Battlefield 3
Alliance soldiers are renowned for their impressive fire support, flexibility, and speed. Humans have quickly integrated new technology into their combat gear and can unleash VIs, drones, and artillery on the battlefield.
Battlefield 3
Multiplayer Tropes Ascended Glitch: Every mention of sound going out? That's actually a glitch that occurs when too much stuff around you is making noise. The game can't keep up and causes other sounds to go out, such as the ambiance, engine sounds, footsteps, and such. But, it has come to be accepted as Shell-Shock Silence. This glitch is probably mistaken for a feature of Frostbite, called HDR Audio. Basically, if you have a lot of loud sounds going on, it will drown out quieter sounds. The sounds mentioned in the above? If explosions and gun shots are going off next to you, you can't actually hear them anyway (gun shots are really freaking loud) and this may be a case of Reality Is Unrealistic.
And Your Reward Is Clothes: While most of the time you get your rewards in items or new abilities when leveling up, at certain levels you are instead given more custom uniforms. The uniforms are useful, sometimes, if you can match the camouflage to the map type. The Spec Ops Black uniform is a dual purpose camouflage. It will help hide the player in dark, shadowed areas and hides the player from thermal vision used by vehicles and the IRNV sight.
Anti-Air: Several kinds. The Igla and the Stinger missiles can be carried by Engineers; on maps with air vehicles, anti air cannons are mounted near the spawns (the C-RAM and the Tunguska for the US and Russian teams, respectively) air vehicles also have heatseeking missiles, and finally, Anti-Air Tanks function as moving versions of the base cannons.
The Artifact: Squad Leaders were important in previous Battlefield games because they were the only members of your squad you could spawn on, and they had a unique commo-rose to ask the Commander for orders or requests. Given the absence of Commander and the fact that you can spawn on anyone in your squad in Battlefield 3, a Squad Leader is no different than a regular squad member, aside from a star next to their name and the ability to tell their squad to attack or defend one objective.
Attack! Attack! Attack!: Similar to the One-Man Army example below, attempting it will likely get you killed. A lot.
Awesome, but Impractical: The EOD Bot is capable of remotely repairing/destroying vehicles, removing explosives, arming M-COM stations and with team-work can be catapulted with C4 clear across the map without being killed, but is hampered by touchy controls, a conspicuous spotting icon, loud operating noise and the operator being totally vulnerable to anyone who comes near him while using it.
The M60 machine gun. It's arguably one of the most intimidating weapons due to the suppression and heavy damage shared by most of the light machine guns. However, it's hampered by horrible accuracy unless proned, makes an easily identifiable noise when firing, and blocks around 25% of the lower portion of the user's view. Not to mention the painfully slow reload time.
Badass Bandolier: The US support class wears one like a scarf.
Blinded by the Light: Flashlights and Laser Sights will completely blind a player, whether ally or enemy, or even in complete daylight.
Bloodless Carnage: Oddly comes into play when getting a kill with the knife. Averted for other weapons though, which will create blood pools or splatters, but no Gorn.
Bribing Your Way to Victory: The Physical Warfare pre-order bonuses were a minor example of this at release, with a handful of items being released for early use by players. It took a concerted campaign against the game for it to be 'clarified' by EA that those items were not going to be locked out for people who didn't pre-order or use a pre-order location with the Physical Warfare pack. Many players were not amused, until the entire pack was made available to everyone for free, except for the Type 88 LMG, which would not be made available for other players until Back to Karkand was released. It was somewhat mitigated for a time (before the entire pack's release) by the December 6th patch changes, after which it wasn't much better if at all than other LMGs unlocked through normal gameplay.
As of March 2012, one can pay money to instantly unlock all class specific weapons and upgrades for vehicles. Having access to all equipment from the start doesn't make new players Instant Experts though, and since most guns within a class have the same damage values (with a few exceptions such as the G3A3 and the SCAR-H), they do not offer any significant advantage over the starter firearms. It's more of an option for players that want to avoid grinding. The interesting part is that the all unlock purchase is more expensive than the cost of a single DLC, since it instantly unlocks at least 119 new guns for use. Also somewhat counts as Anti-Frustration Features, since the Co-op Weapon Pack is advertised as allowing people who don't have anyone to play co-op with to use the weapons unlocked through co-op play.
