Part 23

Dive into Battlefield 6's "They Shall Not Pass" DLC! Learn about the French faction, new maps like Verdun and Soissons, and powerful new weapons and vehicles.

Alright, let's talk about Part 23 of our Battlefield 6 journey. This section dives deep into the "They Shall Not Pass" DLC, which is a pretty significant chunk of content. Think of it as adding a whole new flavor to the game with the French faction and some seriously cool new gear.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the DLC, a quick reminder: if you've finished all the main campaign chapters, don't forget to watch the 'Remember Us' video from the campaign menu. It's your ticket to those story completion trophies!

Now, about the Vickers Q.F. Gun mentioned here – it's a bit of a historical tidbit. Back in WWI, it was sometimes called the "rocket gun" because of its incendiary rounds, but it actually fired shells, not rockets. Its 1.59" calibre is pretty close to what modern 40mm grenade launchers use, just for some perspective.

DLC Trophies and the Premium Pass

First off, trophies from expansion packs, like the ones in "They Shall Not Pass," aren't required for the Platinum trophy. You can snag that Platinum just by getting all the standard trophies from the base game. However, these DLC trophies do add to your overall percentage, so they're definitely worth chasing if you're a completionist!

The game offers four multiplayer expansions, and you can grab them individually or all at once with the BF1 Premium Pass. Getting the Premium Pass is usually the more cost-effective route than buying each expansion separately. Plus, as a Premium member, you get early access to each DLC two weeks before everyone else, along with monthly battlepacks for fourteen months, priority in server queues, and some exclusive dogtags. It's also bundled with the Ultimate Edition, which includes all the cosmetic goodies and bonus battlepacks from the Deluxe Edition.

Keep in mind that while features like new factions, game modes, Elite classes, and Behemoths are tied to the maps from their respective DLCs, the guns and melee weapons you unlock can be used on any map. The same goes for DLC tanks and planes – you can select them from vehicle spawns everywhere.

The base game itself features six playable factions: the British Empire, with their American and Italian allies, facing off against the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. The "They Shall Not Pass" and the next expansion add the French and Russian factions, rounding out the Triple Entente alongside the Brits.

"They Shall Not Pass" Expansion Details

The "They Shall Not Pass" expansion, often called the "French DLC," dropped first for Premium subscribers on March 14, 2017, and then for everyone else on March 28. It officially introduces the French Army as a playable faction.

This DLC brings the fight to France with maps based on the historical Battle of Verdun (1916) and the Battle of Soissons (1918). Initially, there were four French maps, with two more night maps – Nivelle Nights and Prise de Tahure – added later. However, Nivelle Nights eventually made its way to vanilla servers in November, and Prise de Tahure followed in January 2018, meaning the expansion now effectively offers four new maps.

The slogan "They shall not pass!" is famously linked to General Robert Nivelle's rallying cry at the Battle of Verdun. It became a symbol of French resistance and was even featured on medals and propaganda posters, a nod that's mirrored in the promotional art for this DLC.

What's New in "They Shall Not Pass"?

• Four New Maps: Experience battles set in France.
• French Army Faction: Play as the French soldiers.
• Frontlines Game Mode: A strategic tug-of-war mode.
• Two New Operations: Engage in multi-map campaigns.
• Six New Guns:
  • RSC 1917 (Medic's self-loading rifle)
  • Lebel Model 1886 (Scout's bolt-action rifle)
  • Chauchat (Support's light machinegun)
  • Ribeyrolles 1918 (Assault's automatic carbine)
  • Sjögren Inertial (Assault's semi-auto shotgun)
  • Mle 1903 Extended (Tanker/Pilot's pistol variant)
• Three New Melee Weapons: Cogwheel Club, Nail Knife, and Trench Fleur.
• Twelve New Assignments: Complete these to unlock the new guns and weapons.
• New Vehicle: The Saint-Chamond assault tank.
• New Behemoth: The Char 2C, a massive super-heavy tank.
• New Elite Pickup Class: Become a Trench Raider.
• New Stationary Weapon: The BL 9.2-inch Siege Gun (howitzer).
• Five New Medals: Earnable through various in-game achievements.
• Twenty New Codex Entries: Dive deeper into the lore of the new faction, guns, vehicles, and maps.
• Four New Trophies/Achievements: Specific challenges related to the DLC content.

Beyond the core content, a game update accompanying this DLC added the "Exchange" option to the Battlepacks menu. This lets you use scrap currency (earned from selling items) to buy specific battlepack items like weapon skins, puzzle pieces, and XP boosts. The selection of items here rotates periodically.

The update also boosted the level cap from 100 to 110 and introduced three new melee weapons unlockable via battlepack puzzle pieces: the Billhook, Kukri, and Saber. The Kukri knife, in particular, has a rich history, being the traditional weapon of the Gurkhas of Nepal, who served in huge numbers with the British Army during WWI.

It's worth noting that the Frontlines mode, initially exclusive to French DLC servers, was later made available on several vanilla maps. And that Char 2C tank? It was the largest tank ever to see active service, measuring 10 meters long and weighing nearly 70 tonnes! The 9.2" Siege Gun is also a piece of history, with an example displayed at the Imperial War Museum in London.

Finally, for trophy hunters, the "French War Hero" trophy is a Bronze/50G achievement that requires you to spend 30 minutes in-game as the French Republic faction.