Battlefield 3 will be our biggest Battlefield game yet. Besides the expansive multiplayer mode and single player campaign, it will also ship with a co-op campaign out of the box. Read on for the full details straight from our Lead Co-op Designer. - DICE

"Every mission in co-op is a new experience. We wanted to create the ultimate mix of play styles for you and a friend" - David Spinnier

According to the developers of the anticipated Battlefield 3, the co-op missions will take place in the same general area as the single player campaign, both of which have an up-beat, exciting storyline all the way through to an 'explosive' finish. As you play co-op missions, you will play as soldiers that aren't assigned to any branch of the Armed Forces. This is an intentional design decision to allow for a vast variety in gameplay in the different co-op missions.


Lending a 'Helping Hand' -

In order to complete missions in co-op, you're going to have to stay really close to your partner and use teamwork to your advantage. If you or your partner get shot down, you'll be eligible to use the new co-op mechanic titled as "Man Down!", allowing you or your partner to revive the other while still in battle. While waiting to be revived you are in a 'back-on-the-ground' position, somewhat like Call of Duty's 'Last Stand' perk, you will have your secondary equipped, and you will be able to crawl around to safety. If anything unfortunate happens and you both go down into 'Last Stand' mode, it's game over and time to restart.

It's all about teamwork. Once the mission is completed or you both go down, you will be taken to a scoreboard (Also known as the BattleLog) where you will be able to see you and your partner's score. Your scores will be submitted to the Battlefield 3 Leaderboard where you can see the scores of other players throughout the world. If you're not happy with your score, you can always try again, your highest score will be displayed at all times so you know what to beat.

These missions are going to be a challenge, even the developers are having a tough time. Because of the difficulty, they know people are going to keep trying on each mission several times to complete it. But know that the missions always come up with new 'elements' to keep everything fresh and exciting. If you get the hang of co-op missions, you may have the chance to unlock a variety of weapons for multiplayer. BUT, these weapons must be unlocked by getting certain scores, completing certain missions, etc. in co-op mode.

Exfiltrate Hamid El Zakir -


At GamesCom '11, they are only revealing one mission for the new co-op feature, and that mission is Exfiltrate. It is an escort mission (woo-hoo) where you have to escort a man named El Zakir. It's a mission based on taking down anybody who's opposing, to keep this man in protection and to return him to safety. If you complete the mission without raising any alarms, you will get a 'mysterious' bonus.

Here’s a little playing tip for you: If you need to take out multiple targets simultaneously (which is the case in Exfiltration), do a countdown over the voice chat. That way you can open fire at the same time, which gives the enemy less time to react.

Part two of Exfiltration has you clearing a path for your convoy so you can reach the outskirts of the city, before entering two of the vehicles and assisting by manning the top-mounted machine guns. Exfiltration is not over there, and there are more elements to it, but by now you should have a good idea what awaits in one of our diverse co-op missions. More will be revealed later.