Bandar Desert Map, Armored Kill
A new BF3 patch goes live tomorrow, or September 4th, with Armored Kill following closely. As with the previous patches, it features a significant amount of infantry weapon balancing and some huge changes to anyone (like myself) that uses some vehicles. While not going to go through the entire list, I am going to just list some of the more significant changes. Sorry about the lack of formatting, just trying to sum up quickly.
– Reload times. Many infantry weapons have had their reload times changed. Apparently, many of the weapon changes are insignificant, but some are more pronounced.
– Damage and ranges. Changes for infantry weapons abound here, as well. Most seem to be minor changes, but since I haven’t seen the exact numbers I can’t tell you whether there will be new favorite weapons yet. One thing worth mentioning is the 93R is suffering from a damage reduction (sounds about right, honestly) while having its burst cluster tightened. Shotguns are adjusted, again, with boosts to buckshot and tweaks to frags (not sure to what extent these changes will affect either, though). Suppressors seem to have their range boosted, with heavy barrels having theirs reduced. The UMP is singled out for a damage boost at close range.
The M16 and M4: no longer the go to guns for those two classes?
– Accuracy changes. M16A3 and M4A1 accuracy “slightly” nerfed. We will see if it makes a difference in their popularity. The SG553, MG36, M416, and the G36C have had their recoil reduced. Big change: the M240, M249, T88, Pecheneg, and LSAT have had their accuracy increased while standing and aiming (if this change is even remotely large, this could be a significant change). Bipods more effective for some guns.
– Some eclectic changes. Stingers have longer range. .44 ROF slowed. Suppressors now correctly increase accuracy for some weapons.
– Vehicle stuff. Big one: attack chopper gunners no longer can have flares (I suppose this is a good thing, honestly, but I’m still a little sad). Also big: scout choppers have had the laser designator perk made into something like the CITV station for the MBT’s, so it’s no longer a pilot perk but a useable seat on the chopper (at least that’s what I got out of it). MBT’s have had their firing behavior modified so they no longer can fire both primary and secondary weapons in rapid succession (not sure if this only applies to canister and guided shell or to the LMG and HMG, as well). Repair torch damage reduced by 10 percent. AA damage against infantry increased (thank you, seriously) and damage increased against MBT’s. Aircraft rockets do more damage to everything except land vehicles. Also, attack chopper gunners (their 30 round cannons, I presume) and IFV gunners (the top mounted machine gun, I’m guessing?) do more damage to aircraft. Also, jets will now correctly get their laser designated top attack damage bonus.
There are a bunch of little fixes and tweaks being implemented, as well, but nothing incredibly game changing, as far as I can tell. The actual Armored Kill pack will be released on the 11th, so this is the precursor, I suppose. As for what these changes mean on gameplay, I am not certain until I find the actual stats for the changes. Will the modifications on the M4A1 and M16A3 be drastic enough to cause more weapon exploration? We will see, but I am definitely going to see how the G36C behaves now. The changes to the accuracy with the LMG’s in open stance could have a tremendous effect on many levels and how they are played, but if the effects are smaller it may not make a difference. Very interested to see how the 93R behaves now, too. I’ve been using other handguns for a bit now, so I may not actually care that much, however. We will see.
Will attack choppers no longer be airborne for matches at a time?
The vehicle updates, while not many, are (in my opinion), tremendous for the choppers. Attack choppers may not be able to stay alive indefinitely, especially with a pilot with no concept of tactics. The attack choppers are going to be a bit more subdued now, I’m sure, and will have to be far more strategic. I am kind of looking forward to freeing up the IR Flares spot in the gunner’s perks, though. Scout choppers now basically REQUIRE a passenger riding shotgun to continue to do what they normally did, but this is only a big hit to solo pilots (but we will see how this change is implemented, as it could be very detrimental). I don’t predict the change to the MBT’s firing pattern having a huge impact, though. I guess we will all just see how it balances out when the dust settles. Link to the actual list here.
–MP
Play The Objective 