The Recon Class in Battlefield has been my long-running favorite in the franchise. There’s something about the high-risk-high-reward nature of putting someone down in one shot (or missing and giving yourself away), that I very much enjoy.
I’ve learned a lot in my time with the class, and thus far, I’ve logged almost all of my hours in Battlefield V with Recon. There are some things that have stayed the same, and some things that have drastically changed about the game and about the Recon Class; I’ve put together the most crucial information to hopefully gain you the upper hand.
12. GENERAL RECON TIPS
There are definitely some universal tips for anybody using Recon, regardless of how you choose to play the class.
First and foremost: keep moving. The more you stay in one spot, the larger the target on your back becomes; this is especially true if you’ve gotten a few kills already. Someone has figured out where you are, and odds are they aren’t happy with you. You’ll need an internal clock that you consult often, and when that bell in your head starts ringing, it’s time to pack up and find a new spot.
There are certainly going to be times where you have to be in the thick of things with the rest of your team, but it’s very beneficial to find a place outside of the general mess to apply pressure to the other team. There’s almost always a spot you can get to where you’ve got a line of sight on enemies who think they’re behind cover, and from that vantage point, you can do some serious damage.
11. BOLT-ACTION
So far in Battlefield V, there are two types of rifles available to the Recon Class; Bolt-action and Self-loading. Bolt-action rifles require you to chamber a new round between every shot, forcing you to come out of scope, but they sport a higher damage and lower bullet drop. There are four different bolt-action rifles in the game thus far:
Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk. I – This one has the highest magazine count of all the bolt-action rifles, with ten. It also has the highest rate of fire. This is definitely the most forgiving bolt-action rifle in the game.
Gewehr M95/30 – This is my favorite bolt-action weapon right now. This sports the highest damage of them all, with the second highest rate of fire, but the second worst control.
Krag-Jorgensen – This is the only bolt-action rifle in the game without a six-times scope option, making it the least viable in long-range engagements. It also has the lowest damage and second-lowest rate of fire.
Kar98k – Familiar to anyone who plays PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, the Kar98k is the last unlockable weapon for the Recon Class. It has the worst control and the worst rate of fire of all bolt-action rifles but has the second highest damage.
10. BOLT-ACTION SPECIALIZATIONS
New to the Battlefield franchise, every primary weapon in the game comes with skill trees, called Specializations. These can drastically change how your weapon performs, and when you specialize a weapon to fit your play-style, can make a significant difference. Here are just a couple of the best specializations for bolt-action weapons:
Quick Aim - This is an almost must-have. With Quick Aim enabled, you transition down scope 33% faster, which is absolutely fantastic for situations where someone surprises you.
Lightened Stock/Custom Stock – These two perks are both great for someone who, like me, likes to strafe while down scope often. One allows you to move 60% faster while down scope and the other improves accuracy while moving and down scope.
9. SELF-LOADING
There are three self-loading rifles in Battlefield V so far. These are a lot easier to use in mid to close-range engagements, though they’re a little bit lacking the further out somebody is. They certainly won’t be able to compete with somebody using a bolt-action weapon at a longer range, but if you manage your engagements well, you’ll be in range to do good damage more often than not.
Model 8 – The Model 8 weapon’s base stats are the exact same as that of the RSC. In optimal range, this drops enemies in two shots, whether they’re headshots or not.
ZH-29 – This self-loading rifle has the highest damage of any in the game thus far. It’ll still be two shots before you get the kill, but the higher damage broadens out the range in which you can two-shot somebody by a bit. This and the RSC both can wield a six-times scope.