The Premium edition comes with a multiplayer head start pack, instantly unlocking the first three weapons and gadgets for every kit and the ability to launch heat-seeking missiles from air vehicles for new players who purchase it.
Car Fu: You get bonus points from scoring a roadkill more than shooting the enemy.
Cherry Tapping: Two extremely humiliating ways to die in BF3 are from the Engineer class. The first is their kit supplied blowtorch, since the Engineer would have to get into melee range of his target and keep the flame focused on him for several seconds. The other is the Engineer's gadget the EOD robot, which again has a built in blow-torch.
The Assault class can use the defibrillator to kill an enemy. Despite it being in the previous Battlefield games, it's not as well known in this one because you actually have to hold down the fire key now. If you just press it like in the old versions you don't get any kill or damage. So many players try it, get no joy and never bother to try it again.
Even worse is a vehicle being destroyed by the repair tool. When targeting a friendly (or unoccupied) vehicle, the torch repairs. When targeting a hostile vehicle, you slowly remove health at around 5% a second. Bonus points if, in an attempt to stop you, the crew bails out... only for you to get in and drive off. Corridor Digital demonstrates. In order to unlock the Back to Karkand and Close Quarters Engineer carbines (the G53, the QBZ-95 and the MTAR-21) you are explicitly required to do these.
Combat Medic: Battlefield 3 combines the old Assault and Medic classes into an Assault class armed with the usual assault rifle, and a medical kit consisting of health packs plus a defibrillator. Players who take this class make a choice over how much of a medic or assault class they wish to be: you can take a medical kit or a special weapon (M320grenade launcher or M26 shotgun), but not both.
Critical Existence Failure: As infantry, it is possible to survive with 0% health displayed and no worse for wear due to how the game calculates damage.
Averted for vehicles. Vehicles with low HP will burn and cannot be moved unless it is repaired to working condition.
Desperation Attack: On Conquest on Caspian Border, when one team is brought down to ten respawn tickets, they'll enact an air strike on the huge radio tower, bringing it down and killing anyone unfortunate enough to be near it.
Do Well, But Not Perfect: The only way to get the MVP 2 and 3 Medals, Ribbons and Dog Tags is to place in the respective overall positions.
Easter Egg: Loads. Operation Metro has two usable photo booths. They only give off a bright flash every time you press the button though, no photos.
Operation Metro also has a sandcastle with the Swedish and Norwegian flags on it, the same castle found in Bad Company 2 and 1943.
A top-secret document found in the Airfield point on Wake Island mentions there are five or six dinosaur figurines scattered throughout the island, and there are indeed six of them to be found. The document also mentions, "The General promised cake!"
On some locations on Strike at Karkand and Sharqi Peninsula, you might hear the MEC Theme (the Battlefield 2 loading screen music for Middle Eastern maps) playing from a room or a radio.
Operation 925 has a coffee maker with a pressure gauge reading of "OVER 9000!"
Donya Fortress has a scaled model of SSV Normandy from another EA title Mass Effect.
Elites Are More Glamorous: You play as elite force from both factions, partially justifying how they get access to rare guns.
Enemy Chatter: You can hear some random chatter from your teammates and enemies, though for some reason, you cannot hear your own chatter, save for when you call out enemy sightings.
Faceless Goons: All the RU soldiers wear face concealing headgears. The assault and support wear balaclava and helmet, which completely cover their faces, the assault wears goggles as well, and only the support's eyes and mouth are visible. The engineers are Gas Mask Mooks while the recon wears a balaclava and scarf which almost completely cover his face. The US recon as well. This gets mostly subverted in Aftermath. All the classes have alternate appearances, and most of the classes with previously covered faces are now exposed. Both Recons still have covered faces, though. Humorously, the US Recon dons a pair of Cool Shades, which actually further covers his face.
