DICE fixing Battlefield 3's incredibly unrealistic, annoying, ridiculous tactical flashlight

One of the most absurdly frustrating parts of Battlefield 3's multiplayer is the tactical flashlight. The attachment can be added to many of the game's weapons, and produces a light so blindingly bright that it honestly has raised questions as to whether or not anyone at DICE has ever seen, or used a flashlight. One look in its general direction and the player is blinded as if he had been hit by a dozen flashbangs at once. At night, during the day, from two feet away or from 20, it didn't matter. The outcry has been tremendous, and thankfully, DICE is going to do something about it.

Alan Kertz, core gameplay designer on Battlefield 3, posted the below images showing off the changes. According to Kertz (who stopped by the Don’t Revive Me Bro community podcast) the new screens have been met with heavy acclaim from fans, who look to welcome the change with open arms. Considering it takes the game from a science fiction shooter, wherein flashlights are akin to wizards casting "Blinding light" spells from magical flashlight-shaped wands, to an actual militaristic shooter, we can't imagine that there are too many that will be upset by the change. Well, except for those who like abusing the flashlight's power, of course.

Above: Over a dozen flashlights shining at you at once is akin to torture

When up close, the flashlight's blinding effect will be the same, which makes sense. But the further away the player is, the weaker the effect will be, as illustrated in the images below. Other elements of the game are also being cleaned up, such as the effectiveness of mobile AA guns, which are currently quite a bit more powerful than the developers intended. These changes will hopefully start rolling out soon, so that we can all have even more excuses to hit the battlefield for some good, old-fashioned shooting fun.

Above: Before the change it was blinding from far away

Above: With the update the range is much more reasonable