[BF1] Scopeless Bolt Action Rifles Confirmed
byu/Fox8721 inBattlefield
OK, we know that at least the Scout kit will be able to run basic iron sight bolt action rifles. The Medic may as well, as they wouldn’t really overpower the semi-auto and auto rifles they otherwise get. What about the other two kits?
First thing, which ones are in the game so far:
http://battlefield.wikia.com/wiki/Battlefield_1
Lee Enfield MKIII (sans scope) British standard rifle
Mauser Gewehr 98 — standard issue iron sights – Germany standard issue
Springfield M1903 – American standard issue iron sight bolt action rifle
Note that the Russian 1895 is a Winchester lever action rifle, not bolt action, and though it didn’t seem to play that much different from the bolt action rifles in the livestream, the mechanism was different, and they were also not the standard issue infantry rifle. A lever action rifle doesn’t shoot as fast as a semi-auto, but faster than most bolt action rifles.
That covers three of the six (so far) factions present in the game. Let’s fill in the rest, and also put in France and Russia.
Mosin-Nagant (called Mosin by most of its users), bolt action rifle widely used, Russia standard issue, also by Austria-Hungary
Carcano M1891 – Italian standard bolt action rifle
Berthier Fusil Mle 1907/15 – French standard bolt action rifle
Mannlicher M1895 Austria-Hungary standard issue bolt action rifle. Used straight pull bolt, unlike most of this era.
Mauser Model 1889/1890/1893 – Turkish Mauser – The predecessor of the 98, used by the Ottoman Empire, which also used the 98 when they could get them. In most elements very much the same, its sight markings were in Arabic.
M1917 Enfield — US version of the British rifle — they used different ammo, but worked very much the same. Note that most US and British soldiers used one or the other of these
The Turkish Mauser and the US Enfield are pretty much just minor visual changes from the base model, but otherwise work exactly the same.
So every faction gets its own default national bolt action standard issue rifle. But we can also incorporate the usual Battlefield rule that our heroic soldiers can use any weapon. Bolt action rifles aren’t all that different from each other, especially in this era, so how would they work in game terms?
First thing, if they are all kit weapons, they had better not overshadow the specialized roles that the kit weapons are supposed to have. So even if these are about the same weapons as the Scout kit with basic iron sights only, they can’t be as good for sniping as the Scout sniper rifles. How do we justify that?
The Scout weapons are specialized for marksmen, and are not the same as the general issue models. Not just the scope, but the weapon manufacture and ammunition allow for better accuracy. For this reason, we don’t have to match the damage output of the Scout weapons, but can set these in their own class.
Do we want the “sweet spot” damage curve on these, where close range shots do less damage than medium range?
A theory behind this is that if they hit too soon, the bullet simply penetrates the target and doesn’t have time to deliver as much damage as it passes through. Whether that is realistic or not, it does give a Scout sniper a good reason to avoid close combat situations.
Whether the regular infantry bolt action rifles have that sort of curve, or the “traditional” damage dropping curve over distance, they should not get the Scout’s one hit to kill damage. Two body hits to kill is enough. Head shots may or may not be one hit kills always either, that is a balance question.
One thing that definitely should apply is lower accuracy. These standard-issue rifles are nowhere near as precise as the ones made for the Scout sniper marksmen. The iron sights will make long range shots harder anyway, but that isn’t the point. These weapons were made for mass volley fire and relatively short range combat, not long range shooting.
Would you use an older technology weapon, just because it is traditional and perhaps more cool?
I would. People use the bow in Battlefield 4, which is certainly not a superior high tech weapon. Let’s break it down by kit.
Assault: Do you need to fight at longer range? You give up your powerful short range option, and still can’t match any of the other kits at range, but at least you have a chance.
Medic: This is a close call, because your kit weapons are medium range, and are likely to be better at short range than any bolt action weapon (even Scouts). But it may give you a little edge at longer ranges, and also a possible advantage for well placed aimed shots.
Support: A similar issue, but you’d give up a lot of medium range firepower for both a little edge in long range combat. In close combat, probably not ideal.
Scout: Probably the least likely to go with less accurate iron sight rifles rather than their specialized weapons, but they could be easier to use for hip fire and close combat than the regular Sniper Rifles.
Does this mess with class balance? Adding in a relatively weaker all-kit alternative shouldn’t, no more than everyone having access to the same sidearms.
How hard would it be to add these weapons to the game? In terms of modelling, three are already present as Scout weapons, just need tweaks to represent the standard issue versions. They all perform similarly, so any differences would be pretty minor.
So why have them, if they may not be all that good and wouldn’t really add that much variety?
Historical verisimilitude and national pride, for one thing. A lot of players will be happy to take on the role of regular infantry soldier, rather than one of those given a specialist’s weapon, and enjoy the challenge. For another, some players may enjoy playing on servers where these are the default weapon, again for the joy of seeing them in action.
In terms of performance, they use similar ammunition (7.62mm to 8mm), so in most ways, the choice of which one to use would be cosmetic. They could be tweaked a little for variety, because there were operating differences, but for most game play purposes, it is how they look and the animations they use. This element also makes balancing them a lot easier, as the goal isn’t to provide a wider variety of function choices so much as to add more visual options.
So what do you think? Should Battlefield 1 have bolt action rifles for everyone?