Five-Man Band: The multiplayer is set up to have five distinct roles that play into a dynamic. The assault is the main infantry unit of the game, the Engineer chooses to focus on maintaining, controlling, and destroying vehicles, the Recon has the ability to spot, place beacons, and set up sensors to gather information, the Support has ammo packs and some of the heavier ordinance, and the announcer co-ordinates the team from afar without actually doing anything. How it actually plays out is entirely up to the players, as many choose instead to disregard their roles.
Five-Token Band: On the US Team: The Assault is African American, the Engineer Caucasian, the Support is Hispanic American, and the Recon could either be Asian/Native American (can't really tell with the mask on).
On the RF Team: Some sound files have soldiers speak with heavy Georgian and Ukranian accents.
Gas Mask Mooks: The Russian engineer wears a large gas mask.
Good Guns, Bad Guns: Played straight with the default loadout as well as the rocket launchers and MANPADS. Averted when you start to unlock things, and the final unlock for all classes is that you can spawn with the starting gun of the other team.
Goggles Do Nothing: US Recon. He always wears what appears to be a pair of ESS Advancers on top of his shemagh no matter what the weather condition is. Although these goggles are standard issue within the UK Forces, this model have been discontinued by ESS.
Glass Cannon: The tank destroyer and rocket artillery in Armored Kill. Scout and Attack helicopters play this straight as well, being very capable of dominating the battlefield with a decent crew and setup, but they're easily taken down by the Igla/Stinger carried by the Engineers, or even to the machine gun mounted on tanks and jeeps.
Improvised Weapon: The Engineer's blow torch, as well as the Assault's defibrillator.
The Aftermath DLC's "XBOW" is a crossbow made out of a broken HK417.
Interface Screw: The aforementioned Laser Sight and Flashlight when shined in your eyes.
The suppressive fire mechanic reduces accuracy and blurs the game to represent the distraction that incoming fire causes. Killing someone who is suffering from suppression effects gives bonus points to the suppressor.
When you're hit with a stealth kill from a knife, your viewpoint will be violently turned around, and you'll see the face of the guy stabbing you and taking your dogtags, before letting you fall to the ground. It can be incredibly jarring.
Sometimes, after a large amount of nonlethal explosions near your soldier, he may become briefly shell shocked, tuning out most sounds (except for any sounds that actually come from him). Shell-Shock Silence may also happen because of a glitch in the sound.
Joke Vehicle: The Skid Loader added in Back to Karkand. It's incredibly slow, weak, and difficult to turn. You need to get a roadkill with it for the "Like a Boss!" achievement, however.
Just a Stupid Accent: The Russian Team. You will sometimes hear spoken Russian though. You can change the voice over language to several different languages though; changing it from English to Russian will have the Americans speaking Russian with an American accent. This is a minor downgrade from Bad Company 2, where it was possible to have all militaries speak the appropriate language.
Just for Pun: One of the new maps in the Close Quarters expansion is called "Operation 925". It takes place in an office building. Think about it. "Operation nine-to-five."
Laser Sight: One of the many Gun Porn accessories. It's beneficial in that it reduces hip-fire spread, but pretty much says "I'm right here". Woe to the Recon who forgets to turn his laser off before starting a sniping session.
Magical Defibrillator: A zap on the foot will revive a teammate from their slit throat or multiple bullets to the brain.
Mook Maker: The Radio Beacon, the AAV7A1 AMTRAC and Transport Helicopters, and you can also spawn near your squadmates, or in vehicles they are in as long as there's space.
Nitro Boost: Most vehicles have it, even tanks. Using it adversely affects handling.
Non-Uniform Uniform: Both sides, especially with the amount of customizations available. Averted with the Russian Federation Medic and Engineer that wear "Gorka" suits that in reality come in a huge variety of different camos. Post-Soviet troops also seemed to have problems with issuing matching uniforms until recent years.
Nostalgia Level: Back to Karkand is a Nostalgia Expansion, with every map and weapon taken from an earlier Battlefield game. Wake Island especially, since it was a map in Battlefield 1942, the very first Battlefield game, and has appeared in nearly every Battlefield game since.
Old Save Bonus: As with Battlefield: Bad Company 2, becoming a Battlefield Veteran unlocks three versions of the M1911 for use in multiplayer.
