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EA And DICE Announce Battlefield 4 Player Appreciation Month
Now that Battlefield 4 is getting on track, with another stability and balancing patch slated for the coming days, EA and DICE are turning their attention to thanking players for their patience. It’s been a bumpy road for Battlefield 4, but EA and DICE are hoping to smooth things over with some giveaways.
Most of the offerings are available to all players, with two additional gifts for Premium members. Each day during February, players can log in for a bronze or silver battlepack. These include XP boosts, camos, weapon attachments and more. According to DICE, if you log in every day and get your gear, you’re saving about 30 hours of play time it would take to earn that much.
Shortcut bundles will also be available for free. For everyone, this means instant access to every grenade and pistol type. For premium members, shotgun and DMR bundles will also be available. These are completely optional.
In February, there will be two double XP weekends. One will be open to all players. The second will be restricted to Premium members.
DICE will also be implementing Community Missions. Completing them will unlock gold battlepacks. The first mission will task players to a specified number of collected dog tags.
Finally, DICE will be posting interviews with different members of the Battlefield 4 team throughout the month. These will include core gameplay development and, of likely interest to more dedicated players, a look into how the balancing process works.
You can read all the details on the Battlefield Blog. Player Appreciation Month begins on Saturday February 1.
[Source: Battlefield]
Our Take
These are some smart attempts to make things right to a community that has suffered through a rocky launch, late patches, and ongoing (though diminishing) instability problems. I know that the free battlepacks will get me to log in each day, and my friends that play will no doubt be pulling me in for more game time. I’m hopeful that the upcoming patch puts the remaining problems to rest, but the memory of the Battlefield 4 launch won’t fade soon.
It’s important to note the timing of this announcement. EA is releasing its third quarter financials this afternoon, and framing the conversation with some attention to fans is likely to soften the commentary surrounding the numbers.
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