Battlefield 5 - tips for new players and series veterans

If you're just getting started in Battlefield 5, you may feel a little overwhelmed. Fortunately, we're here to help.

Battlefield 5 is here and it's loaded with updates and changes to almost every game mechanic and mode. Even compared to the beta, the launch version has seen its fair share of refinements.

To better keep track of everything, we've created a series of articles that'll help you make a good sense of what matters. In order not to bog down our general tips with things like the new class dynamics with Combat Roles, or detailed explanations of crucial mechanics such as attrition, and fortifications, we've split them into their own pages.

You can imagine how important they are to the Battlefield experience, then, and we generally recommend starting out with those before diving in below. This is where you'll find a collection of some of the best tips we've gathered so far from playing, for both new players as well as veterans.

3D spotting is gone, but you can adapt

Battlefield 5 has gotten rid of the famed 3D spotting, otherwise known as orange/red doritos. For the first time in years, you're able to be stealthy but no less deadly. Firing your weapon won't automatically get you spotted on the minimap, and you won't be running around with an orange triangle over your head anytime someone glances at your general direction.

If you're not attacked, you can safely assume the enemy doesn't know you're there. The spotting button now places a contextual marker, similar to Rainbow Six Siege. You can certainly use it to alert teammates to an enemy’s general direction, but that’s about it. Depending on the map and terrain, some uniforms blend in with the environment better than others. This is going to make life easier for campers, but you’re not completely defenceless against them.

Muzzle flash is much brighter now, and it's going to be the thing that'll help you spot enemies most of the time in Battlefield 5. You can’t hide muzzle flash with attachments in the game, either. Use this to your advantage, and always focus on were the muzzle flash is coming from.

Your teammates will always have icons over their heads, so you’ll instantly know if you’re aiming at a friend or foe. The Recon’s spotting scope is the only gadget that can 3D spot in Battlefield 5, and its flare gun is able to spot enemies on the minimap within a limited radius after being fired, as it always has. Suppressed enemies will also have a very noticeable icon over their heads for those paying attention, but these are not quite the classic doritos and can be hard to miss.

One other thing to keep an eye out for is movement. This is admittedly harder to detect than muzzle flash, and it’s even more complicated thanks to the erratic ragdoll movements going on anywhere you look, but it can help. Snipers can often be the easiest to spot, as their positions are sometimes given away by scope glint.

You can create custom key bindings on consoles

Players on PS4 and Xbox One are now able to customise each individual action in Battlefield 5 just like their PC friends have been able to for years.

Outside of the different control schemes and various other little settings you can mess with, you’re now able to change the key binds using any button on the controller. Some things like the DualShock 4 Touchpad can be a bit tricky, but you’ll know immediately if the game treats it as a single button or multiple.

This is also perfect now that the spot button is perhaps not as important as it used to be.

Always keep track of Assignments and Orders

A great way to earn Company Coin (in-game currency), and XP in Battlefield 5 is to stay on top of Assignments and Daily Orders. Daily Orders are small challenges that refresh every day, and you won't have to do anything to activate them.

They will track your progress in the background, and all you need to do is fulfil their requirements to earn the reward. Assignments, on the other hand, require a bit more participation. You have four slots, and you’re able to choose which Assignments to take on.

This can be done from the main menu, and you can keep track of your progress anytime during the match by hitting Esc and selecting the appropriate option. Completing Assignments awards you with Company Coin and XP. Their requirements are obviously more demanding than Daily Orders, and may require you to switch game modes or play as a certain class to be completed.

Always take a few moments to read and understand each requirement, and activate the Assignments you think you’ll be able to finish. There’s no point in going in with an empty slot if you can fill it with an Assignment.

Don’t forget about your squad reinforcements menu

Squad leaders have always been able to direct squad efforts by issuing orders, but they essentially have score streaks in Battlefield 5.

Every action you do as part of a squad contributes to your squad’s requisition points (RP) score. The more coordinated you are as a squad, the faster your earn rate will be. Battlefield 5 allows squad leaders to call in various reinforcements using these points.

