Open/Closed Weapons: A Hybrid Solution
Premise: To resolve the Open/Closed weapon debate in a way that does not split the player base into two separate playlists, I am proposing a hybrid solution be adopted that incorporates both the ope...
Forum Discussion
When Battlefield 6 arrived, they made it sound like you'd be able to test both closed and open playlists. However, it's abundantly clear that they didn't treat both playlists equally. The open weapon playlist was pretty much always the first item in the menu, as well as it being the default for most of the other modes.
At one point they even managed to put the closed weapons playlist in the last spot. While that's suspicious already, it didn't help that the interface design of the main menu couldn't be more impractical. It made such bad use of screen space, that the tile for the closed weapons playlist wasn't even visible on the front page. You'd first have to click an arrow to even see it.
If they ever claim that the open playlist was played more, it's undoubtedly because they sabotaged the closed weapons playlist. I won't go into any conspiracy theories of whether that was intentional or not, but I do think it robbed at least some people from gaining a more educated opinion on the matter.
I'd honestly wish they'd just make up their minds already. It's not a subject that needs compromise. You'll never be able to appeal to everyone, no matter what you do. That said, I don't dislike the compromise that you're proposing. The idea that a class is given a selection of weapons to fit their role is at the very least interesting.
The only thing I'm not too sure about is the Recon class. The difference between reconnaissance and front-lining seems rather ambiguous to me. All the classes have automatic fire options available, but the Recon is stuck with semi-auto or bolt-action firing weapons. Recon is already struggling in Battlefield 6, as it will lose the spawn beacon. It certainly needs something more to keep it interesting.
I agree that the closed weapons playlists weren't properly represented during the beta test.
With the deploy beacon moving to the Assault Class, I too believe that Recon needs to be given something to strengthen their identity. My previous post about the pacing of the game suggested that spotting be reverted back to BFV style, in which spotting an enemy player would not place a red dot above their head and instead only paint their location on the minimap. Then, Recon Class would be given access to an improved spotting mechanic that would allow them to spot enemies with the red dot above their head in addition to painting them on the minimap. The iteration of the Recon Class described in this post was designed with this change in mind.
Additionally, BF2042 had both shotguns and DMRs that were capable of fully automatic fire. I would be surprised if BF6 doesn't implement any of these weapons.
