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Non-player characters, also known as Bots, are a type of artificial intelligence program, with each individual instance of the program representing a player. Bot intelligence varies with difficulty and the installment of the series they appear in. For example, with the Easy difficulty, they seem untrained and are inaccurate shooters. But as difficulty progresses, they become more resilient and are accurate shooters trying to aim for headshots.
They are available offline and within online co-op game modes and can perform basic actions such as commandeering vehicles, manning machine gun emplacements and capturing control points. They will also respond to threats such as flanking gunfire, live grenades, and the occasional Commo Rose command. They are used mainly to fill teams in the singleplayer mode in Battlefield 1942, Battlefield Vietnam, Battlefield 2, Battlefield 2142 and Battlefield 2042. Bots can also be used in these games' Conquest Co-op gametype. Some maps are not available with bots, although third-party mods compatible with the first three games can add or improve the necessary pathfinding code. Beginning with Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, bots are present in the singleplayer campaign, appearing both as squadmates and as enemies. They are also featured in Battlefield: Bad Company 2's Onslaught DLC, appearing as the enemy waves.
Battlefield 1942 era[]
In Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield Vietnam, bots are named from a random pool of fictional first and last names in the languages of the teams on the map.
Battlefield 1942[]
All of the 16 original maps that appear in the Campaign mode, in addition to Battle of Britain added in a patch, can be played with bots in the Instant Battle mode.
In the Road to Rome and Secret Weapons of WWII expansion packs, all maps can be played with bots, except for Raid on Agheila added in a later patch.
Battlefield Vietnam[]
All of the 14 original maps can be played with bots, while the four added by patches cannot.
In the World War II Mod, all three maps can be played with bots.
Battlefield 2 era[]
In Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 2142, bots are named after EA and DICE staff members who were involved in the development of these games.
Battlefield 2[]
Bots are available on the 16-player versions of 10 of the 12 original maps, excluding Kubra Dam and Mashtuur City. Among maps added in later patches, only Road to Jalalabad supports bots.
In the Special Forces expansion pack, all maps except for The Iron Gator and Leviathan support bots. Starting from this expansion pack and including the Euro Force and Armored Fury booster packs, there are significant differences in the 16-player version of the majority of maps between singleplayer and multiplayer.
Battlefield 2142[]
Bots can make use of most weaponry and all vehicles. By default, they possess the same unlocks as the player, and one tier above.
Weaponry[]
Bots tend to be reckless with grenades, throwing them at infantry and vehicles regardless of their teammates.
Bots can plant RDX Demopaks, preferring captured flags as area denial and vehicles at close range. Bots only cloak to escape when low on health. Cloaked bots will only return to battle when they receive healing. (If you find yourself short on offense, you will undoubtedly find injured recon bots at the map boundary.)
Bots are very accurate with anti-vehicle weapons and emplacements, but do not use these against infantry. Bots do have trouble against air vehicles, as they do not use the SAAW 86 Anti-Air Weapon. Bots do not make use of mines.
Bots do not respond to spotting or other forms of detection, and thus do not use related abilities or gadgets. Bots also do not use any of the Northern Strike unlocks.
An "on-demand" Commander slot is filled whenever a human squad leader requests support. Bots can call down Orbital Strikes, preferring to target players who camp and flags that are being captured. No other assets are used by bots.
Maps[]
- Supported
Frostbite era[]
Battlefield: Bad Company[]
Non-player characters make an appearance in the first Bad Company game, being the primary opponent and allied support in the game. However, unlike Refractor-based games, they are not supported on any multiplayer map variations and appear only in the singleplayer aspect of the game.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2[]
Like in the first Bad Company game, non-player characters serve as the primary opponents and support for the player character. In the base game, they are only found in the singleplayer campaign.
The Onslaught DLC adds a mode which is somewhat more similar to the Refractor-based games, with multiplayer maps being used with bots.
Battlefield 3 onward[]
Non-player characters return again in Battlefield 3. Just as the other two games, they serve as teammates and enemies for the singleplayer and co-op campaign. They are not seen in the multiplayer section of Battlefield 3. NPCs also appear in the singleplayer campaigns of Battlefield 4, Battlefield Hardline, Battlefield 1, and Battlefield V.
Battlefield 2042[]
Bots are a returning feature in Battlefield 2042. As the game features no singleplayer campaign, bots occupy player slots on servers until human players take their place, reflecting how bots appear in some other recent game series. Players may also enter matches solo or in a full squad and face off against bots. Servers within the Battlefield Portal may also use bots as an available option. This makes the game accessible to players in regions where Internet access is subject to high latency, where player count is lacking, or for those who prefer not to play against human opponents. An online connection is still required, suggesting that the bots are server-side entities, rather than the client-side entities of prior games.
Bots can be recognized by their unique appearance based on their faction and class. as well as a fictional rank and name assigned to each one on the scoreboard. Additionally, bots can be identified with their own unqiue Player Card. Unlike the use of bots in past installments, normal multiplayer progression is permitted against bots, including weapon, vehicles, gear, and task progression for Badges and Player Card Images and Tags. They may also be used to obtain Achievements/Trophies. It should be noted, however, that the experience earned against bots is capped to prevent XP farming.
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