What a way to start!  xdHx hosted Hausen E-Sports Monday on a 5v5 Infantry Only TWL match and we dominated both rounds.  It was a lot of fun and I think everyone is excited about our next event which is Saturday 4/20 at 9pm EST.  It will be livestreamed and recorded.  If you don't know about Disposable Heroes we are a community E-Sports team comprised of members from Walking Dead Army, The Company, and Off Duty Gamers.  We also have some that aren't officially members of any group but play with us regularly and take part in our events.  Each is a valuable team player and we all strive to become more competitive and skilled players.  Take a look at our match footage and enjoy.  If you want to join get in contact with me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or follow me on twitter @WDA_Punisher.

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As the WDA Community Manager/Recruiting Officer One of the things that I have been doing in an effort to get the WDA name out to other gaming communities is participate in Community gaming nights with fellow WDA members along with participating in fundraising efforts that relate to gaming.  In doing this, I feel, this will ultimately attract new members, open unique commercial opportunities, and hopefully gain an inside track with gaming developers and hardware manufacturers.  I made a Facebook page that has statistical tracking and is able to auto link to other social media sites such as Twitter and Youtube.  I intend on using these to share WDA Blog posts, news, hardware reviews,videos, leaked video game info, and outreach events.  As you've noticed I have been teaming with other FPS Communities and intend on teaming up with more to promote WDA.  One of the major events has been Tactical Tuesdays with Off Duty Gamers and Warfare Wednesday's with The Company.  Both are hosted by FPSNation.com.  I would also like to say thank you for those who participated the 24 hour gaming marathon where we raised $160 to Go-Vets.org.  These events I feel are crucial in getting WDA recognized not only as a gaming clan but also as a respected, professional FPS Community.  With that being said I will provide dates to various community events with other BF3 communities and I will utilize all the resources we have to get our name out there. We have the new Facebook page and also have a Twitter page.  We already have other communities that follow us along with other FPS players.  If you haven't had a chance to follow WDA on twitter search for @wa1kingdeadarmy.  I update stuff daily including any PC gaming related news I come across.  I would like to thank Off Duty Gamers, FPSNation.com and The_Company for their hospitality and for bringing us into their network.  I hope that in the future their would be other opportunities to participate in fundraisers and to help provide input for future FPS games and PC hardware.   -P

On Tuesday nights FPSnation.com and Off Duty Gamers is hosting Tactical Tuesday for BF3 and MOH:W.  They have a mix of all maps to suite everyone's taste.  So if you are interested in joining me and representing WDA let me know.  Here is their TS3 server info and their Battlelog link.

ODG TS3: voice.offdutygamers:1111 (64.34.212.191:1111)

http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf3/servers/show/f557dd7d-4fb5-46f8-a04e-38345e319c6a/FPSN-Event-HC-CQ-HAPPY-HOUR/

Well DICE/EA dropped a bombshell today with the announcement of three new DLC's coming out this year.  The first, "Close Quarters" will be an infantry Only expansion that will have new game modes plus all the destructible environments you are used to seeing in BF3.  The second, "Armored Kill"  will be vehicle focused and will have the largest battlefield map ever released.  The third,"End Game" which will be released at the end of year has been kept very secretive.

Here is what we know about Close Quarters: There will be four maps.  Gameplay footage on youtube.com showcases "Ziba Tower", a multi-level building full of office spaces, hallways, and stairwells.  There will be no vehicles.  It will be a fully "HD destructible" environment and all maps will be indoor style maps like Operation Metro.  There will be multiple new game modes not previously seen in BF3.  It is rumored to be limited to 16 players.  There is no confirmation of this from DICE.  Close Quarters will be released in June.

Here's what we know about Armored Kill: There will be more vehicles introduced including ATV's, mobile artillery, and drivable tanks.  It is rumored that BF2 style multi-seat bombers will also be added.  It will have the largest map ever released in battlefield.   It is scheduled to be released this fall.

There is still no information on when the patch will be released but with the announcement of the DLC's I am sure it will be released a couple weeks to a month ahead of Close Quarters.  More info will be released on March 13th.  Hopefully we'll hear about more patch updates and maybe get a glimpse at more maps.  We'll keep you posted on any rumors or news that we hear about.

3/8/2012 update

Inside sources confirm that the large patch originally scheduled for February will be released prior to "Close Quaters" and will add the items support needed for the upcoming patches.

DICE has announced that it will be starting a new weekly Battlefield 3 blog, which will preview upcoming changes currently in the works.
“Come back next week for our brand new “Inside DICE” blog series, featuring regular updates to our fans on the latest news, content plans, updates and upgrades we have planned for Battlefield 3,” the developer posted on the Battlefield 3 blog.

Good on them.  After tons of criticism from the community followed by the threat of a "BF3 blackout day" from Battlefieldo.com DICE got their heads out of their collective asses and will now provide us a weekly BF3 update.  I think this a good move on their part and hopefully the impatience exhibited by a lot of the community will be put to rest.  Hopefully we'll have more news to pass about more additions to the patch next week.  See you on the battlefield.

I know a lot of people have been wondering and asking about where to find the lastest weapons tweaks that will be implemented with the upcoming patch.  Demize99 is giving quantitative data to www.symthic.com so users can see the upcoming changes and how they will affect a weapon or attachment.  The easiest way to see where a change has been made is by noting the orange up or down arrow by the value.  Demize is making a conscious effort to send any updates he has via his twitter to symthic.com so the community is given the most recent data.  As far as map tweaks and bug fixes there is no official list that has published as of yet.  Just some rumors/hints from developers.  I'll keep you posted as I find new information.

