over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

https://i.redd.it/aafoqhvlo0131.jpg

Hi folks -

Because of the recent public holidays in both the US and UK, we’ve found ourselves backed up with a bit of a lengthy post covering a couple of different topics.

Apologies from myself for that, here’s what I’m here with today:

  • A letter from the Battlefield Team regarding the Pit Crew Skin that was returned back to the armory last week.
  • An update on some changes that we’re making to our list of fixed Game Modes starting tomorrow.
  • An update on more updates

Let’s get to it - the below was shared with me from the team at DICE relating to the Pit Crew Skin.

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UPDATE #1: PIT CREW SKIN - A NOTE FROM THE BATTLEFIELD TEAM

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On May 22, 2019, we updated the Battlefield V Armory with some new skins for weapons, and a return of some previous skins for soldiers.

As you may have noticed, the Pit Crew skin is now showing as an Epic skin and is 750 BFC.

Some may recall that during Battlefield V Overture, this skin became available for a short time for Company Coins and the skin was also classified as Uncommon.

This was a bug and not intended.

This skin was removed from the Armory as it was not tagged correctly nor did it show the correct value of the skin.

With the recent Armory update, we brought the Pit Crew soldier customization set back at its originally intended classification and Battlefield Currency value.

The Battlefield Team

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To add to this, any player who was previously able to claim The Pit Crew Skin whilst it was available for purchase as an Uncommon will not see that skin removed from them because of our initial mislabeling of the skin - Freeman

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UPDATE #2: AN UPDATE ON EXISTING GAME MODES - WHAT'S CHANGING?

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Over the past several weeks, we have given a lot of thought to the topic of how many Game Modes are presently available as fixed residents in Battlefield V. Through both our own deliberations and careful review of the data available to us, we’ve decided to remove the dedicated playlists for Frontlines and Domination. This will take effect this week.

Both playlists are highlighted as being significantly less popular, and a lot less populated when compared to more established modes like Conquest. Our preference is to ensure that we are adding to the fun rather than creating frustration, and that the always on game modes in Battlefield V meet our own expectations in terms of quality.

We’re now going to be more proactive in removing the modes that don’t meet these standards, in favor of instead investing more resources in both featuring, developing, and improving newer and refreshed experiences like Rush, Grind, Fortress, and Outpost.

We believe that fans of Domination will be best served through Squad Conquest (which will be expanded to include Mercury, Narvik, and Devastation this Summer).

Frontlines will continue to exist in Grand Operations, and will still be joinable as a Grand Operation mode via the Server Browser. We’re currently exploring the possibility of redesigning Frontlines and reintroducing it at a later time, as well as cycling the mode back into the game via Tides of War. We’ll look to follow up with our thoughts around this in late June.

We may look to re-feature both of these modes in the future, as part of mixed game mode rotations that compliment new content drops ,or as weekly experiences in the Tides of War, but only if we believe that doing so would add something positive to your game experience.

Conquest, Squad Conquest, and Team Deathmatch otherwise remain as they are today, and will continue to support alongside the Tides of War. We are taking a look at Breakthrough and Grand Operations to see what improvements we can make to these modes, but we’re happy to keep these in the active rotation for now as we can see how popular they are.

I’ll also mention that this week we’re creating a dedicated Mercury Playlist, which begins on Conquest, and switches to Breakthrough. We missed out on doing this back when Panzerstorm launched, and we appreciate everyone that fed back on this so that we could make it happen this time around.

Next week we’ll swap this 64 Player Mercury only playlist for a playlist that stays on Mercury, but features other, smaller modes.

Similar to what we’ve done with Conquest and Breakthrough recently, we’re also keen to remix the order in which you play maps on TDM and Squad Conquest to ensure that your sessions on each server are longer, and more fun. We welcome any suggestions that you might have here on Reddit, on the official Battlefield Forums, Twitter, Facebook, or Discord.

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UPDATE #3: UPCOMING UPDATES UPDATE

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To help to set the scene on upcoming news, and expand on Jeffs ‘This Week in Battlefield’, here’s what to expect over the next 7 days:

  • Ranks Increase - I will be back before Friday this week to tell you all about this. For real this time. I’ve been waiting to get confirmation on when exactly to expect the changes that we’ll be announcing this week before bringing you the full details. We’re now confident that we have that so on Thursday or Friday, you’ll get all of that info straight from me.
  • Stuttering and Performance - Our QA teams are getting closer to nailing down the issues causing this problem, and then proposing a fix with our development teams. I’m in Stockholm all week working with the team on this one, so by no later than next Tuesday I’ll have a full update for you all on this topic. For now, please know that we are working on this as a high priority.

