**OFFICIAL** AT Battlefield 3 FAQ and News Thread

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llee

Golden Member
Oct 27, 2009
1,152
0
76
Official patch notes are out. Find them here.

A few of the most significant changes are the removal of attack helicopter gunner flares and the addition of a CITV-like station for the 4th seat of the scout helicopter.
 

coldmeat

Diamond Member
Jul 10, 2007
9,214
78
91
Haven't played in a while, went to load it up today and I have to download a 2gb patch? Gotta love sitting down to play a game and having to wait an hour before you can start playing.

Update origin, update the game, update the browser plugin, repair installation because the game won't play, download the corrupt files...

it's been at least 1.5 hours since I sat down to play.
 
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chimaxi83

Diamond Member
May 18, 2003
5,649
61
101
No more gunner flares, and ANOTHER Igla/FIM buff? Well damn, guess I have to be a careful pilot now :( lol
 

Anubis

No Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
78,716
417
126
tbqhwy.com
Our next client update goes live to coincide with Battlefield 3: Armored Kill. As ususal, it contains a lot of balancing tweaks and fixes. Full details below. Let us know what you think about this update in the comments section below.

WEAPONS BALANCING
Reload timer adjustments
A number of weapons have had their reload timers adjusted to better fit their animations and gameplay balance. For most of these weapons the gameplay timers were slightly out of sync with the actual reload animation, meaning the player could either fire before the animation was done, or had to wait longer than the animation played. Primarily this is a cosmetic change (around 0.1sec); however for a few weapons (M416, F2000, FAMAS, KH2002, MK3A1, JNG90, MG36 QBU-88, SVD, Pecheneg, SCAR-H, AN-94) this should also improve the performance of the weapon. Full details below:
• Short and Long reload reduced: SCAR-L, AEK-971, F2000, AN-94, AK-74, PP2000, G3A3, SKS, MG36, JNG-90, MK3A1, SCAR-H, SVD, QBZ-95B
• Long reload reduced: AUG A3, 44 Magnum, KH2002, Pecheneg, L85A2, QBB-95, M1911, MP7
• Short reload reduced: M417, FAMAS, M39 EBR, M416, PP-19, QBU-88
• Short and long reload increased: ASVal
• Long reload reduced, shot reload increased: M4A1
• Long reload increased: P90

Damage output/range adjustments
• UMP: Increased the close range damage of the UMP but reduced its damage over range. The UMP now has a sweet spot in CQB but suffers compared to the PP2000 at longer ranges.
• PP2000: Increased the long range damage of the PP2000 to highlight its role as a mid-range, low recoil PDW.
• M1911: Increased the minimum damage of the M1911 to make it fit better between the Magnums and the M9/MP443
• M93: Reduced the M93R’s damage and range, as it was an obvious go to pistol compared to the M9/MP443. Its recoil has been reduced for a smoother burst action to counter the reduced damage.
• 12G Frag rounds: These rounds have been adjusted to do their damage in a smaller area but to be more consistently apply the maximum possible damage.
• AA: Slightly increased the damage of the AA against infantry, the AA was simply over nerfed in a previous update. The AA guns now also properly do damage to MBTs again.
• 12 Gauge buckshot close range damage has been slightly increased.
• Slightly reduced the range penalty for the suppressor on the SCAR-H.
• Increased bullet velocity for the coaxial HMG, making it easier to hit targets over longer ranges.
• Increased the minimum range of the 40mm Flechette and tightened the cone of fire for more consistent damage levels.
• Slightly reduced the range bonus added by the heavy barrel on the 5.56mm, 5.45mm, 6.5mm Assault Rifles.
• Slightly reduced the range penalty for the suppressor on 5.56mm, 5.45mm, and 6.5mm weapons: AR, Carbine, and LMG.
• Slightly reduced the range penalty for the suppressor on the SCAR-H.
• Slightly reduced the range penalty for the suppressor on 5.56mm, 5.45mm, and 6.5mm weapons: AR, Carbine, and LMG.
• Slightly reduced the range bonus added by the heavy barrel on the 5.56mm, 5.45mm, 6.5mm Assault Rifles.
• Increased the damage of the M5K.

