Battlefield Labs’ First Playtest Will Revolve Around Combat and Movement

EA has revealed details about its first playtests for Battlefield Labs. In a lengthy post on X, the company has revealed that this playtest will be focused on the gunplay and movement of the next Battlefield game.

Kicking things off, the post talks about the developers’ vision for how gunplay and movement should work in Battlefield. The combat, for instance, will be designed to try and make sure that players of varying skill levels can still enjoy the game.

While beginners can still have fun with the core gunplay and movement, the developers are trying to design it in a way where even veterans get rewarded with in-depth movement options and precise weapon feedback when they’re in a gunfight.

“We’re designing the combat experience to ensure players of all skill levels can enjoy our gunplay and movement systems,” the post reads. “Our goal is to offer gameplay that rewards skill with precise weapon feedback and movement options for veterans, while providing an intuitive experience for new players to learn and enjoy.”

Movement and gunplay will both be deeply integrated, while also remaining intuitive and rewarding for players.

The first playtest will be focused on creating “consistent and optimised millisecond-to-millisecond soldier combat,” according to the developers. An example it gave of this was a reduction in the time it takes for bullets to show up on the player’s screen after they pull the trigger. This was done to make combat feel more responsive, and to allow players to better track and hit moving targets.

“We’re optimizing for a 60Hz tick rate, ensuring the game server more frequently updates the positions and actions for all players,” explain the developers. “This results in responsive gameplay across all platforms and inputs. You’ll notice more precise shooting and movement, enhanced damage feedback, and more accurate representation of other players’ positions and combat outcomes.”

The recoil system for different weapon types has also been adjusted to make sure that they all feel unique. When paired with camera shakes, the recoil direction for each weapon will better match the gameplay angle. There will also be a visual change in how weapons stabilise the better a player’s handling of the weapon is.

Movement, on the other hand, has gotten revamped animations. Classic movement options like crouch sprint, combat dive, and landing roll are also being brought back, along with visual indicators to make sure that players know when they can vault over an obstacle or lean around a corner.

The developers have also said that, from its Battlefield Labs playtesters, they are looking for feedback for various aspects of the game, including the look and feel of movement, the pacing of combat, the improvements to weapon aiming and control, the feel of different weapon archetypes, and the weapon balance and how it affects the fun factor.

EA recently started sending out emails to players that had registered for Battlefield Labs to kick off its first playtests. The first wave of these playtests will focus on the PC version of the game, and will take place for around two hours.