The September 4th v1.06 patch (sometimes incorrectly referred to as 1.6) has released. This update is approximately 2.2GB in size for the PC, 1.5GB for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
In addition to including content for the Armored Kill DLC, there are a number of gameplay changes and bug fixes. The complete list is available at the Battlefield Blog, but to keep from boring you to death, I’m listing only the biggest changes below.
Weapon Changes:
- Reload times slightly changed for most weapons to better match animations
- Minimum damage increased on UMP, PP2000, M1911, M5K, and 12 Gauge buckshot rounds
- Slightly lowered the range bonus of the heavy barrel on most Assault Rifles
- Slightly reduced range penalty of the suppressor on most guns
- More recoil on M16A3 and M4A1
- Less recoil on SG553, MG36, M416, and G36C
- Improved bipod bonuses on several assault rifles and LMG’s
- Belt-fed LMG’s more accurate when standing and aiming down scope
- .44 Mag rate of fire reduced, MP412 REX rate of fire increased
- M320 LVG lethal damage area increased
- M417 suppressor and foregrip bonuses reduced
- Extended mags available for MG36, QBB-95, and RPK; foregrip available for ACR; heavy barrel available for RPK and SKS
- In Gun Master mode, MK3A1 shotgun now uses flechette instead of frag rounds
- IGLA and FIM92 lock onto aircraft at lower altitudes and from further away
Vehicle Changes:
- Attack helicopter gunner can no longer equip flares
- Air radar shows friendly aircraft
- Helicopter weapons can destroy equipment with splash damage
- Scout helicopter laser designator changed from pilot equipment to 4th seat passenger
- AA vehicle does more damage to infantry and tanks
- Repair tool damage to enemy vehicles reduced 10%
- Tank driver’s two weapons can no longer be fired in quick succession
- Jet and helicopter rocket damage to helis, jets, and infantry increased
- Helicopter gunners and IFV’s do more damage to helis and jets
Other Changes:
- Fixed hit indicator displaying when spawning, closing menus, or entering vehicles
- Fixed bug where spawn menu sometimes appears after revive
- No longer able to revive a player who suicide and changed teams
- Mortar strike explosions appear for the shooter on the minimap
One fix that is not mentioned is that enemy Recon equipment properly registers damage when you shoot it with a soldier weapon. Previously it was necessary to aim at the bottom of the equipment to register a hit.
Some new bugs have been introduced with the patch:
- When players are automatically assigned to squads, no squad leader is assigned. To work around this, players must create a join a new squad.
- Most PC players are unable to join servers after installing the patch. To fix this, update the browser plugin. Then open Origin, right click BF3, and choose “Repair install.” You should then be able to join game servers.
Be sure to give your favorite weapons another look, since many have been changed. Attack helicopters are now more challenging to keep in the air. Gun Master mode is a little less frustrating with the changes made to the MK3A1 and M320 LVG.
I could totally understand trying to make the game more stable with the fixes and what not…but these patches are so big and downloading them onto my ps3 can be a bother (Isn’t there a way to put them on a flash drive form my computer???).Come on seriously! this is perhaps the reason I recently got back into Bad Company 2…It was and will always be a very good title….I also feel as though the BF3 online community has been segregated to some extent with the inclusion of the paid DLC packs…So that there are now NORMAL servers and DLC specific servers…..I have invested quite a bit of time and effort into this game to have reached Colonel 7..(which is still very low in the eyes of the more hardened players)…Personally, I feel as though i have to relearn my weapon systems when these patches are released, which really does get on my nerves…
Quit being a noob son. Colonel 7?! seriously?! that took me all of maybe 2 hours…so if it took you “quite a bit of time and effort” to reach level 7 then that is sad. It doesn’t take a hardened player to see that either. And of course servers have been separated between normal and DLC…that tends to be the case when a game has two or more expansions. And yeah…so there have been a few lengthy updates…it takes maybe one hour to do. I would much rather have that then every time I logged on to play i have a 10 min update that changes one or two things. They make the updates because the updates are needed. if you cant adapt to them changing the recoil or dmg in a few weapons then please…go back to bad company 2. MW2 was a horrid horrid flop once all the hackers took over…but you didn’t see me complaining and running back to the original call of duty. Online gaming communities need more people who can adapt and move on, and less complainers.