The most expensive and devastating of which, is of course the V1/JB2 Rocket. You can save up enough points to call it in, or you can spend your RP on much more affordable options earlier. Certain tanks like the Crocodile or the Sturmtiger can only be brought in using RP.

You can also call in a supply package for your team that includes ammo and health packs – sort of a mobile supply station. To deploy any of these just hold the squad reinforcements button (B by default) and highlight the item you need.

Do bear in mind, however, that while you can aim the rocket and supply pods, the tanks only spawn back at your team’s base. It’s annoying to have to die or go all the way back to spawn to be able to use your heard-earned Sturmtiger, but that’s the way it is currently.

All classes can revive

One other big change you may not see discussed as much is the fact that all four classes have the ability to revive, not just the medic. The catch is that this can only be done within the same squad.

Medic players are still able to revive anyone on the team, but everyone else can only revive their squad mates. When you see the green flashing heartbeat icon, you'll know a member of your squad requires a revive. If there are no medics around, consider giving them a hand.

Be careful, though, because the squad revive animation is much longer than the regular medic revive. It leaves you open for a few seconds. Be wary of enemies using your dead squad mates as bait to get you both. Use your judgement, or throw a smoke grenade if you have one for cover.

It's also worth noting that you can cancel out of any revive (interact key) if you sense things getting heated around you. It may not always save you (and you'll no doubt let your squad down) but it's something to keep in mind.

Embrace – and understand - attrition

We’ve talked about attrition in Battlefield 5 many times before, more recently in our biggest multiplayer features breakdown. Attrition is the thing that’ll likely take you the longest to fully wrap your head around, but you need to first understand what it does to be able to do that.

Depending on your chosen weapon, you’ll be spawning with limited ammo; about three to four magazines in total. For health, all players spawn in with one extra health pouch. You can swing by a supply station to pick up an extra magazine after spawning, but you can only store one health pouch on your person.

This may seem limiting, but it’s going to better manage the pace of multiplayer. Aggressive players can scavenge ammo from fallen soldiers, but they will have to rely on the help of medics or retreat to a supply station to top up their HP. The same goes for campers who don’t move for the entire round, they too will inevitably run out of ammo and have to relocate or double pack to resupply.

Attrition also controls the way your health regenerates. Now, health regenerates only to the nearest segment on your HP bar. You can use your stored pouch to self-heal, but you’ll have to get more if you waste it. Over time, you'll learn when to use the pouch and when to wait for your HP to regen.

Vehicles also have to respect attrition, since they no longer have infinite ammo. Like infantry, tankers and pilots will need to retreat to a supply station every so often to resupply. You also won’t be able to self-repair indefinitely, either, because that too requires recharging at a supply station.

For airplanes, these stations are found near the base, whereas for tanks they can be built on at the various capture points or found around the map.

Keep an eye on your health and ammo

Continuing on from the previous tip; you should always be mindful of your ammo reserve and HP status. The time to kill in Battlefield 5 is already very short, and having less then 100HP will make it seem even shorter.

If you decide to take cover and see that your health isn’t regenerating back to full, you’ll need to use a medical pouch. If you don’t have one, find a medic or a nearby supply station. Running with low health is usually a recipe for disaster. Likewise for ammo; don’t take every fight, you won’t have enough ammo to attack players at all ranges.

Respect your weapon’s intended range. Don’t bother going after long-range targets with your fast-firing SMG, for example. You’ll miss most of your shots and end up with a lot less ammo, which may end up getting you killed during your next close-quarters engagement.

Just as with health, make sure you have at least one extra magazine in reserve. If you don’t run around and scavenge ammo from dead players, ask a Support player for it, or find a supply station. Ammo is generally easier to come by compared to medical pouches.

Another good way of conserving ammo is to use your pistol whenever you flank. If you know you’re going to get the kill, there’s no sense in using precious rifle ammo when you can get the job done with a pistol.

