Developed by the Swedish game company DICE™, Battlefield 3™ is one of 2011’s  hottest shooters with over 40 awards under its belt. Featuring a combination of both vehicle and infantry warfare, as well as a diverse arsenal of modern arms, it allows the players to play the way that best suits their game style.

If you are new to the Battlefield™ series, it is absolutely critical for you to understand  that Battlefield 3™ is a team based game. This means, yes, you guessed it, you have to work with your team to be successful. If you are a Battlefield veteran, skip this guide. Otherwise, please read on.

General Tips

 

Movement

Think before you move. Don’t charge out into the open thinking you are Rambo and that enemy bullets will magically curve around you. Run around the outer edges of the map in team death match, and take cover while you are capturing a point in conquest. This is especially important because the last thing you want to happen is to have a squad mate spawn on you while you are being gunned down by an enemy. Crouch when you are moving up the stairs unless speed is of the essence, and prone when you can’t out run an enemy grenade.

Stay Still and Listen

Battlefield 3™ sounds gorgeous. This is not only to support the game’s realism, but also to improve your proficiency. You can avoid dying a painful and meaningless death by simply staying still (in prone of course) and listening.

What to keep an ear out for:

  • Footsteps: If you hear footsteps, look at your minimap and see if there’s a teammate nearby, if not, try to judge distance and direction.
  • Gunshots: Note the rate of fire and the sound of the weapon being used by your enemy. Try to determine the type of weapon they are using, and decide if it’s wise to engage. For example, if you hear an enemy machine gun going off don’t just run out. Wait for the enemy player to reload before engaging.
  • Reloading sounds: If you hear someone reloading when there’s no teammates around, assume that your enemy is very close and that he will have a full clip when engaged.
  • Yelling: All soldiers in BF3 will automatically call for help when being shot at or sees a grenade. If you hear shouts in the language not used by your current side, be cautious.

 

Spotting

Battlefield 3™ features an unique enemy position relay system called spotting (bound to Q by default). Pressing the spotting key while aiming down sight places a bright red triangle on the target for a short time and is visible to all of your teammates. That way your teammates know the approximate location of the enemy and will try to take him out. Do this even if you think you can take the person out. Remember, BE A TEAM PLAYER. This is possibly the single most important action in the game aside from moving and shooting.

If you see a critical enemy target outside of your spotting range, relay this information to you team immediately via team chat (K by default) or Battlelog™ voice chat.

 

Tunnel Vision

Look behind you or this happens

Don’t sit at a choke point, stare down your sight and wait for enemies to pop up. This will almost guarantee a knife to your chest. Instead, actively scan around for enemies, and listen for any suspicious sounds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flashlights

Turn the damn thing off when you are not in or preparing for combat! You’ll blind more teammates than you do enemies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Help the Team

This ammo pack made my day!

 

If you are using the Assault or Support class, drop medkits and ammo packs, but do not drop them if you know no one is going to use it. These packs can sometimes save your teammates from imminent doom–and they’ll thank you dearly for it.

Battlefield 3™ is so focused on teamplay that it has unlockable specializations that benefit the entire squad. Choose the specializations that aren’t equipped by your squad mates to maximize the benefits.

 

Part 2 here.