If you're new to the Battlefield franchise, or just want to know what's new with Battlefield Hardline, today's multi-player tips are exactly what you need. Of course, if you've yet to buy the game, you might want to check out our wicked-cool Battlefield Hardline review, then pop back over here if you decide to pick it up. If you own the game but just aren't digging the multi-player, you could instead satisfy your thirst for collectibles by snatching all the Evidence in the Battlefield Hardline single-player campaign.
We all know this one - kill more of them than they kill of you. In Battlefield Hardline, the goal of Team Deathmatch is to kill a certain number of opposing players before they can kill a certain number of shooters on your team. That number will likely differ depending on whether the server is ranked or not, and as simple as it is, most players do not play this mode correctly. While killing a lot of the opposing team is a great thing, if you die more than you kill, you are not contributing to a potential victory. The goal here is to kill as many as you can while keeping your kill-to-death ratio positive, so no, 50 kills and 60 deaths is not progress.
The Conquest game mode will also be familiar to any veterans of any first-person-shooter, as it's basically what Call of Duty fans would consider Domination. There are a certain number of flags around the map, and the team that controls the most will bleed the opposition's tickets dry. The goal here is not kills, and often the player who gets more kills than everyone else will not win the MVP at the end of the round. To simplify things, look for red flags, running to them and standing near them until they turn blue. Run to the red flags and make them blue, that's how you play Conquest in a nutshell.
The Heist game mode is new with Battlefield Hardline, but it might remind players of Rush just a little bit. The objective is for one team to breach two pre-determined locations, grab the package(s), then extract them at the locations indicated on the map. The other team must prevent the breach, defend the package, and lastly, retrieve it should the opposition pick it up. If the attackers fail to extract both of the packages before time expires, or they run out of tickets, the defenders will win. The defenders have the easier job, but each map is played twice, so each side will get a turn attacking and defending.
This could be our favorite new game mode in Battlefield Hardline, although all of them are pretty great. In Blood Money, each team has a pile of cash near their spawn, and there is one neutral pile of cash in the middle of the map. Each team must steal cash from the middle pile, carrying up to 10 bundles back to their own pile. The first team to accumulate 150 bundles will win. The kicker here is that you can steal cash from the enemy pile, and they from yours. If both teams have 50 cash, and you steal 10 from theirs and return it to your pile, this means your team is up 60 to 40.
This is the best game mode for players that want to rank up fast and earn lots and lots of cash. In a nutshell, this is Conquest, but the objectives are marked cars, and in order to capture them you must drive fast. The team that controls the most objectives will bleed the other team's tickets, and the first side to run out of tickets will lose the game. If your team only controls two objectives, and the enemy three, you can simply destroy one of the cars that they occupy, then hop into it when it respawns and go about your business. Expect to earn $15,000 per round if you PTFO, and spend all of your objective based boosts in this mode.
This game mode seems to have been designed to push competitive play, and it's not far off. With Rescue, one team is tasked with guarding two hostages, while the other team must (wait for it...) rescue them. In order for the rescue squad to win, they must grab a hostage and extract it at a designated location before time runs out. If the opposing team can prevent this from happening, they will win the round. The twist here is that you only get one life per round, with no respawns until the next round. The game is decided when one team wins five out of nine rounds. The advantage goes to the defenders here, as they only need to prevent the hostages from being extracted while running out the clock.
Crosshair and Rescue aren't that different. Once again, you get one life per round, and the first team to win five rounds will win the game, but in this case there is a VIP, not a hostage. The VIP is controlled by an actual player, and they stand out because of their outfit, as well as the fact they only get the Bald Eagle pistol. One team must escort the VIP to an extraction, while the other team either kills the VIP, or prevents them from extracting before time expires. At the beginning of the round, players can choose to try and be the VIP, or just one of the standard shooters. Generally speaking, however, the VIP is picked at random, so even if players ask to be put in that role every round, it's unlikely they will play as the VIP more than two or three times in a game.
We're not going to cover this topic here, mostly because we already have a full guide to unlocking and completing the Syndicate assignments in Battlefield Hardline. Be sure to check that out if you're trying to get your hands on the .300 Knockout, ARM Assault Rifle, Double-Barrel Shotgun or FGM9 Submachine Gun.
The Operator is basically just the Assault class from previous Battlefield games, giving players gadgets like the First Aid Pack, Defibrillators/Adrenaline Shot. What's new is the Survivalist, a gadget that will allow you to revive yourself should you be killed by an explosion or road kill. Players who enjoy being on the front lines will dig this class, but should make supporting their squad with First Aid Packs and revives a top priority. Killing the enemy is great, but your job is to make sure your team is always in the fight and have someone to respawn on.
The Mechanic is Battlefield Hardline's version of the Engineer, only they don't get rockets like they did in previous games. They do get the M320 HE/M79, as well as the Repair Tool and Sabotage, which makes them great at keeping your vehicles running, while also being capable of destroying the enemy's. They also get gadgets like the Armored Insert and Satellite Phone, the latter of which will act as a mobile spawn beacon for the rest of your squad. Perhaps the biggest disadvantage to this class (yet the reason we love it) are the SMG weapons, ideal for only short range combat.
