Inside Battlefield 4: This Is China Rising

Fight for dominance across the vast and majestic Chinese mainland in Battlefield 4 China Rising, featuring four massive new maps, all-new vehicles and high-tech military equipment.

China Rising is based on the premise that China is returning as a superpower in Battlefield 4; a concept found in all Battlefield 4 multiplayer expansions in one way or another. To give you all the details of China Rising, we hand over to Designer Gustav Halling and Lead Designer Niklas Fegraeus.

Jungles, Rivers and Snowy Mountain Tops
In China Rising, you’ll be fighting on the Chinese mainland with the help of both new military hardware and your team mates. Looking at the environments, we’ve created four all-new maps, each with its own unique design and gameplay possibilities. As with all Battlefield 4 maps, the level design in China Rising is based on extensive research on the regions we’re portraying. The regions are filled with unique sights, such as special kinds of rock formations inspired by natural phenomena that only exist in these particular regions.

Dragon Pass is one of the four all-new maps in Battlefield 4 China Rising, naturally with support for all BF4 game modes.

Starting with Silk Road, named of course after the ancient trade route between China and Europe, you will find yourself at a military outpost surrounded by desert. This means you’ll be fighting both among man-made structures and on the sand dunes, using mesas for cover. Guilin Peaks focuses on infantry-based combat; the heaviest vehicles here are transport helicopters. This is a lush level, where you’ll be surrounded by both jungle foliage, mountains, and cave walls.

The hilly landscapes of Altai Range give you a lot of natural cover, but you still can get sniped by Recons on higher ground.

Dragon Pass is a more vehicle-based map where iconically steep mountains make for a spectacular view. Fans of naval warfare will be able to dominate the shorelines thanks to the tight rivers on this one. Finally we have the sniper-friendly Altai Range with its vast, open spaces and snowy peaks of the Altai Mountains. At the center of this map you’ll find a satellite dish serving as a control point. If any team captures this point, you can access the new bombers (more on this below).

Air Superiority and the New Bombers
China Rising also adds a new game mode to Battlefield 4 called Air Superiority. Here, you fight for control points on the map, using air units only. This mode is ideal for players who really love and want to focus on their dog fights, without the need to worry about units on the ground. An extra twist of Air Superiority can be found on Guilin Peaks, where you can share a helicopter with a team mate, capturing one control point instead of three.

Make sure your helicopter skills are up to snuff (if not, practice at Battlefield 4′s Test Range!) when trying to capture the blimp acting as control point on Guilin Peaks.

Speaking of dominating the skies, China Rising features the aforementioned bomber, capable of delivering immense damage to ground units. Capturing a specific control point makes the bomber spawn in a nearby building, ready for you to enter (you can access the Bomber even though your team isn’t holding the control point). The bomber is equipped with powerful bombs that can be dropped on a map location of your choice, and you can use four of these before having to reload. It can also be equipped with cruise missiles, that can be unlocked through a new Assignment. These missiles work like a TOW missile and can be guided by moving your pointer.

Two New Toys
There are two new gadgets in China Rising, the SUAV and UCAV. The SUAV (Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) is a Recon exclusive and is basically a remote-controlled plane that you can pilot around the map, in order to spot enemies and laser-designate enemy vehicles. It can also be used to kill enemies.

Try deploying the Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for a better view of your surroundings, or to get an extra kill.

The UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) is a new toy for the Support class and can be described as a pocket TOW missile. After deployment, this can be guided like a missile and is very effective against vehicles. If you complete one of the new Assignments in China Rising, there is an unlock for the UCAV that makes it explode in mid-air, making it more effective against infantry.

A Fan-Favourite Returns
To round off, we also need to mention the triumphant return of the dirt bike. Fans loved this speedy vehicle in Battlefield 3 End Game, so that’s why we chose to bring it back for China Rising. We’ve seen players really having fun with the dirt bikes doing crazy jumps and C4-related stunts, and with this perfected BF4 version of the vehicle we hope to see many cool YouTube videos created by the fans.

Recognise this ride? Yes, it’s the dirt bike from Battlefield 3 expansion End Game making a return. Try sharing it with a friend and make your way through the maps with speed and grace.

China Rising will be available now for Battlefield 4 Premium members for a two-week time-exclusive period. Get Premium to get a head start for all Battlefield 4 expansions, 12 Battlepacks, exclusive new content on a weekly basis, and much more.

Get Premium now to play China Rising immediately.