This game mode recreates the tug of war trench warfare of WW1 with a shifting frontline. Each side will attack in turn. When your side is attacking, you will need to cross no man’s land to assault the enemy trench. Enter the trench and clear out defenders to capture it. Once captured, the battlefield shifts deeper into the map towards the enemy HQ. You receive great bonuses for participating in this attack, and it’s impossible to win the game without physically taking the trench, so don’t lag behind! Even when armed with a sniper rifle or machinegun, you should try to join your comrades in entering the enemy trench.

The more friendly soldiers in the enemy trench, the faster you capture it. There is a time limit on your attack, but this can be extended by gaining momentum through killing defenders or gaining a foothold in their trench. If your attack fails, the enemy will get their turn to attack your trench which you will have to defend. If caught in no man’s land when your attack is called off, you will have to quickly retreat to your trench.


When defending, stay put in your trench and stand your ground against the waves of incoming enemies. If your defense fails and your trench is overrun, your team will have a chance to counter attack and retake the trench. The ultimate goal in Frontlines is to reach and then capture the final enemy trench line.

Frontlines features unique squad gameplay in which you always play in a squad of four people. There are different squad types in Verdun which all are different regarding abilities, loadouts, uniforms, nationality and specialisation. For example you could join or create a British Tommies Squad which is a Line Infantry squad. It has the following roles: Corporal, Rifleman, Gunner, Bomber. Every player who joins the squad will fulfil one of these roles, with each having their own weaponry options. The NCO of your squad can call in abilities such as Artillery for the Tommies, give orders and act as a forward spawn point.

For more information on the different squads, please click here for the squad guide.

Each squad has four different roles which are all different regarding their task and weapon loadout. For instance the Gunner of the Tommies squad would have a Lewis Gun, whilst the rifleman of that same squad would have the Lee Enfield.

If you don’t like the weapon of a role, you can either switch to a different role, or you can change your loadout in the Squad Setup tab. There are multiple loadout options which can be unlocked by levelling each role per squad – these different loadouts are not necessarily better, but instead have different playstyles.

For more information on squads and their roles please click here for the squad guide.

Playing well together in a squad is rewarded. Levelling your squad will result in better abilities and your squad uniform will progress from an early war to a late war outfit. You can find your squad levelling tree with all its abilities in the squad progression screen. For more information on squads and their levelling trees, please click here for the squad guide.


Squad level is based on how many squad points each member has gained while playing as that squad type. Teamwork points can be gained in various ways, such as following orders from the squad NCO, sticking together, assisting squad mates, and more. The total of all the points from each player is your squad level.

When you start playing, the in game friends list will be empty, so you’ll need to join a squad from the menu. Clicking “Find Match” will lead to the choice between Frontlines and Rifle Death Match. Choose your game mode and it will take you to the map of the front lines. The map will display games currently going on, shown as helmets or caps around the red circles. You can also see active squads listed on the left, along with their squad level, type, name, number of players and the map they are currently playing. Clicking a squad will show the players and empty role slots you can choose. Or if you don’t have a preference you can use the “Play Now” button to join a random game quickly.

You can also make your own squad with the “Create Squad” option, which will open the choice of squads. It’s a good idea to choose Entente or Central Powers based on the number of players each side currently has playing at the bottom of the tab – picking the side with the least current players speeds up matchmaking and provides better balance. Each squad has their own symbol and name shown – click a squad icon to read the description and the name of the roles in that squad. Find one you like and leave it selected, type a squad name, and press “Create”.

This will put you as the NCO role of a squad in reserve, though you can switch to a different role if you prefer. Clicking a role name will show perks and loadouts. Once happy with your chosen role, pressing “Set Ready” will start the matchmaking process and deploy the squad.

Remember that being the one to create a squad comes with no perks other than naming rights! Levelling is still based on the combined squad XP of every player in the squad.