How To Become A Better Player In Battlefield 3 Multiplaye

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Battlefield 3 multiplayer is a tremendously intense game, that offers endless fun and entertainment.

Here is some general advice, which will hopefully make your experience with the game even more pleasant.

 

Have fun!

Battlefield 3 multiplayer is a game that is primarily designed to entertain. So, try to keep that in mind. Have fun, enjoy yourself!

Do not let frustration and anger ruin your gaming experience. Force yourself to laugh at your own mistakes.

Do not throw your controller, mouse or keyboard at the screen in pure anger. It may slightly improve your aiming skills, but can also cost you a lot of money. That’s no fun.
 

Stay alive

When you play Rush as part of the attacking team, you’ll start with a certain number of tickets. This number will be reduced by one for each character in your team who gets killed. If you use up all your tickets before you secure the objectives, you lose the battle.

There is a way to restore lost tickets, though. If you manage to take control of every object in one area of the map, your number of tickets will reset to its maximum value.

The golden rule of playing offense in Rush or Conquest therefore is this: die as little as possible.

Squad up

"Hmm… To squad or not to squad?"

Forming a squad offers you a lot of advantages.

One advantage is that it gives you several choices about how to make a comeback in the game, if your character gets killed. For example, you can spawn on a squad mate who is close to the action, instead of spawning in your base.

If you play alone – without being part of a squad – you are forced to come back to life at your base (or at a mobile spawn point if you play as a Recon).
Squad down

Being part of a squad is not always fun. If your squad sucks, for whatever reason, it’s perfectly okay to leave the squad and start searching for a new one.

One reason you might want to do this, is that you’re the only one on your squad who is not a Recon.

You can use the in-game menu to pull yourself out of a squad.
Communicate

Communicate with your squad and your team. Use your microphone. Tell them what’s going on.

Warn them of dangers, such as snipers, tanks and mines.

Tell your team what you’re doing and what things you’re encountering, “Arming the Charge,” “Capping the flag”, “Need help Defending B”, and so on.

You can read more about the benefits of playing in a squad here: How to become the player everyone wants in their Squad.

Spawn with a plan

In Battlefield 3 multiplayer you can choose where to spawn – the game’s term for resurrecting from death.

You can choose to make a comeback in your team’s base. You can spawn on a mobile spawn point deployed by players in the Recon class. Or, you can spawn on a member of your squad (as long as you followed my advice and are indeed part of a squad!).

Here are some things to consider as you decide where you want to wake up from death:

    When you are presented with the in-game overview of your different spawn opportunities, you will also be able to see the location of each spawn point on a map. Pay particular attention to where your spawn mates (squad members) and mobile spawn points are positioned.
    The advantage of spawning on a squad member is that you can often get quite close to where the action is.
    The disadvantage is that the person you are going to spawn on may have ended up in a fierce gun fight. The worst thing that could happen, if you do decide to spawn on this squad mate, is that both your characters get killed.
    Fortunately, you can see on the screen what the situation around your squad mate looks like, before you decide whether you want to spawn on him or not. Always take notice of this!
    If it looks like the player you’re considering to use as a spawn point is doomed, it might be a whole lot healthier to spawn at your base (or at a mobile spawn point, if available).
    Alternatively, you could choose to be a great sport by spawning on your troubled teammate and trying to help him to eliminate the opposition.
    It is often safer to spawn in your team’s home base or on a mobile spawn point. The downside to this is that you often end up a long way from where the action is.

Become familiar with the weapons

"This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine…"

There is a wide variety of weapons in Battlefield 3 online. Each weapon has unique characteristics that distinguish it from others.

The best way to get to know a weapon is to play a few matches with it. Eventually you will discover that some weapons suit your play style better than others.

Each weapon can be equipped with various attachments, which will change its features, or add new ones. Some attachments are for the better, others are for the worse.

For example, there are several different optical sights you can use with your weapon. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

    An ACOG (stands for Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight) sight for example, lets you zoom in on targets. This is a good thing if you want to kill enemy characters over longer distances. But the same sight is a bit confusing to use in Close Quarter Combat situations.
    Another disadvantage of using an ACOG sight is that will make the recoil of your gun much more noticeable, if you’re firing a shot. At first, this may seem disturbing, but in time you will get used to it and will be able to compensate for the movement.
    Over shorter distances, you will probably find that a Reflex sight or a Holographic sight works better.
    The disadvantage of these sights is that your ability to aim more accurately over long distances will be slightly reduced.

The best general advice I can give is this: test, test, test. Try out the various attachments. Take notice of how they change your weapon’s behavior. Pay attention to your overall performance.

Once you’ve tried a particular combination, ask yourself whether it made you a better player. If so, keep it in your repertoire. If not, forget about it and move on to the next combination.

As your skills and insight in the game develop, it makes sense to revisit combinations that didn’t work earlier on. Perhaps, as you’ve grown, these once useless combinations are now powerful.

