6 Entry-Level Multiplayer Tips for Battlefield Hardline Newbies

It should come as no surprise that the easiest way to do well in Battlefield Hardline’s multiplayer is to be really, really good at killing the bad guys. But with so many players in any given game – and so damn much information (and, well, bullets) flying around – it’s easy for newcomers to get overwhelmed. Never fear! We’re here to hook you up with some simple tips to get an early edge.

Earn Cash Fast

When starting up Hardline, you’re equipped with a pretty basic selection of gear. In order to unlock the good stuff, you need cold, hard cash. And there’s one fantastic way to score lots of it with absolutely no risk to your K/D ratio, or your ego: Be a Hacker. Each side gets a Hacker, and each Hacker gets a godlike view of the proceedings on the map, with the ability to influence both electrical systems (e.g. cameras, to tag nearby enemies) and teammates (e.g. by enhancing a squad or reducing redeploy time). Every activity earns you money and experience points, and unlike direct combat, there’s no downtime. It may not be glamorous, but it’s a heck of a great way to both level up and unlock expensive gear.

Stick with Your Squad

Notice how some of your teammates’ names are in green instead of blue? That’s because those are your squadmates. Until you become squad leader, you won’t be able to do much with a squad, but that doesn’t mean they’re unimportant. Any points you get for things like healing, reviving, spotting, and so on are significantly increased when you’re close to your squad. So play together!

Tag the Baddies

On a related note, when you have an enemy in your sights, the very first thing you do shouldn’t be to shoot him – it should be to tag him. Using the Spotting feature (mapped to the Right Bumper by default) will throw up a big, obvious orange arrow over the enemy’s head for everyone on your team to see. This works for vehicles, too, so even if you don’t have any anti-armor gear, you can help out those who do. Everyone appreciates a team player.

Don’t Be Too Quick on the Trigger

If you can get close enough to an enemy to take him down in a nonlethal way, consider it. Once you have him on the ground, you can Interrogate him, which is a huge benefit to your whole team. Doing so shows you crucial enemy details like troop positions and the locations of mobile objectives (e.g. the VIP in Crosshair mode). So take it easy… especially when you’re close enough to reach out and touch an unsuspecting enemy.

Learn to Levolve

The impressive, large-scale, dynamic events Battlefield’s developers call “levolution” aren’t just for show. In addition to throwing up some impressive visuals in the environments, levolution events can impact routes through the map – and even move objective points. Next time something big goes down, take a moment to notice how it’s changed the map. You might find a much quicker route to the enemy spawn area, for example… or a great new way to access a bank vault.

Please Stop Rushing the Choppers

Finally, here’s one for longtime Battlefield players, who have been screaming this for years. Yes, helicopters are fun to fly. Yes, they can make a substantial impact on the battle. But no, they’re not easy to control. So don’t just hop into the driver’s seat of the nearest whirlybird and take off; chances are you’ll whirl it right into the ground. Instead, take it comically slowly: Ease it up into the air and practice tiny, easily corrected movements on the sticks. This may frustrate your teammates at first, but it will frustrate them a lot more to be on-board when you run into a bridge.

Most important of all, though? Remember to have fun. Don’t get too discouraged if you have a rough start; it happens to all of us at some point. You’ll get there, champ.

Battlefield Hardline is available now on Xbox One and Xbox 360.