Battlefield V: Firestorm

Firestorm is the new Battle Royale mode for Battlefield V. I don’t really have much interest in the BR genre, but seeing as I already owned BFV, I thought I’d give it a spin. It’s currently playable solo or in 4 man squads. You’re dropped onto an island with 63 other players in an ever shrinking play area as the titular firestom closes in.

You begin with only a knife and must scavenge weapons, ammunition, armour and supplies to survive. In a Battlefield twist, vehicles – including tanks – can also be acquired, although these aren’t as useful as they might seem.

In the solo mode, you can’t drive and shoot at the same time. Anti-tank weapons are also very easy to obtain. I only played Firestorm in the solo mode, so my experience will be based entirely upon that, and if anything, climbing into a tank in solo just makes you a bigger target.

The map is very large but not all of it is accessible from the beginning of a match. The initial ‘safe’ play area will be randomised every game, but it doesn’t cover the entire map which, given the smaller player count compared to some other BR games, is probably a good idea.

 

The map looks great with a decent variety of locations and terrain although, like some others have noted, there’s no particularly memorable landmarks. Like the ordinary BFV maps, the Firestorm map has a degree of destructibility. And like the other BFV maps, it’s this destructibility that keeps matches feeling fresh and exciting as the terrain is shaped by the players and their actions.

Matches in Firestorm are short and punchy, rarely lasting more than 15 minutes, even if you reach the final 2. The firestorm adjusts to each match, pushing players into an ever decreasing safe zone as their numbers fall. And the firestorm looks great as it creeps across the landscape – an inescapable wave of death.

The first 3 minutes or so of a match are by far the most deadly and will see nearly half of the contenders killed. The question is, do you drop early in a more populated area to try to obtain better quality gear or, do you wait and drop somewhere more remote, with less gear to collect but less chance of catching an early bullet?

 

I guess you could say that’s the risk versus reward nature of Battle Royale, but given the way gear in Firestorm is distributed, that’s not entirely true. I’ve dropped into more ‘hot’ areas such as military bases and fought other players to discover only a basic cache of equipment. And yet, at other times I’ve dropped to a remote, singular farmhouse and discovered a treasure trove of weapons and supplies.

So here’s a pro tip – don’t bother dropping early or targeting more populated areas thinking you’ll find better stuff. From what I’ve seen, gear is distributed almost entirely randomly, so you’re better off avoiding that early death race because you won’t necessarily be any better equipped even if you do manage to survive it.

And that’s the thing about Battle Royale – to win, you only need 1 kill. The last kill. Avoiding other players and trying to survive without fighting is actually the best strategy. Fighting other players when you don’t have to only does four things, and only one of these is positive.

The positive is this – if you win, you’ve narrowed the field of competition. The negatives are – if you lose, you’re dead. Even if you win, you’ve expended some of your precious resources such as ammunition or armour. Oh, and you may also be revealing your location to any other players nearby who will hurry in and finish you off quite easily if you took any damage.

 

So yeah, avoiding other players and only fighting when you absolutely must isn’t just a valid tactic to survive, it’s actually a far more efficient strategy. Like I said, you only need 1 kill to win. I guess the real question now is – do I like it? Well, I’d say Firestom has pretty much confirmed what I already felt about the BR genre – I kind of half like the concept and half hate it.

I’ve talked before about the balance between skill and luck in games, and how whilst luck will always be a factor, it should never feel like the defining factor. Battle Royale, by nature, is a very luck leaning genre. You might drop onto the island and only find a pistol and some med kits, whilst the guy who dropped nearby found assault rifles, rockets and heavy armour.

Sure, that randomised element is a big part of the appeal of BR, but that doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating when you get killed purely because you couldn’t find anything useful in the first minute or so. Fortunately, it’s pretty quick and easy to jump straight into another match – Firestorm seems to load in and out far more quickly than the regular MP.

No, it’s not the randomised gear that’s the real issue with the luck/skill balance of Firestorm – it’s the armour mechanic. Every player begins with a level 1 armour slot which, when equipped with an armour plate, will boost your health by 50. You can then find level 2 (100 extra health) and level 3 (150) armour on the map.

 

Why do I think this is a bad thing? Well, it’s because it’s not really ‘armour’ it’s just a health boost, and at level 3 you now have double the standard health. This essentially turns players equipped with level 3 armour into something of a bullet sponge – it takes double the number of shots to kill them, as they need to kill you.

 

That’s a pretty significant advantage, and why armour is by far the most important piece of gear within the game. That’s not to say you can’t win without it – but the advantages it provides can’t be denied. I’ve lost fights simply because my opponent had level 3 armour and I didn’t. But I’ve also won fights I probably should have lost simply because I was lucky enough to find level 3 and they hadn’t.

I don’t really mind the randomised gear in the sense that you just have to work with what you can find – I can see the appeal of that. But the armour system just doesn’t feel very fair. I really think Firestorm would be better without it because it crosses that line between luck and skill too far. I shouldn’t have double the health of other players just because I got lucky on my drop.

Overall, I’ve had some fun playing Firestorm but I’m not sure it has the legs for long term appeal. The loot system is pretty terrible as gear spills out of downed players and becomes a nightmare to sort through. The armour system is something I just don’t like. And honestly, after only a week or so, I’m already going back to the regular MP. I’ve not given up on the mode, and it’s something I’ll probably drop into now and then, but I’d still rather have more maps and new locations in the core game.