Use cover


Even if most of what you can use for cover in Battlefield 3 multiplayer can be destroyed by opponents, you should still hide yourself as much as possible. Some (temporary) cover is better than no cover at all!

Try to hide as much as possible of your character’s body, as often as you can.

Keep covers in mind when you are moving around the various maps. Try to move strategically, so that you’re always close to something that you can hide behind, once the bullets start flying.

To put it differently: move from cover to cover all of the time.

Avoid spending much time in large, open areas where there’s little to no shelter available to hide from your opponents’ bullets.
Getting Away

Getting cover is one thing. Leaving a cover unscathed, if it is about to be destroyed or overpowered by the enemy, is another. Always make sure you have at least two different options for making a swift retreat from your cover. You do not want to be trapped in a corner!

And speaking of corners…
Be careful with corners

Corners are dangerous.

Many players often see their characters being killed if they round a corner. I haven’t found any statistics on it, but I’m pretty sure that that’s the point where most kills in multiplayer mode are made.

Behind every corner, an opponent can be waiting for someone to come running along With a raised weapon, he will be ready to take out anyone who tries to pass.

The reason why this usually works out for him, is that many players run around corners, instead of just walking around them.

Imagine the following scenario:

In the midst of a game, you are sprinting towards the next corner. You’re not slowing down. Instead, you run around the corner at high speed. While you manage to get a glimpse of the dude standing there with his rifle raised, ready to send a nice chunk of lead in your direction, you do not stand a chance. It will take you too long to stop and raise your own weapon in order to respond to his gunfire. Your character will probably die before he even gets to a full stop.

So what to do? Well, instead of running around corners, try this:

    Slow down if you’re approaching a corner.
    Walk around the corner calmly, always expecting that an opponent will be waiting for you.
    Shoot from the hip immediately if you discover a bad guy lurking on the other side of the corner. (Do not bother to take aim – that would take too much time.)
    As an alternative, you can raise your weapon and aim down the sight just before you are about to round the corner.
    Keep the gun in this position while you slowly make your way around it.
    Be ready to fire your weapon as soon as you discover that someone is waiting for you.

Share what you got

Every class in Battlefield 3 multiplayer has properties that are useful to other players on the same team.

    A Support can hand out extra ammo.
    An Assault can hand out healing medicine kits.
    The Recon can deploy Spawn points.

Don’t be greedy. Share generously with the rest of your team. However, don’t just randomly drop goodies. Think about who needs what, and when he needs it. .

Let’s say that you have the opportunity to spawn on a Sniper, who is far away from the main battle. Drop a box of ammunition or a med kit right next to him, before you move towards the fighting.

Also, make sure there are enough ammunition boxes or med kits near the various objects (M-COM stations and flags). These can quickly become the main focus points of battle, and you don’t want anyone on your team standing there without any bullets or health!
Use what you have

Several of the multiplayer classes in Battlefield 3 have unique features that are useful for the whole team. Do not be selfish – help your teammates.

    As an Assault you can revive teammates with the defibrillator.
    As an engineer you can repair tanks, jets, helicopters and other vehicles with the Welding tool.

Reviving someone gives you a lot of points. That may make it tempting to do it all the time, but you shouldn’t. Often, it is too dangerous to do so. Always be reasonably confident that you can revive someone without being struck down by enemy bullets yourself. Only proceed with your defibrillator if the coast is clear of bloodthirsty opponents.

Here is a video that describes the specialties of each class:

How to Become Popular in a Squad


As you rise through the ranks, you will unlock Squad Specializations. With these specializations, you can give everyone on your squad improved characteristics, instead of just yourself.

Here are the different Squad Specializations you can earn:

    Squad Sprint – Makes it possible for you and your squad mates to run longer and faster.
    Squad Ammo – Ensures that you and your squad mates will be given more ammunition. Applies to both primary and secondary weapons.
    Squad Flak – Provides better protection against explosions for you and your squad mates.
    Squad Explosives – Increases the amount of explosives that you and your squad mates can carry with you.
    Squad Suppression – Increases the effect of Suppressive Fire, both for you and the rest of your squad.
    Squad Cover – Reduces the effects of your opponents’ Suppressive Fire for everyone in your squad.
    Squad Frag – Everyone in the squad gets to carry more grenades, including M67 grenades (but not 40MM grenades).

Put your flashlight to use (or turn it off)

The flashlight can work well as a means to confuse opponents, especially indoors and on the darker parts of the maps.

Some tips on using the weapon-mounted flashlights:

    Turn off your flashlight if you do not want to reveal your position.
    If someone shoots at you, try to turn on the flashlight and direct its beam towards the shooter. If you are fast enough, you will be able to dazzle him, making it harder for him to hit you with his next rounds.
    Directing the flashlight’s beam at enemy characters who storm around corners, or are on their way up a staircase, has a surprisingly good effect. Just try it.
    Be careful not to blind your teammates!

Spot, spot, spot!

Spotting is a way to mark your opponents’ characters, vehicles, helicopters, and so on. This is something you always want to do, to make it easy for your squad mates to take out the enemies you see.

