X3F TV -- Battlefield Bad Company: Free vs Paid Weapon Stat Comparison
by Xav de Matos 
{ Apr 2nd 2008 at 12:30PM }
When Electronic Arts confirmed that specific weapons would be made available for purchase over the Xbox Live Marketplace (and included in the special edition) for Battlefield: Bad Company they assured gamers the balance of the game would not be compromised. Despite that claim, the fear from the community is that the paid weapons will be overly powerfull and that gamers who decided to opt out of the purchase would be punished at a multiplayer level.
Ever viligant in our quest of the truth, this very special edition of X3F TV will compare the free weapons in the Battlefield: Bad Company beta to the special weapons that will be featured exclusively in the Gold Edition of the game and for sale over the Xbox Live Marketplace when the game launches this summer.
Using the in-game comparison tool included in the closed beta of Battlefiled: Bad Company, we've compared each paid weapon for the five soldier classes to their free counterparts. The results may surprise you.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jayslacks @ Apr 2nd 2008 12:52PM
Good stuff guys. I'm curious if EA shot themselves in the foot. Will they lose sells? I'm not going to buy it. If the guns were free and unlockable, then maybe. But I think, as a community, we need to make a point and protest this game. We can't have Call of Duty 6 try to pull this crap on us.
Sporia @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:25PM
Yep, thats what we should do , people have to remember that EA has no power , we have the power , we choose not to buy it till its all free , this so pure bullshit, EA has to stop this crap, for NFS they had down loadable content even tho , the data/information was in the disc a;ready that u already spent £40/$60 on WTF?
theBIGd @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:00PM
Nice job Xav,
I've been a long time fan of Battlefield series, and i was lucky enough to play the beta last night. I'm pretty much sold, i'll be picking up the standard issue though, and maybe purchase the one powerful weapon off marketplace. Later guys, and nice job on the podcast.
Steve @ Apr 3rd 2008 2:10AM
"i'll be picking up the standard issue though, and maybe purchase the one powerful weapon off marketplace. "
...And therein lies the reason why we will continue to get raped on DLC by game publishers. Bravo retard.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Apr 15th 2008 11:00AM
@steve
How so? Last time I checked, even if you buy the game, you don't have to buy the dlc.
Seb656 @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:04PM
This is standard EA bs tactics. I hate EA, because they try to milk you for every last penny. I mean they want you to pay for something they easily could have put on the disk.
Its sad though because battlefield is such a good series.
haukke @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:03PM
when compared to the other unlockable free guns they are not really that over powered.if EA did not thiink they could get away with it they would not even try.the amount of people that buy the stuff from them has to be overwhelming for them to do this.i personally am home bound and buy pretty much everything from the marketplace.i will buy the game and probably buy the weapons.sorry to say i am one of those people you all hate.when you get tired of a game you can walk out of your house and do something i cannot and need whatever i can to occupy myself inside.
Saccia @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:07PM
This is why I'm all for the boycott: http://sarcasticgamer.com/boycott
I don't think you get it Xav. The point is if they've already "balanced" the weapons and created the models/textures/etc as part of the initial game release then why the hell are they charging separately for it? It should be in the game from the start. And I don't buy the idea that the sniper rifle having less power but a higher rate of fire is "less powerful". One-shot-one-kill isn't always what it is about. Of course, you do want to hit that target but if you somehow slightly miss and don't get the full hit someone with a higher rate of fire is going to get the kill. Any weapon no matter how "balanced" it may seem from a in-game tool can be completely different when you put it in players hands. And on top of that, it's B.S. to release content that should have been part of the original release and make people pay for it.
Free Lono @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:12PM
thanks for the plug Saccia. Fight the power. Stop the DLC BS ASAP!
Free Lono @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:10PM
balance or unbalanced, that's not the point. The point is that they've broken the game up and are attempting to sell it to consumers piece meal to take advantage of the fan base.
what kind of multiplayer shooter ships with only five weapons? This kind of add on's are crap.
