Battlefield 4 update rebalances weapons, tweaks vehicles, and improves stability (again)

At this point, "several crash fixes and stability improvements" must be seared into the brains of every DICE employee. I imagine them wandering their offices, chanting it like some cultish mantra. It's cropped up again as a single line on Battlefield 4's latest giant update notes. This time, though, we're also getting some extensive balance tweaks to weapons and vehicles.

There's plenty here, both the significant and the specific. For the handful of people annoyed about the Active Protection and MP-APS's inability to properly stop 12G FRAG rounds, this could be the patch of a lifetime.

I've picked up BF4 again in the last week, having given up amid launch week connection nightmares. So far, it seems relatively stable, and I'm yet to have much trouble holding a stable and lag-free connection. That's anecdotal of course, but hopefully it's a sign that DICE's work hasn't been in vain.

See below for DICE's full list of changes and fixes:

March 6 PC Game Update Notes

-Several crash fixes and stability improvements

-Fixed an issue with data re-sending that was causing rubber banding on some servers

-Increased the maximum rank to 120

-Fixed an issue with the kill camera triggering before game client would display the last portion of damage being dealt, giving players the impression that they died too early

-Fixed issue with blood effects, damage indicators, and health bar updates in the HUD being out of sync. This issue meant that players would sometimes miss information about being shot at, or get the impression of too few hits occurring for the amount of bullets that hit.

-Tweaked the speed, dispersion, and re-arm duration of the IFV and MBT projectiles

-Tweaked timing for how long the kill feed stays on screen

-Fixed an issue where the message "Joining Server" sometimes didn't appear when the user tried to join the server

-Added default player slots to server browser filters

-Fix for an issue on Silk Road where players could deform the terrain to create a big, water-filled hole

-Fix for a bug that occurred with the end-of-round camera if the player was in the bomber in China Rising

-Fix for an issue on Rogue Transmission where it was impossible to capture a flag while riding the quad bike

-Prevented players from interacting with an M-COM on Siege of Shanghai after it had been destroyed

-Fixed an issue where audio for disarming M-COMs could get stuck in an infinite loop

-Added minimap details for missing carriers in Rush on Paracel Storm and Hainan Resort

-Fix for an exploit that would allow players to shoot two tank shells with not enough delay between shots

-Removed a bug where squads would get split up when transitioning between Conquest and Air Superiority

-Fixed an issue where Defuse could get stuck in an unplayable state between rounds

-Removed a bug that would cause players to sometimes get stuck in the killcam after having been killed

-Fixed an issue with revive icon not being grayed out in-game on map and minimap, when the player died after getting revived in Defuse

-General improvements and bug fixes for the Battledash and Mission create screens

-Fixed a bug where red laser dots would get stuck on textures

-Zoom dispersion fix. When zooming in while firing the dispersion did not lower to the new max value

-Fixed a bug where the enemy health always displayed as full in the kill-cam

-Fixed an issue in Defuse so killed bomb carrier can't plant a bomb in the next round without picking up a new bomb

-The MAV has been updated to prevent players from exploiting it

-Improved repair rates for vehicles with different base healths

-Tweaked volume balance and other ambiance parameters on the majority of base game and China Rising maps

-Improved the track vehicles wheel friction so vehicles don't get stuck at relatively minor hills

-Fixed an issue with faulty zoom levels that occurred when using click to zoom in. While sprinting and zooming, will mess up the zoom levels, from hip to zoom.

-Improved boat physics and handling, including implementation of a system that lets players push stuck boats back in the water

SPECTATOR MODE

-Added a chat feature, allowing spectators to take part of the chat of the match they're spectating

-Fix for the EMP/Proxy Attack effects being visible in Spectator Mode

-Removed the black screen that was visible when switching between cameras and players in Spectator Mode

-Removed squad colors in Spectator Mode, now only the red and blue team colors are visible

-Decreased the user interface clutter in Spectator Mode by removing health pack, ammo pack and revive icons

-Tweaked the 1st person view in Spectator Mode so that spectators now see exactly what players see and nothing else

-Added a functionality in Spectator Mode so that, when going into Freecam from 1st or 3rd person mode, the first static freecam will be moved to behind the previously spectated player

-Added the possibility in Spectator Mode to 'fire' at a player from Freecam to go into 1st person view of that player

-Spectators can now see which player on the scoreboard that carries the bomb in the Obliteration and Defuse game modes

GRENADE TWEAKS

-Increased the number of M84 FLASHBANG and HAND FLARES the player can carry from 2 to 3.

