Battlefield V arrived in November 2018 with eight maps, among them Narvik, Rotterdam and Fjell 652, and DICE closed content development in June 2020 after six Tides of War chapters. It is the only Battlefield where every soldier carries a hammer and can raise sandbags, tank traps and repaired walls at marked build points. Ammunition is deliberately thin under the attrition system, so a squad without a Support runs dry long before it runs out of targets.
Starting Battlefield V can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet. For the full progression path, see our walkthrough.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Battlefield V is a fps game built around Fortification building and Attrition ammo economy. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Role
| Role | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Assault | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Medic | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Support | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Recon | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Tanker | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
Our recommendation: Start with Medic. It offers the most forgiving experience while teaching core mechanics.
Avoid Tanker as your first pick. It requires deep knowledge of game systems to use effectively. Once you're ready, check our classes guide for all options.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn Fortification building
Every kit carries a hammer and can build sandbags, barbed wire, tank traps and rebuilt walls at the marked construction points around objectives. Support builds noticeably faster and is the only class that can put down stationary machine guns and anti tank guns.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how Fortification building works before worrying about anything else. Our combat guide breaks this down further.
Step 2: Head to Narvik
Snowbound Norwegian ore town from the launch lineup, split between a wooded ridge, a cable car line and a dense town centre. The snow hides prone bodies far better than most players expect.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later. See our maps guide for all locations.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for MP40: it's the most accessible early upgrade. Medic submachine gun unlocked at Medic rank 6, with the flattest recoil in the class and forgiving handling at the ranges medics actually fight.
Step 4: Understand Attrition ammo economy
You deploy with a fraction of your maximum reserve and top up from the small ammo drops corpses leave behind. Only a Support ammo pouch or crate refills you completely, which is why a squad with no Support fights the back half of every engagement on fumes.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early. It pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Rotterdam
A Dutch city map built around a canal and a raised bridge, with shop interiors on both banks. Most fights are decided inside buildings rather than on the streets between them.
Essential Mechanics Explained
Fortification building
Every kit carries a hammer and can build sandbags, barbed wire, tank traps and rebuilt walls at the marked construction points around objectives. Support builds noticeably faster and is the only class that can put down stationary machine guns and anti tank guns.
Attrition ammo economy
You deploy with a fraction of your maximum reserve and top up from the small ammo drops corpses leave behind. Only a Support ammo pouch or crate refills you completely, which is why a squad with no Support fights the back half of every engagement on fumes.
Squad reinforcements
Objective play banks squad points that the squad leader spends from the deploy screen on a supply canister, a smoke barrage, a Churchill Crocodile or Sturmtiger, and at the top of the list the V-1 or JB-2 rocket. Points are shared across the squad, so an inactive leader wastes everyone's work.
Squad revive
Any class can pick up a downed squadmate, but the animation runs far longer than a Medic syringe. Medics are the only players who can revive soldiers outside their own squad, and they do it fast enough to survive doing it under fire.
Weapon specialization trees
Each gun earns proficiency levels that unlock a branching upgrade tree covering recoil, hip fire, muzzle velocity, magazine size and aim speed. You commit to one side of each branch per weapon, so two players carrying the same Sten can have very different guns.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Playing Assault as a plain rifleman and never firing the Panzerfaust, which leaves an unopposed tank parked on a flag for minutes at a time
2. Ignoring the hammer entirely
The construction points near objectives exist because the map is designed around cover that players make rather than cover that already stands.
3. Bringing a bolt action Recon into Operation Underground, where the longest sightline is a subway platform and any submachine gun wins that trade
4. Reviving in the open on the objective instead of pulling the body one step behind cover, which turns one death into two or three
5. Skipping the Support ammo crate because it feels passive
Under attrition the crate is what keeps the squad shooting through the second half of a fight.