Go to Sarcasticgamer dot com / boycott to show your support and check out their kick butt parody video.
SAGExSDX @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:41PM
i heard you say "only five weapons" both on here and on GTR's podcast. This is completely false as the game ships with 10 weapons unlocked initially.
As you play, you can unlock up to 10 more weapons. This is similar (in concept, not execution) to COD4 and how you have to level up and earn the other weapons and attachments. In COD4, you initially only have access to 1 weapon per class. Pretty much the same thing.
It is, as the kids these days say, "teh suck" that they are charging for unlocking content already on the disk but I think most/all people can live without these pay-to-play weapons. I don't see why a complete game boycott is necessary. How about a boycott on buying the weapons?
I'd also put blame on people who buy things like this and horse armor for Oblivion. Not solely on EA. EA is doing it because they know people will dish out for it.
Free Lono @ Apr 2nd 2008 2:20PM
It's five weapons per each playable faction. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but that still doesn't make me not want to bring this to the forefront and say that I'm tired of being sold an incomplete game by EA.
It's not right and I know I'm not the only one that feels that way.
Perno @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:13PM
I would like to know the results, but not enough to watch a video. Just tell me.
Xav de Matos @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:14PM
@Saccia: I think you missed the point of the video. We were merely showing the statistics of the weapons. If a weapon has a lower accuracy and damage stat than another then that original weapon is less powerful. The line of the rate of fire was to express the only strength that weapon has.
I urge you to listen to the Fancast where we discuss our opinions on the matter. Personally no one sees the merit in doing this, but expression that kind of opinion was not the intention of this feature.
When the game launches it's very likely that you'll be able to download these weapons on the marketplace and not see this information, so we provided it here so people can make the most informed decision possible.
Jayslacks @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:35PM
Word up. What Xav said.
Anticrawl @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:29PM
Eh I'm not going to boycott a DICE game just because EA did a few shitty things. You guys are going to pass up supporting a fantastic developer to simply spite EA?
Paulo Eifel @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:36PM
Well I think this is not different from selling car packs just like e.g. Forza does. I wonder why nobody is angry about that because I heard some of the purchasable cars are way better then the original ones.
That said I won`t give any cash to those greedy d+uches from EA! To hell with them and their nickle n dime tactis!!
Cheers
SAGExSDX @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:43PM
the difference here is that the car packs you download for Forza2 are brand new content vs content already on the disk.
C YOU 1N HELL @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:41PM
EA is the DEVIL dam them 2 hell this is an outrage and WE AS GAMERS MUST STAND 4 OUR SELFS AND BOYCOTT EA and no longer support them. 4 gods sakes there was 1 game that had DLC on XBM b4 it was released now EA whats 2 join them as THE LOW CLASS devs. EA GO TO HELL I HOPE U ALL DIE U RUINED BFBC & 4 THAT I HATE U. I WILL NEVER BUY A EA GAME 4 THE REST OF MY LIFE SO HELP ME GOD. really guys lets not be pushed around only we have the power 2 change the DLC BS going on now a days WE MUST BOYCOTT I luv BF and DICE but im not gonna 2 buy this no matter what im not gonna 2 be EA's bitch. REALLY EA GREAT WAY TO TREAT US BF FANS THIS IS SO F#CKED UP RIPPIN US OFF AND SCREWING US LIKE THIS wow EA sux
NCteacher @ Apr 2nd 2008 2:26PM
I can not imagine how you were feeling when horse armor was released...
JACK KLASSEN @ Apr 2nd 2008 1:51PM
Seriously guys Ea isnt the devil company. People need to make money, now I hate this too but there is no reason to make a big deal out of it the game is as fun as god I cant even compare it to anything. So everyone Chill out just have fun.... however i did notice in the beta that the grenades are really weak... did anyone else notice this?
