Survival Guide in Battlefield 4

Battlefield 4 online is intense. It’s overwhelming. And it may be a bit too much if you’ve rarely or never played one of the previous Battlefield titles.

It’s not only a lot to take in. You’ll also meet other players with more than ten years of Battlefield experience.

The result of all this might be your character dying a whole lot. And you’ll become frustrated, wondering whether the game’s even worth the money.

I don’t have an answer to the latter concern. But your frustrations? I can do something about those. ‘Cause here’s my guide to dying less in Battlefield 4 multiplayer.

Understand It

One of the most important qualities for you to possess if you want to live longer in Battlefield 4 is game comprehension.

This is a big concept. It contains quite a lot of material.

In this guide, I’ll be focusing on three things:

1. Knowledge of the different game modes.
2. Map knowledge.
3. Situational awareness.

Game Modes

You should know how the different game modes work. ‘Cause when you know the point of Rush, Domination, and all the other modes, you can focus on your opponents’ actions with more ease.

Here’s what I mean:

Take a mode like Rush. One team is attacking and destroying the M-COM stations. The other team’s assignment is defending them.

Many will play the objective, with the possible exception of wannabe top shot snipers who are only looking for easy kills, or players that primarily play to show off their aviation skills.

But that’s not the point.

Here’s the point: when you know how the different modes work, you’ll also know how most players are going to behave.

Let’s return to Rush. In it, most attackers will storm towards the M-COM stations. Most defenders will always circle the same stations.

Learn the Patterns

The more you play, the more you’ll see patterns arising – in all game modes, on every map.

• A lot of players will choose the same routes, time and time again.
• Recons will place themselves in the same areas, time and time again.
• Defenders of an M-COM station will take the same positions match after match.

There will of course be variations. But a lot of things repeat themselves in Battlefield online.

Learn these patterns. The more thoroughly you’re aware of your opponents’ repetitive actions, the better you can plan your own – and with it, increase your chances of survival.

Map Knowledge

The better you know the Battlefield 4 maps, the greater the chance you’re giving your character to survive for longer.

Good map knowledge includes, among other things, this:

Home Bases

You should know where your team’s and your opponents’ bases are situated.

Object Placements

You should know where the M-COM stations and control points are located.

Vehicle Spawns

Some vehicles will show up in different places, at different times, during a match. Learn where these places are.

Routes

Knowing as many different routes on a map as possible allows you to plan your movements better. And best of all, you’ll know where you can run off to at any given time, if things get just a little too hot for you.

High Traffic Routes

Some routes are used more often than others – by both friendlies and hostiles. The chance of meeting strong opposition is bigger here. Learn to recognize these routes.

Shortcuts

There are a lot of shortcuts in the Battlefield maps. If you’re fast, you can use these to reach a target before everyone else does.

Detours

Detours are often, well, longer routes to a target. Don’t be scared of using them.

Yeah, it’ll take you longer to get there. But the chance of you surprising your opponents with a flanking attack or an attack from behind is much bigger.

And so are your chances of survival.

Sniper Spots

Many recon players are predictable. They quickly identify their favorite positions. And they use them. A lot.

The more your know about where the usual sniper nests are situated, the safer you’ll be.  (Tip: many snipers prefer spending their time high above ground).

Hideouts

A lot of times, the smartest thing you can do is hide. As such, you should know as many good hideouts as possible. These can be anything from bushes to buildings.

Situational Awareness

Predicting what your opponents are going to do requires neither a clairvoyant nor an astrologist. But it does require you to have situational awareness.

– A what now?

OK, let’s put it differently. You use what you see and hear in the game to predict what the other players will do next.

That’s situational awareness.

The more you use it, and the better you are at interpreting what you’re experiencing, the longer you’ll live. And even more hostiles will die at your hands.

Situational awareness is a skill that needs to be learnt. And it develops over time.

Here are some tips on how to reinforce it:

• Battlefield 4 online contains a range of audible clues. Footsteps, the sound of incoming grenades, engines, shots, and so on, are often easy to hear.
• Not only will you hear the sound. You can also pinpoint where the sound’s coming from, thanks to surround sound. That’s why it might be a good idea to put some headphones or a gaming headset to use.
• When you or a teammate spots enemies, these are marked on your HUD, and on the mini map.
• When someone spots dangerous stuff, like snipers or tanks, you’ll hear it. And not only will you be told of someone spotting a danger – you’ll often be told where on the map the danger is.
• Skulls on the HUD won’t only tell you that one or more buddies have died. They’ll also tell you where they just fell.
• The minimap contains a ton of information about what’s going on in the match. Learn to throw quick glances at the map (just don’t stare at it for too long at a time) at short intervals.
• When something happens to an objective – like the enemy being about to capture it – its icon will warn you.

