Battlefield 4 Holiday Patch and Legacy Operations DLC
By Dalton Cooper 26 December 2015
Electronic Arts releases a cinematic trailer hyping tomorrow’s holiday update for Battlefield 4, which will include two new maps as well as various fixes.
DICE’s Battlefield 4 has had an interesting history. When it launched, the game’s online component was completely broken, shaking consumer confidence in the popular shooter franchise. However, DICE has greatly improved upon the game since then with a number of patches and DLC expansions – the latest of which is releasing as soon as tomorrow.
The next DLC for Battlefield 4 is entitled Legacy Operations, and it will boast two new maps alongside typical patch fixes. Legacy Operations will be available as a free/ download to anyone that owns Battlefield 4 on PC, PS4, or Xbox One (sorry last-gen players), maps and all. Refer to the full patch notes for Battlefield 4‘s holiday update to see everything that Legacy Operations is tweaking in the meantime.
The most significant addition coming with the Legacy Operations holiday DLC for Battlefield 4 are the two maps. The first is Dragon Valley 2015, a remake of the Dragon Valley map from Battlefield 2. This map will receive a visual overhaul, but it will retain some features that made it a unique map back in the Battlefield 2 days. This includes a vertical cloud layer meant to keep air and ground vehicular combat separate, as well as bridges that can be destroyed and repaired.
The second map is a remake of Noshahr Canals from Battlefield 3. Simply called Noshahr Canals 2015, fans of Battlefield 3 shouldn’t notice too many differences beyond the greatly improved graphics. DICE chose to remake Noshahr Canals over an older map from the franchise’s past because, according to the holiday patch notes, Noshahr Canals is one of the most-played Team Deathmatch maps in series history.
Showing off these maps is a brand new cinematic trailer from Electronic Arts. See Dragon Valley 2015 and Noshahr Canals 2015 in action right here:
Considering the fact that Battlefield 4 released in 2013, it’s quite remarkable that DICE is still supporting the game to this day. Battlefield 4‘s season pass has already been fulfilled, yet DICE continues to release DLC and updates for the game, even after the company has already moved on to other projects.
In fact, DICE is working on Battlefield 5 as well as Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, and just launched Star Wars Battlefront. Previously known almost exclusively for working on the Battlefield games, it’s good to see DICE branch out and explore other franchises as well.
It’s also good to see that the Legacy Operations DLC is being released as a free download. Paid DLC maps have a tendency to splinter the playerbase, and with Battlefield 4 well into its twilight years, it wouldn’t make sense to hide the maps behind a paywall. Despite the game’s rocky launch, free DLC like this and the Battle of Jakku for Star Wars Battlefront show that DICE does seem to genuinely appreciate the community that enjoys their games.
Battlefield 4 is currently available for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The Legacy Operations DLC is only coming to the PC and new-gen versions of the game, and will be available on December 22nd.
Source: VG 24/7