C YOU 1N HELL @ Apr 2nd 2008 3:46PM
It's not a big deal COME ON GUYS HAVE U EVER IN UR LIFE OF GAMING HEARD OF A HUGE FPS GAME LIKE BF CHARGING U MONEY DAY ONE 4 GUNS ALREADY ON THE DISK, NO U HAVE NOT. We r the test mice 2 c if gamers now a days r goin 2 let unheard BS like this fly. Of course this messes up the balance of the game all guns have their role if these guns have no role 2 play or r useless therefore dont unbalance the game then why do they even exisit. WHY MAKE GUNS THAT R USELESS THEY MUST BE USEFUL THEREFORE BREAKING THE BALANCE OF THE GAME. This is the lowest thing I've ever seen 4rm a dev I would luv 2 pay 4 new guns that r part of a update 2 the game in the future NOT GUNS ALREADY ON THE DISK I JUST SPENT $60 ON. People wake up EA & other devs the do this again & again if we let them get away with it. BOYCOTT
NCteacher @ Apr 2nd 2008 2:26PM
I will not be boycotting the game but damn if I will be buying those extra guns. Ill just use skill through playing the game, I do not think it will turn into a huge lopsided victory each time a team with purchased guns plays a team with regular content guns. I do think the whole thing is idiotic that they are selling guns in a battlefield game that is suppose to be all about balance. Just damn stupid, but either way I'm a huge Battlefield fan and will still play, ill just save my money on those purchases.
Adam B @ Apr 2nd 2008 3:37PM
EA. "It's in the game!"
....Well, not all of it.
driven2sin @ Apr 2nd 2008 3:44PM
gamestop is giving a code for a sniper rifle if you grab their pre-release - so there is one less item to buy if you grab that
but honestly the weapons within a class do not different much and it seems that the defaults are better than some of the ones I unlocked already in the beta.
hell a lot of players are just using pistols and knife and cleaning up in close quarters
OrangeCoconut @ Apr 2nd 2008 3:53PM
The problem isn't restricted to this game - if people don't protest this NOW then it will be repeated in the future, and do you really want to have to pay extra in EVERY GAME YOU PLAY to get all the features?
That is what will happen if this is successful, and it won't just be EA doing it.
Every game kids, every game. Think about it.
Free Lono @ Apr 2nd 2008 4:07PM
it kind of stinks that none of the big gaming blogs are showing the funny Boycott video or even talking about this. There's been over 1000 people signing up for this, and over 50,000 people have come to sarcastic gamer to view the site, down load boycott skins and avatar pics and about 47,000 people have seen the video on youtube already.
But I guess I can understand they're position. They don't want to piss off EA because of their reliance on them for inside info... But that's kind of sad to completely ignore something in the community that is being talked about on countless "smaller" blogs, yet being completely ignored by larger ones in favor of such cutting edge news as the new Ms. Driller XBLA game... ?
Good gracious. Sorry to pick on X3F, but it's got to be said.
Free Lono @ Apr 2nd 2008 4:13PM
Oh yeah, one more thing.... If the guns suck and don't unbalance the game and are worse than the guns that come with the game, I just have one question:
why sell crappy guns? EA's talking out of both sides of their mouth.
Richard Mitchell @ Apr 2nd 2008 5:31PM
First of all, you clearly don't listen to our podcast, in which we completely lambast EA for this. Just because we're not screaming to the hills for a boycott doesn't mean we're against it (or for it, for that matter). Second, as bloggers for the Joystiq network, we *never* dote on publishers. If we think something is shit, we'll say it. In fact, I think our opinions are expressed quite clearly in our coverage of Bad Company so far:
http://xbox.joystiq.com/2008/03/24/ea-confirms-bad-company-weapon-purchases/
Frankly, one of the only reasons I've stayed away from the boycott is because internet boycotts (and petitions) don't work, especially regarding EA games. There are too many clueless EA fans who will happily buy guns (and money, and cars, and cheat codes) off XBLM. That is why EA sells them, because they know they can. Also, I wasn't going to buy Bad Company anyway so I couldn't care less.
