Let's take a look at Albion, a new map from Battlefield 1: In The Name of the Tsar
Battlefield 1: In The Name of the Tsar takes us to the site of a 1917 battle for the frozen reaches of Estonia.
Battlefield 1 players on PC have been lucky enough to check out a third map from the upcoming In The Name of the Tsar expansion over on the CTR server.
Battlefield expert Westie naturally put in some time with the new map, and has all the goss. Called Albion, the map is the first real all-out battle environment Battlefield 1 has seen. It's a large, expansive map, the likes of which we haven't seen since Battlefield 4, with some twists on Battlefield 1 gameplay.
Albion is a coastal Conquest map. The German faction can spawn directly onto a ship, or onto small boats nearby. This is the perfect chance to try out the landing boat, which has a ramp allowing disembarkation, and room for multiple players in the hold as well as two machine gunners in addition to the helm. Swimming is not recommended as it takes forever.
There are seven flags, and most are clustered on some islands. The very exposed A point (a lighthouse) and less worrying B point (a fishing village) are both on a large outer island comfortably near to the German spawn - but B borders on Russian territory, so must be defended closely once captured.
C point is in the middle of the map on a small island, and can be accessed by bridges from the A and B points, or by boating, swimming or parachuting in. All of these approaches are very exposed.
D and E points are on another large island close to the Russian spawn - and you'll find two massive, destroyed Russian artillery there that can be repaired at the start of the match for long distance bombardment. The F point is also on this island but is right at the water's edge by the Russian spawn, so the Germans won't hold it for long - especially as it's only separated from G flag by a few trench lines.
A new bomber is available on the map with four seats - two sidegunners, a cannon gunner and the pilot. It's a very slow moving plane and so big that it makes a very tempting target. There are two behemoth vehicles, one for each faction - the Germans get a dreadnought, while the Russians get an airship.
Although the huge map really provides a good opportunity to use air and sea vehicles, the infantry play is satisfying because there's so much danger to ground troops. That means taking and holding points will be much riskier than it has been in Battlefield 1's Conquest mode to date.
In the Name of the Tsar arrives in Battlefield 1 in September.