Nobody wants to run out of ammo mid-firefight, or die after taking a single shot because they forgot to self-heal or pick up ammo.

You can capture flags in Conquest faster

There's sort of a hidden mechanic in Battlefield 5 DICE inserted into capturing points in Conquest. If you stand closer to the flagpole, the capture speed will increase.

Yes, as bizarre as it may sound, being right underneath the flag has its benefits. Of course, you'll be making yourself an easy target for defenders hiding somewhere in the capture zone, but that doesn't mean you can't make this work in your favour.

If you have one or more teammates covering you, announcing your presence in that way will get you shot at immediately, which will obviously reveal your shooter to everyone else capturing the zone with you. A cheeky way to flush enemies out, but it works.

You can also make use of this tip when capturing a point on your own. Once again, you'll be an easy target if someone comes to defend, but it can help if you know you'll be alone.

The more teammates the faster the flag capture will go, of course, as this mechanic hasn't changed.

Grenades can be thrown back or shot prematurely

Of all the cool things you can do in Battlefield 5, throwing a grenade back at an enemy may be among the coolest. This is really simple to do, you just need to press the interact key (E by default) and remember to do it rather than run away.

The detonation fuse on regular grenades in Battlefield 5 is forgiving enough that you can either move away or try to throw it back. This can only be done with traditional frag grenades. Any grenade that detonates on impact, such as the impact and incendiary grenades, start causing damage the moment they land.

Now that you know you can do this, you may not always get the chance. In many situations, you won't always be sure when the grenade landed at your feet. In hectic firefights, it's common for both sides to lob grenades at each other for a while and the timing may harder to determine then - but it's certainly worth a try.

If you're throwing the grenade yourself, you can prevent this from happening by simply shooting it - either in the air or when it lands. A single shot will instantly detonate the grenade. This can be helpful whenever you're trying to get a kill and not flush out an enemy.

Go prone as a last resort against grenades

If you're not able to throw a grenade back, and there's nowhere to run, quickly go prone. Going prone not only lets you take reduced grenade damage, you may fool your attacker into thinking you're dead.

This is even more helpful when you catch fire, either from an incendiary grenade or through the environment. Going prone will cut the burning effect short and allow you to regain health - or heal - once again.

Picking up a weapon doesn't change your kit

In Battlefield 5, you can pick up dead enemies' weapons off the ground like you've always been able to in past Battlefield games. The only difference this time around is that doing so doesn't actually change the rest of your kit - or class.

In other words, you're only just picking up the dead player's primary weapon. If you started life as a medic, you're going to remain a medic until you die. This can make it fun to chase after weapons not available for your class, but don't expect the rest of the player's kit to transfer over.

You should also remember that the weapon you pick up may not always have sufficient ammo.

Tank classes matter

You may be already familiar with the light and heavy tank class structure from Battlefield 1, but Battlefield 5 takes this a step further with its updated tank mechanics.

On top of the limited ammo and repair capabilities we covered earlier, tanks now also have turret rotation speed that varies by class and the types of Specializations you have unlocked. Light tanks will be able to whip their turrets around faster than heavy tanks. This will make it easier to sneak up on, and surround tanks as an infantry player, so keep that in mind. Another major change to tank combat is that sight alignment is not always accurate in third-person view.

While being in third-person has the obvious advantage of letting you see around your tank, you won’t be able to hit your shots accurately using the third-person sights. Instead, make a habit of shooting from first person, especially if it’s a tricky or long-range shot.

You should also be mindful of which part of your tank has been hit. If your tracks take a lot of damage you won’t be able to move, but you may be able to do some damage yet. Don’t abandon ship right away. Remember, 3D spotting is no longer a thing in Battlefield 5. A tank that isn’t moving is harder to detect. This is actually something War Thunder, and World of Tanks players will know very well.

Just sit for a little bit and wait for your opportunity. Rotate your turret and take the shot. Then back to stealth mode again until you get another opportunity or someone hears your cries and comes to repair your busted machine.

