How to use the XM25 Airburst in Battlefield 4

The XM25 Airburst is a new weapon for the Support class in Battlefield 4 that is highly effective at killing enemies positioned in difficult-to-hit areas, but terrible at killing enemies out in the open or at particularly close range. If you’ve used the XM25 a couple of times in the same way as a regular grenade launcher, you probably thought it was pretty crap and promptly discarded it for something else. Take a look at the tips below, however, and you’ll quickly be taking out enemies from their annoyingly tricky points of cover.

The first thing to take note of when using the XM25 is that the grenades do not detonate on impact where you aim them, but rather in mid air, a few metres behind where you aim them. The reason for this is that the XM25 is designed to take out enemies who are in cover, and because it’s a sophisticated weapon, it takes an element of thought and practice to using it effectively.

When you aim down sights with the XM25, you will notice two numbers to the left of the reticle, and a number to the right:


OFST: distance the grenade will travel beyond the lock-on distance before detonating.
ABRST: the lock-on distance of the initial object you scoped on (minimum 15 metres). This is locked in until you exit ADS.
RNG: the distance of whatever you are currently aiming at.

Now that you know what these numbers mean, you should have a better grasp of how to use the airburst to maximum effect. First, you should aim at the cover the enemy is hiding behind. If you’re aiming up at a sniper on top of a building, you’ll want to aim at the building itself initially, then once you have acquired the lock-on distance, move your aim upwards so you are aiming above the target, and fire. The distance you will need to aim above the target is dependent on how far back they are from the point of your lock-on: the further back they are, the higher you will need to aim.

The airburst has quite a significant range, and is considered by some to be a distinctly overpowered weapon, allowing you to easily dispose of snipers and other faraway enemies that you would otherwise find impossible to target with your primary weapon.

What do you think of the XM25? Overpowered or a good tool for keeping players on their toes? Let us know in the comments below!

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