To successfully spot someone or something, just follow these steps:

    Place your reticle over the opponent’s character.
    On the PC: Press the Q key.
    On the Xbox 360: Press the Back button.
    On the PlayStation 3: Press the Select button.
    You may need to press the key/button several times before the effect is there.

If you successfully spotted and tagged one of the opponents’ characters, he will be marked by an orange triangle above his head. This triangle is also visible to your fellow teammates. In addition, the enemy character is highlighted on the mini map. As you can imagine, this makes the orange triangle a mark of death.

Do not operate on your own

Don't go alone! Bring someone with you.

If you play on the offensive team in Rush, you should ask yourself some simple questions, before you arm the charge on an M-COM station.

    Are you all alone out there, without any of your teammates present?
    Are most or all of your teammates far away from the M-COM station where you are at?
    Are there many opponents nearby?

If the answer is yes to all of these questions, you are probably better off waiting for reinforcements before arming the charge.

The odds of you destroying an M-COM station all by yourself are pretty slim. Once you’ve armed the charge you will usually be overpowered by a small army of opponents, who will both kill your character and defuse the charge.

Instead, you’d better make sure that there are team mates nearby, who can defend the charge together with you once it is armed.

Not so Fast…

Here’s a tip for you as a player on the attacking team in Rush: be careful if your team has just won an area and is ready to attack the next one.

Many opponents may still hide in the area that you just took control of. They could take out a lot of your team’s characters if you do not annihilate them.

If you let them be, the loss of tickets that you have at your disposal could be enormous. This is a real problem, because the more tickets you lose, the harder it becomes to win the next objective.

Therefore, make sure to kill all the enemy characters who are hiding around in the newly conquered area, before you move on to the next target.
The Other Way Around

The opposite applies to you if you’re a player on the defending team.

You can still take out quite a few attackers, if your team has just lost an area and the fight is about to move to the next area. If you’re still alive, find a good place to hide and shoot down your opponents as they rush to the next object.

If you are an efficient killer, you can make a big dent into the number of tickets that the attacking team has (and that just reset back to maximum).

But beware! You can count on many opponents to quickly start hunting you down, and they will eventually kill your character. Take out a lot of enemies as fast as possible, as you may not have much time to lower their ticket count.

Also make sure to balance this technique with the actions of your squad members. If a lot of you stay in place to hit the enemy, any opponents who escape your trap will have an easy time reaching the next objective.
PTFO – Play the Freakin’ Objective

Focus on the objective if you’re playing Rush or Conquest.

These game modes are not meant to boost you K/D (Kill/Death) ratio or to make yourself shine during solo performances. They have clear objectives, and you should stick to those.

In Rush, the main task is to either destroy or defend M-COM stations. The task you have depends on which team you’re part of. Stick to this role and make sure all your actions serve the larger objective.

This means that you should NOT hide near the opponents’ spawn points, only to shoot yourself towards an impressive K/D ratio that you can brag about in various forums, once the match ends. If you want to up your K/D ratio, play Team Deathmatch.

Once you start Rush or Conquest, your K/D ratio is not as much a measure of how a good you are, as a measure of how poor a teamplayer you are.
There is no such thing as camping

In Rush and Conquest, players are supposed to defend targets against attack. This is why you shouldn’t accuse defending players of camping: they’re just playing the game, in the way that they’re supposed to!  Defenders wouldn’t be doing their jobs if they didn’t hang around flags or M-COM stations, and made it as difficult as possible for your team to reach its goal.
Be adaptive

If you and your team repeatedly end up in dead-end situations, change your game. Do not repeat the strategy you used before. If your team’s characters get killed again and again by the same opponent, try a wholly different approach. For example:

    Select a different weapon.
    Choose a different class with different properties
    Select a different route.

Imagine you’re playing the assault class. Neither you nor anyone else on your team gets past this one opponent who has taken position behind a cover and is mowing down everyone in sight.

What do you do? Keep trying until you finally succeed?

No!

What you do is change your class before respawning, become an engineer and bring some big stuff to the table. Like the SMAW (Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon) rocket launcher. Move towards your nemesis, take aim and… destroy her cover.

Voila!

Now it’s much easier for you and your mates to take the heavy gunner out.

If you can perform a feat like that, give yourself a shoulder tap. You’re an adaptive player, which is exactly the kind of player Battlefield 3 multiplayer needs.
Use headphones

The sound in Battlefield 3 multiplayer is pretty good. You can hear your opponents’ footsteps, and the direction of bullets. The use of headphones makes it especially easy to localize sounds, so that you know where on the map you can find their sources.

It will be easier to play tactically, if you use sound as a factor while making your decisions in play.

Go prone

Attempt to throw your character to the ground if somebody shoots at you. You will increase your chance of survival if you succeed in diving to the ground in time.

This is especially true if your opponent uses a weapon that fires single rounds, such as a bolt-action sniper rifle.