In addition to the DLC content, the January patch brings a number of changes to Battlefield 1 including various tweaks, bug fixes, and enhancements.
The update includes some major changes to the game's weapons in an attempt to "rebalance the weapons to increase the pacing of combat and balance the loadout options among and between the various classes in Battlefield 1." Here's the full list: Assault vs Medic
- Medic remains superior at any distance outside of very close range
- The overall decrease in TTK at close range for Assault weapons should ensure their superiority at ideal engagement range
Support
- The biggest difference here is that Support weapons will be slower to get on target at close range, pushing the engagement slightly more in favor of the Assault than it already was
- At longer distances the Support LMGs remain far superior to the Assault SMGs and shotguns
Scout
- These encounters remain mostly unchanged
- These classes are opposite extremes; the winner of the engagement will usually come down to range
Medic vs Support
- The main change here is in how the Medic approaches an LMG. Previously the SLRs were like LMGs in terms of raw TTK, meaning it was often possible to outshoot one head to head. With the changes this is more dangerous, as the LMG will be more likely to kill the Medic before he can reach cover to heal
- LMG accuracy at close range is weaker than before however, plus Medic rifles have improved range, leaving the medic with several options of approach - take potshots at the Support from longer distances, or attack from unexpected angles to exploit the LMG weakness when not already in ADS or on a bipod
Scout
- Medics are slightly more accurate at longer distances and are therefore an increased threat to Scouts than previously
- Otherwise these encounters remain unchanged
Support vs Scout
- Support is slightly more dangerous at long range than before. There is therefore increased pressure on the Scout to score a one hit kill from an unexpected location before the Support can return fire
- Otherwise these encounters remain unchanged
With regards to weapon family specific changes, you will see an overall reduction in the number of bullets required to kill a target at a weapons ideal engagement range, along with some general improvements to their handling:
Shotguns
- Shotguns remain the strongest close-range weapon with generally very poor ranged performance (except for the “Slug” variants)
- They have suffered from inconsistency due to how shotgun pellets work, which we’ve improved by reducing how much randomness plays a part in the shotgun dispersion. All shotguns now fire 12 pellets. The dispersion is now broken down into 12 sectors, 6 in an inner circle and 6 in an outer ring. Each sector will contain 1 pellet. This ensures that all 12 pellets are more evenly spread over the dispersion cone, and prevents all the pellets from bunching up in one area, which could cause lucky one hit kills at longer distances, or inversely result in a complete miss.
Sub Machine Guns - SMGs
- SMGs remain very strong close-range weapons, second only to Shotguns
- High bullet damage drop-off and large spread make them ineffective at longer distances than all other weapons, with the exception of Shotguns
- The variance in raw TTK of the SMGs has been reduced, reducing the benefit of that advantage on specific SMGs (such as the Hellriegel and Automatico) and increasing the options available to Assault players
Light Machine Guns - LMGs
- LMGs offer the most firepower, but at the cost of handling and mobility
- The strongest weapon at medium range when ready for a fight
- If caught off guard however their poor hip-fire and high spread mechanics put them at a disadvantage
Self-Loading Rifles - SLRs
- The most flexible weapon
- Slightly weaker in terms of TTK than most other weapons but with advantages over all others in some area
- Much better ranged performance than SMGs and shotguns
- Better handling and can get on target accurately faster than LMGs
- More effective at closer ranges than bolt actions
Bolt Actions
- Bolt actions offer one hit kills at longer ranges
- They have very low fire rates however which makes them very weak up close
- These are the least changed weapon type
While the update is focused on weapon balance, there are a number of other changes you should be aware of before you download. You can check out the full list of changes over on the Battlefield 1 North Sea update change log.
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