Start playing VU

Playing VU is as simple as it gets. Below are the steps you need to follow to get started.

Installing VU & BF3

You can use VU on any computer running Windows 7 SP1 or newer. To begin, download the latest installer from the VU homepage and install it on your computer. Make sure that you have downloaded the latest version of Battlefield 3 from Origin (alongside any DLCs you would like to play) and that you have launched the game at least once via Battlelog (either singleplayer or multiplayer). Then, look for the VU Client entry on your start menu or your desktop to launch VU.

Creating an account and linking your Origin account

Before you can play VU, you will need to register an account. You can do so either directly from here or by launching the client and using the in-game “Create account” button present in the login screen. After you've created your account and logged in to the VU client you will be required to link your Origin account so we can verify your game ownership. This is a one-time process and requires Origin to be running. Once you see the Origin activation prompt, minimize VU, launch Origin and login with an account that owns Battlefield 3. Then return to VU and follow the on-screen prompts. After the process is finished you can turn Origin off if you wish.

Creating your soldier

After having logged in and linked your Origin account, you will have to create a soldier. A soldier is essentially your unique player. Follow the on-screen prompts and give your soldier a name. That name will be unique among all other players. Things like mod stats and various server-side customizations will be tied to your soldier. You can delete and re-create your soldier at any time. After creating your soldier, you can select it to finish the login process and be able to join servers.

Joining servers

You should now be in the main menu. There should be several options at the top, one of which is “Servers”. If you click on it, you will be presented with VU's in-game server browser. Give it a few seconds to fetch all available servers and then you'll be ready to pick the one you wish to join. From here, you can also filter and sort servers based on your preferences. Click on a server once to see more details or double-click to join. You can also use the Join and Spec buttons to join or spectate a server respectively (keep in mind that not all servers have spectator capabilities, in which case the Spec button will be missing). If a server is grayed out and has a red outline it means that it's incompatible with your VU client and you cannot join it. You can click on it to see more details about what the incompatibility is. When joining a server, VU will automatically download any required mod files, so there's nothing else you'll need to do on your side to join modded servers.

Disconnecting from a server

Disconnecting from a server is as simple as using the Quit option from the pause menu (which you can bring up by pressing Esc). Alternatively, you can open the in-game console using the tilde key (~), type disconnect or dc, and hit Enter (you can refer to this document for a listing of all available console commands). After you've disconnected from a server, you'll be returned to the main menu.

Troubleshooting

If you are experiencing issues while running VU make sure to check out the Troubleshooting & FAQ section.