Massive Battlefield 3 Patch Inbound

After the last patch was released for DICE's monster of a shooter, Battlefield 3, players have been grinding away at reaching the rank of Colonel (and higher) and taking full advantage of the recent double xp event, as they warm up and prepare for some intense action with the upcoming Close Quarters DLC pack. Before we dive head first into each other on maps such as Donya Fortress and Ziba Tower, DICE has hit soldiers with the anouncement of a whopping patch that will be making its way to consoles.

DICE have taken the chance to make sure that the community are aware that the team behind Battlefield 3 have listened to the fans during the period of time since the last patch was released up until now:

As usual, the period between the last update and this upcoming one has been spent listening to our community, tweaking parameters, balancing performance, and eliminating issues that we have found with your help. In short, the June update will make sure Battlefield 3 plays even better.The patch itself includes some interesting fixes and changes. The hugely problematic M26 dart has finally been addressed, as well as the crazy suppressive effect of which some players were happy with and some players thought the suppression effect was too much. Rented servers running with custom rules, such as extra tickets, less health etc, are now much easier to identify thanks to a new symbol being added to the server search menu. For you high-flying Jet pilots out there, the F35, from the Back to Karkand DLC pack, has had its performance tweaked to match that of the SU35.

DICE have dished out a few handfuls of info on specific parts of the patch, so here's the rundown on this information before we get right into the lovely list:

Improved VTOL fighter jet (F35) performance

Based on community feedback, we have improved the performance of the F35 in Back to Karkand to better match that of the SU35, particularly when it comes to turning speed.

M26 dart situation resolved

Some of you have noticed lately how a certain loadout has been overpowered. When the M26 Lightweight Shotgun System was mounted under an assault rifle with a heavy barrel, the M26 would accidentally fire assault rifle bullets instead of shotgun pellets. This is fixed in the June update.

Somewhat reduced suppression effect

Since the last update, there has been an interesting debate on the increased suppression effect we introduced. While a lot of players like the increased effect and the possibilities it introduced, some players felt suppression was becoming too powerful. Now, we are dialing the suppression effect back a notch. It will still be higher than it was prior to any of our patches. Let us know what you think of this tweak.

Adding symbol for custom server rules (console)

We know a lot of you want to know whether a server you’re about to join is running extreme custom rules (such as setting the ticket count to max, leading to marathon games). By adding a “§” symbol in the console server browser, we make it quicker and easier for you to make an informed decision on where to join and where not to.

The “§” signifies a server running custom rules. Note that this can still be either a Ranked or Unranked server, as some rule changes will turn a server Unranked, while some (such as ticket counts) do not affect the server’s Ranked status.

We are not enforcing this symbol. Instead, the “§” is a manual optional flag you can set if you are a server admin and want players to know you are running custom rules. We hope this will make it easier for server admins to get the right players flocking to their servers, while players will more easily find the type of gaming experience they prefer. Let us know what you think.Here's a screen showcasing the new symbol for rented servers using custom rules. I'm not entirely sure what the exclamation mark symbol is for, as this is something I've never seen whilst searching for servers on Battlefield 3:


^{The "§" makes it easier to spot servers running custom rules.}

Here's the full rundown of the fixes, tweaks and improvements included with the upcoming patch:

Vehicle related changes

> Tweaked the F35 handling to more closely resemble that of the SU35 (see above).
> Jet & helicopter ECM Jammer should now deflect missiles more reliably when it is active.
> Fixed an issue where vehicles wouldn’t spawn if their intended space was occupied by a deployable gadget. The vehicle will now spawn as intended and the gadget will be destroyed in the process.
> Fixed AA missiles not doing damage to vehicles moving at very high speeds.
> Reduced the direct damage from unguided Javelins to require better side hits for a 1 hit disable. This was previously too forgiving and easy to accomplish.
> Removed the direct damage from aircraft launched guided missiles. Players will need to have laser designated targets for full effectiveness.
> Adjusted the helicopter rockets to their original prepatch damage value against armored vehicles. This is a reduction; a revert of a knock on effect that was introduced accidentally.
> Fixed the US Tank Guided Shell doing the reverse damage values when guided and unguided.
> Adjusted the M224 mortar damage against vehicles. Some tweaks and adjustments in a previous update accidentally increased its effectiveness greater than intended.
> Increased the range on the AA guns so they can reach vehicles hovering at the maximum height in select maps.
> Replaced the VDV buggy on Gulf of Oman (Back to Karkand) with the DPV buggy for both teams at the City flag.
> Fixed a bug where some vehicle unlocks were still enabled after the player left the vehicle.

