You’re right about one thing Hardcore hasn’t been given enough attention in past titles. But let’s not twist the cause and effect here. It’s not that Hardcore was unpopular, it’s that it was buried, half supported, and treated like an afterthought. Of course the numbers will look low if the mode is hidden in the menus and given zero promotion.
As for your balance argument: that’s exactly why it belongs in the main menu. When a mode is treated as a core feature, it actually gets the developer attention and balancing it deserves. When it’s hidden away like a side experiment, it gets neglected. Blaming Hardcore for that is backwards.
And on gadgets like T-UGS or minimap related tools you’re proving my point. Hardcore needs proper integration, not half-measures. If the studio invests in it as a mainline mode, those elements will get redesigned or adapted. That only happens if the mode is front and center.
So no, the solution isn’t to keep Hardcore sidelined until it’s perfect. The solution is to put it in the main menu where it gets the visibility, support, and development it’s always been missing. Without that, you’re just repeating the same cycle of neglect that made it less popular in the first place.
But let’s not twist the cause and effect here. It’s not that Hardcore was unpopular, it’s that it was buried, half supported, and treated like an afterthought.
I'm not, we actually agree here. If Battlefield Studios intends to keep it a poorly supported mode, then it makes sense to wonder whether it's popular enough to give it priority over the modes that have seen more work put into them. If despite all of that, it's still very popular, then as I've mentioned before they should certainly include it.
Yet if it's a properly supported mode, then I feel like there's far more of a justification to add it to the main menu without first testing whether it is popular enough.
As for your balance argument: that’s exactly why it belongs in the main menu. When a mode is treated as a core feature, it actually gets the developer attention and balancing it deserves.
We sort of agree, but there's a slight difference in opinion here. Remember when you talked about twisting cause and effect? In my opinion, if a mode is treated with enough attention, it becomes a core feature and not the other way around. We do want the same though, a properly fleshed out hardcore experience.
So no, the solution isn’t to keep Hardcore sidelined until it’s perfect.
I've never posed this as a solution. I've simply used the hardcore mode as it has been designed in previous games as a reference point. I don't take it for granted that Battlefield studios will put effort into it, just because it's added to the main menu.
