Battlefield 4: Complete Guide

A multiplayer-first guide to DICE's 2013 shooter as it plays on PC today: classes and gadgets, modes and maps (including every DLC map in the Premium Edition), vehicles, gunplay and settings, and how to find full servers years after launch.

Researched September 2026 — PC servers remain online as of this writing. The last-gen (PS3/Xbox 360) servers shut down on 7 November 2024. Battlefield 6 (October 2025) is now the franchise's active game. Check the linked sources if something differs.

Status: BF4 gets no new content, but PC servers are still up and community-run servers keep it alive. The Steam release is the Premium Edition, which includes all five expansion packs, and it needs an EA account and the EA app.

Quick Start

Play the objective. Capturing flags and arming or defusing M-COMs earn more points (and wins) than kills.
Pick a class for the squad's needs: revives (Assault), anti-vehicle (Engineer), ammo (Support), spotting and spawn beacons (Recon).
Spot everything. Press the spot key (Q by default) on enemies you see. Spotted enemies show up for your whole team.
Spawn on your squad. Squad spawning keeps you near the fight; server browser filters help you find full servers.
Unlock attachments by using weapons. Weapon kills unlock sights, grips and muzzle devices. Stick with a gun long enough to get them.
Learn one map at a time. Operation Locker and Operation Metro 2014 are infantry-heavy and easy to learn; Golmud Railway and Caspian Border 2014 teach vehicles.
Tune your settings. Check field of view and uniform soldier aiming (details below).
Don't take jets and helicopters on public servers until you've practised. A crashed attack helicopter is a wasted team asset.

Default Controls (PC)

Action	Key
Move	W A S D
Sprint	Left Shift
Jump / vault	Space
Reload	R
Spot / commo rose	Q
Grenade	G
Enter or exit vehicle	E

Everything is rebindable in Options.

Classes

Class	Primary weapons	Key gadgets	Squad job
Assault	Assault rifles	Defibrillator, medkit / medic bag, underbarrel M320	Revive and heal; frontline
Engineer	PDWs	Repair tool, RPG-7 / SMAW / SRAW / Javelin, anti-tank mines, Stinger / Igla	Kill and repair vehicles
Support	LMGs	Ammo box, C4, claymore, M224 mortar, XM25 airburst	Ammo and suppression
Recon	Sniper rifles	T-UGS, MAV, PLD, radio beacon, C4	Spotting, spawn beacons, long range

Every class can also use carbines, DMRs and shotguns. Carbines are good all-rounders, especially for Recon players who want to play closer.

Class tips

Assault: revive before you shoot. Teams with active medics win long flag fights.
Engineer: the only real answer to tanks and helicopters. Carry a launcher on vehicle-heavy maps and a repair tool if you drive.
Support: drop ammo constantly. Suppressive fire hurts enemy accuracy. The XM25 is strong against campers behind cover.
Recon: a radio beacon behind an objective wins Rush and Obliteration rounds. Spotting tools such as the T-UGS and MAV help the whole team.

Modes

Mode	What it is
Conquest (Large and Small)	Hold flags to drain enemy tickets; the classic mode
Rush	Attackers arm M-COM stations in stages; defenders stop them
Obliteration	One bomb in the middle; carry it to an enemy objective
Defuse	Small-team, one-life, round-based bomb mode
Domination	Infantry-only small Conquest
Team Deathmatch / Squad Deathmatch	Kill-based
Air Superiority	Jets-only (China Rising)
Capture the Flag	Classic CTF (Second Assault)
Carrier Assault	Attack the enemy aircraft carrier (Naval Strike)
Chain Link	Link captured flags for bonuses (Dragon's Teeth)

On today's populated PC servers, Conquest Large and Rush are the most common, and "Operation Locker / Metro 24-7" style infantry servers are always around.

Maps

Base game

Siege of Shanghai, Paracel Storm, Zavod 311, Lancang Dam, Flood Zone, Golmud Railway, Hainan Resort, Operation Locker, Dawnbreaker, Rogue Transmission.

Expansions (all included in Premium)

Expansion	Maps
China Rising	Silk Road, Altai Range, Guilin Peaks, Dragon Pass
Second Assault	Operation Metro 2014, Caspian Border 2014, Gulf of Oman 2014, Operation Firestorm 2014
Naval Strike	Lost Islands, Nansha Strike, Wave Breaker, Operation Mortar
Dragon's Teeth	Lumphini Garden, Pearl Market, Propaganda, Sunken Dragon
Final Stand	Operation Whiteout, Hammerhead, Hangar 21, Giants of Karelia

Free later maps: Zavod: Graveyard Shift (Night Operations, summer 2015), Operation Outbreak (Community Operations, October 2015) and Dragon Valley 2015 (Legacy Operations, December 2015). Everyone gets these, Premium or not.