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand Fortification building and Attrition ammo economy
- Choose Medic as starting role
- Clear Narvik main content
- Acquire MP40 or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Rotterdam
- Build the sandbag line on a flag before the first contact rather than after it collapses. Support raises fortifications noticeably faster than other kits, and a finished wall changes how that objective is fought over for the rest of the round.
- Attrition deploys you with partial reserve ammunition, so walk over every corpse on your route to collect the small drops they leave. Standing beside a Support ammo crate for a few seconds is the only way to fill completely.
Tips for New Players
- Build the sandbag line on a flag before the first contact rather than after it collapses. Support raises fortifications noticeably faster than other kits, and a finished wall changes how that objective is fought over for the rest of the round.
- Attrition deploys you with partial reserve ammunition, so walk over every corpse on your route to collect the small drops they leave. Standing beside a Support ammo crate for a few seconds is the only way to fill completely.
- Any class can revive a squadmate, but the animation is long enough to get both of you killed in the open. Approach the body from the side that has cover, and use a Medic smoke grenade rifle if the body sits on the objective itself.
- Squad points are pooled, not personal. If the leader icon is free, take it, because an idle leader means nobody in the squad ever sees a supply canister, a Churchill Crocodile or the V-1 rocket.
- Bipods are a real mechanic, not decoration. Deploying a Bren Gun or an MG42 on a windowsill collapses vertical recoil, and the medium machine guns are close to unusable while standing.
- Weapon specializations are permanent per gun and cost proficiency levels to reach. On automatics take the recoil branch before the range branch, because a controllable gun out performs a hard hitting one you cannot hold on target.
- Health regenerates only up to the top of the segment you are currently in. Bandage from your own kit or a Medic pouch before pushing, otherwise you start the next fight capped well under full.
- Vehicles are chosen in the deploy screen before you spawn, not found on the map. If you want the heavy tank or a plane, pick it while the round is loading, because the slot is taken within seconds.
- Spotting with the ping puts an enemy on the minimap for the whole squad, and a Recon spotting scope extends that marker to the entire team. Ping first and shoot second in a squad that is coordinating.
- Smoke is the strongest utility in the game. A Medic smoke grenade rifle blanks an entire capture point long enough for four players to cross open ground on Hamada or Panzerstorm without being picked apart.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Battlefield V still getting new content?
No. DICE ended content development in June 2020 after six Tides of War chapters, with Chapter 6 Into the Jungle and the Solomon Islands map as the final addition. The servers are still online and popular Conquest maps still fill.
Which class should a new player start with?
Assault or Support. Assault gets the StG 44 plus the Panzerfaust, so you always have an answer to both infantry and armour. Support hands out ammunition, which under attrition makes you useful even on the rounds where your aim is off.
What exactly does attrition change?
You spawn with reduced reserve ammunition and only partial health regeneration. Corpses drop small ammo pickups, Support crates and pouches refill you fully, and bandages restore the health segment that regeneration will not.
What are Combat Roles?
Chapter 5 gave each of the four classes two specializations, for example Pathfinder and Sniper for Recon, or Combat Medic and Field Medic. Each role changes the gadget set and adds a passive trait, and you pick one per class before deploying.
How is it different from Battlefield 1?
Battlefield V adds fortification building, attrition ammunition, squad reinforcement call ins and per weapon specialization trees. It also drops Battlefield 1's Behemoths and weapon variants, and its time to kill is generally faster.
More Battlefield V Guides
- Battlefield V Battlefield V Overview
- Battlefield V Best Builds
- Battlefield V Tier List
- Battlefield V Walkthrough
- Battlefield V Tips & Tricks
- Battlefield V Weapons Guide
- Battlefield V Combat Guide
- Battlefield V Boss Guide
- Battlefield V Maps & Locations
- Battlefield V Crafting Guide
- Battlefield V Classes & Characters
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- Apex Legends Beginner's Guide: fps game with similar mechanics
- Rainbow Six Siege Beginner's Guide: fps game with similar mechanics