Sorry that it’s a long update from me today. Please do tag in your questions for me below and I’ll pick them up in the morning. Sadly Jeff had a motorcycle accident this past weekend (he’s fine, just a bit bruised), so I’ll be infrequently checking in on my own tonight. I am keen to chat and respond to your comments though.

Edit: It's popped up a few times in the comments and so just wanted to flag this here for more to see. Regarding Frontlines and Dominations - it's absolutely our intent to have these as options in Private Games alongside modes which have previously featured. I'm completely sensitive to how this news is presently being received, and this addition isn't designed to distract you from your feelings on the topic, it just occured to me that in the process of combining the updates into a single thread that this line had been omitted and so wanted to volunteer that in a fashion that exposed more people to it.

Freeman // @PartWelsh

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over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by nkonrad

Not likely, now that you can pay real money for tides of war xp.

Why would they make it easier when that means you’re less likely to pay them?

Arguably there are changes to the way XP gain happens but we'll be talking more about that later this week relating to the Ranks stuff. Attempting to answer the question tonight won't make it any clearer.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by Twitch_Tsunami_X

Letting you know there is a bug with The Writer outfit. I bought the full set from the armory for 14900cc about 2 weeks ago and I still can't wear it. Every color is locked except for one and it wants an extra 1700cc to unlock it.

That's odd. Can you get in touch with a member of the team at EA Help so that they can look at this one with you? It's not something we can solve publicly and we only ever share info about folks accounts on owned and secured platforms. Keen to get this looked at though.

https://help.ea.com/

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by TheMightySpargus

Firstly, thank you for being more communicative and transparent about upcoming changes, it is appreciated.

That being said, don't take my frontlines! It's one of the best game modes BFV has. Most of these limited time modes are just too niche. Fortress would be decent as a day 3 mode in a Grand Operation and Squad Conquest is only ok if you have a coordinated team. Operations and Frontlines were the best modes in BF1 and its one of the few things that keeps me playing BFV.

And calling it a "bug" that the Pit Crew outfit was originally purchasable by CC doesn't make me any more likely to believe it wasn't a conscious decision.

I can appreciate that. It genuinely was a database/administration error that was remedied months ago, but naturally it created a fresh problem that we didn't anticipate much further down the line.

I can't change the stance taken on the issue but I'm keenest to try and figure out why it is we couldn't have messaged everyone before it went back in to help folks understand this. I've also asked the team to help review any of the internal patch notes to figure out if there were any similar skins that were also patched.

Myself and /u/braddock512 genuinely want to be as open, honest and transparent as it's possible for us to be and that on some days, that means sharing news that we know won't be popular. I can only ask for folks to trust us when we say that we're not here to tell lies, and we'd sooner speak than just hide from a storm.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by Recker_74

Thanks for the Community Broadcast!

My thoughts on the game modes changes:

  • Domination should stay as a permanent game mode. While i like Squad Conquest (good job for adding more maps btw), it just isnt the same (SQC has a vehicle and only 8 players per team). Domination is a good mode for completing assignments and also for ppl who like small scale infantry gameplay.
  • Frontlines for me, were a worse version compared to Bf1. Personally it was maybe my least favorite mode and it wasnt populated. So removing it, seems a logical choice. I wanna see in the future a proper plant/defuse bomb game mode though (like Defuse, Obliteration etc).
  • Grand Operations needs some tweaks (Change Winning Conditions, better bonus for winning each day, Final Stand should occur more often, Remove Conquest Entirely from Grand Ops, more game modes added etc), but i am already enjoying this game mode in its current state.
  • Team Deathmatch is also a mode that i almost never play. I would like to see better locations for most maps (some maps seem way too open and without cover) and i would also want some variations (for example bring back Squad Deathmatch as a time limited game mode). I would also to see a more competitive variant of TDM and maybe a 4vs4 TDM version on certain locations (Hangar/ Aerodrome, Cathedral/Devastation, Bridge/Twisted Steel etc). Good job for adding Panzerstorm on TDM though.
  • Bring back Duos for Firestorm. No need to explain...
  • Make a playlist with Fortress/Grind.
  • Introduce different playlists. My top picks would be: 1) Narvik/Panzerstorm night versions on Conquest... 2) Maps with extreme weather for the whole round (Fjell, Narvik, Hamada, Devastation)... 3) ''Realistic'' Mode with limited Hud and maybe some Hardcore tweaks (like limited health)
  • Mercury only playlist for Conquest/Breakthrough should stay at least for 2 weeks (maybe for 1 month). Also we need Mercury only Conquest servers.
  • Last but not least, focus on the Stuttering issues. For me is something game breaking and should be the number 1 priority.