When you learn how to interpret these, and all the other clues the game gives you (and for free, too…), you’re well on your way to full game comprehension.

When you start planning and acting based on what you see and hear in addition to all this, you’ll find you not only live longer, but also win more matches.

Less Sprinting, More Walking

This isn’t the Olympics, guys. It’s not about running the fastest or furthest. Walk more than you run.

There are several reasons for me saying this:

1. When you walk more than you run, you’ll pick up on more of what’s going on around your character.
2. The time it takes from you stopping moving your character ‘til it can start firing its weapon is a little bit shorter when you’re walking instead of running.

If you’re like me, you’ve experienced – time and time again – running straight into the muzzle of a hostile rifle barrel. And before you had the time to raise your own weapon, your character was dying on the ground.

When you walk more, these situations will occur less often. I guarantee it.

Reload in Safety

You might’ve heard or read somewhere that you should reload as soon as you’ve killed a hostile.

There’s a lot of sense to this suggestion. It’s obviously not good for your character’s health to run out of bullets in the middle of a gun fight.

But those who promote this argument forget to mention a couple of important things:

1. Yes, reload often. But make sure you get to safety before doing so. A reload in the open is like placing a sign on your character that says “Attention! Easy Target Here – Reload in Progress!”
2. Make sure the character you just took out doesn’t have any friends lurking about, before you reload. Finding yourself in the middle of the reloading animation as the dead opponent’s entourage shows up, simply isn’t good.

Avoid Open Areas

The Battlefield 4 maps comprise of a lot of open areas. Avoid them like the plague.

Letting your character run around in the middle of street or in the wide open? Then you’ll quickly become the opposing team’s snipers, chopper pilots, tank drivers, and ground forces’ favorite.

So, what can you do to avoid becoming the hostiles’ favorite pet? Well, I’m getting to that now:

Move From Cover to Cover

Battlefield 4 online has a wealth of cover to choose from. Some is permanent, some temporary.

No matter what the cover is, try playing so that you’ve always got cover between you and your opponents. Plan your movements.

1. Move to cover.
2. Scan the area and find the next cover.
3. Move there.

Repeat this procedure like the never-ending story.

Planning to move over a bigger part of a map? Pick a route that gives you as much cover as possible between you and the hostiles.

Practice Piloting in the Test Range

Helicopters and jet fighters are hard to master to start with. Both the flying itself and weapon handling require skills.

When you – in addition to this – need to deal with the other team’s flying aces as well as other dangers, keeping both men and machines airborne tends to become a highly complicated affair.

That’s why you shouldn’t use multiplayer matches as your first training arena for becoming a better chopper or jet pilot.

In Battlefield 4, you’ll find a test range that you can use to improve your aviation skills. Practice there instead.

Video: Test Range – First Overview

Run the Other Way

More often than not, you’ll end up in an opponent’s sights.  He might be able to hit your character with two or three bullets.

In these situations, you’ve got the lower hand, so to speak.

Your opponent may only need to hit with an additional one or two bullets to make his kill. You, on the other hand, will have to get in at least four or five hits.

You don’t have to be a math whiz to know that the hostile is most likely to win this little stand-off.

The way I see it, you’ve got three choices:

1. You can try returning fire.
2. You can turn around and try to run. If you succeed, try finding an alternate route and attack the hostile from his side or back.
3. You can try escaping, and not bother with the hostile at all.

My experience is that the chance of survival is best with options 2 and 3. Making an attempt at returning fire in these situations will many times end with the enemy’s victory.

Learn How to Aim Well – Here’s How

If you want to do better than mediocre in Battlefield 4 multiplayer, you’ll need to aim well. The game is merciless against players that have a bad aim.

Where you aim makes a difference, too. Headshots do a lot more damage than hits to the rest of a character’s body.

In addition to this, you’ll need to take recoil, muzzle climb, bullet drop, and travel time into consideration.

You wanna be a Battlefield 4 Top Shot?

Here’s what you should be able to do:

• You should always aim at the hostile’s head.
• You should be able to control the recoil and the muzzle climb.
• You need to master correct aim point placement in relation to target distance.

– Well, that’s just fine and dandy. And how will I learn these things?, you may ask.

Thanks for asking 

I’ve made a separate guide for aiming and accuracy. You’ll find it here.

Approach Carefully

Be careful when approaching a flag or an M-COM station. Expect that one or more opponents are waiting for you.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

• If you’re driving a car or a motorcycle enroute to the target, ditch your ride a while before you get there so that the engine sound doesn’t give you away.
• Don’t pick the obvious routes to your target. Use a detour, just to surprise the welcome committee.
• Don’t run straight to the flag or M-COM station immediately. Try getting an overview of the area surrounding the target first. Take out any bad guys before moving towards the target.

