Homecoming. Impressions from the Battlefield 6 Open Beta

The Battlefield 6 open beta was a test not only for players, but also for DICE itself, or rather a whole bunch of studios under the common name Battlefield Studios. After Battlefield 2042, which received mixed reviews due to technical problems and loss of identity, the new part had to prove that the series is still capable of offering large-scale and rich battles. Throwing the resources of four major EA studios at this had to pay off so that the Battlefield series had a future. And judging by the hype, fans were ready to give the game another chance - at its peak, the game gathered more than half a million players online on Steam, and the queues for entry sometimes reached 200-250 thousand players. The series has not seen such a jump in popularity for many years. But beta is always a compromise between demonstrating capabilities and testing weaknesses. The developers took a risk by showing compact maps and a limited number of modes, and thereby immediately shifted the focus of discussions from the scale of the series to the sense of pace and balance.

Changes and innovations

The Battlefield 6 beta feels like an attempt to bring back a familiar face to the series after the not-so-successful experiments of recent years. The recognizable rhythm of combat has returned, with a combination of clashes at medium and close ranges, where not only quick reactions but also teamwork are important. Shooting has weight again - the recoil of weapons is clear, each turn is felt physically, and the sound of shots and explosions is reminiscent of the atmosphere of Battlefield 3/4. The destruction of the environment returns the chaos that made the old parts alive: the destroyed cover can change the course of the battle, and buildings cease to be static decorations. The visual style also gravitates towards a more restrained, "military" palette, without the excessive brightness characteristic of Battlefield 2042.

The beta features classic modes like Conquest, Rush, and Domination, as well as new ones like Breakthrough and King of The Hill. The developers are juggling the available modes on different days of the beta. Rush, for example, was added at the start of the second weekend, and removed the next day to focus players' attention on other modes.

On this foundation, the developers from Battlefield Studios have built several new mechanics. The most notable of them is drag revive. Now a medic or squad member can grab a wounded ally and drag him to cover before reviving. And this is not just an animation trick. The mechanic adds tactical decisions: take a risk and revive on the spot or drag a fighter away, risking losing time. In tight battles, especially on compact maps, this feature creates dramatic moments in the match when two fighters are trying to escape from a stream of bullets.

Another noticeable touch is the improved sense of movement and control. Fighters react faster, although they have an authentic inertia in their movements. Movement is like a hybrid of the old Battlefield system and more modern shooters. Weapons feel different depending on the class and configuration: assault rifles with clear recoil control, marksman rifles with noticeable power, shotguns are dangerous at short range, but less effective at long range, machine guns are inert, but have a bunch of ammo and the ability to control important sectors.

Overall, the Battlefield 6 beta feels like the developers have taken a step back from the series' traditional principles, but at the same time are trying to add tactical depth through new tools so that the player feels both a familiar atmosphere and fresh opportunities.

Balance and controversial points

The problem of fast TTK combined with network code bugs has become one of the hottest topics of discussion. Players have complained about the feeling that they are dying from a single "superball", and that this reduces the space for reaction. The studio has already admitted that this is partly due to a synchronization bug, but even after the fix, it would be nice to increase the survival time a little.

The class imbalance is particularly evident in Assault mode: the ability to take two primary weapons allows you to combine, for example, an assault rifle for medium range and a shotgun for close combat, which makes this fighter versatile and difficult to counter against other classes. This is especially evident when using a shotgun that also shoots from the hip at considerable distances as a third weapon, causing complete frustration during defense.

The beta also shows that the developers are experimenting with the verticality of the levels. Several points on the maps can be attacked from above or below, using elevators, stairs, or passages made by explosions. This again adds to the feeling of a "live" battlefield, where routes and positions change throughout the match. However, in combination with the compactness of the available maps and the short Time to Kill (TTK), this creates chaos, almost nullifying the tactical efforts of the squad. The lack of or poor implementation of spatial sound adds to the chaos. This is especially noticeable in multi-level locations, where you can hear the footsteps of approaching enemies, but it is impossible to determine whether they are above, below, or on the same level as the player.

The equipment still feels like an additional, not the main tool. The helicopter (at least the large combat one available in the beta) is very inert to control, and is also quickly destroyed by infantry with MANPADS on compact maps, where the pilot has nowhere to go. The situation is somewhat different with tanks and other armored vehicles. In Battlefield 6, a tank is a significant advantage on the battlefield, they are hardy and deadly, but as soon as one squad concentrates fire from ATGMs on it, it must retreat, or it will be destroyed without support from engineers.

And the number of armored vehicles on the available maps is more reminiscent of the latest iterations of the series than the classics. One tank and one infantry fighting vehicle per team may be balanced, but it affects the dynamics and spectacle of battles. This is especially painful for those who remember the air battles of Battlefield 4 or tank duels in open terrain in Battlefield 3.

It seems that most of the problems that are noticeable in the beta phase stem from the choice of maps for testing. There are currently four maps available, which seem to be designed for specific modes, and in others they show themselves to be not very balanced. Two of them are similar in concept to Siege of Cairo and Iberian Offensive - they are cities with narrow streets, where infantry dominates, and transport, although it poses a threat, is quickly dismantled by shots from around the corner or a well-aimed throw from the second floor window of the C4 building.

At the other extreme is the vast mountainous map of Liberation Peak, where it's hard to hide from random bullets or snipers, and a tank or helicopter can control the approaches to points. They're hard to counter without a well-coordinated team game or a skilled tankman of their own. The compact Empire State in New York, with several levels in the main building, is characterized by chaotic infantry battles.

Technical aspects

On a technical level, the beta was uneven. On the positive side, the servers handled the load, matches were picked up quickly, and even with hundreds of thousands of players in queues, there were no global outages. Although sometimes problems with the network code led to poor hit registration and the aforementioned "superball" effect.

For a beta, the game's performance is quite high on an average PC with an RTX 3070 and a PlayStation 5 Pro console. In both cases, we managed to get over 90 fps in performance mode in dynamic matches with explosions and environmental destruction.

However, within the first hours of the Battlefield 6 open beta, cheaters began to appear in the game, using aimbots, wallhacks, and other modifications, despite the supposedly state-of-the-art Javelin Anti-Cheat system. So the requirement to have Secure Boot enabled to run the game on a PC, which was supposed to be the key to the anti-cheat working, seems ridiculous. EA said it had blocked over 300,000 cheating attempts, but some cases spoiled the experience even in short matches.

Adding to the discomfort is cross-play, which is enabled by default for all platforms, meaning cheaters, having the advantage of mouse control, ruin the experience for console players as well. It's often unclear whether it's a network glitch that caused all the damage to come in one big ball and kill, or whether the player with cheats enabled is simply "having fun."

Conclusion

During the open beta, Battlefield 6 demonstrated the main thing - the series is still alive and capable of generating interest. The feeling of shooting, destruction, team interaction and even individual moments of heroism, like drag revive under fire, bring back the atmosphere of "the same Battlefield".

However, it's now more of a focused melee shooter than a large-scale war with room for maneuver. Issues with TTK, class and vehicle balance, as well as technical nuances with cheats and optimization can ruin the start.

If Battlefield Studios delivers on the promised changes, expanding maps, adjusting TTK, rebalancing weapons, and strengthening anti-cheat, the October 10, 2025 release could be the series' point of recovery that fans have been waiting for since Battlefield 4.