I don't get to say this enough but really, it means a lot to myself and /u/braddock512 when people take this much time out their day to share feedback with us. I'll do my best to push as much of it through to the right persons as possible.

Some of my own personal thoughts on what you shared:

  • We're not against rotating it back in and out of the game through Tides of War if we can see a clear benefit to the experience for doing it. We've long toyed around with the idea of creating mixed mode playlists that match playstyles to player count, and we'll experiment with upcoming new maps to see if we can find better ways for the mode to play out.

  • We do have more objective focused modes coming to BFV. I don't believe I've heard talk of us attempting classics like Defuse or Obliteration but we're keen to get Rush back at some stage.

  • Grand Ops is something that we're starting to review right now. It's not to say that there are changes coming in the immediate future but we recognize completely what people feel about it. There are some Ops that play terrificly but others which would benefit from a review.

  • The interesting thing about TDM is that there are quite a number of folks who only play TDM, and more consistently than we find with other modes. I personally don't get into it, same as yourself, but I'll share your feedback on that with the designers

  • Duos we're presently exploring bringing back on certain weekends. As loved as it was, the mode genuinely wasn't popular enough to sustain in Firestorm long term, but we are starting to explore the idea of either rotating it with something else for a weekend once or twice a month, or just tagging it on for a couple of one off weekends. Nothing final, but if I hear more on the topic, I'll be the first to jump back up and share.

  • By reducing the number of active playlists, this is genuinely something that we're open to doing. Either as an alternative to a more objective focused/vehicle focused Tides of War week, or as just a little something extra for the weekend like I mentioned above. If we do, it wouldn't necessarily do so with new maps, but if there's appetite for it, we'll do it. At the end of the week we're going to launch next months Community Survey for Battlefield and we're going to start to look at gathering some data that should help inform that.

  • Stuttering is a top priority with the team now. I want as many answers as possible on this from the QA teams internally for my update back to you all, so I may take the full seven days to get it, but there will be an update early next week on it.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by Recker_74

I dont think that they will have RSP options for game modes that they had removed months ago.

We will be ensuring that unless we release a gamemode that is horribly broken (or universally hated), that it's available via Private Games.

That will include Domination and Frontlines. We will enable the community to create their own servers running this mode when the feature launches.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by BlackDraco39

So I guess all the other cosmetics that were added in December, and then removed, are all going to be EPIC and cost Boins. Good lord.

I've asked the teams for help clarifying if this will be the case for any of them. Anything they can share back with me I will be working with /u/braddock512 to come back and talk about before it goes back in.

over 5 years ago - /u/Braddock512 - Direct link

Originally posted by Imgur_Lurker

What else was supposed to be Boins only

I really wanted the Retribution helmet for the Axis because it's literally the only thing in the game with actual hair like I was promised in the Trailer but I couldn't get it due to the CC shortage bug.

Is that going to be resold as a Boins item too?

It looks like it, yes.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by radeonalex

/u/PartWelsh is there any chance that conquest may be removed as well?

I have a friend interested in buying bfv but he's concerned that conquest will disappear too (he last played BF2 when cq was the main mode). Unfortunately there hasn't been much good news to tell him in game modes recently :(

It's pretty much the most unlikely of any scenario. Conquest remains at the heart of Battlefield. I dont see a day where suddenly folks are showing us that they don't want to play it.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by will50231

Any chance of multiple load out options? so i can have different cosmetic choices i can select at a simple click of the mouse? i think bf1 had something like this where you could name them too.

