The battle rages on as to whether Elite Classes should remain in the next Battlefield title.
Elite classes were a new addition to Battlefield 1. Outside the standard four of Assault, Medic, Support and Sniper, there were three new additions to the line-up including: the masked Flame Trooper, capable of burning anything in its path; the heavily armoured Sentry, a class geared towards survivability, able to push on over open ground where other players would fear to tread; and lastly, there was the Tank Hunter, a primarily anti-armour focused class equipped with numerous destructive tools.
These classes could be obtained by visiting fixed locations on specific maps, in order to open a placed wooden crate and for many matches early on in the game’s lifespan, their presence would have a serious affect on the outcome of matches, with teams scrambling to deal with this increased firepower (especially if attempting to defend objectives).
Two more Elite Classes were added as DLC: the close quarters Trench Raider, added in BF1’s first DLC, “They Shall Not Pass”; and the with the support class the Infiltrator, added in BF1’s third expansion “Turning Tides”. With the roster now numbering five, Elite Classes began playing a bigger part than ever in determining the ebb and flow of matches and their outcomes.
With this constant update to the Elite Class system since BF1’s release, DICE seems fairly set on the concept as a way of adding additional “mayhem” to the proceedings, whilst giving players more options in both attacking and defending situations. Now, because of this, many players are beginning to speculate whether Elite Classes should make a return in BFV. Let’s take a look at what they have to say, and also the general attitude towards EC’s over the course of BF1’s lifespan.
TBAG [Epic Gaming] outlines in his video the apparent certainty of Elite Classes returning for BFV, speculating based on an “inside source” that each of the three original EC’s will return.
Whilst TBAG seems adamant this knowledge is correct, speculation is what it is. However, based on his assumption EC’s are to return (even being willing to make up his own possible additions) its fair to say he remains positive towards them. Crafter on the other hand seems to have mixed feelings.
His sentiment is that whilst Elite Classes are certainly fun to play, they can make the game too easy for some, a sentiment taken even further by some community members, who made connections to Battlefront 2’s Hero system, allowing players to spawn as OP “super” characters, capable of delivering huge amounts of fire power.
This was mirrored by other community members, discussing the apparent ease with which EC’s could be employed:
Now, whilst this may appear true for some, it goes against some early community comments, claiming that EC’s were ineffective in most game situations.
A sentiment also mirrored by Logtrall:
EC’s have always been a contentious issue in BF1. If DICE is to go ahead and commit to the system – one that has definite impact on the game but not to the point of total unbalance – it will certainly have to deal with a certain amount of backlash. The system does give players more gameplay options, as wells as rewarding their skill as perseverance (staying alive as an Elite Class can actually be quite tricky, when targeted specifically by the other team).
However, in the grand scheme of the game, there will sure to be other, more “prescient” things to complain about for the BF community. Like the most tenacious soldiers, they never give up on their quest for victory.