One-Hit Kill: Zig-zagged with the knife. Using the knife behind an enemy will kill him instantly (as well as give you his dog tags), but using it in front of an enemy requires two slashes to finish him off. May lead to Damn You, Muscle Memory! moments when you've been playing other shooters where the knife is an instant kill from any angle.
Bolt-action sniper rifle headshots are these at any range, while semiauto sniper rifle headshots are only one-hit kills within their "max damage" range before damage dropoff begins.
Shotguns are one-hit kills at close range and can get headshot one hit kills at longer ranges.
Getting hit by any fast-moving vehicle, whether it's light AT Vs, helicopters, tanks, or even MAVs or EOD bots, results in this.
One-Man Army: Averted. You can't survive more than a couple shots from your average weapon. Overall, you're very, very squishy. A very good play can be like this for a team no matter what class or vehicle they are in, a player good enough to lift the rest of his team up by the bootstraps and make them competitive or even victorious is said to be 'carrying' his team.
Patriotic Fervor: The Russians are notably more patriotic than the Americans, occasionally shouting phrases such as "For Mother Russia!" and (when losing) "You're Russians, for fuck's sake! Turn it around!"
PVP Balanced: The game continues the tradition of rockets doing very little splash damage to infantry. They're stated by the hints to be anti-tank rockets.
Helmets, goggles, and armor have no effect, and everyone has 100 heath points with a 0.9x multiplier to the legs and a 2x multiplier to the head, except in hardcore, where everyone has 60 health with the same multipliers.
With the exception of the G3A3 (unlocked through co-op), every assault rifle deals the same damage (25 maximum to 17 minimum) per shot and has the same ammo capacity of 30+1 rounds, so reload times, recoil/spread and rate of fire tend to be the big differentiators. Likewise, semi auto sniper rifles all deal the same damage (50 max to 34 minimum), bolt-action rifles except the M98B deal the same damage (75 max to 55 minimum), and all except the M98B have the same ammo capacities.
The G3 Battle Rifle and the Scar-H carbine are balanced by their natural statistics compared to the other assault rifles. They get better damage than the other assault rifles because they both use the 7.62 cartridge as opposed to the 5.56 that all the other rifles uses, but like reality, they only have 20 rounds available. By sticking a foregrip, scope (anything from a 3.4x, 4x ACOG up to a 8x ballistic sight) heavy barrel you can turn either into a semi-automatic marksman rifle at the cost of suffering several drawbacks in close combat.
A newcomer from the Close Quarters DLC, the ACW-R (Better known as Masada or ACR) for the Engineer fires 6.5x38mm cartridge dealing 20 max and 17 min damage as opposed to 25 and 14 respectively dealt by other carbines. It's balanced out with a 26-round magazine instead of the regular 30.
The MP7 doesn't have a foregrip attachment as it would make the already amazing close combat ability even better. That and the base gun already has a hinged foregrip.
Reality Is Unrealistic: Many players complained about the tactical flashlights being too bright. In reality, the flashlights used on guns can be blindingly bright and used to disorient a target.
Regenerating Health: Much to the chagrin of older Battlefield fans. It heals at a slow rate of 5HP/second and it takes a long time to kick in (at least twelve seconds). However, suppressive fire will reset the timer and stop any healing in progress, and it is completely removed in hardcore, alongside a server option to disable it in non-hardcore modes. Medkits heal at a speedy 10HP/second and force regenerating health to kick in for players within their effective range immediately, regardless of suppression.
Vehicles have regenerating health as well. However, vehicles below 50% health (35% for transport helicopters, CAS jets and AMTRAC) will become disabled, catch on fire and receive a penalty to movement and control (MBTs and IFVs can barely move, jeeps and armored cars stop dead in their tracks, helicopters lose much of their yaw, pitch and climb capabilities and jets go into a barely controllable spin). At this point vehicle health will keep bleeding out unless repaired back up to 100%.
Revenue-Enhancing Devices: In the March 2012 patch, DICE rolled out the Rent-a-Server plan, allowing Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 players to customize their own personal server like PC players. The "revenue enhancing" part comes in when players, tired of custom settings and abusive server admins, try finding vanilla DICE servers, only to find out that