In Battlefield games, K/D ratios take a back seat to tactical team play, which is especially important in Battlefield 1. For instance, Conquest now relies exclusively on objective control, ignoring deaths when counting down tickets. It reflects a focus on wit, and the ability to spot holes in your offense or defense and then quickly plug them with specific class loadouts is more valuable than any sick killstreak—if you’re not playing the objective, virtual gun virtuoso means nothing.
In the interest of time, we put together a few loadouts for each class to streamline the speccing process and make you more flexible right off the bat. Keep in mind, you’ll need to unlock a few items by leveling up and earning war bonds, and most of the primary weapon choices will be personal preference. Experiment with your own builds and let us know how they work.
ASSAULT
The Gas Giant
Key equipment: Hellfighter Trench Shotgun, gas grenade
Good for: clearing objectives and buildings
Gas and shotguns are a match made in hell. Opponents like to hole up in houses or bunkers and hide around the point, so by equipping your mask beforehand and tossing in a gas grenade, you get a short window of time in which everyone is putting their masks on. Charging in with a shotgun makes quick work of enemies in tight spaces, and losing the ability to aim down sights isn’t as severe with a weapon that loves to be fired from the hip. Plus, it’s the spec ops of BF1, the Rainbow Six Siege cosplay—it’s just cool.
Line Pusher
Key equipment: mid-range SMG, mini grenade, anti-tank grenade
Good for: clearing out forces as you progress into enemy territory
As a traditional assault soldier you’re one of the most important players in Battlefield. In theory, the other players should be supporting you: healing, reviving, giving you ammo, and sniping hunkered-down defenders in your way. It’s up to the Line Pusher to progress into enemy territory—usually a chokehold or objective point—and clear out as many defensive infantry and vehicles as possible. They’re meant to be well rounded units, capable of high DPS from close to mid-ranges and disposable. Ideally, a nearby support or scout squad member is acting as the spawn point while reckless assault players keep the opposition on their heels.
Tank Ruiner
Key equipment: anti-tank mines, anti-tank grenade or AT Rocket Gun
Good for: doing damage to ground vehicles
The assault class is key when it comes to getting rid of vehicles. Support mortars and Scout K bullets chip in a bit of damage, but some well placed anti-tank grenades and mines can destroy a landship faster than anything else. It’s important for an Assault player to sacrifice their strength as an attacker and hunt tanks for the greater good. Place mines on commonly traveled roads, maybe one on the point, but before a vehicle even arrives toss anti-tank grenades its way. Practice the throwing arc and get used to the distance—they’re easier to land than you might think. If you’re feeling confident, the AT Rocket Gun can critically damage or destroy vehicles with one good hit, but if you have an awkward angle, they have a chance to glance off. If they make it past your initial defenses, back up, keep an eye out for infantry, and let the mines do their thing.
MEDIC
Point Protection
Key items: medical crate, medical syringe, Selbstlader M1916
Good for: keeping your teammates topped off on a contested point
While defending an objective, your teammates are probably getting gassed, suppressed, mortared, and worst of all, grumpy. Help turn their frowns upside down with a medical crate, a deployable bandage box with a small healing AoE. Don’t place it just anywhere. The crate can be destroyed, so keep it out of any obvious line of sight, but not too far from easy access. While your friends die around you, over and over, bring them back to life with the syringe. Just don’t get in the line of fire to do so. The only time you really need to fire your weapon is if enemies rush the point, in which case the rapid fire of a Selbstlader will do nicely. And if an opponent creeps up on the point while your needle is out, give them a lethal dose—it’s a one hit kill and good medicine for the ego.
Line Aide
Key items: medical syringe, bandages, smoke grenade, Selbstlader M1916
Good for: keeping the offensive push alive and in cover
Your assault friends may be expendable, but they don’t have to expend, not right away, at least. Act as a squad spawn point and keep them out of sight and moving forward to cover with a smoke grenade accompanied by precision support from a ranged bolt-action rifle, like the Mondragón. You’re meant to play conservatively, focused on reviving teammates, not racking up kills. Once you reach the objective, if you end up in a one-on-one encounter at close range, the Selbstlader is a pretty decent semi-auto rifle at close range if you can handle the recoil.
Tank Taker
Key items: light anti-tank grenade, rifle grenade HE, medical syringe
Good for: supporting an anti-tank squad with health and damage
If a particular vehicle is giving your team trouble, it’s a good idea to dedicate a squad to destroying it. As a medic, forgo bandages and open up that gadget slot to the rifle grenade HE, which does extra damage to vehicles. The slow heal of bandages won’t mean as much against the heavy weaponry of vehicles—a shot or two and your teammates are likely dead. So hang back and act as a squad spawn and whip out the syringe as necessary for a quick revive while the vehicle reloads.