-Increased the effect of M84 FLASHBANG grenades on friendly and enemy players.

-Increased the maximum damage for the RGO from 67 to 80, however reduced the range of explosion.

-Reduced the visual and audio effect for the detonation of the V40 Mini to highlight its smaller blast when compared to other grenades. Decreased the maximum damage from 80 to 60, and decreased the range at which maximum damage is applied.

PISTOL TWEAKS

-Increased the aimed accuracy of the M1911 to make it a viable choice once the COMPACT 45 has been unlocked.

-Increased the close range damage of the M1911, QSZ-92, FN57, CZ-75 and COMPACT 45.

-Reduced the delay between pressing the trigger and the bullet firing for the M412 REX and .44 MAGNUM.

-Increased the magazine capacity of the QSZ-92 to 20 rounds. Additionally reduced the recoil of the QSZ-92 to give it a clear difference from the FN57.

-Corrected a small error with the COMPACT 45 accuracy when crouched or prone.

WEAPON TWEAKS

-Increased the accuracy of pump action shotguns (870 MCS, HAWK 12g, SPAS-12, and UTS 15) while on the move and aiming.

-Reduced the long range damage of the MTAR to bring it in line with the rest of the Carbines.

-Adjusted the way inaccuracy is handled when transitioning from Hip fire to Aimed fire.

-The Heavy Barrel's Accuracy bonus now also applies on the move, at a reduced bonus. This should give the Heavy Barrel a wider role for players who desire accuracy while aimed in all situations.

-Synchronized the timing of the aim down the sights animation of sniper rifles with their ability to fire with full accuracy. Players no longer need to wait for additional time after the aiming animation plays to get accurate shots. There is still a delay to achieve full accuracy, so Quick Scoping is still not possible.

-The SRS bolt action time has been tweaked and the rate of fire has been lowered

-The GOL bolt action time has been tweaked

-The muzzle velocity for the MP7 has been reduced

-The MTAR21 muzzle velocity has been reduced

-Updated the handling of the 1x scopes for Type95B1, A91, SteyrAug, SAR21, QBZ951, FAMAS, UTAS, MTAR, L85A2, and F2000

-Updated rate of fire for the RGP7 and NLAW

VEHICLE TWEAKS

-Reduced the total amount of missiles carried by the Mobile Anti-Aircraft vehicles from 6 to 4.

-Reduced the velocity of the MAA's default 20MM CANNON from 1200m/s to 800m/s to match the 30MM CANNON.

-Reduced the physical impact of all Anti-Aircraft missiles to prevent helicopters from flipping uncontrollably when hit. The damage values have not been changed.

-Reduced the cone in which ACTIVE RADAR missiles search for targets, making them require a higher level of skill in predicting where a target will be when the missile is fired.

-Increased the direct damage done by the Attack Helicopter's gunner cannon. The gunner will be better able to assist the pilot in taking down vehicle targets with this change.

-Increased the direct hit damage of the Zuni Rockets for Attack Helicopters. The rate of fire of these rockets combined with their smaller magazine pool made them a poor choice over the other two rocket types.

-Reduced the splash damage and maximum splash damage range of the Scout Helicopter 25MM CANNONS.

-Reduced the “intelligence” of the MBT LAW missiles, requiring the player to aim the missile closer to their target before the smart projectile will activate. Additionally, the MBT LAW now reloads slightly slower. Finally, a bug where the MBT LAW would pass through an ACTIVE PROTECTION shield has been fixed.

-Fixed an issue where ACTIVE PROTECTION and the MP-APS did not properly stop 12G FRAG rounds.

-Reduced the range where the M2 SLAM will do maximum damage to vehicles from 6M to 3M. The range was deemed to be too large, making the M2 SLAM far superior to the M15 AT MINE.

-Reduced the damage the STAFF shell does to all targets by 25%. This should balance the ease of use of the STAFF shell with its damage potential.