Electronic Arts has released a detailed news post today, where they explain the progression system and currencies of their upcoming first-person shooter Battlefield 5. In a stark contrast to the company’s most recent online shooter Battlefront II, BF5 will not feature any Pay-to-Win in-game purchases. Players will have to play the game to progress.
To say that Battlefront II had a rough launch would be a massive understatement. EA’s second try at reinvigorating the legendary Star Wars multiplayer shooter series failed spectacularly after players realized the game was built heavily around incentivizing real money in-game purchases. The recent massive backlash among the gaming community against loot boxes can be traced back to a major portion to Battlefield II.
So, it comes as great news that EA gave up on the lucrative – but greedy – pay-to-win game model in their newest Battlefield. Producer Ryan McArthur from Dice details the new progression system in Battlefield 5. There will be 2 currencies available in the game, Company Coin and Battlefield Currency.
Company Coins can be used to purchase and unlock new weapons, vehicles, skills and cosmetic items. Pretty much everything can be either bought or unlocked with these. Company Coin is the main currency of Battlefield 5 and will be present right from the game launch. Players receive CC by simply playing the game, progressing their Career, doing Daily Missions and Special Assignments. They cannot be purchased with real money.
The second currency, Battlefield Currency, will not be available at launch but instead will be introduced at a later point. Furthermore, BC can only be used to purchase cosmetic items. Nothing else. This will be a godsend for anyone who despises pay-to-win. So, pretty much everyone.
The player’s own character progression is his Career Rank. This is the overall level of progression which increases with almost everything you do. The 4 other progression ranks are Class, Weapon, Vehicle and Chapter.
Upgrades in the Class Rank happen in form of Combat Role unlocks as well as primary weapon, side arm, melee weapon, gadget, and grenade unlocks in a set class.
Weapon and Vehicle Rank progressions can be used to unlock Specialization choices, such as weapon accuracy or vehicle durability.
Chapter Rank is tied to Battlefield 5’s Tides of War post-launch and long-term plan, and increases by playing during each new chapter.
As announced before, players of Battlefield 5 will continuously upgrade and improve their Company. A personal and unique squad of soldiers and vehicles which will follow you throughout every battle. Players will be able to create one Company per faction.
Battlefield 5 comes out soon, on November 20th for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
