EA has finally lifted the curtain, revealing even more details regarding the spring update. Introducting Platoons into the game, EA has also added a few great changes to the game that would make this update an important one for many players.
Here’s an outline of what would be available in the initial release of the spring Battlefield 1 update:
Any player can create a platoon. However, each user would be restricted to one role. Here’s what you could add to your platoon while creating one.
- Name – This is required and must be 3-24 characters. Names are not exclusive, although some names may be restricted.
- Tag – This is required and consists of 1-4 alpha-numerical characters. Tags are not exclusive, although some names may be restricted.
- Description – This is optional and can be up to 256 characters long. Use this to describe your Platoon however you see fit.
- Emblem – You can choose an emblem for the Platoon from your own personal Emblem gallery. The emblem is then “copied” to the Platoon, meaning that if you later update your own emblem, it’s not automatically reflected in the Platoon emblem.
- Access Type – This selection defines how other players can and cannot join your Platoon:
- Open – Anyone can join the Platoon instantly.
- Apply-to-Join – Anyone can apply; Platoon members with permissions can accept or reject applications.
- Closed – No one can join the Platoon while in this state.
There’s 5 platoon ranks, General, Colonel, Lieutenant and Private. General is ranked the highest in a platoon. This rank would usually be given to the creator of the platoon but could transfer it to someone else if the creator wants to. Here’s the roles that EA has described:
- General – This is the highest Platoon rank and there can only be one General in the Platoon at any one time. The creator will initially get this rank, but can transfer it to someone else (which must be done if you want to leave the Platoon). The General has access to everything, including the option to change name, tag, and even disband the Platoon.
- Colonel – Colonel is the second-highest rank and has access to most Platoon management tools, such as editing the description, emblem, and the access type. This means they can step in for the General most of the time.
- Lieutenant – The Lieutenant is the lowest level rank with management permissions. Mainly their ability is to accept or reject Platoon applications, if the Platoon is set to “Apply-to-Join”, as well as link their Rented Servers to the Platoon.
- Private – Private is the initial rank any new member gets in the Platoon. This rank doesn’t give you access to anything, besides the fact that you are now a member of the Platoon and can represent it and join other members playing. As a rule of thumb, you can always promote someone else to one rank lower than your own, and demote or kick members that are one rank or lower than your own. Rank permissions also always stack, so if you’re promoted you can know for certain that you have the same access as before – and more.
- Find & Join – Platoons is all about playing together. In the “Find Platoon” section, you will sometimes get a list of recommended Platoons to join, which is currently based on other Platoons that your friends are representing. Once you’ve found a Platoon, its access type will determine how easy it is for you to join. Maybe you can simply join it right away, or you must apply. If you’re unlucky it’s closed, and that’s that.
- Representing and Playing with Your Platoon – For many players, representing your Platoon is what it’s all about and we have tried to make this process easy, smooth, and awesome with the new system. First, you can always only represent one Platoon at any given time, and you can also choose not to represent any. You will retain your membership and rank in the Platoon; it’s basically just something you toggle. When you represent a Platoon, its tag will automatically be displayed in front of your name and its emblem will automatically be displayed wherever your emblem is usually displayed. This essentially “overrides” your equipped emblem; when you represent a Platoon, we want you to really represent it.
Each platoon has a restriction of 100 players. EA suggests users to create a new platoon under the same name, description, tag and emblem if a platoon has more than 100 members.
Definitely a great update for the community as we lean into E3 2017. DICE is really at work. We expect to see more updates to arrive on Battlefield 1.
