Battlefield 1 released in October 2016 and put the series in the First World War, where Operations chains two or three maps into one long attack and defence battle fought across a stack of battalions. When a team falls badly behind, the game hands it a Behemoth: the six seat Airship L30, the six seat Armored Train or the four seat Dreadnought. Gas grenades, bolt action rifles and cavalry horses make it the most deliberate shooter DICE has shipped in the modern era.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. Choose the weapon variant deliberately
Choose the weapon variant deliberately. A Trench variant adds hip fire accuracy and drops the sight quality, an Optical variant does the opposite, and picking the wrong one makes a perfectly good gun feel broken.
2. Operations is the mode the maps were built for
Operations is the mode the maps were built for. Attackers get several battalions, so losing the first attempt is normal, and later battalions arrive with better support including a Behemoth.
3. Behemoths die to focused fire, not to individual heroics
Behemoths die to focused fire, not to individual heroics. Field guns, anti aircraft emplacements and Tank Hunter kits stacked on one target bring an Airship down quickly, while single riflemen do nothing at all.
4. Elite kits sit on the map as crates and reset after a while
Elite kits sit on the map as crates and reset after a while. Sentry is a mobile roadblock that cannot sprint, Flame Trooper clears a fixed position, and Tank Hunter is the fastest way to punish careless armour.
5. Suppression genuinely degrades aim in Battlefield 1
Suppression genuinely degrades aim in Battlefield 1. Sustained Support fire near a defender blurs their screen and widens their spread, so shooting at a covered enemy is useful even when you cannot hit them.
6. Cavalry is a full class, not a vehicle seat
Cavalry is a full class, not a vehicle seat. Riders carry extra armour, a one hit sword, a carbine and their own ammo and medical supplies, which makes them the best pick on Sinai Desert and St Quentin Scar.
7. Gas is an area tool
Gas is an area tool. Throwing it into a defended room forces masks on, and a masked player has a narrowed field of view and cannot aim down sights, which is often better than a kill.
8. Bayonet charges commit you completely
Bayonet charges commit you completely. Use them to close the last few metres against a reloading enemy, never as an opening move across open ground.
9. Scout rifles have a sweet spot range band where they kill in one body shot
Scout rifles have a sweet spot range band where they kill in one body shot. Learn the band for your rifle rather than assuming closer is always better, because many of them do less damage up close.
10. Planes are answered from the ground
Planes are answered from the ground. Anti aircraft emplacements on most maps will drive a fighter off within seconds, and coordinating two of them removes the enemy pilot from the round entirely.
Advanced Strategies
Role Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For Assault (A-Tier):
- Focus on Operations mode combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: Hellriegel 1915
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For Medic (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Automatico M1918
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Battlefield 1's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Operations mode + Behemoths: Attackers spend battalions pushing through linked sectors on consecutive maps while defenders try to drain every battalion. Combined with Behemoths, the airship l30 flies over st quentin scar and monte grappa, the armored train runs the rails on amiens, sinai desert and argonne forest, and the dreadnought shells coastal maps from open water.
Elite kits + Weapon variants: Sentry, Flame Trooper and Tank Hunter sit on the map as pickup crates. When paired with Weapon variants, almost every primary exists in two or three factory variants such as trench, optical, storm, factory, low weight and sweeper.
Bayonet charge scaling: Sprinting with a bayonet fitted rifle triggers a locked lunge that kills in one hit. You cannot cancel it, you cannot aim during it, and anything that blocks the charge leaves you standing still in the open holding an unloaded rifle.
Weapons Efficiency
| Weapon | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hellriegel 1915 | Holding an interior objective on Amiens or Argonne Forest where fights come in waves. | Assault submachine gun with an oversized drum magazine and manageable recoil, so it wins extended close range fights that would leave other SMGs reloading. |
| Automatico M1918 | Doorway and trench ambushes where the first half second decides the fight. | Assault submachine gun firing at roughly 900 rounds per minute, which shreds anything inside ten metres and empties the magazine almost as fast. |
| Lewis Gun | Covering a bridge, a trench line or a stairwell that the enemy has to keep crossing. | Support light machine gun with a pan magazine and a bipod. |
| Martini-Henry | Confident marksmen on open maps such as Sinai Desert and Monte Grappa. | Single shot Scout rifle that kills with one torso hit at almost any range, followed by a slow reload that punishes a miss badly. |
| M1907 SL | Medics who need to fight for the objective rather than sit behind it. | Medic self loading rifle. |
Location Efficiency
Amiens (Conquest and Operations): A shelled French city of shopfronts, courtyards and a central square. Fighting is short ranged and vertical, and the trailing team gets the Armored Train running the line along the map edge.
Argonne Forest (Conquest and Operations): Dense woodland cut by bunkers and trench lines, one of the tightest maps in the game. Sightlines rarely open past 40 metres, which makes shotguns and submachine guns dominant.
Sinai Desert (Conquest and Operations): Wide open desert with a village, a canyon and a rail line. Horses cross the empty ground quickly, and the Armored Train can pin an entire flank if nobody brings anti tank tools.
Monte Grappa (Conquest and Operations): Italian alpine forts stacked up a mountainside, connected by tunnels and switchback paths. Attacking uphill is punishing, and the Airship L30 hangs over the ridge for the losing side.
St Quentin Scar (Conquest and Operations): Ruined French farmland with a wrecked village at one end and open fields between objectives. Armour rules the open sections, and the Airship L30 arrives for whichever side is behind.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Judging a weapon by its base name while ignoring variants, then concluding the Lewis Gun or Cei-Rigotti is unusable when a different variant fixes the exact complaint.
- Treating a Behemoth as a win button. An Airship with an uncoordinated crew is a large slow target that feeds the enemy score.
- Playing Scout on Argonne Forest, where sightlines close inside 40 metres and a bolt action loses almost every engagement it enters.
- Charging with the bayonet across open ground instead of using it to finish the last two metres against someone who is reloading.
- Ignoring anti aircraft guns and then blaming pilots. Most maps place two or more AA emplacements specifically to answer air control.
Pro Quick Tips
- Choose the weapon variant deliberately. A Trench variant adds hip fire accuracy and drops the sight quality, an Optical variant does the opposite, and picking the wrong one makes a perfectly good gun feel broken.
- Operations is the mode the maps were built for. Attackers get several battalions, so losing the first attempt is normal, and later battalions arrive with better support including a Behemoth.
- Behemoths die to focused fire, not to individual heroics. Field guns, anti aircraft emplacements and Tank Hunter kits stacked on one target bring an Airship down quickly, while single riflemen do nothing at all.
- Start with Medic, switch to Assault when ready
- Invest in Hellriegel 1915 above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Amiens → Argonne Forest → Sinai Desert → Monte Grappa → St Quentin Scar. See our maps guide
- Operations mode + Behemoths together are stronger than either alone
More Battlefield 1 Guides
- Battlefield 1 Battlefield 1 Overview
- Battlefield 1 Best Builds
- Battlefield 1 Tier List
- Battlefield 1 Walkthrough
- Battlefield 1 Beginner's Guide
- Battlefield 1 Weapons Guide
- Battlefield 1 Combat Guide
- Battlefield 1 Boss Guide
- Battlefield 1 Maps & Locations
- Battlefield 1 Crafting Guide
- Battlefield 1 Classes & Characters
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