Operations | Game modes Battlefield 1 Guide

Last update: 01 February 2017

Operations are the biggest novelty in BF1, when it comes to game modes. It is a combination of rush, conquest and a bit of history. These are recreations of actual battles. Operations contain two or three maps, and it can take up to an hour to play them all out.

In operations, similarly to rush, we have a defending and an attacking team, and there are two or three points around the map. However, they are not stations, but flags, which can be captured just like the ones in the conquest mode. For the attackers to advance, they need to have all flags under their control simultaneously. What is important, the flags they have captured can be retaken by the defenders. The attackers have a limited supply of soldiers, but they do not have to worry about a time limit.

You can use tanks and planes to attack, while the defenders sometimes also have their own air force, but can rarely field any tanks. Instead, they can use various anti-tank and anti-air positions, scattered around the map.

The attackers, to win an operation, need to capture all sectors on both maps, however, they can attempt to achieve that several times. If they fail to capture a certain sector they can try again, with huge support in the form of a zeppelin, an armoured train or a dreadnought, depending on the map. All of the mentioned vehicles are incredibly powerful and usually with their support even a weak team will manage to capture a sector.

The amount of times that you can receive support is limited to three, which is why it may often be just as important for the defenders to shoot down a zeppelin during an attack on a sector, as it is to defend the points themselves. If the attackers use up all of their support on the very first map, then the second map will be played out anyway, however, their chances of victory are now very small.

In such cases when the attackers capture the first map without using up any of their support, on the second map the defenders receive an armoured train, a dreadnought or a zeppelin.

Defenders - Tips

In operations the maps are extremely varied and all classes are very useful. As a defender, the greatest danger you have to face are the enemy tanks. This is why the Assault class is particularly necessary in the battlefield. Make sure to grab your anti-tank equipment and help your team on their way to victory.

If the attackers have captured one of the two points and are making a push with their entire team to capture the second, it is often easier to recapture the first point, which will be guided be one squad at most. The attackers will then have to split up again.

There are various gun emplacements around the map, with weapons much more powerful than the equipment carried by the Assault class. Use anti-tank guns to destroy enemy tanks, and anti-air guns to shoot down planes.

If the attacking ream has support from a zeppelin, an armoured train or a dreadnought, focus on destroying it. Defending points in such a situation is possible only when the attacking team is very weak. Destroying the support will increase your chances of victory in the next sector or the next map.

Attackers - Tips

The attackers can field multiple tanks while attacking a sector. Use heavy tanks and landships, as several soldiers can enter then, and in a group you will always be able to do more damage then you would alone, in a light tank. Furthermore, you are also more powerful when it comes to capturing flags, however, do not drive your tank straight onto a point, as several assaults with AT grenades will blow tank to pieces in no time. Move slowly, together with the rest of your team, right up to the flag.

The attacking team will often neglect air superiority. This can be a good opportunity to grab a bomber or an attack plane and score a few easy kills through bombing the defence. It is best to be flying while a teammate is in a fighter and will protect you from enemy attacks. In an air duel the heavier planes do not stand a chance.

In a situation where there is a zeppelin in the air, take a fighter and attack enemy planes, which will try to shoot down the air support for your team.

If you have a zeppelin, an armoured train or a dreadnought, enter it if possible. Eliminating enemies with them is an easy task. If you are a driver of one of these vehicles, remember not to be too aggressive. It is a very common occurrence, that the attackers use the support in a very aggressive fashion, trying to score as many kills as possible. They fly right over the enemy base, where anti-tank and anti-air guns are positioned, and then the destruction of the vehicle is a matter of seconds. It is much more effective to take a more passive stance, which can make capturing the sector more difficult, but the support will last for much longer. It is undeniably better to have passive support for three sectors than aggressive support for one sector.

If the supply of soldiers of the attacking has reached zero, but the flag is currently being captured, then the fight for the sector will continue. It will end only when it is captured by one of the teams, which is why at the end of a sector the team must make a risky move and move in with as many players as possible onto the capture zone, and start neutralizing it.