Quality of Life improvement suggestions

Hi,

Battlefield 6 is what it is... there are plenty of design decisions I don't like or don't understand but the developers made a conscious decision to steer the gameplay and the overall feel towards a more acradey direction, probably to cater to younger players and to maximize profits against fast-pace run-and-gun shooters and battle royale games. These aspects are rooted so deeply in the game that it is highly unlikely that any element will be changed - DICE received plenty of similar feedback (including mine) after the Open Beta and did little to nothing so it's fair to stay that BF6 will remain like this forever which is a big bummer to veterans like me who grew up playing Battlefield 3 and 4 and look for a similar style of gameplay. However, I am not here to complain and I am quite happy that finally after a decade, the series got a solid entry that's actually playable and has potential with plenty of good ideas.

This is why I would like to suggest a few minor improvements that bring back some of the old game's features without changing the gameplay. Most of these are UI or graphical design changes but they would improve the vibes.

Make Squad Leader properly visible: Apart from the initial pre-match screen, there is absolutely no way to see who is your Squad Leader. On the HUD, the numbers mean nothing, the order of names means nothing. Obviously, squad play is borderline dead in this game but for those few who actually enjoy playing in a squad, please adjust this mechanism to be more obvious. Make the Squad Leader always the first in the order or give him number 1 all the time, maybe make his name bold or underlined or give him a slightly different color or special icon or anything just to have him stand out. Not even in the Squad Management Screen (which is a pain to access) can you see who is who in the squad. This is a tiny thing but it would make the feel much nicer.

Additions to the Commo Rose: This is related to the Squad Leader function. In Battlefield 4, you could request orders from your current Squad Leader and if he doesn't reply in a few minutes, the game will automatically remove him as the SL and promote somebody else. This feature should be added to Battlefield 6 as well. Also, when you are driving a vehicle, I don't understand why there is no "Get in!" command in the Commo Rose. This was quite convenient in previous BF games because you could let your teammates know that you would wait for them before driving off - there was even a small icon above your head.

Expansion of Commander: Even in Battlefield 4, the Commander role was rarely used because most players preferred direct action instead of the top-down view. I assume this didn't change much ever since. But with the advancements of AI, I am fairly certain that a new algorithm could take on a much more active role as a non-player commander. Squad Leaders already randomly receive suggestions to attack or hold an objective but this could be expanded where Squad Leaders could ask for support and other call-ins like in previous titles - but this time, it would be all AI controlled and nobody has to be bored as the Commander. Flags could receive perks like this did in earlier games which could be another way to motivate players to fight for them.

Return flag poles: Speaking of flags, why in the devil's name were the flag poles removed? They are a quintessential part of the Battlefield series and a very rewarding visual aid to show the status of a capture point. Ever since the beta I find this decision very out of touch.

Proper Battle Pickups: Instead of the sci-fi meme silliness that has absolutely no impact on the gameplay and provides no real (momentary) advantage to you, take a look at some of the assets Battlefield 4 and Battlefield Hardline gave to the player. Given how strong vehicles are in Battlefield 6, they can ruin your day very easily. I would add a few one-shot anti-tank and anti-air missiles close to key capture points to help out infantry if they have no Engineer nearby. In Battlefield 4, the occasional M136 CS saved me countless times - it's powerful but not OP, just enough to help you in a pinch. It won't kill a tank on full health but it will disable it with a well-placed shot, giving you time to retreat. The M136 is now in Battlefield 6 as standard Engineer weapon but maybe use the M72LAW or RGW 60 / 90 as a model. I also very much liked how in Battlefield Hardline, some buildings had first-aid kits or defibrillators in cabinets or on the wall which you could access. These could come in handy and also demonstrated a very clever, superior map design with a lot of attention to detail and atmosphere. Following the same thought, the M82 pickup was an excellent anti-sniper solution when you got pinned down by a bunch of campers. On maps like Liberation Peak which is more often than not absolutely unplayable due to the snipers, it would be a huge asset to give you some breathing room.

Proper player stats in the menu: Well, the menu itself is brutally atrocious but again, DICE made no effort to redesign it to make it easier to read, more transparent or just less flashy so I assume, this is the optimal design to sell all the skins and battle passes and premiums and whatever else modern live-service games (sadly) have. But the Profile Menu on its own is also pretty lackluster. There are some basic stats visible but they are laughable compared to the in-depth and vast service record that we could access in Battlefield 3 and 4. I know Battlelog wasn't a fan favorite but it gave us such an awesome, detailed overview of your stats and progress where you could see individual performance on every weapon (kills, accuracy, shots fired, headshots etc.) and gadget. You could also keep a good track on every ribbons and medals. This was such a nice feature and it was also a great way to compare other players. Something similar should absolutely return to the game where you can easily access your detailed statistics and in-game performance.

Bring back ribbons and medals: This is completely missing from this game, it was a much better system than whatever we have now which is random minimalist icons appearing in your screen. Ribbons and medals added an aspect of visual, military-style fidelity because they looked realistic. I very much miss them.

Redesign ranks (levels) and rank icons: Same deal, the current ones are bleak and weird. I very much miss the old ranks from previous games. Battlefield 1 was the last that had pretty much real ranks with some very nice icons that added to the good vibes of the game. Battlefield V was not bad but it already departed from realism. And then whatever we had in Battlefield 2042 and now in Battlefield 6 is just silly. Also, what's the point of having 5000 levels? Is this a thing that matters to 14 years olds? Why not have less ranks that take much more time to reach or have a different, less silly mechanism to keep track of how far a player progressed - but then again, who cares?

Redesign Dog Tags: The only reason why I am not writing that the current dog tags were made by AI is because I am sure that AI would've made better ones. 90% of the current dog tags look terrible, absolutely no effort. Compare these to the dog tags which we had in Battlefield 3 and 4 with all those amazing looking engravings. How the hell did we get from there to this? I understand that you have to pay for the nicest dog tags but why the hell would anybody equip almost any other? These are bad even as placeholders. If this is the best you can have, then do not even add them. Maybe I am the only one who cares about this but compared to the older games, this is a severe downgrade.

Add match-end animations: If you added match-start animations (which look quite clunky sometimes), having something similar for the end of the round would be quite neat. Battlefield Bad Company 2 had this and it was very nice. I think something similar would add to the atmosphere and the environmental story telling.

+1 Reconsider weapon skin unlocks: This might be controversial and I do not mind grinding to unlock something that I like but I certainly do not want to play a weapon for eternity to unlock a camouflage. This is especially true to skins tied to handguns which are ridiculously underpowered and borderline useless in this game. Maybe look for other options that are equally challenging but not tied to a single weapon.

I thought to write down these ideas to get some of the thoughts off my chest in a more constructive manner. I could rage about other gameplay elements but it would be in vain because DICE would never change them. But these are small things, they could be nice side-projects to the developers to give back some of the original feeling. Feel free to discuss and add your minor ideas!

Finally, rest in peace, Vince Zampella, you gave hope the Battlefield series. There are no respawns in real life so drive safe, gents!

Thanks,
Santa