Battlefield Has Lost Its Identity — A Veteran's Perspective

I've been playing Battlefield since 2001 with Battlefield 1942. I've played nearly every Battlefield released, including Battlefield Vietnam, Battlefield 2, Battlefield 2: Special Forces, Battlefield 2142, Bad Company, Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4, Battlefield 1, Battlefield V, Hardline, Heroes, and everything in between.

Some of you COD players will probably hate this list.

Most Battlefield veterans who remember Vietnam, 1942, Road to Rome, Secret Weapons of WWII, Battlefield 2, and Special Forces will probably understand exactly what I'm talking about.

Battlefield was never supposed to be Call of Duty.

Battlefield was about scale, teamwork, destruction, vehicles, fear, coordination, and large-scale combined-arms warfare.

■ The problem with modern Battlefield isn't that it changed.

■ The problem is that it abandoned many of the systems that made Battlefield unique.

The 7 Things Killing Battlefield

1. Destruction Is No Longer a Core Feature

• Battlefield 3 was the last Battlefield that truly felt destructive.

• Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3 gave us real destruction.

• Buildings collapsed.

• Walls disappeared.

• Entire positions could be leveled.

• Since Battlefield 4, destruction has become increasingly limited.

• Players should fear occupying buildings because those buildings can be destroyed.

• Destruction should once again be a defining feature of Battlefield.

2. Battlefield Lost Dynamic Battlefield Events

• Battlefield 3 gave us memorable battlefield moments.

• Earthquakes.

• Building collapses.

• Close Quarters Battles.

• Proper leaning mechanics.

• Environmental events that made maps feel alive.

• Modern Battlefield feels static by comparison.

• Maps should feel dangerous.

• Maps should feel alive.

3. Hardcore Mode Has Been Neglected

• For many veteran players, Hardcore was Battlefield.

• Limited HUD.

• Higher damage.

• Reduced spotting.

• Greater emphasis on teamwork.

• Greater emphasis on communication.

• After Hardline, Hardcore effectively disappeared as a core Battlefield experience.

• Unless you're using Portal, there is no true vanilla Hardcore mode for veteran players.

• Hardcore should return as a permanent mode.

4. Battlefield Removed Legacy Mechanics

• Counter-knifing.

• Mastery Dog Tags.

• Weapon mastery tracking.

• Vehicle mastery tracking.

• Master Tags that tracked kills with vehicles and weapons.

• Many of these systems gave players long-term goals and memorable moments.

Veteran players still remember them today.

5. Vehicles No Longer Inspire Fear

• In older Battlefield games:

• Tanks were terrifying.

• Aircraft dominated the skies & Airstrikes with no hit markers (BF1, BFV, 1942, BF 2142, Vietnam, Bad Company,  BF3)

• Artillery changed battles.

• Naval assets controlled entire sectors.

• Vehicles had limited countermeasures.

• AAA could defend zones, but aircraft could reach the skies above flak fire and AAA fire.

This created true air-superiority battles where fighters hunted enemy aircraft, bombers conducted strikes, and anti-air assets defended key objectives instead of controlling the entire map.

• Vehicles also had to manage logistics.

• Tanks had to return to friendly bases, repair stations, FOBs, or support assets to rearm and repair.

• Aircraft had to return to carriers, airfields, airstrips, or deployment zones to fully rearm and repair before returning to combat.

• Powerful assets were dangerous, but they were not invincible.

• Keeping a tank, aircraft, asset alive mattered, 10-15m wait times sucked

• Vehicles resupplied at bases

• Aircraft resupplied at carriers or airfields

• Warships resupplied at carriers or docks (if enemy didnt commendeer them, like in 1942)

• Players were forced to coordinate to destroy powerful vehicles.

Today, vehicles are frequently nerfed because someone complains they're too powerful.

• Battlefield was at its best when vehicles were dangerous and teams had to work together to stop them.

• The counter should be teamwork.

• Not nerfs.

6. Battlefield Lost Strategic Scale

• Maps have become increasingly focused on constant action.

• Older Battlefield games encouraged:

> Flanking

> Recon operations

> Ambushes

> Vehicle assaults

• Long-range engagements

• Multi-objective warfare

Maps like Naval Strike demonstrated what Battlefield could be when large-scale warfare was allowed to thrive.

• Rush also felt different.

• Bomb sites were dangerous.

• Special Forces squads could slip behind enemy lines. (BF2: Special Forces)

• Players could set ambushes.

• Steal vehicles. (BF3& 4)

• Disrupt reinforcements.

And genuinely influence the outcome of a match through teamwork.

7. Operations Disappeared

• Operations in Battlefield 1 and Battlefield V represented some of the best gameplay the franchise ever created.

• Entire battles felt meaningful.

• Teams pushed through multiple maps.

