5 Things to Know About the Battlefield 1 May 2018 Update

DICE continues to update Battlefield 1 as we push toward the Battlefield 2018 launch and the latest update, known as the Weapons Crate update, comes with bug fixes, new weapons, and some changes to the Scout class.

Monthly Battlefield 1 updates will soon come to an end, but DICE is treating Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows PC owners to new content and new updates as we get closer to the Battlefield 2018 reveal at EA Play 2018 in early June.

The developer is rolling out a brand new update today after some multiplayer server downtime this morning. The May 2018 update is full of changes and, per usual, it’s a mandatory update for all Battlefield 1 players. If you want to play Battlefield 1 today you’ll have to download this update.

While the update isn’t as big as some of DICE’s previous releases, it’ll require a substantial chunk of hard drive space on your console or PC.

In this guide we’ll take you through the update’s size, the changes on board, and what you can expect from DICE and Battlefield 1 in the weeks ahead.

Battlefield 1 May 2018 Update Size

The next time you fire up Battlefield 1 you’ll be faced with a sizable download.

If you’re playing Battlefield 1 on a Windows PC and you’re all caught up with updates, you’re looking at a 3GB download. And if you’re playing the game on the PlayStation 4 you’ll need to download a 4.6GB update in order to continue playing the game. The Xbox One’s version of the update is also several GBs.

If you’re running out of space on your console’s hard drive you might need to dig into your storage and delete files in order to free up space for the update.

The May 2018 update took about five minutes to download on the Xbox One.

Bug Fixes & Tweaks

Like all Battlefield 1 updates, this release comes with bug fixes for lingering problems plaguing the game on all three platforms. DICE’s also made some tweaks to the HUD, undergrowth, and vehicles.

Bug fixes and tweaks on board the Weapons Crate update include:

Performance

• Fixed an occasional crash when players were equipping a pistol in one of the War Stories.
• Improved framerate spikes when deploying in Passchendaele.

Maps & Game Modes

• Reduced undergrowth flicker in River Somme and Caporetto.
• Fixed an improperly configured forward tank spawn on Amiens in Conquest. There should now be two tanks consistently for both teams, one of which can utilize forward spawning.
• Operation Devil’s Anvil maximum rating is now set to 18.
• Operation Oil of Empires maximum rating is now set to 36.

Spectator

• For PC spectators, the mouse cursor will now hide automatically after being inactive for a small amount of time, if it is not over a clickable object. Moving the mouse will cause the cursor to reappear.
• Improved weapon streaming so switching between players in 3^rd person will no longer cause the spectated soldier to appear empty handed for the first few seconds.

User Interface/User Experience

• Fixed an issue where Operations occasionally appeared locked to Premium Pass Owners.
• Fixed an issue where the Airship L30 Behemoth would display incorrect faction insignia.
• Fixed player name alignment on dog tags when playing with the Arabic language setting.
• Added a heat and cooldown meter for the Flamethrower in the HUD.

Weapons & Vehicles

• Increased the damage of stationary AA guns in the single player War Stories, improving the chances for players to earn the “Airborne Cannons” codex entry.
• Fixed an issue where Tank Hunter Attack Plane shells would detonate when hitting the pilot of a plane, causing the shell to do extra damage. Shells will now pass through the pilot if they hit another part of the plane first.
• Aligned SMG 08/18 muzzle flashes for left/right recoil muzzles.
• Lengthened the reload time of HE Cluster Bombs on the Ilya Muromets and distributed them more evenly in the payload.
• Fixed an issue where the hatches of the C-Class Airship would sometimes fail to animate properly when a player rapidly switched positions in the vehicle.
• Fixed an issue where vehicle drivers would occasionally say “Sorry” when requesting repairs. Such situations require no apologies.

The update also delivers some additional tweaks to the game’s progression including 10 more ranks you can earn while you play. Here are those changes in full:

• Added new Weapon Assignments for the Annihilator Trench and Sickle melee weapon.
• 10 new Soldier ranks.
• Added new Service Stars for the new weapons.
• Fixed an issue where players could skip earning class rank dog tags when leveling up more than 1 rank at a time. Players who experienced this issue will receive their missing dog tags the next time they level up.

Scout Class

The update also focuses on the game’s Scout class with some notable changes to sniper rifles and the “sweet spot” that causes 100% damage to enemies. According to DICE, this patch game now communicates when a Scout soldier is in the sweet spot for both the shooter and  opponents.

Here’s how that works:

For Scouts:

• When active (default is off), scopes will contain depth of field in the target area.
• Anything outside the shooter’s sweet spot will appear out of focus (i.e. blurry).
• Anything inside the shooter’s sweet spot will be in focus (i.e. clear).
• Holding breath will expand the focus range and allow shooter to see everything in their field of view more clearly.
• Depth of field is applied to the following sniper packages: Marksman, Patrol, and Sniper.
• The Gewehr M.95 Marksman and Carcano M91 Patrol Carbine will have depth of field applied even though they do not have a sweet spot.

For Opponents:

• Opponents inside a sniper’s sweet spot will see a rainbow lens flare.
• Marksman and Patrol scopes now have scope glints. Considering that these scopes provide sufficient magnifying power for ranged engagements, adding glints provides Scout opponents a better chance to survive the encounter.
• The Gewehr M.95 Marksman and Carcano M91 Patrol Carbine will use standard glint across all ranges due to their lack of a sweet spot.
• Iron sights and lens sights will not have scope glints. Their magnifying power is low enough that players should be able to identify potential shooters without the assistance of glint.

The depth of field changes for scopes are set to off by default which means you’ll need to go into your options to turn them on. To do this, head into the game’s Video Options and select “Sniper Scope DOF” and toggle it to on.

New Weapons

The Weapons Crate update contains 11 new weapons including new weapons including the Annihilator Trench. The 10 other weapons are variants of guns that only had one configuration.

• Annihilator Trench
• Sjögren Inertial Slug
• Ribeyrolles 1918 Optical
• Maschinenpistole M1912/P.16 Experimental
• M1917 Patrol Carbine
• Type 38 Arisaka Patrol
• Carcano M91 Patrol Carbine
• Ross MkIII Infantry
• M1917 Enfield Silenced
• Welsh Blade melee weapon
• Sickle melee weapon

What’s Next

Battlefield 1 development is starting to slow down but DICE’s promised a substantial patch in June.

The developer’s June update will, among other things, include a brand new game mode called Shock Operations. Shock Operations is an offshoot of the popular Operations game mode.

The new Shock Operations mode support 40 players and sees attackers and defenders battling over sectors across one map instead of multiple maps. This makes it an ideal choice for those that don’t have time to commit to a full Operation.

Shock Operations will be available on five of the game’s maps including Giant’s Shadow, Prise de Tahure, Lupkow Pass, Zeebrugge, and River Somme.

Most of these maps come from the game’s DLC expansions, but DICE says base game owners will be able to access them while playing Shock Operations.

Battlefield 5 Release Date

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If you're excited about the next Battlefield game you're probably wondering when it'll go on sale.  Earlier this year EA said that it planed to release the next Battlefield game in October, 2018 and the company is sticking to that window.  Battlefield 5's worldwide release date is confirmed for October 19th, but there are actually three Battlefield 5 release dates.  Battlefield 5 will open up for EA and Origin Access members on October 11th. Those who pre-order the Battlefield 5 Deluxe Edition will get access on October 16th while those who buy the standard version of the game will get access to the game's content a few days later on October 19th.

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