Battlefield 3 BattleBlog 9 - Vehicular Warfare

Battlefield 3 just wouldn�t be complete without vehicular combat, now would it? Well, luckily, DICE knows this and have addressed it, not only in the game, but also in this week�s battleblog.

As you can see in our Caspian Border gameplay trailer, the skies in Battlefield 3 will be filled not only with helicopters, but with roaring fighter and attack jets as well. No matter if you want to transport your troops quickly to the current hot spot on the battlefield, if you want to engage in high G dogfights, or take out enemy tanks with laser guided missiles – there’s a flying vehicle in Battlefield 3 that lets you do the job in style.

With over 20 drivable vehicles in multiplayer spread over 12 classes, you will find your personal favorite whether you prefer to fly above the battlefield or stay on solid ground. Some of the vehicle classes include armored transports, infantry fighting vehicles, main battle tanks, scout helicopters, attack helicopters, fighter jets, and attack jets. Whatever your choice, we let you fine tune almost every vehicle in Battlefield 3 to fit your play style, the current map, and the current situation.

Deeper, bigger, tactical vehicle customizatio

Vehicle customization is much bigger, deeper, and more tactical in nature than in previous Battlefield games. With over 80 unlockable specialization upgrades spread over the different vehicle classes, there is plenty of room for you to tailor your rides to fit your needs. Each customizable vehicle class has three unlock slots: one secondary weapon slot, one gadget slot, and one upgrade slot. By playing a vehicle class and getting kills with it, you gradually unlock more specializations for that particular vehicle class.

Vehicle customization in Battlefield 3 is just as deep and tactical as the weapon customization showcased here on the blog last week. For every choice you make in vehicle customization, you are effectively gearing up for a specific combat role and leaving something else out. In the Russian fighter jet, do you go with anti-air missiles to dogfight enemy air targets, or would you rather mount a handful of laser guided air to ground missiles as your secondary weapon to harass opposing tanks? Do you equip it with IR flares to avoid missiles, or would you rather take your chances with the fire extinguisher in case you

Our most dynamic vehicle warfare ever

We are making sure vehicle warfare in Battlefield 3 is even more dynamic than before. That’s why we are introducing two new tactical gameplay concepts affecting how vehicle damage and repairs are handled.

Imagine that your tank is hit by an RPG in Battlefield 3. As the first warnings go off, this is your time as Commander of the tank to assess the danger of the situation – do you push on towards your goal regardless, or do you abort and take evasive action? If you back up and take cover, you give yourself a chance to let the vehicle armor recover, just like your soldier heals up when going into cover.

This is a new feature in Battlefield 3 where lightly damaged vehicles recover their armor after a set amount of time (if kept away from enemy fire). Instead of promoting a gung-ho attitude at all times, this means that the driver who keeps his cool and adapts to any given situation will also be able to keep his vehicle in working order for longer. It is basically our way of giving smart non-Engineers a fighting chance to keep his vehicle in the battle.

Read the rest of the Battlefield 3 Battleblog #9.