Battlefield 1 Winter Update: gas grenade nerf, ribbons, map voting and more rental server features coming today

By Brenna Hillier

Battlefield 1’s Winter Update drops today. Here’s what’s coming.

Battlefield 1 fans don’t have long to wait for the promised Winter Update: it releases today, February 14. We don’t have exact times yet but for those of us living in the future and therefore already enjoying the delights of Valentine’s Day, look for the international date line to hit the US before getting too excited.

If you missed the livestream earlier, Westie has all the details on Battlefield 1’s winter update. A quick disclaimer: this video was sponsored by EA, which is why he was able to get it together so quickly – and even show off some of the things we’ll talk about below.

New progression systems for Battlefield 1

Kicking things off with new progression systems, ribbons are coming to Battlefield 1. These ribbons will work just as in past Battlefield games, meaning you earn them automatically as you hit requirements, and can do so as many times as you like. Each is worth 300 XP.

DICE is also adding elite codices. Each is worth 25,000 XP and is unlocked for 500 kills with the matching weapon, starting from after the patch drops. Eight will be added to Battlefield 1 with the Winter Update, but more are expected with every major patch from now on.

Class ranks will increase from ten to 50, and to make the grind more fun, DICE players can now earn class-specific dog tags and class rank icons for their kill cards. Bronze is unlocked at level 20, silver at 30, gold at 40 and platinum at 50, so you should be able to see immediately how experienced a Battlefield 1 player is in the class that just killed you.

DICE said it plans to add more stuff to Battlefield 1’s progression, and is also taking a look at the existing medal system, which isn’t super popular.

Battlefield 1 Winter Update balance changes

The biggest change to Battlefield 1’s balance in the Winter Update is a nerf to gas grenades. Although inventory and buffs have not been changed, the gas durations has been dropped from 22 seconds to 15 seconds. Hopefully this will mean less time in masks.

DICE is also changing Battlefield 1’s suppression mechanic: it won’t come into play at the exact moment someone starts firing on you. Essentially that means you’ll have a very small window to return fire without accuracy penalties if you’re quick enough to take advantage of it.

Cavalry sabre attacks are being nerfed slightly so that Battlefield 1 players should no longer find themselves being killed from outrageous distances. Finally, Elite classes are getting a tidy up: you’ll no longer be able to spawn in with extra grenades, and your health will regenerate at the correct pace.

Battlefield 1 server updates

The patch contains a small number of fixes and improvements to Battlefield 1’s netcode, which have not been detailed as they’re relatively minor.

A map voting system will be added with the patch. It will be available on select official Battlefield 1 servers, and as an option on all rental servers.

Speaking of which, DICE is adding a few features to address some pretty glaring omissions in Battlefield 1’s rental servers program. An in-game kick and ban UI is being added, and server admins will have priority access to their own servers.

Battlefield 1 server admins will also be able to toggle behemoths on and off, and to enable squad leader only spawning for that nostalgic touch.