Armored Kill comments w/ Daniel “zh1nt0” Matros

Daniel Matros and I have established a pretty great personal friendship, as well as a professional one through the community, Last night we had some time to sit down and just talk about armored kill, nothing more. Please don't read this and think we are going to be revealing secret DLC details... we aren't. Daniel is an DICE employee, and under a very strict NDA on Armored Kill, so please, This is just a short Q&A on Daniel’s thoughts on the Armored Kill DLC, both as the DICE Global Community Manager, and as a 10 year Battlefield Veteran.

Question 1:
How much time have you had to play Armored Kill in the Studio playtests?

-- Simple answer. Every day. Playtests are the best way for us to ensure that we like what we are playing. It´s one thing to sit in a builder and try out some cool models as well as working on the level but actually trying it out is our best way of making sure it really feels the way we want it to feel and play. If it doesn´t play right, we need to take it back and look at how we can improve.

Question 2:
What do you think about Armored Kill? Will it be a return to the “Classic Battlefield” experience?

-- Armored Kill is definitely going to bring that experience back. Close Quarters was more focused towards infantry and close quarter battle so Armored Kill is naturally in line to bring out vehicles and huge maps with lots of flying, shooting as well as tactical sneaky maneuvers by infantry units.

Question 3:
Have you had a chance to play Armored Kill on any other platforms? If so, how does it play? A lot of the console players are concerned with scalability; do you think Armored Kill is going to be enjoyable for all platforms?

-- It plays very well indeed. We of course need to make it feel right for all platforms.

Question 4:
Have you decided which map you love the most, and why?

-- Oh yes. Alborz Mountains is definitely my favorite map. Mostly because it is so vast and has very different levels of height and altitude. It is also a very beautiful map to play on as well with different weather effects.


Question 5:
Tell us more about Tank Superiority mode, do you enjoy it?

-- Yes. Tank Superiority is a good mode I think a lot of folks have been looking forward to. It is essentially a king of the hill type of game mode where you as a team battle against the other team for one flag. The challenge is to hold the flag since the map is quite large and flanking routes come a plenty here.

Question 6:
Knowing the battlefield community as well as you do, and as a long time Battlefield vet, do you think Armored Kill is more “tailored” to the veteran based Battlefield community?

-- I definitely feel that these maps bring back some of the old BF flavor we have seen over the past 10 years but it also does a great job in introducing new players as well. This is an expansion pack based on BF3 and not any older game although all of our previous experience has made BF3 possible.

Question 7:
Have you been inside the AC-130? What’s it like trying to defend the Gunship while also trying to provide over watch on ground assaults? Do you think the AC-130 will be used more as an offensive or defensive weapon?

-- Haha, it gets quite hectic to say the least. The Gunship is an important vehicle and can definitely decide outcomes on the battlefield. You´ve got one cannon that you can use to primarily hit ground targets and lay waste to flag areas with. On the other cannon you´ve got an AA cannon. As with everything in Battlefield, skill determines the winner in tight vehicle combat situations so the tides might even turn if you face an amazing jet pilot. For defensive and offensive? It really depends in what situation you are currently in when you get it. It can however be used for both purposes.

Question 9:
We’ve seen the AC-130 on multiple maps via the trailers DICE has put out; can you confirm it’s available on all maps for Armored Kill?

-- The Gunship is available on all maps on Conquest small and Large.


A thank you to Daniel for taking some time out of his schedule to discuss his thoughts on Armored Kill with us, we look forward to seeing all the holiness of Armored Kill for ourselves in a few weeks.