It's maybe our least favorite class in Battlefield Hardline, and its predecessor, the Support class, was our least favorite in previous games. In Hardline this class comes with the shotgun family of weapons, but if that's not your deal, you'll be hard pressed to find a gun you enjoy beyond the Scar-H. It does come with the Ammo Box, which is single-handedly the best reason to use the Enforcer. It also has the Breaching Charge (Read C4) and Ballistic Shield, neither of which are particularly useful for our play styles, but are favorites of the Breaching Charge trolls. You know, the players who stand on the side of the road in Hotwire and endlessly try to blow up cars while not actually earning any points for their team.
For players that enjoy sitting on rooftops and ending a round with three kills and one death, the Professional is the way to go. It's just the Recon soldier from Battlefield 4, and it contains all of the game's bolt action and semi-auto sniper rifles. In terms of gadgets, players can choose between the Laser Tripmine, Decoy, Camera and Stealth Training. All of these are pretty cool and can be very useful in the right hands. Unfortunately, most players lack the skill and imagination to use them effectively. This class is popular, but tends to be misused by most. Sorry if we seem like we're knocking this class, but there are very few truly effective Professional class players out there. For those of you who are, we salute you.
One major change with Battlefield Hardline is that most of the rockets are gone, with the Mechanics only having access to the M79 and M320 HE. There are still some shoulder-fired rockets to be found, but they must be picked up from around the map. What does this mean for your average player? Well, it means you can move more than four feet in a vehicle without being destroyed, although the Breaching Charge trolls are still a problem.
In order to use the game's Battle Pickups (which include Grappling Hooks and Ziplines), look for them to show up on your map, then move to that location and equip them. If you find the RPG, for example, you must have that weapon equipped until you use it. If you switch to your pistol or primary, your character will drop the RPG to the ground.
Earning more cash in Battlefield Hardline is about playing the objective at all times. Kills will give you a few points, sure, but completing objective-based tasks will give your more cash, and it will put you in a position to kill the enemy anyway. Forget boosts and double XP events (for now), the best way to make sure you're filthy rich in Hardline is to work your butt off game in and game out.
As for the boosts, they are a great way to really jack up your score per minute, but they should be used in conjunction with double XP events and while playing on the Hotwire game mode (because more points, yo). First of all, double XP will (as you might expect) double your cash in a round. Let's say you earn $5,000 in a game of Hotwire (this would be you not trying). The double XP event will bump that up to $10,000. If you applied an objective-based boost, then depending on the value of that boost you'll get even more.
With boosts, double XP and the Hotwire game mode in general, players should be pulling in at least $20,000 per round, if not more.
Since the controls change based on platform, if you're not sure how to spot targets, look this up in the controller configuration menu. Learn how to do it, then do it all the time. It's free points, for one, but it's also a big help to members of your team who actually use the game's mini-map (such as us).
Let's say that you are sniping from a position that provides you a great view of the playing field, and you see your teammate running for an objective about 200 meters in the distance. Let's now say that you also see an enemy, sitting at that objective waiting for some clueless victim (your teammate). Sure, you can try to take that enemy out with a well placed round from your Scout Elite, but the chances are you are going to miss. It's not that we don't have faith in you, it's just that statistically speaking most players miss their targets far more often than they hit them.
You take your shot and you miss, the enemy kills your teammate and the objective (and eventually the round) is lost. What could you have done differently, you ask? Well, you could have spotted the target. What this does is places your foe on the mini-map for all of your team to see for a brief amount of time. If your eager, objective-minded teammate happens to check their map frequently, perhaps they see that enemy camping out, and rather than get ambushed and slaughtered, can exterminate their would-be murderer and win the game. Admittedly, there are about 1,000 variables that could see that situation go either way, but spotting targets is going to pay off far more often than it doesn't. Oh, and after you spot the target, you can still shoot at it.
We decided to drop this section near spotting targets because it really has the same impact, but on a much larger scale. You see, in Battlefield Hardline, players can either neutralize their foes with the T62 CEW or one of the non-lethal melee weapons, then interrogate them. It's a risky move, but it will pay off huge if you manage to pull it off.
Let's pretend we're using the T62 CEW and we come up on a sniper who is oblivious to your presence. Electrocute that person, then get close to their twitching body and look at them. Eventually you'll see an option to interrogate them, a process that takes a few short seconds.
What this does is force your opponent to give up the location of all their teammates. It will cause them to be spotted on the map for your entire team to see, and every time your pals kill one of the enemies, you get points. It's not just a humiliating way to neutralize your opponent, it can lead to major shifts in the battle, as well as a few extra bucks in your pocket.
There may be a lot more added to this guide in the coming days, weeks and months, but this is a great start for anyone who needs some tips about the game. If there's something you'd like to see that we've skipped over, let us know in the comments.