Finally, it just so happens that the boycott video is in our queue; it just hasn't been blogged yet (along with eight other stories we haven't gotten to yet). Once published, it will be the fourth story we've published about the issue (not to mention our very long discussion during the most recent Fancast). I think that probably covers it, mmkay?
Free Lono @ Apr 2nd 2008 6:07PM
If we're being frank with each other, You know as well as I do that your blog is a great friend to SG and while I did post this comment on X3F, I was directing the criticism generally at All of the major blogs and not specifically yours.
Second, to ignore or dismiss a boycott simply because you don't "believe it will work" is defeatist at best and lazy at worst. People using the internet to discuss video games do, whether you believe it or not, have a voice in these matters. Publishers recognize this, as I find it hard to believe that they would spend any $$$$$ on advertising on said blogs if they felt it was throwing the money away.
Finally, if you did talk about the boycott in your podcast, I'll definitely have to check that out.
Richard Mitchell @ Apr 2nd 2008 6:26PM
Fair enough. I was speaking to my personal reasons more than X3F as a whole anyway. Like I said, it's on the queue, just not up yet. And the podcast discussion was about how stupid the DLC is in general, not the boycott specifically (just to clarify).
I still personally believe that a boycott against an EA game won't work. It's a wonderful idea, and I'm all for it, but it would have to *drastically* reduce sales before EA would even think about considering lowering the price of the DLC, let alone make it free.
I realize that we have a voice, otherwise my job is fairly pointless. But I don't think the number of informed internet savvy gamers is very substantial in comparison to the rest of the unconnected gaming audience. That's going to change, but I don't think it's there yet.
Who knows though, maybe DICE has some say in this. Maybe they'll be good and let the DLC become free eventually (a la Bungie).
I have no beef with Sarcastic Gamer, either. I think the video is hilarious, personally. I just get riled up when someone even hints at us being in a publisher's pocket.
No hard feelings, then.
Free Lono @ Apr 2nd 2008 6:28PM
Never had any hard feelings man, you know we love you! ps. (listening to podcast now)
BowserUSC @ Apr 2nd 2008 4:37PM
It would have been nice if you gave us a written list instead of having to watch your stupid video.
Xav de Matos @ Apr 2nd 2008 6:10PM
Thanks for the feedback.
Mr.ESC @ Apr 2nd 2008 5:09PM
Meh It looks pretty but the gameplay looks quite generic.I would have to check reviews also that I like more Single player games than online games due lag issues also that I'm currently playing TF2
ZP1970 @ Apr 2nd 2008 6:10PM
If people wouldn't illegally copy every single game they get their hands on, game companies wouldn't have to come up with these kind of stupid tricks to get their investment's worth.
DiemetriX @ Apr 2nd 2008 5:41PM
I have the beta and i have compared the stats.
Early on you will unlock a assault rifle called xm8 which is "better" than the weapon you have too buy over live.
So Np. The game will be balanced.
Jeromy Adams @ Apr 2nd 2008 6:14PM
@ Anti crawl
That's exactly what EA is hoping for in this situation. They buy the good names and maybe you'll forget their crappy image and stay loyal to the developer which isnt the developer anymore, just EA employees with a different sign on the door. EA is EA is EA is EA is EA. Plain and simple. I have defended a lot of stuff as immaterial but this is DEFINETLY them dipping their toe in the water to see how much crap we'll buy. Well I'm not buying the extra crap, because I'm not buying this game. You buy what you want, but I am speaking with my wallet.
It's not MY responsibility to support DICE, it's EA's responsibility to manage their damned brand.
Anticrawl @ Apr 2nd 2008 6:33PM
You clearly don't know what you are talking about. DICE has had a majority of it's original developer team since they started creating games for EA. You don't have to buy the downloadable content, I won't but that doesn't mean I'll blindly hate and boycott a favorite developer of mine just because there is a shiny EA logo on the box, you are ignorant. Judging games based on their publisher is as ignorant as judging a human by the color of their skin.
Free Lono @ Apr 2nd 2008 6:40PM
We're not boycotting the developer, we're boycotting the game itself.
