This list features the five best protagonists that the series has ever seen and five worst. From the characters’ historical accuracy to their in-depth development, several factors play a big part in how they rank on this list. Note: spoilers ahead.
10 Best: Henry Blackburn
Henry ‘Black’ Blackburn is a sergeant from the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, appearing in the 2011’s Battlefield 3. Young Henry came up from a humble beginning of a military family—his father, grandfather, and great grandfather have fought during the Vietnam War, World War II, & World War I, respectively.
In Battlefield 3, Henry found himself in custody following the murder of his officer-in-command, Quinton Cole, for revealing Solomon’s evil plan to nuclear-bomb the cities of Paris and New York. Henry is a beautifully developed character who shows no sign of slowing down for what’s right; hence, many players are emotionally attached to it.
9 Worst: Thomas Wyatt
The first, worst Battlefield playable character is Thomas Wyatt from Bad Company 2. Along with his squad, Wyatt was tasked to investigate a possible weapon of mass destruction made by the Japanese.
What makes him one of the worst Battlefield characters is not because of how bad he was, but somewhat of his short appearance in the game. In Bad Company 2, he’s only appeared during the very first mission, titled ‘Operation Aurora,’ that caused his death and the rest of his crews. His son, James Wyatt, grew up without him and later connected the missing dots of the failed mission.
8 Best: Frederick Bishop
Hailed as the Pride of Australia, Frederick Bishop from Battlefield 1 was such a selfless, altruistic, and compassionate character. The aging soldier was a part of the Australian troops during the Battle of Gallipoli, where he met young Aussie, Jack Foster, who served as a message runner.
At first, Frederick berated young Jack, saying that he wasn’t man enough for the battlefield. After learning that Jack was trapped inside the fort, ambushed by the Ottomans, Frederick made a run to save him.
7 Worst: Clyde Blackburn
More from Battlefield 1, Clyde Blackburn is the man you do not want to cross. Not because of his tough-guy persona, but rather for his dishonesty. He was an experienced pilot of the Royal Flying Crops and a self-proclaimed gambler.
In his own words, he’s ’not a very honest person.’ As a con man, Clyde did what Clyde wanted, making us wonder if this guy is really a war hero of the game. He even almost killed Wilson, his own plane gun-man. However, he turned out to be a true hero, fighting against German zeppelins in the sky.
6 Best: Luca Vincenzo Cocchiola
Luca Vincenzo Cocchiola was a part of the elite Arditi regiment of the Italian troops in Battlefield 1. On ‘Avanti Savoia!’ mission, Luca fought his way through the enemies to find his missing twin, Matteo, only to find his beloved brother’s soulless body on a rocky patch.
For years, Luca struggled to cope up with the grief. Years after the war, he moved to the US and finally told the story to his daughter, Becca.
5 Worst: Billy Bridger
Billy Bridger, a Londoner and a convicted criminal, was one of the protagonists of Battlefield V from the ‘Under No Flag’ war story. He’s a son of an infamous outlaw, Arthur Bridger, and the two committed a handful of robbery and assaults. His son was later captured but granted a second chance if he agreed to join George Mason’s commando team.
Although his character is pretty interesting to be dug out, putting Billy as one of the worst Battlefield protagonists has something to do with how inexperienced he was at a battlefield. Sometimes, his immaturity got the best of him.
4 Best: Preston Marlowe
Although he’s only appeared on the Bad Company games, Preston Marlowe has a special heart among Battlefield fans for being such a relentless and iconic character.
Combat skill-wise, Preston was an incredible soldier. His fortes ranged from driving, piloting helicopters, and sniping. He was also a highly experienced person with explosives and high-powered rifles, making him a classic, versatile soldier.
3 Worst: Solveig Fia Bjørnstad
Battlefield V was a hit-and-miss project, and the trailer has a bizarre ratio of the like-and-dislike amount.
The reason why we put Solveig Fia Bjørnstad as one of the worst characters of the series does not have anything to do with her being a woman, but rather as the historical inaccuracy underlying beneath her role. Plenty of real-life brave women soldiers took a big part in the war, but EA and DICE rewrote the history by themselves and strayed further from the historical point that should’ve been taken into consideration while making a World War 2 game.
2 Best: Daniel Recker
Quiet yet lethal. The last, and arguably the pinnacle of the best Battlefield playable characters is Daniel ‘Reck’ Recker from Battlefield 4, the peak of the franchise’s popularity.
Reck was a sergeant of the exclusive unit Tombstone Squad, consisting of himself, William Dunn, Kimble Graves, Clayton Pankowski, and two agents Laszlo Kovic and Huang Shui. Reck is not a man of a lot of words, but when he does say something, he delivers the job.
1 Worst: Nicholas Mendoza
Nicholas Mendoza is more of a case where an okay-ish character trapped in a mediocre video game. His role simply failed to impress and was underdeveloped so bad even after 6 to 7 hours of gameplay. On top of that, his lack of motivation and identity crisis made his character feel super-bland, contrary to how great the game could have been.
Prior to its release, Battlefield: Hardlinewas hyped as a project that would offer something new on the table, being the most personal game in the series’ history, yet failed to live up to the billing even though it received a not-so-bad score of 73 on Metacritic.