Its being looked into. Not sure if it's something they can bring to realization.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by DICE404

  • Frontlines & Domination removed = good. Focus on the core gamemodes like Conquest, Breakthrough & Rush. You can't please everyone and it's a waste of development time creating all kinds of different sectors for all modes. You need to make a decision on what Battlefield will be moving forward and stop trying to appeal to every single person in the gaming industry. It will NEVER work. Rainbow Six Siege recently removed Hostage & Secure from Ranked and made it so Bomb is the primary mode of the game (as it should be, it's the most balanced and competitive mode). Sure, people cried but who the f**k cares, you CANNOT PLEASE EVERYONE and you have to look at what's best for the game long term. Frontlines, Domination and all that junk is irrelevant for Battlefield's success and that's just a fact. I know some people will hate me for this, but Squad Conquest is complete trash IMO. You're always 8 vs 5 because people leave - the most boring mode I've ever played in my life. I'm telling you this as someone who played competitive in Battlefield 3 which is the 8v8 format, but that's a competitive environment with people who are good at the game so you can expect teamwork from them, whereas Squad Conquest is just filled with randoms and it's unbalanced 90% of the time.

Please fix the following server browser bugs:

  • You can't see Grand Operations: Arras Rush even if you've selected Grand Operations & Rush to show in the server browser.
  • Same as above, if a Grand Operations server is running Frontlines, you can't see it.
  • You should be able to see every single Grand Operation server by selecting Grand Operations in the menu, regardless if it's running Airborne, Breakthrough, Frontlines or Last Stand. I believe Last Stand doesn't show either. This needs to be fixed because people are seeing far less servers thanks to it and think the game is dead when it's simply the server browser being F tier.

Good to see that you're acknowledging the FPS issues and that they're being worked on. We've lost quite a bit of frames with the last 3 patches.

I was talking to Jaqub about the frames today. We're trying to explore if thats a result of the recent stuttering issue or needs looking at seperately. Until we can clear one out of the way, we'll have a hard time reviewing the other.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by nkonrad

I appreciate you at least trying to respond in a thread filled with so much negativity (mine included), and I know it's not your fault that you can't give any concrete details here, but this doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.

Maybe I'm dead wrong and the XP gain changes will be flawlessly executed and improve the game by a ton, but it's hard not to see this as an attempt to make Tides of War harder so people are more likely to buy boins for it.

As I've said elsewhere, we're not here to hide from the community. Sometimes we're going to have great news to share (I genuinely like what else we have to share this week), and sometime we have news that we already understand will be a lot less popular. But both me and /u/braddock512 are here to interact where we're invited and able too.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by PM_ME_GPU_PICS

They are going to slow it down because you can buy ToW levels for boins.

I rarely comment on cynicism because I can understand the underlying frustrations, but no - we're not removing modes to stifle XP gains.

TOW Rank Skips operate the same as BF3/4/1 shortcut kit works. For many that play the game an absolute tonne, they're deemed pointless, but for those who want the function, the option is now available.

The feature isn't designed that way.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by [deleted]

[deleted]

That's a very unfair thing to say about Jeff. He's in this for all days, good and bad.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by xxFOXWITCHxx

Is the new price for elite skins 9xx and not the 1500?

u/PartWelsh

I need to triple check this in the morning.

I saw a comment internally suggesting that the first two elites were potentially staying at the discounted price, but I'm not certain if that's becoming a permanent thing or not. Let me look into this tomorrow and I'll edit this comment.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by ConAir0nVHS

Can we get an update on why if we already own a piece of equipment for the epic skins, that we need to pay full price for them

I believe that it's just a lack of flexibility in the way that the store offers are currently presented. I am encouraging that we look to find a different way to do this stuff (be that auto-discount, or separate purchase) but these things are inevitably more complicated than I perceive them to be.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by _Drakesden

Don't forget to announce that you'll be talking about the fact that you're talking about something you'll talk about, and then delay talking about the talkabout. Thanks! Also, can we get German helmets in this game? BF5's German soldiers use Hungarian helmets. If we're lucky, we'll get to talk about talking about this in about 5 years along with the next map.

Your meme aside - I can either volunteer what information that I have today, or I can stay absolutely silent in the hope that there are folks out there waiting to listen when we finally have everything locked up and ready to go.

This isn't spin, hype, or tease. It's just an effort to be as communicative as possible.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by RootyRooKangaroo

When private servers come, are we able to have frontlines, i havnt seen an Australian frontline server in about 2 months and i usually have to go to foriegn servers. Frontlines is one of the best game modes out there. I want 16 v 16 not that 32 v 32 crap that u get in the grand ops.

The current design of Private games allows this, yes.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by Jiven23

Thanks for the open communication. You are not going to please everyone, but I think the majority of people out there are passionate about this game and want to see it fulfill all its potential. With that said, I think the new visibility update is pretty good; however, I think the character visibility is a little off on the Panzerstorm map. The player models are really bright and don’t compare to the other maps. Is there a chance to take a second look at it. Thx.