A select set of weapons have had their recoil adjusted based on joint community feedback and statistical analysis to provide greater balance in the weapon choices players make. Specifically, the M16A3 and M4A1 have increased recoil to make them less attractive in all situations. Competing weapons like the SG553, G36C and M416 have been improved to also increase viable player choice in primary weapons.
• SG553: Horizontal recoil reduced to help make this weapon more controllable.
• MG36: Vertical recoil reduced to make this weapon more controllable.
• M416: Vertical, Horizontal, and First Shot recoil have all been reduced to make this weapon clearly different from the M16A3.
• M16A3: Recoil amounts slightly increased.
• M4A1: Recoil amounts slightly increased.
• G36C: Vertical and First Shot recoil amounts reduced.
• M16A4 and M4: These weapons have been adjusted for the increased recoil they now have. The burst versions of these weapons give the player a reduction in horizontal recoil for greater control.

Miscellaneous weapons changes
• FIM92 and IGLA now lock on to air vehicles at both lower altitudes and longer distances.
• Added Burst Fire to the M5K as an available fire mode.
• Increased the bonuses provided by a number of bipods: F2000, G3A3, M27, M416, Pecheneg, Type88, FAMAS, MG36
• Belt Fed Machine guns are now more accurate when standing and firing while aiming. This affects the M240, M249, Type88, Pecheneg, and LSAT.
• 44 Magnum: Rate of fire reduced slightly to highlight this side arm’s role as a slow firing heavy hitter and differentiate it from the MP412 REX.
• Increased the fire rate and reload time of the MP412 REX to better highlight the improved CQB performance over the 44 Magnum.
• Removed burst fire from the L85 and added Single Shot to the L86 as is authentic for these weapons.
• Slightly increased the radius for maximum damage of the 40mm LVG. While the overall damage level remains the same, the LVG will be lethal over a larger area.
• Reduced the aimed accuracy bonus of the M417 with a suppressor to balance it with the other weapons in the game.
• Increased the aimed accuracy bonus of the ACW-R, L86 LSW, LSAT, MP5K and MTAR with a suppressor to balance with the other weapons in the game.

Weapons fixes
• Underslung weapons on the AUG and SCAR-L now properly benefit from the hip accuracy bonus of an attached laser sight.
• The SOFLAM will no longer lock onto your own vehicle if deployed and not immediately activated by the player.
• SCAR-L: Fixed the heavy barrel not increasing recoil when zoomed and standing.
• Corrected some incorrect descriptions of clip sizes and bullet types for weapons added in Close Quarters: M5K, LSAT, and ACW-R
• The PKS-07 is now available on QBB-95
• The M417’s foregrip was incorrectly reducing horizontal recoil by too large an amount. It has been adjusted to be balanced with other foregrips.
• The ACR Foregrip, MG36, QBB-95 and RPK Extended magazines as well as the RPK and SKS Heavy Barrel are now able to be unlocked and equipped in the accessory screen.
• Fixed an issue with incorrect damage for the M320 buck when used with certain attachments.
• MK3A1 now uses flechette rounds instead of Frag rounds in Gun Master mode (in Close Quarters).

VEHICLE RELATED TWEAKS & FIXES
• Removed flares from gunner position in helicopters. With the right combination of unlocks, an attack helicopter could be effectively invulnerable to lock on missiles. Removing the flares from the gunner balances the attack helicopter against ground fire.
• Air Radar now shows friendly vehicles as well.
• Helicopter weapons can now destroy equipment with splash damage.
• The Laser Designator unlock on the Scout Helicopters has been changed from a Pilot Upgrade to a new stance in the Copilot seat (position 4). Like the CITV turret on the Main Battle Tanks, the Scout Helicopter’s Laser Designator is permanently available to players who have received the unlock.
• Repair tool damage against enemy vehicles lowered by 10%.
• Changed reload behavior on Tank / Tank Destroyer cannon weapons to prevent being able to fire 2 shots from different weapons quickly one right after another.
• Firing mode can now be seen from the vehicle passenger seats where you are allowed to fire your own weapons.
• Fixed the hit indicator showing when entering a vehicle after previously shooting a soldier.
• Increased the damage helicopter and jet rockets do to helicopters, jets and infantry.
• Increased the damage helicopter gunners and IFVs do to helicopters and jets.
• Fixed Jets not getting top attack damage bonuses on Laser Designated targets.

