Once again DICE are asking us to lock and load for another tour of duty, this time in Battlefield 1. After Visceral took the reins on the last game and made it a cops-and-criminals affair, DICE are back in the pilot’s seat and are taking us on a tour of the Great War. That’s right – we’re living out the early days of modern warfare in World War 1.
Battlefield 1 release date
Battlefield 1 will launch worldwide on October 21, 2016, but those who pre-order the Early Enlister Deluxe Edition ($79.99) will be able to play Battlefield 1 on October 18. Additionally, anyone who pre-orders will receive the Hellfighter Pack, which comes with themed items inspired by the 369th Harlem Hellfighter Infantry Regiment.
If you want to get stuck in as early as possible, subscribers of Origin Access will be able to play Battlefield 1 on a trial basis for free from October 13th.
Battlefield 1 system requirements
Can you run it? Check your PC against the Battlefield 1 system requirements 2021 over on PCGameBenchmark.
Minimum Requirements
- OS: 64-bit Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10
- Processor (AMD): AMD FX-6350
- Processor (Intel): Intel Core i5 6600K
- Memory: 8GB RAM
- Graphics card (AMD): AMD Radeon™ HD 7850 2GB
- Graphics card (NVIDIA): NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 660 2GB
- DirectX: 11.0 Compatible video card or equivalent
- Online Connection Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection
- Hard-drive space: 50GB
Recommended Requirements
- OS: 64-bit Windows 10 or later
- Processor (AMD): AMD FX 8350 Wraith
- Processor (Intel): Intel Core i7 4790 or equivalent
- Memory: 16GB RAM
- Graphics card (AMD): AMD Radeon™ RX 480 4GB
- Graphics card (NVIDIA): NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 1060 3GB
- DirectX: 11.1 Compatible video card or equivalent
- Online Connection Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection
- Hard-drive space: 50GB
Battlefield 1 setting
Battlefield 1 is set during the First World War, mixing trench warfare into its established mix of vehicle and infantry combat. It will feature biplanes zipping through canyons while locked in dogfights, horseback cavalry charges, flamethrowers, trenches flooded with mustard gas, tanks and cowering in the shadows of massive zeppelins.
Being a World War and everything, you will fight in battles all over the globe, such as the Western Front in Europe and the deserts of North Africa. It’s more of a fantastical look at World War One, with an emphasis on machinery and tech rather than the crushing reality of the conflict.
Battlefield 1 gameplay
The Battlefield 1 livestream at the EA Play event demonstrated an hour of gameplay: our real first look at how a large-scale 64-player match will play. Since then the early access builds have been sent out and we’ve played the first hour of single-player. See that above. There’s also some 4K multiplayer below, showing off Battlefield’s much loved destruction system, but in a new iteration that DICE have dubbed “Intuitive Destruction,” which promises to be more realistic and logical than ever before.
There’s also a dynamic weather system, meaning that fog can roll in to give you cover from an accurate sniper, or rain could conceal your approach on a point. Holes blown in the terrain will dynamically fill with water when it rains. It promises to add a little bit of spice to the game’s maps.
Also coming to the game are Behemoths– gigantic war machines that will give players the edge if they can use it properly. One such behemoth, the zeppelin, allows players to rain fire down across the whole map, as long as they can be protected. They’re a massive focal point for the conflict, and when you bring them down they’ll lay waste to everything underneath.
Battlefield 1 classes
Once again Battlefield will use a class-based structure for its multiplayer, formed around the key four soldier types of assault, support, medic, and scout. This time though, a further two classes will be introduced: pilots and tankers. These new classes are focussed completely on vehicles and are the only class that can use their respective planes and tanks.
There are major adjustments to the system: assault is now your primary anti-vehicle class, while medics can heal tanks as well as people. This removes the need for the engineer entirely.
Classes have more access to melee combat weapons than in previous Battlefield games, with trench tools like maces, axes, and shovels used to beat enemy players on the head, and the ability to fix bayonets to rifles and charge.
Weapons will be drawn from six different classes: shotguns, SMGs, LMGs, semi-autos, sidearms, and sniper-rifles. A collection of those weapons will be the earliest deployments of their kind; SMGs were invented during the war and were used for the very first time during trench warfare. For some extra firepower, explosives such as frag and gas grenades will be available.
This time around Battlefield is attempting to streamline weapon attachments. Each gun will have up to three different pre-set configurations, designed to help it fulfill slightly different roles, such as marksman (with added scopes) or close-quarters (with grips and bayonets). This means you won’t have to grind for a gun’s best attachments, which is always welcome.
The six classes will be available for each of the game’s six factions. The allied powers will be represented by Britain, America, and Italy, while the axis forces will be fronted by Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire.
Battlefield 1 Elite Classes
DICE are keen to explore some of the more extreme areas of tech used during World War One, but letting everyone run around with flamethrowers might detract from their vision somewhat. Their solution: Elite Classes. These special units can be found by picking up weapon crates throughout the map. Three have been included so far: Sentry, Flame Trooper and Tank Hunter.
- Sentry – the Sentry is an armour-clad soldier who wields a water-cooled machinegun. He can take a lot of damage, but deal out a whole lot more. He also moves really slowly and can’t equip a gas mask, giving him some vulnerability.
