Battlefield 3 Co-op key art, depicting an American and Russian Assault working together
Co-op (co-operative) mode is a game mode featured in Battlefield 3, allowing two players to complete an online co-operative campaign following Snake 6-6 as they attempt to unravel and stop a PLR terror plot in Europe.
Gameplay[]
Gameplay during Co-op in Battlefield 3. The player's Co-op buddy is in front of him. The BMP-2 the duo is fighting has been spotted by the second player, as shown by the "2" above the enemy icon. As in Singleplayer, no minimap is present but players can still use the HUD Compass
Co-op mode functions as a hybrid of Battlefield 3's Singleplayer and Multiplayer modes, following a linear storyline with gameplay mechanics from both modes. Co-op pits two players against AI controlled Bots as in the campaign, providing various scenarios and objectives to complete along the way. Players can compare their efforts against other players in Battlelog on a special leaderboard.
Mechanics[]
Spotting[]
The Spotting mechanic is present in Co-op, but functions slightly different from its Multiplayer counterpart.
Each player is capable of spotting enemies, with spotted units showing which player spotted them by having a "1" or "2" over their icon. However, unlike multiplayer, spotting will only show small groups of enemy units, up to about four per spot, and has a significant cool-down period if the player's spotted targets are still alive, designated by a radio buzzing when attempting to spot. Enemies spotted by the other player cannot be spotted again, but both players can have separate units spotted at the same time. Because of this, Spotting in Co-op is less useful for marking all enemies as in multiplayer, and is more intended to be used to point out major threats to the player's buddy.
Quick Time Events[]
Quick Time Events from the campaign return in Co-op, although they are less frequent and are relatively short compared to those in Singleplayer. Excluding the final QTE during The Eleventh Hour, the events are performed by only one of the players and failed outcome does not end the mission; instead, the player will be put into the Man Down state and will need to be revived by his buddy.
Man Down State[]
A player in the Man Down state. The circular timer shows the remaining time that he will be alive for and able to be revived until he dies from bleeding out
Unique to Co-op, players are put into a Man Down state upon losing all their health, providing their partner with the opportunity to revive them before they die from bleeding out.
When in the Man Down state, players are equipped with only an M9 to defend themselves and are only able to slowly crawl on the ground for movement. The remaining player has thirty seconds to revive their buddy after they are downed, shown by the circular timer above the downed player and designated by the "Round Ending" music from Multiplayer beginning to play, which will increase in intensity the lower the timer gets. Once they reach the other player, the reviving player must interact with him for three seconds, which don't count towards the bleed-out timer, after which the downed player will get back up at full health. If remaining player dies before he can reach his downed partner, however, the mission will end in failure.
Unlocks[]
Seven weapons are exclusively unlocked through Co-op for the four available Kits in Battlefield 3's Multiplayer, requiring a specific score limit be reached to unlock each weapon. Score requirements were massively lowered in the R3 patch released on December 6, 2011. Unlocking all weapons listed earns the player the Lock 'n' Load Achievement/Trophy.
| Unlock | Kit | Before R3 | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| MP412 REX | All | 63,000 | 5,000 |
| KH2002 | Assault | 126,000 | 17,000 |
| MP7 | All | 189,000 | 34,000 |
| M39 EMR | Recon | 252,000 | 58,000 |
| 93R | All | 315,000 | 86,000 |
| SG553 | Engineer | 378,000 | 120,000 |
| G3A3 | Assault | 441,000 | 160,000 |
Missions[]
| Level | Unit | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |
Snake 6-6 | A number of high valued POWs are being detained at a US camp. A recent earthquake has weakened the camp's defensive perimeter and made it vulnerable to PLR attacks. An evacuate order of the camp has been given. You and a handful of marines are assigned to defend the camp until all personnel have pulled out. |
 |
Gunfighter 5-7 | An American convoy escorting a general privy to classified intel has been ambushed on their way back to base. The general is being held captive in a remote mountain village. You will be providing close air support for a strike team sent in to rescue him. |
 |
Snake 6-6 | Thanks to extensive intelligence work, we've been able to locate El Zakir. He was not expected to give himself up, but when local agents located and captured his immediate family, he agreed to negotiate his surrender. El Zakir is awaiting extraction in an apartment complex in the outskirts of Baghdad. You need to secure him and bring him back to the Green Zone. |
 |
Snake 6-6 | The company El Zakir referenced is Levin Cooperative. It's located in central Paris. You need to go in and retrieve everything you can from their offices. A private security team has been alerted to your presence and is headed to the offices to stop you. You need to secure and extract whatever evidence there may be. |
 |
Snake 6-6 | A hostage situation has developed in Paris. It's confirmed that Abu Muhammad is on site orchestrating the operation. French police have requested our help. We are sending you in to assist. You need to provide sniper support, free the hostages and neutralize Abu Muhammad. |
 |
Snake 6-6 | The attack has started. We're confident this is the main attack referred to by El Zakir. Witnesses claim bomb like devices have been left in the metro and the Paris Stock Exchange. If Abdul Rahman is behind this attack, we expect it to be similar to the one that took place in London several years ago. You will be assisting the French police to locate and disarm the bombs and neutralize Rahman if the opportunity presents itself. |
Trivia[]
- The co-op dog tags in Battlefield 3 could not be unlocked due to a glitch. This was fixed in Patch 1.09, but now all the dog tags were automatically unlocked for all players regardless of how many co-op service stars they currently have.
- In Battlefield 3, an uncommon glitch causes downed players to unholster their primary weapon while holding it like an M9. Despite causing visual animation glitches, the gun could be fired without problems, making it beneficial with automatic weapons.
- The co-op mode was originally planned to involve four players, instead of two. A remnant of this design can be seen on the mission artwork for Fire from the Sky, showing two AH-1Z helicopters instead of the one in the release version.
- Speculation for why this might have been changed is that the game might have become too easy; balancing a whole fireteam of players might have been impractical, while balancing a pair would be easier from a design standpoint, as there are only two players to contend with.
- Co-op was planned to include ten missions instead of the final six. The co-op maps included with the final game are numbered up to ten internally, which confirms this.
- As reported as far back as 2022, and tested as recently as October 2023, co-op functionality for Battlefield 3 on the XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 is broken.
- Operation Exodus - COOP_02_Breached
- Drop 'Em Like Liquid - COOP_03_Hostage
- Fire from the Sky - COOP_06_Super
- Hit and Run - COOP_07_Extract
- Exfiltration - COOP_09_Exfilt
- The Eleventh Hour - COOP_10_Subway
- The cut levels would have been numbered as such:
- A-10 - COOP_01_*
- Rolling Thunder - COOP_04_*
- Behind Enemy Lines - COOP_05_*
- Assassination - COOP_08_*
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