Soldier and gadget related changes

> Reduced the inaccuracy added when in suppression. There is still an enhanced suppression compared to the initial state in the game, but the effect is now less than it was in the last patch (see above).
> Reduced input lag for gamepads/joysticks on all platforms. Aiming as a soldier when using a gamepad or joystick should now be more responsive.
> Tweaked the deploy times on gadgets to be faster to deploy in high stress combat situations.
> Greatly improved the responsiveness when deploying a bipod when going prone and shortly after moving. The bipod deploy should no longer abort if the player deploys the bipod immediately after stopping.
> Fixed bug where you couldn’t deploy the mortar anywhere on Grand Bazaar.
> When changing the accessories of a weapon in the Customize screen, the weapon previously selected in the Deploy screen will now automatically be selected when entering the Accessories screen.
> Increased the effectiveness of the Aim Assist at close range. Testing in Close Quarters proved our current assist to be inadequate in tight quarters. This is a global change, and will improve the effectiveness of Aim Assist for all modes and maps. Aim Assist over distance is still significantly less effective. This is console only, as Aim Assist is not present on PC. If you prefer, you can also turn it off on console.
> Players will now spawn on the Radio Beacon looking in the same direction the Beacon is facing. The Beacon always faces in the direction the player is facing when it is planted. Previously the Beacon’s direction had no impact on the player’s spawn direction.
> The Spawn Preview camera on the Spawn Beacon has been updated to better reflect the direction the player will be looking when he spawns.
> 40mm smoke now stays longer again.
> Tweaked some tracers on sniper rounds to have better visibility at range (the tracers are smaller).
> Tweaked the flashlight so it is less blinding at the edge of the screen.
> Fixed bug where you couldn’t pick up your deployed gadgets after being revived.

Weapons related changes

> Fixed a bug where Heavy Barrels and Underslung Shotguns could be over powered. (This is the so called M26 dart issue, see above)
> All semi-automatic sniper rifles now properly have shorter range when using a suppressor.
> The L96 now properly shoots where the iron sights are aimed. The position was previously offset.
> The SKS now has the proper damage values when using a suppressor. The damage was previously too low at close range.
> Slightly reduced the suppression effect of SKS rounds.
> Decreased the long range damage of the SKS to highlight its close to medium range role.
> Slightly decreased the foregrip aimed accuracy penalty on the M4A1 to bring it in line with other guns.
> Slightly increased the foregrip aimed accuracy penalty on the SCAR-H to bring it in line with other guns.
> Reduced some of the vertical recoil and zoomed accuracy penalties added to the FAMAS in the previous update.
> F2000 foregrip accuracy penalty reduced and recoil reduction bonus increased.
> AEK971 foregrip recoil reduction bonus increased.
> SG553 foregrip recoil reduction bonus increased.
> FAMAS foregrip recoil reduction bonus increased.
> Fixed the M416’s M26 with Flechettes not having a name in the kill log.
> Fixed so all clip based LMGs have Extended Mags as an available unlock.
> All semi-automatic shotguns now fire at 220rpm. There was previously simply a small difference between them, whereas now they have different pellet counts instead of rates of fire.
> Improved the recoil and accuracy of the M26 to match the 870.
> Reduced the impact suppression has on shotguns. Shotguns are still affected by Suppression but it should no longer significantly impact their accuracy from the hip as it previously did.
> The 870’s pump speed has been increased slightly from 0.55 seconds to 0.48 seconds. The empty reload time for the 870 has also been reduced slightly.
> Improved the accuracy of aimed shotguns when on the move.
> The Saiga’s recoil has been reduced.
> The M1014 now fires 10 projectiles. The other semi auto shotguns have 9 pellets, and since the M1014 has a lower mag size and a slower reload it now fires 10 pellets to give it some edge.
> The USAS-12 now fires 7 projectiles.
> The MK3A1 now fires 8 projectiles.
> Fixed so the weapon’s fire mode is saved between spawns.

Miscellaneous changes

> Added colorblind option for consoles (see above).
> Added colorblind icon for squad leader (all formats).
> Added the option for console server admins to show a symbol in the server browser signifying custom rules are in effect (see above).
> Fixed an issue where footsteps couldn’t be heard behind you.
> Fixed so that the arming of an M-COM station will not be cancelled if you look at a dropped weapon.
> Fixed exploit where you could teleport to the AA gun on carriers by firing an EOD bot at its door.
> Fixed co-op ammo HUD not showing on first enter.
> Fixed so you get prompted if you really want to switch team when pressing the Switch team button.
> Fixed so that Assignments are being correctly sorted on the My Soldier\Assignments screen.
> Fixed issue with commorose not working on soldiers in vehicles (PC).
> Added blinking capture point icons in the 3D HUD, and added blinking neutral icons in objectives bar.
> Composed a more informative error message for when a console player attempts to rent a server in a location where there are currently no servers available.
> Fix for dog tag icons in the My Soldier/Assignments screen appearing slightly stretched.
> Fixed some tracers appearing behind the soldier or vehicle that fired them.
> Potential random audio crash fix.A very interesting set of tweaks of which I'm confident our wonderful community will have some interesting things to say. Are the patches looking to make the close quarters action more solid and balanced? Or are some of these fixes and changes not what you wanted to see at all? Let us know people!

The update for Battlefield 3 is set to go live next Monday on June 4th. Besides downloading the update when prompted to after firing up the game, players can also download it via the Games Marketplace under the name "Multiplayer Update 3".