SUPPORT
Line Leader
Key items: smoke, mortar AIR, ammo pouch, LMG with a deep magazine
Good for: providing cover and suppressing fire for assault teams
Another pretty straightforward but vital role, offensive support can provide cover via smoke grenades and suppressing fire that ensure assault players can move forward and safely establish a new front line. As your teammates move forward through smoke, unload onto presumed enemy positions with an LMG featuring a deep magazine, like the Lewis Gun Suppressive. Reloading is for the birds. Chances are you’ll nick someone hard enough to keep them behind cover. They’re not safe there either. Once your assault players move forward, drive out and damage enemy infantry with mortar AIR shells, which don’t do a ton of damage, but feature a wide AoE. Don’t forget to resupply your assault friends too. They’re going to run out of ammo, so make it rain pouches.
Tank Friend
Key items: light anti-tank grenade, repair tool, mortar HE
Good for: keeping our armored companions alive
Every good pilot needs a co-pilot, and in Battlefield 1, between managing enemy positions, vehicle position, and repairs, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. With a Tank Friend, someone else can handle repairs while another pilots, and since the repair rate increases if you’re outside the vehicle, the support player can hop out at a moment’s notice while the pilot does pilot things. If things get too overwhelming, the support player can also try to sneak out and flank any opposing vehicles to mortar them with the HE, which features a smaller spread but does more damage against armor. Topped off with an LMG that features a high rate of fire, the Tank Friend is capable of holding their own in unexpected infantry shootouts too. Adopt a Tank Friend today.
Point Defense
Key items: ammo crate, mortar AIR, LMG with deep magazine
Good for: holding onto an objective, keeping teammates supplied
Battlefield 1’s biggest damage dealers, scout and assault, run out of ammo often, so instead of babysitting each one with a stream of ammo pouches, if you’re not planning on going anywhere, drop an ammo crate—just make sure the enemy can’t easily shoot it. Now find a good spot and lay down suppressing fire. An LMG with a deep magazine is preferable, especially because LMGs have a negative spread, meaning they reach their max accuracy the longer you shoot them. I’ve been able to take out scouts on a distant hillside with an LMG before, but only after firing for a few seconds.
SCOUT
Lone Defender
Key items: sniper decoy, tripwire bomb, flare gun - flash
Good for: keeping the offense in cover, sick headshots bro
If you’re truly talented with a sniper rifle, find a good vantage point and shoot incoming soldiers. Trusting that you’re a good shot, they’ll take their time behind cover. Keep them there. It’s a pretty straightforward job with a high skill ceiling. Don’t have a pal to watch your back? Use a bomb instead. Place a tripwire bomb near a stairway or ladder behind you for a second chance at life. If you have the extra war bonds, experiment with placing gas and incendiary tripwire bombs near an objective or somewhere you expect opponents to hole up. Make use of the sniper decoys too. They give off the same distant glint actual scouts do, and if an enemy takes the bait and shoots one, it marks them on the map for all to see. Not getting any bites? Pick up your tripwire bomb and move.
Tank Flanker
Key items: K bullets, tripwire bomb, smoke grenade
Good for: disabling or finishing off vehicles, interrupting repairs
Finally, a scout class that doesn’t need to touch the tank to do damage. As a Tank Flanker, you won’t do the bulk of damage to vehicles, but due to the precision of your K bullets, you can target specific parts of a vehicle to potentially disable them. For instance, targeting treads has a chance to render a tank immobile, or targeting a gunbox has a chance to take out the gunner inside. K bullets can also interrupt a pilot’s repair cycle. Look for the tank to retreat and sit still—wait a second or two and pop off a K bullet (relocate and flank if necessary) to force the repair to restart, giving your squad more time to move in and finish the job. At some point, a vehicle will rush your location. Prepare by leaving a tripwire bomb somewhere in the tank’s potential path and toss a smoke between you and cover to make a clean getaway.
Mobile Spotter
Key items: trench periscope, sniper shield
Good for: directing team movement, spotting enemies
The spotting scope is surprisingly powerful tool that lets a player see peek over cover without exposing themselves. By simply looking at an opposing player, it briefly marks them on the map, but if you spot someone—that is, press the Q button when looking at them—it won’t just mark them on the map, it will outline them in red, which makes them visible through buildings. Handy! As a mobile spotter, you’re ideally flanking and finding a good vantage point behind cover to mark as many important targets as possible for friends. If you’re caught out in the open or need cover where there isn’t any, just make some with the sniper shield. Gather as much intel as you can and guide your squad through the map from afar.
