Battlefield 4 multiplayer progression revealed by EA

Written by Brandon Hofer on October 21, 2013

Battlefield 4 News: EA explains how some of the multiplayer progression will work in Battlefield 4 when it hits current and next gen consoles.

Battlefield 4 comes out next week on current gen consoles and a few weeks later on PS4 and then Xbox One. With that being the case EA has released some new info regarding Battlefield 4 having the deepest online campaign ever. While it will share similarities with Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4 offers a cleaner upgrade path, clearer Ribbon and Medal progression and an increased focus on rewarding great team play.

In Battlefield 4 multiplayer, there are 100 ranks you can achieve. It goes from 0 (recruit) to 100 (Colonel) and shows your dedication to the game. Each rank has five sub-ranks denoted by Roman numerals, similar to the system used by the U.S. Marines. So at Rank 16 you’ll hit “Sergeant” with Rank 20 being “Sergeant V” and Rank 21 bringing a new title with “Staff Sergeant.” Your rank is directly tied to your accumulated score throughout your multiplayer career, and is a way to represent the sum total you’ve accomplished so far. While highly skilled players will reach rank 100 quicker than others, it is attainable by everyone as it also comes down to the sheer amount of time you have dedicated to Battlefield 4. Additionally, once you hit that 100 rank milestone, there are still things to be done. There will be high end assignments that only the higher-rank characters can attempt with some unique rewards.

Every Ribbon in the game has a clearly corresponding Medal, usually awarded when you’ve earned 50 ribbons of one kind. And now more than ever, these Ribbons and Medals are more tailored to the unique characteristics of the four playable classes. Some of the Ribbons are only earnable by Recon, Support, Assault, and some by Engineer. Players who gravitate heavily towards one of these classes will automatically have a trophy cabinet that differs wildly from that of a player that hones in on one of the other kits.

Service Stars are also returning in Battlefield 4. These are additional distinguishing marks that you get awarded for heavily investing in distinct areas of the game. Think of it as a sub-rank of sorts that takes much more dedication than Ribbons. If you’ve amassed a great accumulated score playing as an Engineer, you might be awarded an Engineer-specific Service Star. In a similar manner, getting great results with a specific weapon will earn you Service Stars for that weapon. This time around we’ve even included Service Stars for winning the available game modes. Note that only objective scoring and actually winning rounds will earn you Service Stars for game modes. So if you run into a player with one or more Obliteration Service Stars, you know you’re up against someone who knows what to do with the bomb that just spawned on the map.

There’s a role for everyone, and you can always play to your strengths in Battlefield 4. That said, one of the major design goals going into Battlefield 4 was to use the underlying scoring system itself both as a friendly guiding tool and as a strong incentive to great gameplay. Since your score is directly related to ranking up and gaining new weapons, gadgets, and accessories, this is where the foundation for the online career is set in place. The scoring system effectively allows us to influence all aspects of Battlefield 4 – from teamwork to playing the objective and the more strategic aspects of the game (such as the Commanders receiving points when their teams use the Supply Drop provided.)

Another aspect of using scoring to promote great gameplay is tied to the new vehicle hit mechanics. In Battlefield 4, the way vehicles take damage from the Engineer’s RPG attacks is directly dependent on the angle of attack and the hit zone. The new ”top zone” on tanks, for example, is especially vulnerable to RPG attacks. By greatly rewarding attacks that deal heavy damage and letting players know how much damage they’ve dealt via the Vehicle Hit message, the game will drive more and more players to try to achieve certain kinds of attacks. Over time, the full potential of anti-tank weapons will be discovered in a joint effort by the Battlefield community.

A new concept in Battlefield 4 is that of Kill Assist Counts As Kill. If you get a few shots in on an enemy but can’t manage the kill, you’ll still get awarded the kill if that enemy is later eliminated. The thought here is that if you’re contributing to your team you should be rewarded accordingly, since team play is at the core of Battlefield. In Battlefield 3, you could take down an enemy from 100 to 1 in health, then a friendly player would sometimes “rob” you of the kill by dealing the decisive shot. In Battlefield 4, we are instead rewarding both players with a kill and with a healthy dose of points. This means that players who put themselves in harm’s way at the frontlines are more likely to rack up decent scores even if they don’t manage to get a lot of regular kills. Overall, the scoring design in Battlefield 4 is meant to make everyone willing and able to contribute to the greater cause.

What do you think about these changes and additions to Battlefield 4? Which version will you be picking up? Tell us what you think below.