Battlefield 5 – DICE Explains Bullet Penetration and Vehicle Specializations

Even though vehicle customizations of the cosmetic variety won’t be included in Battlefield 5 at launch, players will still have what looks like a pretty robust vehicles specializations system to dive into. After having spent a fair bit of time talking about and explaining the ins and outs of weapon specializations in Battlefield 5, DICE have put up a nice, long update on how these will work with vehicles.

DICE promises that though vehicle specializations will give you an edge in battle, they’re being implement in such a way that they do not mess with the game’s balance. “Specializations won’t make you invincible,” wrote DICE. “They are designed with balance in mind and won’t create disadvantages for new players going up against players who’ve already put in hundreds of game hours. Vehicles have their own roles, strengths, and weaknesses – and these are true regardless of your loadout. If you’re piloting a fully-upgraded light tank, you’re still vulnerable to a squad of low-level players armed with Sticky Dynamite and Panzerfausts.”

Additionally, players will have to pick and choose their specializations based on several factors, such as the map’s terrain, their specific strategies, and more. “You have a lot of choices to make when specializing your vehicle, and it all comes down to the tactical situations you anticipate, the layout of the battlefield, and your gameplay preferences in general.”

“Each vehicle has its own Specialization tree that fits the role of the vehicle,” DICE further wrote in their update. “The Tiger I tank, for example, has Specializations that allow it to become more efficient at fighting enemy armor. The Staghound T17E1 armored car can be specialized into an excellent flanker and recon vehicle for the team.” Some vehicle specializations can, additionally, also slightly alter the look of your vehicles.

In a separate update, DICE’s Rickard Antroia, who’s the Senior Game Designer on Battlefield V, also gave plenty of interesting details on how bullet penetration (which is something else that DICE have spoken of a bit in the past) will work in the game. Essentially, bullets can go through thin materials (you know, like in real life), and can deal damage (that will be reduced after penetration of the aforementioned materials) upon the following impact. This technique can also be used to flush opponents out of cover.

How much damage bullets deal and what kind of materials they can penetrate will, of course, vary based on the gun that you’re using, so while light machine guns can punch holes in wooden walls of buildings and deal greater damage, pistols and other sidearms probably can’t do that.

“General sidearms like pistols and carbines will go through doors and thin assets like cloth, light vegetation, and glass,” said Antroia. “The next category contains the SMG and Shotguns, which have slightly better penetration values. Semi-Automatic, Slug, and Assault Rifles exist in their own category, also with some minor deviations. Sniper Rifle is an upgraded version of rifles and becomes the stepping stone to the fully automatic Light Machine Guns, which can break through the walls in wooden buildings and push through barricade covers.

“Beyond infantry weapons you have the vehicle bullets, the HMGs, and the airplane 20mm cannon. They are all high-penetration weapons that break through plaster and brick walls, be it with reduced damage.”

Battlefield 5 launches on November 20 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.