- Flame Trooper – A bit faster than the Sentry and holding a flamethrower instead of a machinegun, the Flame Trooper excels in close-quarters butchery. A gas mask that never comes off means his vision is incredibly poor, making long-range your best option for taking down a Flame Trooper.
- Tank Hunter – One hit kill doesn’t do the Tank Hunter justice. The rifle this Elite Class exploits can take out some vehicles with a single hit, so just think of what it can do to infantry. The right shot can destroy a tank’s tracks and cannons.
Battlefield 1 maps
Battlefield 1will launch with nine maps with a tenth map arriving for free in December. The selection of locales is diverse and varied, giving a true flavour of how global the First World War was – from grand chateaus to the densely overgrown Argonne Forest.
- Fao Fortress – a majestic Ottoman fortress is the focal point of this amphibious assault map. There’ll also be a Dreadnought on hand to help the invading British.
- Ballroom Blitz – this map places an opulent French chateau at the heart of its conflict, mixing tense urban clashes, rampant destruction and vehicular warfare together.
- Suez – this map centres around a battle for the most important supply line in the war, the Suez Canal. Desert meets water in this symmetrical battlescape.
- The St. Quentin Scar – a last-ditch attack through the trenches of St. Quentin, which can end with both forces tearing up a pristine French village.
- Sinai Desert – chances are you know this map from the Battlefield 1 beta, if not expect highly mobile desert warfare and an armoured train.
- Amiens – an otherwise gorgeous French city reduced to rubble. Fight tooth-and-nail in the alleys, buildings and squares in an effort to secure the majestic metropolis.
- Monte Grappa – dogfights, mountain fortresses and enormous artillery are all at play in this vertical map set amidst the highest peaks of the Venetian Alps.
- Empire’s Edge – the Dreadnought eclipses all on this map set along the Adriatic Coast, a once beautiful stretch of shoreline now transformed by machines of war.
- Argonne Forest – a brutal and bloody close-quarters map, Argonne Forest has hidden machine gun nests and bunkers aplenty, making it a perfect situation for sharpened spades and gas grenades.
- Giant’s Shadow – the still smouldering remains of a zeppelin rest in the middle of this map. Expect open warfare featuring tanks, armoured trains and bloody infantry clashes. This map won’t launch when the game comes out, but will be available for free in December.
Battlefield 1 game modes
Six game modes will break up Battlefield 1’s multiplayer. Hopefully this means the bulk of Battlefield 1’s multiplayer won’t be the same conquest and team deathmatch-riddled playlists that made up the core multiplayer experience of Battlefield 4.
- Conquest – of course the classic Battlefield game mode is in Battlefield One. There are control points and each team battles to control as many of them of possible. The result in total player freedom, but only those who work as a team will win.
- Domination – essentially Conquest on a smaller scale, Domination is more about melee and shotgun mastery than grand strategy.
- Operations – this game mode promises to bottle up several maps and stitch them together into one near-seamless replica of a real-life battle. These battles will last for well over an hour in some instances.
- Rush – a fan-favourite game mode that centres on asymmetrical gameplay. One team attacks a series of bomb sites, only winning if all sites are destroyed. Meanwhile the defending team will attempt to hold the opposition back at every phase of the game. Perfect for finely balanced firefights and heroic last stands. Defenders will be able to call in artillery strikes on the attackers provided the bomb sites are safe.
- War Pigeons – it’s not the most conventional name for a game mode, but then fighting over control of a pigeon coups isn’t the most conventional game mode for a war game. Essentially War Pigeons plays out like Call of Duty’s Headquarters game mode.
- Team Deathmatch – a classic kill or be killed mode that no FPS would be without. The addition of Elite Classes should mix up the action significantly.
Battlefield 1 campaign
Battlefield 1 will have a single-player campaign that will see us visit many various areas and battles of the First World War. The missions will show the conflict from a few different perspectives as to better detail the scope of the war. This is done via War Stories, a non-linear structure that allows you to pick and choose how much time you spend with the British Tank divisions or at Gallipoli. Full details on each of them are in our dedicated Battlefield 1 Campaign article.
Battlefield 1 DLC
DLC and lots of it. Battlefield 1 will be launching without two of the war’s most important belligerents, France and Russia. But provided you’re willing to pay for the privilege, both will be making it to the game in the form of purchasable content. And in case there was any doubt: yes there’s a Battlefield 1 season pass, available for £39.99/$49.99.
But what’s in the Battlefield 1 Premium Pass? The content bundle will add new Operations, Elite classes, vehicles, 16 multiplayer maps, 20 weapons, 14 dog tags, and 14 Battlepacks, which will have some unique weapon skins to boot. These will roll out on a monthly basis starting in November 2016. Of course the main bits of DLC are the themed expansion packs, of which the only that’s been confirmed is They Shall Not Pass. There will be four of these expansions in total and Premium Pass holders will get early access to each of them two weeks in advance.
They Shall Not Pass adds the French as a playable faction to the game in March 2017. We also know that another planned expansion will add the Russian Empire. It hasn’t been confirmed if this means more War Stories or not.
Battlefield 1 trailers
That up there is the exciting announcement trailer for Battlefield 1, which shows horseback riding, trench hiding, all-out warfare and smacking some bloke around the chops with a shovel.
Finally, here’s a selection of trailers for the single player campaign:
Loads more over on the Battlefield 1 YouTube channel.
It’s nearly upon us – Battlefield 1 will pop up tonight.