Focus on skill-based gadgets
Let's take a look at these 3 examples of gadgets. This list is not exhaustive.
- Armor plates
- Wall-hack Vision
- AI controlled Turrets
These gadgets in my opinion should not be in the game (Battle Royale excluded). It's not because they are necessarily that overpowered, or because they even are all that effective. The reason why they should not be in the game is because the fundamental design principle of these gadgets counteract skill-based gameplay.
Armor plates actively prevent an equal opportunity firefight. You're being robbed from fighting it out in a way that allows you to measure your skill against the skill of another player. They require no thought, no decision making, no mastery and no specific circumstance to use them. In other words, they are always useful with zero downsides, where the only possible chance for failure is equipping them mid-combat.
Wall-hack vision is quite similar. It without any effort presents the user with knowledge. It is given to them when they need it and where they need it, all at the press of a button. Players not using this gadget must work to obtain that same knowledge. They must stop and listen and have a good understanding of what kind of sounds they are hearing. They must also position themselves and carefully pie-slice the corner. With wall-hack vision it robs players from playing the necessity of gathering knowledge.
AI-controlled turrets are bad for no other reason than requiring zero input of the user, aside from placing them. AI has no place in a player-versus-player environment. It's fine in co-op game modes though.
The best gadget is one that:
- Is useful
- Is situational
- Requires knowledge and decision making
- Requires practice and mastery
- Does not require teamwork, but becomes much better when you do use teamwork.
A simple example of a gadget that fulfills all these criteria is C4 or perhaps the SRAW. Even something like the SOFLAM mostly fits this definition.
An example in Battlefield 6 that doesn't fit the definition is the motion sensor mine. It so far seems to be vastly inferior to a regular mine as it's less situational and requires less knowledge about where to put it down.
It's nearly impossible to have a wide range of gadgets that can fulfill all of these criteria, but if a gadget fails to fulfill most of these criteria, you have to start wondering whether it deserves a place in the game.