I'll get someone to take a look at that. Thanks!

over 5 years ago - /u/manimal_prime - Direct link

Hey guys, I understand that people are frustrated and upset about some of the news posted here but there is no reason to get personal or ugly with u/partwelsh or u/braddock512

Make your points, make them passionately but don't be rude or disrespectful. Braddock and Freeman come here voluntarily to share news with you guys. DICE doesn't own this sub, nor does EA. They do not have to post here, and frankly some of the responses they're given here I wouldn't blame them if they didn't want to post info here anymore.

Chill, make constructive points. We are all fans and we care but we can do this in a more constructive way without all the toxicity.

over 5 years ago - /u/T0TALfps - Direct link

Originally posted by DLVittorio

Guys, fix the fps drops and stuttering before the map releases or no one will be allowed to play it. The game is unplayable right now

Guys, fix the fps drops and stuttering before the map releases or no one will be allowed to play it. The game is unplayable right now

It's a complex issue but the team are absolutely aware of this and are working towards fixing it, as stated in the OP - hopefully by next Tuesday we'll have an update on the progress.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by Soaptimusprime

I feel bad for the guys that make these community posts, they genuinely must be handed this and think “aw shit here we go again”

The alternative would be that we didn't talk to people about changes like this and for me and /u/braddock512, that's not acceptable.

The good news is that we're top of the call sheet when they're looking to build out new playlists for Tides of War rotations so we're at least happy that folks are willing to engage with us to help us shape what those will look like.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by GIVE_CHAUCHAT

I still appreciate all you do, u/Braddock512.

Even if the news doesn’t include the Chauchat.

My heart nearly stopped the other day when I saw that there was a stack of Chauchat skins being rotated in for the week...

....then I looked a bit closer and realised I was looking at BF1 😅

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by Sturmtrupp13

Is it true Dom and Frontlines are being removed permanently?

Yes/No - depends on how you look at it.

Both modes are having there permanent status removed. They won't appear as dedicated, and seperate playlists on the Matchmaking screen anymore.

They're not being deleted or Banished to the Shadow Realm. They'll re-appear as parts of Tides of War chapters, but become content we rotate in and out rather than content that is here to stay.

over 5 years ago - /u/tiggr - Direct link

Originally posted by bryllemis

u/PartWelsh I wonder who is in charge of making these decisions? So many things have been SO out of sync with the community.

You're getting a lot of bashing tonight, so I just wanted to tell you, that you and u/braddock512 are doing an amazing job of keeping the community up to date. It has certainly improved a lot since launch. Keep up the good work.

And bring back u/tiggr soon ;)

I'm out enjoying Sunshine when I get notifications. Worth opening Reddit for ;). I'll see you lot in Autumn

over 5 years ago - /u/Braddock512 - Direct link

Originally posted by the_hillman

I really don't get this u/braddock512. I'm a time poor gamer who just wants to jump on when I can and I keep missing out on time gated modes that are received well e.g. Rush, Duos, and Fortress. They're here one second and gone another.

DICE then removes Frontline, the mode that I play the most.

It's literally like DICE is trying to make it as hard as possible for me to play now I've bought the game.

Everything at the moment feels like you're just taking things away from the game.

I’m still on medical leave for my motorcycle accident. I haven’t even read emails since last week.

over 5 years ago - /u/manimal_prime - Direct link

Originally posted by ToLurkorCirclejerk

Hard truths

This sub is an afterthought to them sometimes but maybe if we weren't so toxic and making dipshit suggestions all the time devs would hang out here more

I'd disagree that it is an afterthought, every time news releases they post it here, twitter and on the BF forums. But I'd also say of those three mediums, people here take things way too far the most often.

over 5 years ago - /u/PartWelsh - Direct link

Originally posted by Exa2552

The bot that collects DICE replies still shows a preview of the comment:

I rarely comment on cynicism because I can understand the underlying frustrations, but no - we're not removing modes to stifle XP gains.

TOW Rank Skips operate the same as BF3/4/1 shortcut kit works. For many that play the game an absolute tonne, they're deemed pointless, but for those wh...

Does anyone know what the full comment said?

https://i.imgur.com/ISVRaQA.png

I did get a note from the Mods last night saying that they accidentally shadow banned me for 10 seconds last night. Was probably caught in that as I can still see the comment. imgur mirror above