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‘Battlefield V’ multiplayer tips and tricks

Struggling to survive 'Battlefield 5?' Our boot camp will keep you in the fight

Multiplayer in Battlefield V can feel completely overwhelming, particularly for those who are new to the series. Battles are massive affairs, often with multiple objectives and dozens of enemies racing toward your position, and without the proper preparation and a little bit of luck, you’ll almost certainly perish.

We can’t help you get any luckier, but we can give you the help you need to succeed at Battlefield V multiplayer and watch your kill-count rise ever higher. These are the Battlefield V multiplayer tips that you need to know.

Train with multiple classes

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Battlefield V includes four different playable multiplayer classes: Assault, Medic, Support, and Recon. As you progress with these classes, you’ll also have the ability to unlock additional “combat roles,” which offer bonuses to your statistics depending on what you do during a match.

  • The Assault class makes use of assault rifles and semi-automatic battle rifles like the STG-44 and the M1A1 Carbine. As the name would suggest, this class is all about charging head-first into battle and killing enemies, but it’s also the class that will be taking out enemy vehicles – think of it as a hybrid of the Assault and Engineer classes from Battlefield 4.
  • The Medic class primarily uses smaller submachine guns, and is responsible for supplying teammates with much-needed medical kits whenever they use up the one they’re allotted at the beginning of each life. They aren’t pushovers, but generally shouldn’t be the first into the fray.
  • The Support class uses machine guns and shotguns, and its primary job is to resupply teammates with ammunition. Because of the amount of shooting you’ll do yourself in order to suppress enemy positions, you’ll have to have plenty of ammunition for yourself, as well.
  • The Recon class is the sniping expert in Battlefield V. Its primary job is to mark enemies from a distance, plant spawning points for teammates, and kill targets at very long range. With relatively little bullet drop in the game, it’s not as difficult as it was in some of the earlier Battlefield titles.

You can easily sink hours into a single class in Battlefield V and be productive, but one of the best ways to succeed in multiplayer is to be flexible. The recon class is great for defending objectives or thinning out enemy ranks before moving in, but it isn’t as effective if you find yourself regularly fighting inside buildings. Likewise, medics won’t do much good if all over your engagements are from a distance. Keep the situation in mind and switch to a class that’ll help in the fight you’re currently facing.

Customize classes for both Allies and Axis

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Once you’ve picked your loadouts for all four classes, you’re only hallway done. You must select weapons and equipment for both the Allies and the Axis. The gear you get is almost entirely the same, so you can essentially recreate your loadout and run with the same gear regardless of which team you play on, but you still need to change gear on both sides.

On the plus side, this means you can create eight different classes and switch up your strategy, if you so choose. Particularly in Grand Operations scenarios, where one side is always on the defensive, pre-planning with longer-range weapons can give you an advantage that most players won’t have.

Use ammo and health stations

As part of the “Attrition” system introduced in Battlefield V, you’ll find ammunition and health stations scattered throughout each map. As you take areas over in Conquest mode, more of them will pop up, allowing defenders to keep themselves topped off while they blast away at incoming enemies.

If you find yourself in a squad without any medics or support characters, make sure you take advantage of these stations every chance you get. Your weapons only come with about two magazines of ammunition when you spawn in, which can be wiped in just one or two gunfights. Likewise, you only get one health kit per life, and failing to top off your health could be the different between winning or losing your next battle.

Using a sniper rifle? Zoom in quickly

Snipers have the potential to drastically alter a Battlefield V multiplayer match with a few well-placed shots, but they can also be cut down before they have a chance to do so. An easy way to spot an enemy sniper is to look into the distance for a glimmer of light – this is a reflection coming off of their scope.

If you see this, take cover and plan to flank the sniper from the side or counter-snipe them yourself. If you are a sniper, on the other hand, the best way to avoid giving away your position it to not stay zoomed in while you’re searching for a target. Look into the distance for any enemies who have been marked by your teammates, quickly line up your shot, take it, and immediately stop looking through your scope. Change your location whenever you get the chance.

Doing this on a regular basis will make it difficult for enemies to pinpoint your location, and the extra time they spend trying to do so is time you can take to line up a sweet headshot. If you’re facing off against another sniper, it’s even more effective.

Don’t forget your knife

Battlefield 5 Official Multiplayer Trailer

It won’t be used very often in Battlefield V, but don’t forget that you have access to a knife or melee attack by pressing in the right analogue stick, or F on the keyboard. You won’t be using this for up-front engagements, of course, as it does relatively little damage that way, but it’s an instant kill if you sneak up on a target from behind.

Not only can you get save ammunition by killing unsuspecting enemies with a knife, but you can also avoid giving away your own position. Melee kills also work if an enemy is lying prone and doesn’t see you, and as an added bonus, they’ll be turned around and have to look at your character as you plunge a blade into their chest.

Don’t fear tanks

Seeing a tank rolling down the road in Battlefield V can be terrifying, as the main gun is capable of taking out multiple targets with a single shot. It isn’t, however, even close to invincible, and you can take tanks out pretty easily with the Assault class.

When playing as the Assualt class, make sure you have an anti-tank weapon like the Panzerfaust 100. You get a few rockets with the launcher, and that’s perfect, because it will take more than one to destroy the tank. Attempt to get to the side or behind the tank and fire a shot to do maximum damage. The front of the tank is too heavily armored to make much of a dent. Two shots usually won’t outright destroy the tank, but it can often disable it and force its occupants to flee. That’s when you pull out your primary rifle and blast away at the infantry.

If the rockets don’t do enough damage, the Assault class can also hold dynamite in a separate slot. Get as close as you can do the tank, throw the explosive, and hit the detonator to watch the vehicle go up in flames.

Teammate down? Don’t be a hero

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The majority of the time a player is “killed” in Battlefield V, they actually fall to the ground in a state of limbo, during which a teammate can revive them. It’s tempting to revive players, particularly your squadmates, as soon as you see them go down, but players in Battlefield V do not follow the rules of war.

If you’re trying to revive someone and an enemy sees you, you’re going to be shot as well. In fact, experienced players specifically keep eyes on an enemy they’ve just killed, because they know newer players will usually rush recklessly to revive their comrade and make for an easy target.

As a general rule, if the body of your teammate isn’t behind a wall or in a ditch, you shouldn’t attempt to revive them. You also don’t want to revive anyone hiding behind a low wall, as you cannot revive someone from a prone position, meaning you’ll be putting yourself in the enemy team’s sights.

Rushing to revive not only gets you killed, it hurts your teams efforts. It results in two deaths instead of one, often delays the respawning of the solider you were trying to revive, and can count against your team in game modes where kills matter.

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Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
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