Levolution

Many maps have a big scripted change you can trigger. Examples include the skyscraper collapse on Siege of Shanghai and the dam break on Lancang Dam. Smaller ones, like destroying a support pillar, can trap vehicles. Know what each map's event does to sightlines and flag routes.

Vehicles

Tanks (MBTs): strongest ground vehicle. Need an engineer driver or passenger repairing, and infantry cover against C4 and launchers.
IFVs: faster, lighter; good for flanking flags.
Mobile AA: counters helicopters and jets on vehicle maps.
Attack and scout helicopters, jets: high impact, high skill floor. Practise in empty servers or test-range style community servers before taking them in public games.
Boats: key on Paracel Storm and naval maps.

Counter-play: Engineers with Javelin and PLD lasing, Stingers and Iglas against air, and C4 or AT mines on routes vehicles use.

Commander Mode

Each team can have a Commander who sees the battle from an overhead map and supports squads with orders, scans, supply and vehicle drops, and missile strikes. A good Commander makes a big difference on 64-player Conquest.

Gunplay and Settings

Recoil: first-shot recoil and spread increase with sustained fire. Tap or burst at range; full auto up close.
Attachments: compensators or muzzle brakes and grips shape recoil; heavy barrels change accuracy. Test them in the same situation you play in.
Uniform Soldier Aiming: turn it on in the controls settings so that scoped sensitivity feels consistent at every zoom level.
Field of view: raise vertical FOV for more awareness; lower it if you want bigger targets at range.
Network smoothing and tick rate: many community servers run higher tick rates for crisper hit registration. Look for them in the server browser.

Popular weapons

These have been community favourites for years; there is no active balancing.

Assault rifles: AEK-971, ACE 23, M416, AK-12
PDWs: MX4, P90, CBJ-MS, UMP-45
LMGs: M249, LSAT, U-100 MK5, AWS
Sniper rifles: M98B, SRR-61, CS-LR4, M40A5
Carbines: ACW-R, AK-5C, ACE 52 CQB

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Chasing K/D instead of flags. Tickets win Conquest.
Running Recon at the back of Rush attacks without a spawn beacon or spotting tools.
Driving a tank alone into a town full of engineers.
Not reviving as Assault. Every revive saves a ticket.
Ignoring the spot key.
Sprinting everywhere through open ground. Use cover, and cross gaps quickly and deliberately.
Taking jets with no practice, which gives the enemy free air superiority.

Advanced Tips

Flag-hop on Conquest: capture back flags the enemy has left undefended to pull defenders away from the main fight.
Squad play: squad leaders' orders give squad members bonus points and focus the team. Spawn on your squad leader.
Rush defence: don't defend on top of the M-COM. Hold the approach routes.
Suppression is real: Support fire lowers enemy accuracy, so use it to cover pushes.
Server selection: filter by ping and look for community servers with active admins; they tend to have stable populations and fewer cheaters.
Assignments: Premium adds 48 exclusive assignments that unlock weapons and cosmetics. Check them in the in-game menu to target specific unlocks.

FAQ

Is Battlefield 4 still playable online in 2026? Yes. Only the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions were retired (delisted on 31 July 2024, servers shut down on 7 November 2024). PC servers remain up and are kept populated by community-run servers; the PS4 and Xbox One versions were not part of that shutdown.

Does the Steam version include the DLC? Yes. The Steam listing is the Premium Edition with all five expansions (20 maps), plus 48 exclusive assignments, customisation items, priority server queue and 12 bonus Battlepacks.

Do I need the EA app? Yes. The Steam version launches through the EA app with an EA account.

Should I play BF4 or Battlefield 6? Battlefield 6 is the actively updated game, with seasonal content (Season 3 launched in May 2026 with a reimagined Railway to Golmud). BF4 is complete, cheap on sale, and still has healthy PC servers.

What's the best class for new players? Assault. Healing and reviving earn lots of points, and assault rifles are forgiving.

Is the campaign worth playing? It's short and mostly teaches controls and vehicles. Multiplayer is the main event.