Battlefield 4 has seven game modes:
- Domination
- Team Death Match (TDM)
- Obliteration
- Rush
- Conquest
- Squad Death Match (SQDM)
- Defuse
NOTE: If you are new to Battlefield, or to first-person shooters, we suggest that you first play Domination or Team Death Match. When you have accustomed yourself to the game it will be much easier for you to face more complex game modes such as Conquest and Defuse.
DOMINATION
Goal – Cause the enemy team to lose all their tickets.
How – Capture flags by being close to them. The team with the most soldiers close to a flag will capture the flag. The enemy team will bleed tickets when you control the majority of the flags. The more flags you control the faster the enemy bleeds tickets. You can also kill enemies to have them lose tickets.
This mode uses no vehicles. You can deploy randomly or next to a squad mate.
TEAM DEATH MATCH
Goal – Kill enemies.
How – Kill more of the enemy team than they kill of your team. You can only deploy randomly in TDM.
OBLITERATION
Goal – Destroy the enemy’s targets with the bomb before they destroy your targets.
How – Find the bomb, pick it up by walking over it, and bring it to an enemy target. To arm the bomb hold the interact button next to the target. Defend the armed target from being disarmed until it detonates and destroys the target. Stop the same from being done to your target. If the enemy arms your target, disarm it! A target is disarmed by standing next to it while you hold the interact button. Note that the bomb carrier, if on foot, is slowed down by the weight of the bomb.
You can deploy either at your forward base or at your headquarters, which contains medium and heavy vehicles.
Note that the bomb will kill anyone close to it when it explodes.
RUSH
Goal – As attacker you should destroy the Mobile Communication Boxes (M-COMs) before your team runs out of tickets or time. As defender you should defend the M-COMs and cause the attacking team to lose all their tickets.
How – As attacker, arm an M-COM by standing next to it while you hold the interact button. Kill all defenders before they are able to reach and disarm your armed M-COM. As defender, stop the attackers from reaching your M-COMs and disarm any armed M-COMs. An M-COM is disarmed by standing next to it while you hold the interact button. Kill the enemy until they are out of tickets.
Defenders have an unlimited amount of tickets while attackers have a limited amount. The Rush layout consists of multiple M-COM sectors and each sector has a set of two M-COMs. Whenever a set is destroyed the defender’s base and combat area is moved back, the attacker’s combat area and base is moved forward, and the attacker’s tickets are reset to the original amount. An exploding M-COM will not cause harm to those standing near it.
CONQUEST
Goal – Cause the enemy team to lose all their tickets.
How – Capture flags by being close to them. The team with the most soldiers close to a flag will capture the flag. The enemy team will bleed tickets when you control the majority of the flags. The more flags you control the faster the enemy bleeds tickets. You can also kill enemies to have them lose tickets.
You can deploy right next to the flags controlled by your team and some flags will have vehicles deploy next to them. Both teams have headquarters which cannot be captured. Vehicles will also be available at each team’s headquarters.
SQUAD DEATH MATCH
Goal – Kill enemies.
How – Kill more enemies than they can kill in your squad. If you are the last person in your squad, ensure that you stay alive so that your squad mates can deploy next to you.
Four squads fight against each other in SQDM. Some SQDM layouts can deploy Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs).
DEFUSE
Goal – As attacker, destroy one of the opposite team’s targets with the bomb before your team runs out of tickets and/or kill all defenders. As defender, defend the targets and/or kill all attackers.
How – As attacker, arm a target by standing next to it while you hold the interact button. Kill all defenders before they are able to reach and disarm your armed target. As defender, stop the attackers from reaching your targets and disarm any armed target. A target is disarmed by standing next to it while you hold the interact button.
A Defuse match consists of two sets. Each set consists of multiple mini-rounds (MR).
Note that the bomb will kill anyone close to it when it explodes.
MR
- The teams deploy in close proximity to their allies at predefined locations at the start of a mini-round.
- The bomb deploys close to the attackers at the start of each mini-round.
- Only one player can carry the bomb at a time.
- Only the bomb carrier can arm a target.
- The team that wins the most mini-rounds wins the match.
SET
- The teams switch roles between sets. Attackers become defenders and vice versa.
- The destruction is reset between the sets.
COMMON RULES
Game modes share some common rules.
Round time limit - All game modes can have a Round Time Limit. The default time limit varies depending on the game mode. The larger the game the longer the round time limit.
Teams - Unless otherwise specified there are always two teams fighting against each other.
Squad deploy - You can always, unless stated otherwise, deploy next to a squad mate.
Draw & sudden death - The following game modes can end in a draw. For TDM and SQDM the draw is resolved through sudden death:
- Conquest and Domination – Ends in a draw if both teams have the same amount of tickets at the Round Time Limit.
- Obliteration – Ends in a draw if both teams have destroyed the same amount of targets.
- Team Death Match – Enters sudden death if both teams have the same amount of kills when time runs out. The first team to reach one more kill wins.
- Squad Death Match – Enters sudden death if two or more squads have the same amount of kills when time runs out. The first squad to reach one more kill wins.