Battlefield 4 Rolls Out Platoons During Player Appreciation Month

Battlefield 4 has a couple of exciting events happening this month, brought to us by the boys at Electronic Arts. First, player appreciation month is in full swing with about two weeks to go. Second, the addition of platoons to the game will add to the social aspect of Battlefield 4.

Battlefield 4 Player Appreciation Month has been running since February 1 and will continue to run through March 06, 2014. During this month, players can enjoy collaborative community missions and earn daily giveaways by playing an online multiplayer match.

According to the Battlefield website there are two different types of battlepacks being given out. Bronze battlepacks will be given out each day during the week. Silver battlepacks will be given out on the weekends. You can log in to earn one battlepack each day with new packs becoming available every day at 4 am PST.

Even more exciting and game changing is the addition of platoons set to be launched February 27. The following features of platoons were rolled by Electronic Arts recently in the Battlefield forums.

• The ability to create and join a Platoon for up to 100 members.
• Basic Platoon management such as inviting, applying, and promoting/demoting members.
• A private and public Platoon feed, where you can communicate and coordinate.
• A Platoon emblem and tag that all members can easily apply.
• The ability to earn stats for your Platoon and rank it up, and see all the matches you played together.

EA had this to say about the new Battlefield platoon system, “Our goal is to make it both fun and easy for you to get organized and be part of the best Battlefield 4 Platoon ever created. Whether you want to discuss your past games and plan the next, or get competitive and see who your Platoon is up against, the feature will be as powerful and intuitive as possible.”

Most of these features are familiar to anyone who played Battlefield 3. The last one on the list is new to Battlefield 4. This is the first time in the series that players earn XP collectively to rank their platoon higher. This brings the full implications of the 100 member max limit to platoons. The platoons that are able to appear highest on the leader boards will need to be constantly refreshing their ranks with active players. Professionally run platoons will most likely review platoon matches and remove players with poor performance. The competition to get into the best platoons is going to be stiff. Platoons just became more relevant in Battlefield 4.

In the coming weeks after the launch of platoons the forums will no likely be full of people criticizing or praising it. This is exactly what they are hoping for according to the following statement by Electronic Arts.

“It is important for us to clarify that this is the first iteration of Platoons. We will continue to work on the feature to refine and expand it, but now we will finally have the opportunity to see it in action and get some real-world feedback. Now is the time for all our players to tell us what they like, what they want improved, and what they want to see next.”

Personally, I can’t wait to invite all my friends to renew our old Battlefield 3 platoon and once again wear the emblem of the Dragons of Glory. See you on the Battlefield.