Aiming

In the Battlefield series, weapons require aiming in order to direct their shots to enemies.

Hipfire
When a weapon is fired without being aimed, the weapon is typically said to be hipfiring. In Battlefield games, hipfiring tends be inaccurate for most weapons. The player has a crosshair at the center of the screen that assists with aiming while hipfiring.

Aiming Down Sights
In almost all Battlefield games, weapons will need to be aimed in order to increase their accuracy for long range combat. In earlier games, aiming only slightly zooms the player's view towards their crosshair and does not affect weapon performance.

In later games, many weapons now switch to an aiming down sights view, with the player character aligning the iron sights at the center of the screen, and the original crosshair temporarily hidden. This generally increases accuracy greatly.

Battlefield 1942 / Battlefield Vietnam
Aiming increases the zoom of the gun and does not affect spread or recoil (in short, does not affect accuracy). For sniper rifles, it will put view in the scope. Large explosions will interrupt aiming.

Battlefield 2
Aiming with a weapon will make the player use the weapon's available sights - some weapons, such as shotguns, do not possess usable sights. Sighting down a weapon will decrease the effects of recoil while increasing accuracy. Some weapons, such as sniper rifles, have specialized sights which allow the user to engage targets in different circumstances. For example, sniper rifles possess scopes that allow long range target acquisition and elimination, Spec Ops Kit carbines have red dot sights and anti-tank launchers have scopes. Some class unlocks, like the L85, also have optics despite being used by classes whose default weapons generally do not have optics, the exception being the EU's Medic class, possessing a scoped FAMAS.

Battlefield 2142
Aiming is largely the same as Battlefield 2.

Sniper rifles still have scope sway, which is a periodic shift in aim down the sight. Unlike BF2, sway can only be negated by use of the Gruber 5 Stabilizer.

Certain weapons use the for additional functions:
 * PK-74 AR-Rockets receive range data in increments of 2 meters, defaulting to 20 meters if the player is not aiming at a surface.
 * The DysTek Hi-Scope x4 has variable zoom, increasing the precision of sniper rifles.

Bad Company
Aiming on assault rifles, light machine guns, sniper rifles, pistols, the Laser Designator and rocket launchers will pull in to view the iron sights or scope of the weapon. For iron sights and rocket launcher scopes, it will give a slight zoom, whilst sniper scopes will benefit from a large zoom. For shotguns, compact assault rifles, the Tracer Dart Gun and grenade launchers, aiming will give a slight zoom, increasing accuracy. Aiming will increase accuracy (pin-point with iron sights, generally with cross hairs), drastically lower movement and turning speed and create a general zoom.

Battlefield 1943
Semi-automatic rifles, pistols, rocket launchers and bolt-action sniper rifles pull out their iron sights or scopes when aimed. Submachine guns and rifle grenades create a slight zoom when aimed, drastically lowering movement and turn speed, and increasing accuracy.

Bad Company 2
Unlike Battlefield: Bad Company, submachine guns' iron sights can now be used, though shotguns, grenade launchers and the Tracer Dart Pistol still give a slight zoom. In the game, the Red Dot Sight and 4x Rifle Scope can be unlocked, allowing for a clearer sight picture and/or slight magnification. Exclusively for sniper rifles, the 12X High Power Scope can be unlocked, increasing magnification by 67%

Battlefield 3
Unlike earlier games in the series, the iron sights of all weapons can now be used. Underslung weapons have their own sights when used standalone, and can use the main weapon's sight when mounted.

There are a number of optics in the game that can be unlocked which allow for a clearer sight picture or higher magnification, such as the Holographic Sight and the 12x Ballistic Scope. All primary and all-kit weapons have a range of sights and scopes available. Scope glint is visible by other players, with the glint increasing in magnitude proportional to the level of zoom.

Tactical Lights and Laser Sights affect aiming in different ways. Taclights can make it difficult for targets to shoot back at the attacker. Laser sights increase hipfire accuracy, allowing for better and faster aiming while moving. Both can easily be seen from a distance, making the users vulnerable.

Laser designation is introduced, allowing one player to mark targets for weapon lock by teammates, even if they do not have line of sight. When lasing, a square icon is used for lased targets, with a diamond-with-dot icon added if teammates possess guided weaponry. The guided weapon carrier will see the diamond-with-dot icon on lased targets, with a square added by their own guidance system.

Battlefield 4
Weapons can now carry alternate sights and scopes, using the key to switch between them. These include the Magnifier, Canted Ironsights, and Variable Zoom.