Weekly Class Debrief - Recon

The way I see it, there are three big "roles" Recon can fill: 1) sniping, 2) flanking, and 3) spotting.

First, I rarely snipe.  However, the great dumbing-down of sniping across the franchise's games has made it almost unenjoyable for me.  I much preferred being a less effective sniper in previous games (where optics had less zoom, map size increased travel time, and rate of fire tended to be lower) where it was more difficult, because my presence wasn't announced with a bullhorn if I took my shots carefully.  Instead, this game encourages none of the patience, stealth, or care that "sniping" implies, alternatively meaning "guy with sniper rifle who jumps in and out of cover."

Second, I love to play a flanking role with the "stealthy" spec ops style.  However, the current map pool often makes it difficult.  This is because map design choices have resulted in largely wide-open maps that give a lot of visibility of most of the map at a time, and also in spawn points that put controlling teams on the "flanks" looking in at exposed capture points, letting people who just spawned in shoot anyone trying to flank in the back.  When it works, it's fun- it's not very effective, due to how incredibly easy it is to flick and kill anyone in milliseconds- but it's fun.  It's a shame that we don't have access to the spawn beacon, which would let us do anything remotely tactical with the playstyle.  In the past, we could steal or sabotage important enemy assets like armor, jets, or the commander, but this game has none of that tactical depth.  Vehicles have also started to cotton on to the fact that playing in 3rd person and using thermal smoke makes them effectively immune to C4, so playstyle contributions are further limited there.

Third, spotting can be very interesting.  It's easy to see just how much more effective your team can be when there is large-scale spotting of enemies in cover.  (It's also disappointing how nobody who plays the game seems to know there is a button to do it manually, but that's another topic.)  The drone is extremely powerful, so it's difficult to argue that the long re-use time isn't justified.  The laser designator, however, is anemic in its role.  It has the existing weakness- advertising your position like a bullhorn.  As I've already discussed, maps in the game are designed to be wide open spaces with grand visibility, so it's a double-edged sword- you can more easily accomplish your role, but anyone with an SGX 150 meters away can take an interest and end your contribution in seconds.  It also has the new weakness of the shortened duration.  The issue here is that designation is now enough for maybe one missile.  Considering flares remain effective while painted ... its usefulness is limited if you can't continuously re-designate a vehicle.  This means that the targets that it's supposedly most useful against, fast aircraft which can use low ground cover, are now even less affected.  I genuinely wonder every time I use it, "am I contributing literally anything at all, or would the exact same thing have happened if the designator wasn't here?"

Specific bullet points of feedback I agree with / have:

• Sniping does not need or want sweet spots for body shots.
• Scope glare is a bad mechanic that does nothing but make tactical, objective-focused sniping more difficult and turn everything into a "shoot-off."
  • BUT, scope glare may be currently desirable as the vast majority of maps are wide open, empty spaces that dramatically over-encourage sniping.
  • If you must keep it ... surely we can revert to the previous game's function, where low-zoom scopes do not generate glare.  I recall that literally anything but ironsights generated glare on release, but have not tested this since.
• After-death location cameras are a huge detriment to any of the encouraged styles of Recon play, and discourage tactical choices like holding hidden positions.
• There is no officially supported way to practice with the throwing knife.  I want to use it, but it's genuinely a detriment without practice.
• Far too many weapons excel at mid to long ranges in weapon classes that should not; many assault rifles and sub-machine guns remain laser beams over 150m without significant damage dropoff, encouraging (or even mandating) peek and shoot play rather than gaining visibility of objectives.  It also makes me question the value of ever using a utility gadget instead of just sniping, where I can at least defend myself.
• I have never been able to actually destroy lock-on missiles with the new radio detonator gadget, it's just a slow way to see and detonate extremely close gadgets through walls.  The range is quite short.  Considering the low rate of charge, surely we can try increasing it as an experiment.
• The laser designator has had a persistent bug since launch.  It will often interrupt its own use by "unequipping" itself and re-drawing the device, resulting in lost locks.  It will also tend to place itself on the ground during use when that is not desired at all, often during the previously mentioned bug.
• The choice to limit the drone's usability when paired with C4 remains such a disappointment to me.  This kind of synergy is exactly what people want from a Battlefield game: freedom.  The persistent choices to limit freedom in other ways (like "safe zone" HQs) are a shame.
  • You might consider the feasibility of synergizing gadgets with complimentary functions, like using the upcoming jammer device with a drone, or reconsidering dropping C4 or grenades with a drone.  Perhaps the the radio detonator gadget's functionality can be added to the laser designator's range when used together.  I don't think anyone expects complete "realism" from this game.
• Limiting gadget use from transport vehicles is a shame for the same reason.  Not being able to designate or jam a target from a transport helicopter always seems bizarrely restrictive.
• Increasing the effects of suppression on high-zoom scopes would be welcome.
• Claymores without one-hit potential are quite reduced in value compared to both previous claymores and every other gadget.  Perhaps if the mines had additional functionality or additional stocks, they would be more competitive choices if a full reversion is not desired.