We learned a great deal from the first Closed Alpha for Battlefield™ V – and it helped us improve game aspects such as combat, spawning, revives, progression, and various under-the-hood details. Armed with this valuable info based on tests and your feedback, we launched a second Closed Alpha in the middle of August to implement changes and learn how they work in the real world, with real players.
This second test run allowed us to do proper A/B testing on the weapons side and fine-tune features for matchmaking and the squad lobby. We learned that we were on the right track when it came to the second-to-second gameplay and the quite substantial changes to core gameplay loops and systems. More importantly, the Alpha gave us data and feedback on areas that we could improve.
Fine-Tuning Gunplay
Key to the general tempo of a game of Battlefield V multiplayer, TTK and TTD are aspects we are very keen on getting just right. If you haven’t heard of these concepts, they relate to how fast it feels to defeat (or be defeated by) your opponents.
After Closed Alpha #1, we received a lot of positive feedback on general Gunplay. At the same time, players experienced that they died too quickly in encounters. So, the mechanics of defeating enemies felt right, but on the receiving end, some players felt they had too little time to react to incoming damage. This puts us in an awkward spot, as these things are often tightly integrated; changing one side risks messing up the other.
In the second Closed Alpha we used A/B tests to try out a distinctly different approach to the first Closed Alpha’s TTK and TTD. With this test, we could now gather telemetry data and player feedback against the exact same game and get a much better picture of what is needed to find our coveted balance.
Overall, a lot of the gunplay elements in the first Closed Alpha were preferred by the community compared to the second. However, going in to the Open Beta, we believe we have a system that will outshine them both.
Fixes of Squad Joining and Matchmaking
In the first Closed Alpha, we saw some issues with joining a squad with your friends and staying connected with them throughout the game. These were addressed in the second Closed Alpha and will be improved further going forward.
Changes in Progression, Visibility, and More
How quickly you rank up and unlock new gear for you and your Company is also something that was altered between the two Closed Alphas. We want to feel like your Battlefield V journey is rewarding and that these rewards will be granted following a curve that feels just right.
There were other focus areas that we started to work on immediately after the first Closed Alpha. One was soldier visibility – are soldiers visible from a gameplay perspective at all times like they are supposed to be? For example, during severe weather, we want players to be difficult to see, but in general they should be easy to see.
Other questions tied to visibility included: how can I tell friend from foe in a natural and reactionary manner? How can we use things like extreme weather in the best way, without fatiguing players in the long term?
Join Us in the Open Beta
Thanks again to those who joined the second Closed Alpha. Now, the stage is set for the Battlefield V Open Beta*, where players will get to revisit Narvik and experience the Rotterdam map in all its all-out war glory. As the Open Beta draws near, we promise to utilize your feedback further to make Battlefield V as good as it can be, and as close to our vision as possible.
– Jonas Elfving
Note that game content, gameplay mechanics, and other Battlefield V aspects covered in this article may change between the Closed Alpha and the launch of the game.
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*REGISTRATION DOES NOT GUARANTEE ACCESS TO BATTLEFIELD V BETA. REQUIRES PERSISTENT INTERNET CONNECTION, EA ACCOUNT, ACCEPTANCE OF BATTLEFIELD™ V BETA AGREEMENT, (II) PRIVACY & COOKIE POLICY, AND (III) ORIGIN END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT AND INSTALLATION OF THE ORIGIN CLIENT SOFTWARE (WWW.ORIGIN.COM/ABOUT) . YOU MUST BE 18+. GAMEPLAY PROGRESS, ACHIEVEMENTS, CHARACTERS, CHARACTER DATA AND/OR ANY OTHER VALUE OR STATUS INDICATORS ACHIEVED IN THE BATTLEFIELD™ V OPEN BETA WILL NOT TRANSFER TO BATTLEFIELD™ V MAIN GAME. BATTLEFIELD™ V OPEN BETA IS PRE-RELEASE SOFTWARE, MAY CONTAIN ERRORS/DEFECTS AND IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY. CONDITIONS, LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS APPLY. SEE ea.com/ea-access/terms AND origin.com/store/origin-access/terms FOR DETAILS.
**CONDITIONS, LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS APPLY. SEE ea.com/ea-access/terms AND origin.com/store/origin-access/terms FOR DETAILS.