This is supposed to be BF, not what COD wished it always was
I'm hoping the larger maps aren't "lane" orientated, this feels very much like something the EA lead who came from COD background has had a hand in doing. The "veriticality" on offer in the maps played at the moment seems arbitrary and almost a second thought considering what has traditionally been on offer in previous BF iterations (BF2/BC2/BF3/BF4). The paths to objectives currently feel very deliberate and specifically designed to create choke points instead of promoting what has always been the staple of BF games, the ability to pretty much chose your own angle of attack on an objective however you want with exception to maps like Lockers/Metro etc.
The slide mechanic isn't really required but at the same time doesn't seem to be as much of a hinderance as I thought it would be. At the moment it's just promoting the "sweaty" players to run and gun like they would in COD/Apex etc and get slaughtered when they present themselves out in the open in any case, such is the current TTK and tick-rate configuration which brings us to the next point...
The TTK is too high. I haven't quite been able to put my finger on it at the moment but exchanges with other players is over almost immediately. It seems that if you aren't going around corners etc already ADS'd and expecting someone to be there, you're already on the back foot when engaging other players. People are being absolutely melted before they have even had a chance to get past a corner and return fire. This is BF, not Hell Let Loose. You have always been able to have the opportunity to have a quick "oh crap" moment, re-assess and duck out/cover/return fire etc if need be unless you were too slow to do so, currently it's absolutely unforgiving. This is also with base weapons with barely any damage modifiers applied to them etc so it's rather curious.
The aim assist for console players needs to get junked or relaxed significantly. You chose to play on a console? Good for you! However it's always been a well known and established fact (microsofts test case in about 2010 with noob PC players vs pro console players had PC players DESTROYING console players every single time). This is not an excuse for console players anymore as they have had the ability to use keyboard and mouse peripherals for a LONG time now. If you chose to enable crossplay you should be aware of the consequences and have the equipment required, why should PC players suddenly have to be at a disadvantage because of this?
The stationary AA feels rather garbage and janky. The targeting reticule will often move based on objects that are suddenly closer or further away as if it is a physical object, what the hell? For example if you're in an AA and you move the targeting reticule in front of a wall nearby the reticule will appear to move closer to you, then when you move it up over the wall it goes a bit further away again, this is REALLY disorientating. Jeeps have their traditional pogo-stick suspension geometry akin to BF3/BF4 and I actually like this, always been fin. Choppers and planes I'm not entirely sure of yet but from what I've seen of the handling characteristics you've just lifted this from BF2042 and it is well known and established that this was completely garbage. BF3/BF4's flight mechanics were some of the best the franchise has ever seen.
The overall TL;DR is that the gunplay feels good though too quick, attachments don't mean anything, maps need serious further design considerations, fix the vehicles, DISABLE AIM-ASSIST COMPLETELY or allow PC players to disable cross play, fix the TTK/tick rate and oh, the ability not to be able to play with more than 3 friends is very annoying (not on the same squad obviously, but on the same server)
You've potentially got a very good game on your hands here but some additional work needs to be done to get it to where it is supposed to be. It's good to see changes are already being made due to feedback from the community however this only scratches the surface on issues that could end up seeing themselves embedded for far too long and end up being the same reason 2042 completely bombed on launch and barely started to gain a resurgence later on. The fact there were more people sitting there with BF6 for several hours who couldn't even play the game as opposed to those actually playing 2042 speaks volumes.