Smoke Saves Lives

Are you about to attack an objective? Equip your soldier with smoke grenades. A smokescreen might be just the thing you need to capture a flag or destroy an M-COM station, and still live to tell the tale.

ZigZag Saves Lives

Are you getting shot at? Zigzagging can save your life. Whether you’re walking, running, flying, or driving – as soon as you get shot at, start zigzagging.

And don’t just do it a little bit. You’ll need to exaggerate here. Use big movements.

You’re in for a surprise as to how well this technique works.

Why does it work?

Well, if someone wants to seriously injure or kill your character, they’ll need to hit with a high degree of accuracy. And zigzagging makes this considerably more difficult for them.

Spotting Saves Lives

Try spotting your target before shooting, if you can.

Should you miss, you may still get a new chance if your target makes a run for it. Because you spotted, and thus marked the character, you’ll be able to see where he or she is headed, at least for a few seconds.

This way you might be tipped off if the target attempts a flanking attack or an attack from behind.

Avoid Full Frontals

Don’t attack your opponents face to face. When you discover one of the bad guys, try doing this instead:

1. Notice where the hostile is.
2. Pick a detour over attacking full frontal.
3. Surprise, and win, with an attack from the sides, or from behind.

Be Sure

Be sure, to the degree it’s possible, that you’re able to kill the character you’ve got in your sights. As soon as you pull the trigger, you give away your position. And using silencers doesn’t always help.

So try being a disciplined shooter, who’s 95% sure that the opponent’s character will die when you open fire.

‘Cause if you miss, the situation could quickly turn. And not in your favor.

Here are some examples of situations where it might be smart to let the trigger finger rest:

• The opponent’s headed into a building.
• He’s about to turn a corner.
• The character’s far away.
• He’s got two, three, four, or more buddies nearby.

Keep Your Friends Close

Be careful with playing solo. You’ll usually do better if you stay close to your team or squad mates.

Far too often, you’ll face multiple hostiles. These situations usually turn out very, very bad for you and your character if you’re alone. You simply won’t be able to take out all the hostiles before they have time to kill off your character.

These meetings are considerably more pleasant to deal with when you move in a pack, along with other players.

Extra points are another benefit of sticking with your squad. You’ll get extra points for healing, reviving, and supplying your squad mates.

Thoughtful Spawning

You can spawn on your squad mates. Does that mean you should do it all the time?

No. No, it does not.

Quite often, other members of your squad may find themselves in somewhat of a pickle – like being showered with hostile bullets and being seconds from death.

Do you think it’s ideal to spawn on him or her?

Take out a star sticker and put it in your book, if you answered a loud and resounding, “No”.

It’s possible to browse each spawn opportunity before you actually spawn. And you can, to some degree, judge how safe each spawn point is, thanks to the in-game camera feeds.

Do this as often as you can. Use a couple of seconds to consider each spawn point in order to find the safest one.

Be a Smart Spawn Point

Are you the last member of your squad who’s still alive? Get to cover like the devil’s chasing you! Make sure you’re a safe spawn point for your squad.

There are several advantages to this:

• If you’re able to avoid trouble long enough for one or more of your squad mates to spawn on you, you’re no longer alone in dealing with the opposition. Your chance of survival increases. Considerably.
• If you’re situated close to an objective, like an M-COM station, the others won’t have to start from scratch. Instead, they can start up approximately where they left off.
• You’ll get extra points when one or more of your squad spawns on you.

Be Realistic

Sometimes you’ll have to acknowledge that you’re just not going to make it. Your soldier simply does not have the equipment necessary to solve the challenge you’re facing.

In these situations, it’s best to hide, or run off.

Here are a couple of examples:

• Trying to kill a sniper who’s sitting far away with PDWs (personal defense weapons) is rarely a good idea. The only thing you’ll achieve – for the most part – is to draw unwanted attention.
• Shooting down choppers with assault rifles or PDWs is almost never a good idea, if ever. If a skilled pilot discovers what you’re trying to do, it won’t take long before you’ll have to respawn.
• Normal grenades and the M320 are poor weapons to go against tanks with (unless the vehicle is seriously damaged). Instead of trying to kill a lion with a kitchen knife, run off or hide.

Speaking of Tanks

Tanks can’t fire their shells with any speed. There’s a small gap between each time the tank’s main weapon is fired.

You should take advantage of this, should a tank driver be on your ass.

Did you survive the first shell? Splendid!

Run for whatever cover you’ve got nearby while the driver reloads. Wait ‘til he’s fired off the fresh round. Run to cover during his next reload break.

Repeat until you’re in safety.

You’re Up

Have you got any tips for increased longevity in Battlefield 4 multiplayer? Use the comment field below to share them with us.

As seen on: AVUltima