You can shoot down spotting flares

The Recon's spotting flare is maybe the class' most valuable support tool in Battlefield 5. Firing off one of these spots enemies on the minimap for your entire team. Fire it higher and you get a bigger coverage area.

This much is known, but there's a big change DICE made to spotting flares in Battlefield 5. In a sort of in-universe justification for how the tool works, you can easily see a flare floating in the air, sort of like a very primitive UAV. It'll often be suspended by a tiny parachute, which gets cut when the duration ends.

You can easily shoot it down before that happens, which prevents your team from getting spotted. You won't always see it in the sky, though, as players can fire the flare indoors or hide it somewhere. That doesn't change much, however, since you can still find it and destroy it.

Don’t skip fortifications

The new fortifications system in Battlefield 5 is admittedly much easier to ignore than attrition, but it offers fantastic tactical advantages if you engage with it. Sure, not everyone wants to sit around stacking sandbags in place of a destroyed wall or boarding houses to prevent grenades from coming in, but there’s a lot more to fortifications than that.

As we covered in our class and Combat Role breakdown, the Support is better at building fortifications than anybody else. They also get more options unavailable to other classes.

Not convinced yet? Imagine forcing enemy infantry to be right where you want them. You can easily do this by surrounding a point with barbed wire and sandbags. Most players won’t think to destroy them, so they’ll look for another entry point; this is your chance to mow them down.

You can do the same for tanks by building tank traps to stop their advance and funnel them through more dangerous avenues. And just like it can be used to prevent the enemy’s advance, you can use fortifications to undo destruction. You’re able to rebuild bridges, create cover in the middle of nowhere by digging a foxhole, or fortify a defensive position that was recently shelled and levelled. You can also build supply stations for your team.

Upon capturing a flag, it's always a great idea to start building supply and health stations. Anyone can do this, and you'll often see teammates helping whenever they spot someone trying to build them. There's no downside to doing this, and it's something you should always do if you have a few seconds to spare.

All of that and more can be done using fortifications, and you can easily see what’s available by equipping your building tool (T by default). You should also keep in mind that your fortifications can be used against you, so don’t over-fortify a point if you’re planning on leaving.

You can destroy V1/JB2 rockets before they hit

A V1 or JB2 rocket strike is the most devastating tool at your disposal as an infantry in Battlefield 5. They cost quite a bit of squad Requisition to get, but if you manage to target a busy spot, you're going to get five, maybe ten kills - not to mention clear off the point of most enemies and fortifications.

Though it may appear these rockets aren't destructible, there are a couple of things you can do to prevent or limit their damage. Pilots flying around can take one for the team and fly headfirst into the rocket. This will instantly kill them, but it'll also take out the rocket, saving many on the ground.

That move is tricky to pull off, since you often don't know where the rocket is headed. That said, it's easier to do in Grand Operations given the limited number of objectives. In Conquest, you can try to guess based on the available points currently being contested.

For infantry, it can be useful to determine if the rocket is friendly or not. The easiest way to decide is to check which side of the map it's coming from. Once again, this is not easy to do, since you'll need to be aware of where you are in relation to either team's spawn and make the call quickly. If the rocket is coming from your team's general spawn then you shouldn't worry.

Of course, the rocket's knock back effect will hit you regardless, assuming you're within a certain radius, but it's the difference between a momentary pause in the action or a trip back to the spawn screen. If all else fails, you can always run away.

All weapons start out with sight options

If you’re tired of the early grind you have to do in every multiplayer shooter in order to get some basic weapon attachments, you’ll be happy to know that it doesn’t return in Battlefield 5.

You’ll immediately have access to a couple of different sights for your weapons, which you can equip as soon as you start playing. Attachments in Battlefield 5 are cosmetic only, so the grind has instead shifted to weapon perks (Specializations) – this is what you’ll be levelling up weapons for now.

Functions that have been traditionally mapped to attachments, such as lower recoil with a compensator have also become part of the perk tree. Take a few moments to read their description before deciding to invest.

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