Different perks and limitations affect the new mechanic

Sep 30, 2013 07:32 GMT  ·  By

Battlefield 4 players who will enter Commander Mode will get to pick High Value Targets on the actual battlefield and, in order to showcase just how that mechanic will work, developer DICE has just published some fresh details about it and its limitations.

Battlefield 4's multiplayer mode marks the long awaited return of the Commander Mode, in which a player can have a bird's eye view of the actual battlefield and direct the troops on the ground towards objectives, while deploying extra items and more.

One such Commander perk is the ability to see enemy players who are racking up a kill streak of six or higher and designate him or her a High Value Target for his own troops.

In order to detail just how that mechanic will work, DICE has posted some fresh info on its blog.

"When a player has reached a kill streak of six, they will appear as a selectable unit on the Commander Screen. Once this happens, the opposing teams Commander can choose to reveal the HVT’s location on the map. Once they do that, a timer begins to count down and a message will appear on-screen letting that Commanders team know where that HVT is via the mini map," the studio said.

"If the HVT takes down an enemy while the timer is counting down, they will receive bonus points for each kill. If you’re good, racking up great amounts of points during a match will be easier, but don’t expect it to be easy if you’re playing against a well-coordinated team. Rewarding skilled players is really important for us, as we don’t want them to feel as if this is a punishment, but rather something that they should be proud about."

This mechanic will have certain limitations, however, so that Commanders won't be able to constantly designate enemy targets, according to the studio.

"When a player eliminates a HVT they will receive a one-time bonus, and the Commander that issued the order will also receive a bonus based on the total amount of kills the HVT had during their kill streak. Taking down a HVT isn’t an easy task, especially if the opposing Commander utilizes assets such as the EMP or even supply drops to help his team out. When the countdown ends, there will be a cool down before a Commander can choose a new target, so it won’t be possible to HVT spam."

Battlefield 4 is set to debut in October for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, and in November for the PS4 and Xbox One.