• Defenders fought desperately to hold the line.

• Attackers coordinated assaults.

• Aircraft, tanks, artillery, and infantry all mattered.

• If defenders pushed attackers back, battles could continue. Games could last for hours. Or end quickly if one side coordinated effectively. Every victory felt earned.

• Operations should return as a flagship Battlefield mode.

• How Battlefield 7 Can Recover

1. Bring Back Hardcore

• A permanent Hardcore playlist should exist from launch.

• Not hidden inside Portal.

• Not an afterthought.

• A core Battlefield experience.

2. Bring Back Operations

• Multi-map campaigns should return and become a core experience.

• Operations should once again be one of Battlefield's flagship modes.

3. Restore Full-Scale Destruction

• Take inspiration from:

》Battlefield 3

》Battlefield 1

》Bad Company 2

 》Buildings should collapse.

 》Defensive positions should disappear.

 》Maps should evolve throughout a match.

Players should fear the environment around them.

4. Bring Back The Fear Of Assets

• Bring back artillery pieces controlled by players.

• Bring back dangerous tanks.

• Bring back dangerous aircraft.

• Bring back dangerous warships.

Bring back the fear of powerful battlefield assets as seen throughout BFBC2, Battlefield 1, and Battlefield V, including classes like pilots with pistols.

• Stop nerfing everything because somebody complains it is too powerful.

• Battlefield is at its best when assets feel dangerous.

5. Rework Radio Beacons (here comes the hate)

• Remove radio beacons as mobile spawn points.

• Instead, turn them into Recon support assets capable of calling limited Predator Drone strike packages and battlefield reconnaissance support.

6. Restore Strategic Air Warfare

• Give objective points access to strategic assets such as AC-130 Gunships operating at high altitude.

• Bring back higher sky ceilings similar to Battlefield 1942.

• Aircraft should have room to maneuver, intercept enemy aircraft, escort bombers, conduct reconnaissance, and establish air superiority.

• It should be extremely difficult for helicopters to dominate jets.

• Air combat should once again feel like Battlefield 2: Special Forces rather than an arcade shooter.

7. Bring Back Battlefield's Identity

• Bring back Battlefield from 1942 through Battlefield 4.

• Reduce excessive sliding.

• Reduce excessive swan diving.

• Reduce constant squad spawning.

》Sliding can exist.

》Diving can exist.

But both should have penalties.

• Loss of accuracy.

• Loss of stamina.

• Temporary movement penalties.

》Classes should matter.

》Roles should matter.

》Battlefield should reward positioning and teamwork instead of movement abuse.

Return To The Class System, Classes should be class-based, Not operator-based.

• Just like Battlefield 2: Special Forces.

》Assault Class

• Rifleman

• Grenadier

• Pointman

》Engineer Class

• SMG Specialist with AT Launcher

• AR Specialist with Landmines and AA MANPAD

• Shotgun Specialist for CQB

》Support Class

• AR Specialist with Ammo Bag and Crate

• Defibrillators

• Mortars

• Shotguns

• SMGs

• L/HMGs

Crates should have limited supplies and require resupply from FOBs or MOBs.

》 Recon Class

• AR Specialist with PLD / SOFLAM

• SMG Specialist with TUGS, Motion Sensors, and UCAV

• DMR Specialist

• Sniper Specialist

• Claymores instead of C4

》Special Forces

• Maximum 7-man squad per team.

• Access to all class types

• Suppressors where appropriate (map dependent or player choice)

• C4/IED for Demolitions

• Reduced radar signature

• Behind-enemy-lines operations, base players cant go, but SF can, and cant be seen on radar or map

• Enemy spawn infiltration

• Ziplines

• Grapple ropes

• Underwater infiltration

Additional Changes

• 128 vs 128 player battles.

• Class-regulated pilots for tanks, aircraft, and naval assets.

• Two parachutes maximum.

  • Lose one and you get one backup.

  • Lose both and you're falling.

  • No pink weapon skins  No graffiti cosmetics, No cartoon operator nonsense.

• Keep Battlefield looking like Battlefield.

Final Thought

》Bring back the ultimate Battlefield.

Take the best parts of:

》Battlefield 1942

》Battlefield Vietnam

》Battlefield 2

》Battlefield 2: Special Forces

》Battlefield: Bad Company 2

》Battlefield 3

》Battlefield 1

》Battlefield V

Bring back Hueys carrying vehicles.

Bring back Chinooks carrying armor.

Bring back large-scale combined-arms warfare.

Merge the best mechanics from those games into Battlefield 7.

Do that, and Battlefield won't just survive, It will thrive.

Battlefield became great by being Battlefield.

It's time for Battlefield to remember that.

These are my final thoughts, Idc what the community thinks. I miss the old Battlefield games, not the garbage dice & EA have been making.