in-game actions. For example - a unique commentary about a big explosion or a squadmate getting killed or pinned. Commentary on the first player spawns on the map - Idea of the voice line - "This map is full of Toxic spills, even rats don`t want to hang out here with me" - true, truth, positive play.
5. No need for additional commentary in between the matches because it doesn`t add anything to the PvP experience in the lobby screen. Only valid information about server statistics, map, game mode, scoreboard. This is what I seek in-between the rounds, something that motivates me for continuous engagement, some point to relate to not a cartoon character commenting on how bad the others do or how good I am - "this is too easy", "that`s it, I`m ready for the round II".
6. Serious rebalancing.
- Sundance needs to stop using wingsuits from the stone 4 meters in height and go finally through the haircut same as me (behind frontlines perhaps someone would accept this long hairstyle) and grenade anti-defragmentation spam rework. Sundance should have a normal grenade and 3 throwable EMP grenades and that`s it. Grenades chasing choppers just glitch out and further ruin immersion.
- McKay has to be a little bit slower with actions on and with the harpoon. He`s the dodgiest character with Sundance. Would be great to finally hide or rework his Toy Story facial expression.
- Angel "who does it again" is almost a non-binary universal soldier bestowed with godlike abilities of a Commander with a Supply Drop chest, a Tank role with AT rocket and additional armor shard, Tank destroyer in the same manner, and a Support class with PKM and ammo from the supply crate. Hopefully, he`s not a semi-god on par with gods from the Illiad yet, but the Supply Crate has a passive ability to annihilate armies not intentionally ofc (no offense to Homer if he really existed) - apologies I couldn`t resist. But hopefully, someone gets the point. He looks like a Romanian (kudos for that) in some way but the behavior is on par with a 12-year-old's emotional development level.
- Paik with a 3D player posture scanner is unacceptable by any gaming standards. An exclamation triangle is enough, no need for a premium cheats experience.
- Boris automatic turret is too much with another 3D scan. Boris should deploy and take control over stationary machine guns or use deployment as a laserguns bipod. Boris' facial expression is nailed also. Except for OP Sundances Wingsuit and nading, McKay's quick ziplining, Paiks' accurate WH ability, Boris is the main problem that RUINS COMPLETELY first-person shooter engagements.
- Rao is the guy I appreciate the most and respect as a design choice at this point.
- Falk needs a better-looking syringe pistol, this 1910-30s design is meh and not really on point, blue/red led indicator and cloud would be better than the green one, green is like a gas color.
- Santiago with his shield and being less prone to die from nades is not anything special at this point. Needs some charging ability with the shield.
- Irish, Irish, Irish. The best-looking character so far. I have no idea what to think about his abilities. Perhaps the armor shard combo with the 2x shields makes him the pain in my pineapple.
I would rather see the comeback of full-fledged Classes in Conquest, objective-wise gameplay, Breakthrough, Rush, vehicular game modes. No kinky specialists with abilities just to grant additional identity or unwanted gameplay-wise layer to the game. If anyone plans on doing so, this has to be done right. This is only circumstantial jumping on the subversive ideological bandwagon to further capitalize on, unfortunately, this is harmful to the gameplay itself. Again, my biased opinion.
Meta builds should prevail in TDM or even highly competitive game modes, I see no need for specialists or even classes in TDM. It`s beyond ridiculous. Specialists may find themselves well in engagements between small Squad vs Squad in BR style games, also in highly competitive 5vs5 games on small maps as it is nowadays.
It`s enough to buy a skin, choose or edit voice lines, change some profile pictures and edit some labels on the costume. Battlefield is a faction-based game. Your team versus another enemy team. It is not a universal cosplay event or a wardrobe simulator or shall not be at least in Conquest. Immersion is derived from unique factions, specific battle roles, not the armies of the same clones on both sides. BF2042 feels like a Civil War experience, by civil I mean the huge majority of player base vs the design lead backed by monetization experts. Experience deprived of any lore-wise aspects, no worrying factions grounded in reality, how shallow this can be. The idea of no pats is kind of deprived of good taste also. So now only US vs RU thing that does not even look like one of the factions and the rest is non-affiliated or has to be affiliated with one or the other? Sorry guys, but anyone who has come up with this should change the game to squeeze on the money flow scheme.
I had to be graphic, design choices are on the level of a 1st-year possibly highly talented intern who has never spent enough time with Battlefield or any game classified as a shooter. Before making a choice of cool status aspects of the characters, I would think of a game design first. This is what I think no matter what others make of this.