PERSISTENCE RELATED TWEAKS & FIXES
• Changed how MCOM station defend/attack kill score is calculated. Victim no longer needs to arm/disarm the crate but rather be in a 5 meter radius of the crate. Also increased kills needed for the Crate Defend Ribbon from 2 to 4. Overall, these changes should make it somewhat easier to get the ribbon, while increasing the opportunity for strategic play around MCOM stations.
• Premium Engineer assignments are now counting all shotgun kills independent from the class using it.
• Fixed so you can get score from awards in coop.
• Accuracy dogtags now show the correct stats.
• Coop Stars and dogtag are now properly unlockable and equip able.
• Gun Master and Domination Winner ribbons and medals added.
• Fix for assignment with multiple dependencies showing as unlocked in frontend. (Jack of All Trades & Only for the Dedicated)

UI RELATED TWEAKS & FIXES
• Added letters to the capture point icons displayed directly over the mini-map.
• Fixed the grenade counter acting strangely when entering a vehicle with a grenade in hand.
• Fixed the damage indicator which showed the wrong direction if the damage dealer was dead.
• Fixed the hit indicator showing when spawning or closing the in game menu.
• PC specific: Fixed laser designator related icons disappearing from the screen when you enable the chat.
• Fixed a bug where the clan tag sometimes shows as the player ID.
• Added clan tags in nametags and kill card.
• PC specific: Fixed the vehicle hit indicator being shown each time you re-enter the first person camera of a ground vehicle.
• Fixed so commorose VO works when sitting in an AA vehicle.
• Fixed so you get the critical health fullscreen color tint while in the post revive state.
• Removed the join button in the server list for non-Premium users on Premium exclusive servers.
• Fixed so the spawn menu always disappears when you are revived.
• Bugfix the colorblind objectives showing the wrong icons and blinking with a black background.
• Fixed M-Com distance not updating if user moves towards it with EOD Bot.
• Mortar strike explosions are now shown on the HUD for the shooter.

MISCELLANEOUS TWEAKS & FIXES
• Fixed so the MAV gadget will not remain floating in midair if the user exits it while still flying.
• Fixed bug where it was possible to shoot while transitioning from sprint into prone.
• Fixed so you can’t revive a player who switched team since he died.
• Fixed two exploits on Donya Fortress that allowed players to get on top of the level.
• Fixed bug where you could get an incorrectly calculated longest headshot with the EOD bot.
• PS3/Xbox 360 specific: Added map rotation settings to preset list in detailed server info. Players can now see all relevant settings that are being run on the server.
• Xbox 360 specific: Introduced a clickable promotional spot on the main menu.

How to download the latest update (Multiplayer Update 4) and Armored Kill
PLAYSTATION 3 SPECIFIC INFO
Patch goes live: September 4
Armored Kill goes live: September 4 for Premium members / September 18 for non-Premiums
Patch size: 1.53GB
Armored Kill size: 1.55GB
How to download patch: When starting the game, the patch will automatically download. It is mandatory to accept this download if you want to play the game.
How to download Armored Kill: Armored Kill is available on the PlayStation Store and in our in-game store as a manual download. If you are a Premium member, this download will be available at 0 cost.

XBOX 360 SPECIFIC INFO
Patch goes live: September 4
Armored Kill goes live: September 11 for Premium members / September 25 for non-Premiums
Patch size: 1.44GB
Armored Kill size: 1.56GB
How to download patch: There will first be a small (184MB) Title Update automatically downloaded when you start the game. When restarting the game, you will get a popup notifying you that Multiplayer Update 4 is available. It is not mandatory to accept this, but we advise you to do so. Otherwise, you can find Multiplayer Update 4 both on Xbox Live Marketplace and in our in-game store as a manual download.
How to download Armored Kill: Armored Kill is available in our in-game store as a manual download. If you are a Premium member, this download will be available at 0 cost. If you are not a Premium member, you can also find Armored Kill on Xbox Live Marketplace.

PC SPECIFIC INFO
Patch goes live: September 4
Patch size: ~2.2GB
Armored Kill size: 3.2GB
Armored Kill goes live: September 11 for Premium members / September 25 for non-Premiums
How to download patch: As soon as you start your Origin client, the latest game update will automatically start downloading (unless you’ve disabled the option “Automatically keep my games up to date”, in which case it will start downloading when you try to run the game). In Battlelog, you will be notified from the Game Manager. Once you acknowledge the update, it will start downloading within the Origin client.
How to download Armored Kill: Armored Kill will automatically download if you start Origin or if you are logged in to Battlelog. You can also start the download from the Battlefield 3 game details page (i symbol) if Origin is already running.
 

DeadFred

Platinum Member
Jun 4, 2011
2,740
29
91
Meh, I dont see anything too exciting in the fix list.

Sounds like all the weapons will soon be nearly identical. Whats the point of having dozens of rifles and carbines to choose from if they are all the same? Blah....
 

Anubis

No Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
78,716
417
126
tbqhwy.com
the m416 got buffed again which is odd considering it IMO was already the best AR
attack heli change is good,
scout heli change is gonna be interesting, guess its back to heat seakers
Tank reload change is gonna be interesting, no more Guided-> instant main shot, however with autoloader i can see why they changed it

i pulled down the patch this morning but the maps wernt avail yet (PS3)
 

QuantumPion

Diamond Member
Jun 27, 2005
6,010
1
76
Meh, I dont see anything too exciting in the fix list.

