Battlefield 6 Multiplayer Preview - All-Out-Warfare in Mirak Valley and Operation Firestorm

The release of Battlefield 6 is right around the corner, which means EA is ramping up testing and all things multiplayer before the big launch—and rolling out the next set of previews along with it. The goal here is to nail the core gameplay loops for Conquest and Breakthrough modes, as well as a deeper look at the sandbox experience with vehicle-on-vehicle battles.

Following Battlefield 6’s multiplayer reveal event in July and subsequent open beta period, EA let us get some hands-on time with an updated client with a focus on the Mirak Valley and Operation Firestorm maps. Mirak Valley is notable for being the game’s largest map, while Operation Firestorm marks the return of a fan-favorite from Battlefield 3.

The first of the big maps, Mirak Valley, features a large mountainous area that supports a heavy focus on vehicles. It’s a classic all-out-warfare map that lends itself to infantry as well as land and air vehicles, which is evident right from the jump.

Those keen on infantry can take part in close-quarters combat near the center of the map and scattered construction areas. There’s plenty of places to hide and use those spaces as a form of strategy.

On the opposite side of things, tanks can scout the perimeter and engage in tank vs tank combat. There’s also jets and helicopters available, so it’s worth dabbling around in the various vehicles just to take advantage of the larger map space.

Despite the map size being so big, Battlefield 6 is offering up its own brand of tailored combat modes with tighter gameplay styles at launch. As we learned in our first hands-on with the game, there’s a lot of variety that can be had depending on the mode played.

Operation Firestorm marks the return of a fan-favorite map, retooled for the current generation. They’ve not just stuck the original from Battlefield 3 into Battlefield 6 – the visuals, areas of cover, lines of sight, verticality, and destruction have all been updated.

This is a new location with the same oil fields and industrial structures such as pipelines and refineries. It’s a massive desert that makes it fit for combined arms warfare, large-scale battles that include infantry, tanks, jets, and helicopters. Its size allows for some dynamic combat across both air and land, which is something that really sets Battlefield apart from its contemporaries. 

In Battlefield 6, this classic map has also been tooled to create loads of unscripted gameplay moments, including more than the original allowed. There was a lot of chatter about it being the favorite, and it’s not hard to see why. Operation Firestorm is Battlefield firing on all cylinders.

One mode that shows it all off is Escalation, which is a sort of clutch gameplay in a Conquest-style experience with an all-new scoring system. The objective here is to race to score by holding the majority of capture points on the map and the first to three of these wins. The tension point is that as the battle progresses, the number of capture points reduces, and strategies will need to evolve as the frontlines shift position.

While traversing these new maps, it wasn’t hard to see that Battlefield 6 had seen further updates since the open-beta period. One of the most notable ones is the addition of the ladder, which is now available for the Assault class. As expected, it makes it easier to climb up obstacles such as buildings – something both maps have an abundance of.

There’s also been a wealth of adjustments to weapons, customization options, and tap-fire characteristics. For example, the M87A1 Shotgun has been modified to need more shells to earn a kill. Movement has also been tweaked, and momentum from a slide into a jump has been toned down.

Specific gameplay in Battlefield 6 has also been tweaked with more inaccuracies added when firing a weapon while jumping or sliding. There’s a bigger focus on moving with skill rather than being predictable.

Vehicles have seen some improvement as well, such as the first-person view while in the external seat of the tanks. All the ground vehicles have been granted a speed boost, which is helpful for getting out of a potential firefight.

It’s clear quite a bit has been revised in just a short period following the open beta, and the team is promising that they’ll continue to refine Battlefield 6 for launch and well beyond that. There’s a lot of little things that certainly feel more polished, and even small things like the on-screen chat make for a better experience compared to what we saw back at the end of July and the beginning of August.

As we approach Battlefield 6’s October 10 launch date – which is just under a month away, mind – there’s no doubt the team will keep pushing that player experience, and hopefully it’s able to pay off for them in the long run.

TechRaptor was invited to play Battlefield 6 at a digital event with a code provided by the publisher. All screenshots were captured during the event.