Battlefield 1: Codex Unlock Guide | Campaign Challenges List

Unlock extra entries on the real-life tactics and tools used in World War 1 with the Battlefield 1 codex. To earn yourself entries, you’ll need to complete tough singleplayer challenges — usually involving something not-so-easy, like clearing guard posts filled with enemies using stealth only, or blasting every AT field gun on the map. Whatever the challenge is, we’ll provide a handful of tips to help you complete the codex.

Want to know what’s changed in the Battlefield series? See everything that’s new on Gameranx’s Battlefield 1 info blowout.

More Battlefield 1 collectibles, secrets, and extra info:

• Battlefield 1: Complete Achievements / Trophies Guide
• Battlefield 1: How to Get the Cavalry Kit | Map Location Guide
• Battlefield 1: Elite Classes & Kit Locations Guide
• Battlefield 1: How to Improve PC Performance | FPS Stuttering Fixes
• Battlefield 1 Weapons | Full List
• Battlefield 1 Vehicles | Full List
• Battlefield 1 Maps | Full List
• Battlefield 1 Classes | Full List

Codex Unlock Guide | Campaign Challenges List

[Work-in-Progress: Check back soon for more Codex tutorials once the full campaign has been released.]

Codex Entries are a type of collectible available in each campaign for Battlefield 1. Every individual chapter comes with a set of challenges you must complete, and each challenge earns you one codex entry. Check out the list below to see all the challenges available in the singleplayer side of Battlefield 1.

One challenge that is shared across all chapters is the “Collect all Field Manuals” Codex. Get help finding all the field manual collectibles with our guide here:

• Battlefield 1: All Campaign Collectibles Locations | Field Manuals Guide

Campaign: Through Mud and Blood

• Over the Top
  • Observation Balloons Codex: Kill 5 enemies while on foot.
    • Exit the tank and use small arms to kill 5 enemies. Very simple.
  • German Anti-Tank Tactics Codex: Destroy all 10 Field Guns.
    • Guns 1 – 2 are found at Point A — 3 – 5 are found at Point B — 6-10 are found at Point C.
    • Guns 11-13 surround Point C and will shoot at you while capturing Beren’s Crossing.
    • Guns 14-17 are found at the next major German compound. Guns 18-21 are at the well square.
    • Guns 22-25 are at the church HQ. 26-27 are at the Point D trench line.
    • Gun 28 is inside Big Willy’s Farm proper. Guns 29-31 are up the hill before reaching the bridge.
    • Guns 32-34 are found at the defensive line before crossing the bridge. Guns 35-36 are just across the bridge.

• Fog of War
  • Forest Combat Codex: Get through the forest without any melee kills.
    • You’ll have to replay this chapter multiple times to complete the challenges. Using melee kills is the stealth approach — using firearms, you’ll have to fight every enemy on alert.
    • There are three major checkpoints:
      • Checkpoint #1: 5 Enemies
      • Checkpoint #2: 9 Enemies
      • Checkpoint #3: 11 Enemies
    • Lower the difficulty to make this challenge a breeze.
  • Guiding Bess Codex: Get through the forest undetected.
    • Like all stealth challenges, if you get caught, simply restart checkpoint. You won’t have to restart the chapter from the beginning, and will only lose some progress.
    • Checkpoint #1: There are three sections with enemies. At the first encampment, mark enemies and sneak along the right edge of the camp. Kill the guard that leaves to take a piss.
      • Do not use firearms — melee weapons can be used, but only if you kill an enemy before they can raise an alarm.
    • Move to the barbed wire, kill the patrolling guard here. Kill the guard at the tree, then the guard at the field gun. Finally, kill the last guard at the camp.
    • Checkpoint #2: Use the ridge to the right over the barbed wire. Circle around to the back of the ruin. Sneak to the barbed wire exit — wait at the tree near a field gun and kill the patrolling guard. Kill another guard waiting at the tree nearby. Then kill the guard on the lookout point on the side of the ruins.
    • Kill the three guards patrolling behind the ruins (back end of the ruins) — they’re all isolated and easy to pick off. Next, kill the two guards at the front of the ruins, near the field gun. Last, kill the guard in the bunker.
    • Checkpoint #3: Sneak left of the barbed wire and follow the left-edge path. Kill the guard at the field gun, stick to the left wall and sneak up on the higher field gun — throw a distraction to draw the field gun guard away to a secluded spot where you can melee kill him.
    • Kill the patrolling guard at the top of the hill, then kill the guard at the last field gun at the far end of the area. Now work your way back own. Clear the patrolling guards in the trenches, then the bunker guard.
    • Finish up by killing the guards at the field guns and lookout post, then any stragglers patrolling near the entrance.

