Battlefield 1 - How to Level Up Your Class

The levelling system in Battlefield 1 might seem confusing to some inexperienced players but it's actually fairly simple when you learn how it works. There are two main issues to worry about: overall rank and levelling up your "class".

Like most other FPS games, better weapons and gear are locked behind levels. In the case of BF1, these unlocks are actually behind "class levels" which are separate to your overall level.

For example, if you played the game consistently as the Tank class; getting promotions and earning XP, you would actually earn ZERO XP for any of the other classes: assault, engineer, support or recon.

You can view your XP and level progress, both at the player level but also at the class level by opening the "Soldier" tab. Unfortunately this tab is inaccessible during the Beta period.

Read the guide for levelling up fast in Battlefield 1

Warbonds and Class Rank

In addition to levels, you must also acquire and spend Warbonds, a kind of Battlefield currency that's used to purchase the new weapon unlocks. Warbonds are earned as rewards, each and every time you level up in the game. Your current Warbond tally is shown in the top left hand corner when you have the Customize screen open (see image above).

Your class level is shown in the top right hand corner of the screen when you have the Customize screen open. It appears next to the name of the class e.g. Scout followed by several upward arrows and a number that signifies your Class Rank (see image above).

How to level up your class

In order to level up your class you MUST keep using the same class and scoring points with that class. Your overall rank means nothing in relation to your class and it will not help you unlock other weapons.

You'd be right in thinking that it takes longer to unlock everything in BF1 compared to some other FPS games, therefore it's worth experimenting with all the classes to find the ones you particularly enjoy and those with the best high level unlocks on offer.

Veteran players will tell you, it's just like "service stars" for classes in Battlefield 4 - they're not connected to your rank in any way, they're connected to your useage of the class. Essentially, class ranks are the equivalent to service stars from older Battlefield games, they take longer to obtain. Eventually, when you have 3 service stars in the Scout Class, you can use all of the high level rifles that require 3 stars to unlock

An example

The image above shows a particular weapon, the SMLE MKIII Carbine, which has Rank 3 and 40 Warbond credits as it's unlock requirement. You can see this requirement in red underneath the weapons stats. Rank 3 is the actual Service Stars required to unlock the weapon for purchase.

Be warned that it takes quite a while to rank up! Indeed, when I was playing the Beta I frequently used bolt-actions for the first 5 hours - I'm Rank 2 now for the Scout Class and can use the Rank 2 scout weapons and gear.