Battlefield 4 developer DICE says that the shooter will allow players to customize their assault rifle in 240,000 different ways. They've tripled the amount of accessories in the game while also increasing the number of customization slots for players.
In Battlefield 3, the advantages and disadvantages of each weapon attachment weren't very apparent. If you wanted to find out how installing a foregrip on your assault rifle would change its accuracy, you needed to try it out in the field. To make it easier for players to find the right equipment, DICE has reworked the interface for BF4.
"Browsing through the accessories, you’ll notice a handy visual guide on the right part of your screen," DICE says. "Here, weapon stats such as damage, accuracy, hip fire accuracy, range, and stability are displayed in easy to read bars – so you can immediately gauge what effect equipping a certain accessory has. Slap on the Laser Sight, for instance, and you’ll see the hip fire (accuracy) bar go up. Attach an Angled Grip on a rifle and you’ll notice an increase in the weapon’s stability. This interface is designed to encourage experimentation and make your Battlefield 4 experience even more rewarding."
Players will have a greater number of camouflage sets to choose from. Each typo of camo (ex: Autumn, Desert, Snow) has 16 pattern variations for you to choose from to customize your look. Furthermore, there are now adaptive camo sets that will change according to the level. Your camo will be grey/black on an urban map like Siege of Shanghai and blue/green on naval maps such as Paracel Storm.
DICE also reiterated today that Recon players will be able to zero their rifle scopes. By approximating their distance to their target, players can adjust their scope to compensate for distance. This should allow them to snipe more consistently. Recon players will also be able to equip a 40X scope for long-distance sniping as well as a 2X scope magnifier that can be used to beef up their 1X scopes when needed.
BF3 players could only switch their equipment in the field by finding kits on corpses. In BF4, though, players have a couple new ways to change their loadout. The first is to use supply drops provided by their Commander. The second method is to locate Battle Pickups, specific weapons seeded through the map. For example, you can find a .50 cal sniper rifle near a radar dish in Paracel Storm.
"The idea is to emphasize the strategic value of a specific position in question to the player, and to incite players to try out new types of gameplay. So even if you don’t spawn in on Paracel Storm as a Recon soldier, maybe the sniper rifle Battle Pickup will make you take the role of a sniper, at least momentarily. The area around Battle Pickups will also turn into minor hot spots for the map and create new and dynamic gameplay moments. But be advised: All Battle Pickups have limited ammo, so you need to make every shot count."
Finally, DICE announced that secondary weapons can now be customized to a greater extent. Players can choose attachments and camo just as they would for your primary weapon. For example, you can outfit your pistol with a laser sight and silencer. Perhaps these new customization slots will make players more likely to use their sidearms even when their assault rifle's out of ammo.
