I’ve presented classes in the order they appear in the in-game menu: Assault, Medic, Support, and Recon. By the end of this article, you should have a basic understanding of how to approach each class, and know that:
You can win a match without Assault players, but with them, you dominate. You can win a game without Medics, but with them, you’ll do it and drop hardly a ticket. You can win a match without Support players, but with them, you’ll never have to stop pushing. You can win a match without a Recon, but with one, you can accomplish anything.
Assault: All-out Attack
A competent Assault player is a natural leader for the team. Their weapons are the most versatile, their kits the most capable of clearing whole squads out of their hidey-holes, and their dedication to destruction ensures ground vehicles think twice before moving in on a hardpoint.
You’ll want to take the fight to your enemies as frequently as possible. What that means depends on the map.
For open maps like Arras or Twisted Steel, you’ll want to stick to your squad or the nearest cluster of teammates. That way you’ll always be under fire from at least one direction. There’s lots of visual cover, but you’ll have to contend with the fact that everyone can see you as well as you see them.
Single shot rifles are your best bet on maps like these. Recoil control is essential at the kinds of distances you’ll be fighting in, so semi-auto should be your go-to. If you prefer pure ARs, learn to tap-fire.
In any event, the following strategy is best for taking the open maps by storm:
Hole-punch. When the match begins, you need to make an opening for your teammates. Sadly, it’s a rare thing to do that by merely running right down the center of the map. Instead, take a longer route and come at your foes from the side. Push as far as you can but stay aware that the more you press the issue, the more likely it is your enemy will surround you. After you get a few kills, make a turn for your team and carve your way to them.
For close quarters fighting on maps like Aerodrome and Fjell 652, use a full-auto rifle, one you’re comfortable firing from the hip as you’re on the move. Marksman rifles are usable as their TTK up close sometimes exceeds that of a standard AR, but their hipfire is less dependable for precisely that reason.
The following strategy works for maps with plenty of cover and buildings to dive into:
Stick and move. Guerilla tactics are as effective in Battlefield as they are in any conflict, so make a nuisance of yourself. Get one or two kills and disappear, only to show up half a map away, where you get another two kills and vanish. At first, you’ll be annoying, but stay alive long enough, and you’ll draw more than a few angry people away from the fight. Barring that, you’ll infuriate them, cloud their judgment, and provide your teammates with a less effective defense.
No matter the map, be smart about when you engage large groups or vehicles. A tank can and will melt you at its earliest convenience, and no gun has enough ammo to take out more than a single squad in a single magazine. And you only have so many explosives.
Keep these couple tips in mind and your time as an Assault in Battlefield 5 will be fun for you and a hassle for your opponent.
Medic: Everybody Up
A capable Medic, however, makes their weaknesses work for them, staying near enough to their team to be useful but remaining mobile and keep everyone at peak health.
They fight close range where their weapons are most effective, using the element of surprise and their quick revive to overwhelm enemy positions.
Medics throw versatility and power out the window in favor of a single goal: keep the team alive. They do this three main ways:
Revive. Yes, everyone can revive in Battlefield 5, but it takes a small age to do it if you aren’t a Medic. And some revives aren’t even available without the magic syringe, and that can lead to entire pushes failing from lack of troops. On maps where there are plenty of sightlines, you don’t want to be out in the open for more than a few seconds. Medics aren’t. Spread the health. Medical pouches fly a long, long way, start healing your teammates immediately, and they resupply their otherwise single-use self-heal kit. And you have an infinite number of them. Never hesitate to pass up a teammate in need of a pouch. He might save your life in the next ten seconds. Survive. Medics have the unique ability to survive some of the stupidest situations with their ability to self-heal instantly and infinitely. Build muscle memory around your desired heal-button, because it can and will save you. Especially as a Combat Medic, you’ll be getting away from firefights you have no right to, and with a gun built for close range, you’ll want to get out of most of the fights you don’t start.
Above all else, the cardinal rule of playing Medic is this: you are not the slayer of the team. You are not the guy controlling entire sightlines. You are not the girl making the biggest hero plays of the game.
You enable everyone else, and if you’re good at your job, they will thank you.
Support: Power Play
A competent Support player is always in the thick of things, but rarely at the front of the fight. Instead, he’s almost always surrounded by teammates, providing cover and covering fire as his squad moves forward.
Though Support weapons and abilities offer incredible mobility around a map, the class itself should act like its namesake: supporting the team and making sure everyone is best equipped to fight.
The Support powers the team in ways no other class can, ensuring a push stays on its feet and ready to dominate every fight. They do that in three core ways:
Resupply. The primary reason a Support must remain with the larger team is: no one else has access to ammo at all times, and any attack stalls when it runs out of bullets. Sure, enemies drop ammo, and there are crates of the stuff scattered around, but when you need them, they tend to be everywhere you’re not. Suppressive Fire. And I’m not just talking about the suppression effect. Send enough bullets in a general direction, and they act as an excellent deterrent. As Support, you can be a one-person army. Don’t neglect your duty to take out every enemy stupid enough to walk into your line of fire, but put as many rounds down range as you can. You buy your team time and space. Area Denial. In Battlefield 5, destruction is total, so the ability to create and sustain cover is vital. Building fortifications with the Engineer role, especially in more linear modes like Grand Operations, can make the difference between a successful defense and an utter failure. Don’t neglect the power of tanks as mobile cover, either, because you can keep them alive much longer than anyone else on the team. Even a single unit of armor can turn the tide. Don’t waste it.
Be aware that your job as ammo goblin can sometimes feel overwhelming. Like it’s the only thing you have time to do. Don’t be afraid to focus on other aspects of your job. Your immediate teammates have enough for a few seconds. Supports wear many hats, and you should switch between them as frequently as you can.
Recon: Everywhere at Once
A capable Recon is someone who can swap between long- and mid-range shooting at a whim, and who isn’t afraid to get into some risky scraps to benefit the team. Their unique abilities make otherwise impossible objectives manageable, and if they know what they’re doing, they can live up to the sniper’s role as a force multiplier.
One of the most critical factors for success as Recon is making your presence felt across the map. There are three primary ways you do that:
Spawn beacons. They’re as powerful as ever and provide a hidden backdoor into any objective. Learn the maps. Find your favorite spot. Set the beacon. Profit. Unlimited intel. With the Sniper Combat Role, you won’t be up in people’s faces, but you will be giving your team the power of spotted enemies. Plus, even if you don’t kill every target with a single shot, you do plenty of damage. You’ll either force your foe out of position or give a closer teammate a much easier fight. Spawn anywhere. With the Pathfinder combat role, you can spawn on any squad leader anywhere, so be ubiquitous. Be an annoyance. Give your squadmates new ways to attack flags and power positions. Most importantly, don’t miss.
No matter what role you want to play, you’ll want to become intimately familiar with the workings of your sidearm and where each map’s hotspots are. And whether you’re holding down a sightline or providing supportive fire alongside your squad, knowing when and where to move when things get hairy is essential.
Oh, and don’t be the guy at the hind-end of the map. You are most effective from long range, but there’s no reason to be so far away that all you can see are pixels.
Each of Battlefield 5’s classes has its own unique uses and strategies, but a skilled player can take a good class and make it great. Use the advice I’ve laid out here and take it into battle – you’ll be better for it.