Whenever I go onto the Battlelog or EA forums all I see is a bunch of hate and negative comments toward BF3 and it's developers, DICE.  I'm not saying the game doesn't have it's issues, the posters make it out like the game is total rubbish.  Well let me tell you one thing.  You're wrong, very wrong.  Just as a disclaimer, I love the Call of Duty series and think that the original Modern Warfare is probably the best FPS game I've ever played.  I also think that Black Ops is also a quality shooter.

I've been getting a little bored with BF3 and while it's fun still to play with my Walking Dead Army brothers and sisters it would be nice to try something else for a bit.  So when Infinity Ward and Steam announced that Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer would be free this weekend for PC users I jumped at the opportunity.  Once I got the game downloaded and installed I jumped in on a regular TDM match.  When the game started I literally thought to myself, "This feels like I'm stepping back 5 years".  The game graphics are such a letdown.  Much like it was when America's Army 3 came out.  Plus, the game just ran horribly.  Not sure if it was an issue with my rig or if the game is just terribly designed.  I was baffled being that I can play BF3 is medium/high settings with a 45 FPS average.  Regardless I had to turn my graphic settings down to get playable frame rates.  Once I got playable frame rates I did ok for a level 1.  But the whole time all I could think was just how bad the game was.  It's the same argument that PC players had with MW2.  No dedicated servers, one dimensional game play, antiquated graphics, horrible sound effects, player movement/physics, and no team work.  I didn't expect much when I started downloading the game but this is almost criminal.  How can anyone pay $60 bucks for this rubbish?  I was thoroughly disgusted after 2 rounds even going 18-4 on the last round and being 2nd on the team being an level 2.

So, if you think BF3 is horrible take a moment this weekend to install MW3 and play it for a bit.  You'll come to realize very quickly just how fortunate we are to have a game like Battlefield 3.  There is no comparison.  It trumps Modern Warfare 3 in every category.  While Battlefield 3 has balance tweaks that need to be made and bugs to iron out it's a game that gives you almost everything you could ask for, modern graphics, realistic sound, team oriented game play, destructible environments, and a feel that you are actually on the battlefield. There's nothing that could be done to fix Modern Warfare 3 other than to delete it from your hard drive in anticipation for the upcoming patch that DICE will be releasing soon.  Infinity Ward, take notes from Treyarch.  They have the upper hand on designing Call of Duty games.

Some of the upcoming patch details have leaked out in recent days and it appears that some much needed nerfs will happen.  Most notable is one that addresses mortaring from deployment zones while not being able to be attacked.  They are also nerfing the USAS-12 frag rounds.  Thank God!  Other confirmed fixes are a MAV tweak, M-COM attack and defender ribbon tweaks, a tweak to laser designation, and a suppression ribbon tweak.  There is no info on whether the MAV tweak will address "MAV riding" or killing with the MAV.  Also the M-COM tweaks will make it easier to earn those ribbons.  The same goes for the suppression ribbon.  The laser designation tweak is believed to be a nerf in acquisition range of SOFLAMs and laser painters.  There will be a big announcement this week in New York by EA concerning a DLC for BF3 and a possible subscription plan that EA will deploy along with the DLC much like Call of Duty Elite.  We'll keep you posted with more details as they continue to be made available.

2/16/2012 Update:  I just read a tweet from Gustav Halling, Core Designer as DICE,  stating that he has tweaked the Havoc for the upcoming major patch.  This was in response to a fan tweet asking to make the Havoc and Viper handle the same.  So hopefully this tweak will make the Havoc more maneuverable.  Still no word on when the patch will be released.

https://twitter.com/#!/gustavhalling/status/169735534657273856

With the lastest teaser by Daniel Matros@zh1nt1 The BF3 Community Manager we can only speculate what the upcoming changes or additions could be.  Obviously though the news is out to some community sites but they have been sworn to secrecy.  Battlefieldo.com Commented via twitter,"Cannot wait to drop the news that we've been sitting on for over a week".  Whatever it is it must be something big.  The lastest client patch has been hinted to be released in February.  It is confirmed to have Commrose 2.0, more voice overs, and a lot of weapons tweaks.  But there must be something else for it to be teased the way it has.  My guess is a new DLC.  Maybe not maps but new weapons loadouts.  Maps would be great too but nothing of the sort has been leaked through community channels.  It could all just be over hyped and there's nothing more than the anticipated patch that no one really cares about.  What are you thoughts?

The age old question youth or experience, the answer is experience. After a long and drawn out clan meeting WDA was eager for a fight. Someone suggested an inter clan scrim not Alpha/Bravo, but young vs old. So we thew out our ages and to my surprise I was the youngest old man. We divided into eight man teams. While the kiddies were sucking on their thumbs, the old men were getting on a fresh pair of Depends. We were almost ready until Colonel had to get his late night fist full of rum and take the longest leak of his life.(Come on man! Maybe its time to get some FLOMAX?) On Colonels return it was live on restart, game on! After two round and two wins for the old guys, the kids wanted a chance to reclaim some pride. The old men were tired way past their bed time so we all called it a night. Good job old guys!

-WDA_Triger