Battlefield V backtracks, gets old time-to-kill soon (update)

By Asher Madan
last updated

They said they'll fix it.

Updated December 17, 2018: DICE promised two different playlists, one for newcomers and one for hardcore players, but now it looks like there won't be. Today, the developer said that "after rolling out those changes last week, we've listened to your feedback, reviewed our statistical data, and have made the decision to return to the original TTK values seen at launch."

Battlefield V is a first-person shooter set in World War II. The game features single-player campaign scenarios similar to Battlefield 1, alongside an expansive multiplayer mode. The title launched a few days ago on November 20, 2018. Battlefield V has no premium pass or paid expansions so players won't be divided anymore.

The game hasn't been setting sales charts on fire and now it seems like Battlefield V is embroiled in another controversy. The recent update made the title feel more like Destiny. Multiplayer seems like it's populated by other gamers who are bullet sponges. The time it takes to kill someone is unrealistic to say the least. While this change was what a lot of newcomers were looking for, it didn't sit well with the hardcore player base. Many in this dedicated group protested and now it seems like developer DICE will add tailored playlists for these individuals. A post on the official Reddit channel said the following.

On behalf of the Battlefield team, I'd like to apologize for the silence over the past couple of days on the time-to-kill (TTK) topic. We've seen it's been a big talking point and causing a divide in the community, which was never our intention. We have been listening closely to what you've all been saying. Changes to the game carrying this kind of weight needs clearer, earlier communication before getting rolled out. We will improve how we roll out updates in the future and respond more quickly when you have questions or concerns. So, why change TTK now? The intent came from us observing that new players are having a very hard time with the game compared to our core players, and we wanted to see if we could improve this over the holidays so more players can have a great time. As many of our veteran players know, Battlefield games constantly evolve and change over time in our collaboration with the community. Battlefield V is no exception. We heard your feedback that many of you prefer the old TTK values, with one playlist featuring only Conquest using the 'Core' settings clearly not being enough. To fix that, we will be adding a 'Core' version of all playlists in the game next week, giving you a clearer choice between new and old settings. We'll update you early next week on when the new playlist will be added.

It's great to see that DICE is going to give players the option. Hopefully the team will make it clear to newcomers that they should avoid the "Core" playlists because they won't be a lot of fun.

Battlefield V was supposed to launch earlier this year, but was delayed to November a few months ago. The beta test was quite rough around the edges, especially when it came to performance on Xbox One. Even the Xbox One X performance wasn't that great. However, it seems like the full release has come a long way and even targets 4K 60 FPS on Microsoft's new machine.

Keep an eye on WindowsCentral.com/Gaming for all the latest in Xbox and Windows 10 gaming, accessories, news, and reviews!

Asher Madan
Asher Madan

Asher Madan handles gaming news for Windows Central. Before joining Windows Central in 2017, Asher worked for a number of different gaming outlets. He has a background in medical science and is passionate about all forms of entertainment, cooking, and antiquing.

4 Comments
  • The game has been out just over a month, they shouldn't have started tweaking so soon. TTK v1.0 was fine, they make it sound like it was as harsh as some mil-sim type FPS like SQUAD, Post Scriptum or ARMA - it was nowhere near those. What TTK v1.0 did do was provide snappy semi realistic feeling battles. It fell in between these mil-sim style games and less realistic titles like Call of Duty. Why are we pandering to players who are not prepared to give any time to learn a game? I don't want all my FPS games to play the same, I enjoy those games like SQUAD, ARMA and Rainbow Six Siege because they all play and feel differently. What is the point in buying other games if they all play the same? This new 'Core' playlist will just split the community instead of bringing it together. It's a quick fix but a short sighted one. Towards the end of Battlefield 1 it was a struggle to find a game because the player base was split of different modes and expansion packs. DICE has removed the issue with player split over expansion packs but risk the long term popularity of the game by splitting the player base now. My message to DICE would be - stop tinkering with the gameplay, its too early and you have plenty of bugs to fix in the meantime.
  • I'm a new player to the series, and I must say, I didn't like the TTK the game launched with. I am accustomed to playing COD games on Hardcore mode and the lengthy time to kill made it less appealing more than it did anything. I think I would have really preferred the old TTK if it was more realistic.
  • It would have made more sense to address the Time to Death and insta-kill bugs (you feel like you take 1 or 2 hits and die instantly) instead of messing with the time to kill. The game felt great with the launch settings.
  • Too many options splitting the player base. RIP the old TTK off like a bandage. The new TTK is alright but some of the guns like the medic guns need a slight rebalance. And please fix the crappy servers. Going around 2 corners so there is literally 4 solid walls between you and someone and then dying to that person when there is no LOS what so ever is freaking annoying. For reference unusually have less then 20 ping usually 15ish so not my net connection.