• Breakdown
  • Tank Hunters Codex: Retrieve the first engine component in Breakdown.
    • You can’t miss this entry. It will automatically unlock while completing your objectives in the chapter.
  • Stealing Tanks Codex: Retrieve all engine components undetected.
    • This is actually easier than it seems. You can sneak in and kill everyone silently with melee attacks, or you can go use a silenced Bolt-Action Rifle. If you’re caught, restart to the previous checkpoint — you do no need to restart the entire chapter.
    • Near the start of the chapter, take the silenced scoped rifle from the weapon crate in the upper section of the nearest windmill. This makes the challenge much, much easier.
    • The first component is guarded by four soldiers — pick them off from long distance. They will go on alert, but as long as you’re far away and they don’t spot your location, they won’t go on high alert. If the icon turns yellow, they’re just cautious — they won’t officially “spot” you until they’re red.
    • Use the binoculars at the larger village down the hill. There are multiple locations you’ll want to clear out, and spotting soldiers makes this much easier. Use the hills and fields to enter each camp — the worst is getting caught unaware by a soldier you didn’t see.

• Steel on Steel
  • Bourlon Wood Codex: Don’t let the tank get damaged before clearing the village.
    • Don’t take a hit in the early stages of this chapter. It can be tricky, even on low difficulty.
    • Use the hills and windmills for cover. Small-arms fire doesn’t count as “getting damaged” — you’ll need to take an AT shell hit to fail the challenge.
    • Destroy the tank on the left, using the hills to shield yourself, then go down to the river on the right and cross the shallows near the bridge. Another tank is parked in this area — it’s a light tank. Take it out and use the buildings to block incoming fire.
    • There are more tanks, but you can just make a beeline toward the objective. If you take a hit, just restart from the previous checkpoint.
  • Beutepanzers Codex: Destroy one of the captured Mark V tanks.
    • The Mark V tanks are the larger landships just like the tank you command in this campaign.
    • Find one in the village from the start of this chapter — it’s on the left defensive line, down the hill and behind the windmill. Destroy it and you’ll earn an entry.

Campaign: Friends in High Places

• Test Flight
  • Dicta Boelcke Codex: Don’t lose the chase trail.
    • The chase sequence is for training purposes only. To follow the trail, fill the chase icon by sticking behind the allied aircraft.
    • If you lose the trail, simply restart the checkpoint to start over. Ease off the throttle and don’t mess up tight turns — it’s easy to accidentally overtake the slow-moving allied aircraft.
    • You only need to follow him for a few minutes. This one is pretty easy, but it’s the only challenge outside of the story-related codex entries.

• Fall From Grace
  • No Man’s Land Codex: Reach the no man’s land undetected.
    • Follow the steps at the start of the mission — watch the alert meter on enemies. As long as you can kill an enemy quietly before they alert other soldiers, you’ll still be undetected.
    • Using firearms will instantly alert nearby soldiers. Use melee only. Binoculars will help too — mark enemies to more easily avoid detection. Don’t leave dead bodies in areas that are trafficked by patrols, but even if a soldier finds a dead body, they won’t go on full alert.
      • Use shell casings to distract enemies. If you’re worried a soldier will turn to face you, use a shell casing — they’ll always look to where it lands.
    • Kill the first two soldiers at the barn, then move along the dry river bed to the left of the road to avoid the encampment on the right. Sneak under the bridge, and kill the guard in the post to the left of the river past the bridge. Try to avoid all the soldiers in the village.
    • Distract the two guard to the right of the artillery battery — don’t bother killing them — and move into the trenches. Past the checkpoint, sneak around the right side of the tent ahead and stay up-top and out of the trenches here. It’s much easier to sneak by the guards that way.
    • Enter the trenches again near the concrete bunker with the spotlight. Follow the left path, watch out for the two guards, and you’re home free.