Sounds like all the weapons will soon be nearly identical. Whats the point of having dozens of rifles and carbines to choose from if they are all the same? Blah....

Because they're not the same? What's the point of having dozens of rifles to chose from if the M16 is clearly superior and not using it gimps you?
 

DeadFred

Platinum Member
Jun 4, 2011
2,740
29
91
Because they're not the same? What's the point of having dozens of rifles to chose from if the M16 is clearly superior and not using it gimps you?
Of course they arent the same IRL, so why are they trying to make them identical in the game with all of the changes? That was my point. Sure the damage should about the same on the rifles that use identical rounds (like the 5.56) but they should all have different handling characteristics. In real life the AK74 is the most manageable AR to fire on full auto, but it is nowhere near as sweet as some of the other AR's in game.

Most people are going to use the best weapon in the game for each class, whether it be the M16, M416, or whatever is the biggest buff of the last patch. I mean thats just common sense, why would anyone want use something that puts them at a disadvantage?

After collecting 500 kills for the master dog tags with all the weapons, I settled on the M16 since it was the "best" and would go with another AR only if I was bored. If the M16 is now gimped, Ill most likely go with the G3A3 unless theyve monkeyed with it too. It has always been my second fav, that thing is a beast if you can manage the recoil.

Speaking of recoil.....I think the real muck up they have is the random bullet deviation. They need to toss that idiotic concept and just add more recoil if they want to handicap us.
 
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Zargon

Lifer
Nov 3, 2009
12,240
2
76
so much for the attack helo

it was already oncredibly culnerable to a decent jet pilot, and on a decent server had to constantly be moving around fast or sit back and TV

now its super vulnerable to the no flares and the infantry aa buff
 

Anubis

No Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
78,716
417
126
tbqhwy.com
i dont play on the PC but the heli definitly needed a nerf on the console. there is only 1 map with the AA tank (wake island) which results in a good heli/gunner combo being basially unkillable by infantry, and hard to take out with planes because they handle so fing poorly.

the change to the scout laser is gonna suck on Canals where its way to fing easy for the RU side to controll everything, knocking out tanks with guideds is often the only way to make landfall.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
oh great had to nuke a ton of my friends list.....awesome

As in, you had to remove people from your Battlelog list?
Or, the merge ruined the list for you by removing non-Origin friends?


I experienced the latter. Some friends on Battlelog (but not on Origin) were removed from the list. Dammit.
 

coldmeat

Diamond Member
Jul 10, 2007
9,214
78
91
repair install again...

Oh, and it seems like there is only about 30 people playing in NA right now? I can only find 2-3 servers with more than 5 people.
 

QuantumPion

Diamond Member
Jun 27, 2005
6,010
1
76
repair install again...

Oh, and it seems like there is only about 30 people playing in NA right now? I can only find 2-3 servers with more than 5 people.

PC gamers typically have day jobs, unlike the smelly mom's basement console types :sneaky:
 

Childs

Lifer
Jul 9, 2000
11,450
7
81
oh great had to nuke a ton of my friends list.....awesome

hmmm...only have 2 people on my list now, when it used to be like 40. Strange thing is they still show up in the battle feed. I'll just leave it alone and hope they fix it.

But anyways, its about time they tried something like this. I dont know why one would want separate battlelog and origin friends lists. I added everyone through battlelog, so there was no way I was going to manually do it again on origin.

EDIT: hmmm..Fred is now on origin as well. It'll probably be fixed by the end of the day.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
hmmm...only have 2 people on my list now, when it used to be like 40. Strange thing is they still show up in the battle feed. I'll just leave it alone and hope they fix it.

But anyways, its about time they tried something like this. I dont know why one would want separate battlelog and origin friends lists. I added everyone through battlelog, so there was no way I was going to manually do it again on origin.

EDIT: hmmm..Fred is now on origin as well. It'll probably be fixed by the end of the day.

Does it seem like they added entire Platoons to the list?
I don't recall having everyone from my Platoon on my friend list (have a platoon of local buddies and etc) in Battlelog, though I may have. Either way, a friend list was restored (or added to) in Battlelog, and now all those people are on Origin as well.
I too like this much better. But I'm in the processing of making everything look Updated. Just installed the Battlelog update, and now it appears like I need to do a Repair install to make Battlelog recognize the game is updated...
yep, Repair just finished and Battlelog seems to agree that everything is in order now. Good. :)