Just to clarify...
gcountach @ Apr 2nd 2008 6:18PM
If you can see the weapons without owning/downloading them, then they must be on the disc already (I don't think this is true for Forza 2 and the DLCars.. not sure). They are asking you to pay for something twice, basically...
This reminds me of free MMO's. Sure, you can play the game for free, but to be able to be any good at it or to not have to play 1,000 more hours than everyone else, you have to buy stuff. Difference here is EA already suckered you out of 60 dollars at the start.
Considering I have BF2142 and I've pretty much quit playing that, I see no reason to buy this.
Deck @ Apr 2nd 2008 9:06PM
Awesome job Xav! Did a great job on the X3F TV episode!
Thanks for the comparison. It was surprising that most of them seemed fairly comparable to the free weapons. Which is goodnews about balancing, perhaps it will actually be alright once the game comes out. Too bad they aren't available for testing now though.
I really want to play a good Battlefield on the 360 but.. I don't know if I feel I can support a company that is offering weapons for actual real purchase outside the game. Even if they turn out to be balanced, and I don't have to buy them to be good, it just strikes a wrong cord.
Clonerz @ Apr 16th 2008 12:20AM
For those who say EA needs to make money ohh how we forgot that games are now 60bucks a pop plezzz if this stuff continues we might have a great game crash again this is pathetic i wonder what and if peter moore had to say or do about this exclusive content for 360 they say hmm... Suffice it to say all gamers should wait a month or so after release when EA see abismal sales they will offer it for free.We the gameing public should wake up with the DLC crap that companies like EA try to dish out because if we dont it will never stop.You have got to punish those who would always have there hand in the cookie jar and EA has been livin in there for quite awhile now.Ive been a gamer since atari 2600 and EA was a great p/d in the genesis days it makes me sad to see them on the dark side overcome by the man.But like all forms of capitalism greed becomes the only thing to live by just look at gas prices .Anyhow i hope that anyone who reads my comment decides to say no to this ummm... i liken it to a rectal exam and say no i have a choice i will take my money and buy a game that is full.
Kyle @ Apr 3rd 2008 5:44PM
I don't see why this is a big deal at all...First off I am going to by this game...its hands down one of the funnest games I have played in a long time. But I am quite disappointed that the basic weapons are better then both the purchasable weapons and the unlocks.
For example for the Assault class the basic weapon they get is better then both unlocks in the beta...It does more damage with a small but of accuracy taken off...which doesn't matter much because I can aim with them no problem.
The only class that I use the unlocked weapons is Demo (for the faster shotgun) and Recon (for the one hit kill M95). Trust me buy the game, don't but the upgraded weapons...you don't need them because you are much better off with the basic weapons.
C YOU 1N HELL @ Apr 7th 2008 1:58PM
cools ok
NOLAN @ Apr 22nd 2008 7:24PM
I hope you guys know that you do not have to buy gold or buy off the marketplace. All you have to do is gain rank in the game. Like in cod4 as you gained rank you were able to get better weapons. Same thing here but the weapons aren't really better. I pre-ordered this game. I love it. P.S the other guns that you can get by getting gold and off the market place are just for the lazy people who don't want to work to get the guns.
NobleApocalypse @ May 27th 2008 10:05AM
DLC... Yes, it does suck that after you pay $60+ on the game; you have the CHOICE to pay more for a more rich gameplay. The last time I checked, EA is not holding your hand and telling you to buy the game or the DLC. But, I guess most of you think Call of Duty 4 is the best game ever because you can have no skill and use an M16 with Stopping Power, Juggernaught, and Martyrdom and have a change agaist a skilled player that does not. Grow up, stop bitching, and act like a man. I guess you complain when you go out on a date and have to pay for your chick's dinner too. STOP CRYING YOU BABIES. If you don't like it, don't play. Personally, I will glad that Halo noobs and CoD4 M16 Stopping Power, Juggernaught, Martydom noobs will stay the hell away and keep this game fun!