• Forte Et Fidele
  • Airborne Cannons Codex: Destroy 10 aircraft in 30 seconds.
    • At a certain point in the chapter, you’ll mount a powerful AA gun.
    • There are literally swarms of aircraft to destroy the moment you prime the cannon. Don’t shoot wildly — zoom and shoot each target, try to clump shots together and aim at nearby aircraft.
    • 30 seconds is more time than you might realize, so don’t rush too much. You have roughly 3 seconds to destroy each aircraft. It doesn’t sound like much, but in practice it feels like more than enough time.
    • All you really need to avoid is overheating. Careful shots will help avoid it.
    • If you fail to earn the codex in about a minute, restart the checkpoint to try again.

Campaign: The Runner

• The Runner
  • Drip Gun Codex: Kill 10 enemies with a sidearm.
    • You don’t start this mission with a sidearm, so you’ll need to acquire one.
    • There’s a Sweeper Pistol located in a weapon crate in a lonely farmhouse to the left of the main town where you start. Follow the hill to a single home overlooking the village near the start — it’s left of an AT Gun emplacement.
    • There is also a Field Manual crate located in this house.
    • The Sweeper Pistol is a shotgun pistol with 24 shells — plenty to get 10 kills.
  • Geology Codex: Kill 5 enemies with rifle grenades.
    • The Rifle Grenade gun is found in the domed shaped objective building at the far end of the village.
    • Keep the weapon until a later objective — “Defend the Frontline” — you only have 3 grenades, so you’ll need to ensure you kill multiple enemies with two of your shots.

• Be Safe
  • River Clyde Codex: Kill 5 enemies with grenades.
    • You only start with 3 grenades, but more can be found as you progress.
    • To easily get all five kills, alert the nearby soldiers while moving up toward Fort Nobet, then hide around the barrier of the map to draw all the soldiers in the area toward you.
    • When they’re all come out and bunched up, pelt them with grenades to get the codex in one shot.

Campaign: Nothing Is Written

• Hidden in Plain Sight
  • The Bedouin Codex: Get the codebook without being detected.
    • Circle around the left side of the train crash site to avoid the guards, and collect a silenced pistol from the weapon crate in the tent to the left of the patrol area.
    • Once you’ve got the pistol, sneak into the ruined train car the forms a ramp to the objective — there’s one soldier standing watch right next to the hatch you need to reach.
    • Shoot him with the silenced pistol. Even if someone sees, they won’t go on full alert. Now you can simply enter the hatch and collect the codebook.

• Young Men’s Work
  • Tanks in the Desert Codex: Kill an officer using a tank.
    • There’s a light tank parked near a dirt path at the fuel depot in the ruins Commander position.
    • It’s a very open area, so recon the ruins with binoculars to spot the tank. Don’t fire a weapon — if the guards at the ruins go on alert, they will rush to board the tank first.
    • Sneak to the tank and steal it, then drive toward the large HQ tent to find the officer. They always wear black — blast him to earn this entry.

• Hear the Desert
  • Desert Cars Codex: Destroy all three vehicles without being detected.
    • Right as you get the objective to destroy all three vehicles, mark them so you can easily find where they park in the village.
    • Steal the TNT from the tent to the right of the starting point. The tent is filled with weapon crates, and it located at the base of a sniper tower.
    • Don’t alert enemies — but you can use your sniper rifle to eliminate soldiers from far off. Pick off only the soldiers that are going to spot you, and even if the guards go to a yellow alert level from hearing gunshots, you can still earn this codex.
    • Plant a TNT charge at the base of all three vehicles. Sneak around the outer edges of the town instead of through it. Once all charges are placed, set them off to destroy the vehicles at the same time.

More challenges coming soon!