Battlefield 6 Multiplayer Preview - Good Company

It’s only been a handful of days since EA raised the curtain on Battlefield 6 and already it’s become abundantly clear: Battlefield is back.

And EA is here to celebrate it with all the exaggerated pomp and circumstance that comes with a homecoming such as this. It’s a return to form in many ways, building upon what worked before, but also trying new things that will help define Battlefield’s identity.

It’s also a chance for a fresh start, and a commitment to fans that branches out from the legacy multiplayer experience using the key pillars of classes, gunplay, vehicles, and destruction.

With that in mind, EA and the developers at Battlefield Studios set fit to put on a dazzling, hard-edge show, inviting us out to see Battlefield 6’s multiplayer mode in action in a studio setting. From the jump it’s just as loud and bombastic as ever, with many facets that are setting the stage for one of this year’s big first-person shooters when it launches on October 10.

Battlefield 6 is framed by the role of a soldier who finds themself in the midst of a war between NATO and a paramilitary organization known as PAX ARMATA. These fights take place in real-world locations and set the stage for various modes including Conquest, Breakthrough, Squad Deathmatch, and Domination.

Core gameplay is important, but especially so when it comes to games that lean on multiplayer for their longevity. Battlefield 6 aims to take the stage with one key focus: squads. And with squads comes classes, each with a specific role to play and the capacity to adapt to real-time situations.

These classes include Engineer, which can expertly take down enemy vehicles and boost allies', and can take reduced damage from explosives. The Engineer takes control of submachine guns and has improved hip-fire control.

Then there’s the Recon class, whose role focuses on intelligence and counterintelligence whilst being able to infiltrate and scout at a high degree. As the name suggests, they make use of sniper rifles and can stabilize aim for a longer period of time.

Support is the medic of the squad, offering up support by providing ammo, healing, and revival during combat. They use light machine guns and a supply bag that can heal allies when tossed out onto the field.

At the forefront of the group is the Assault class. They’re the frontline fighter, the leader meant to take the team to the enemy. They wield assault rifles, and can sprint and shift to weapons with a faster transition than is normal.

Each of these four classes are inserted into Battlefield 6’s main combat system, known as the Kinesthetic Combat System. This system is designed to give the player more control, heightening mobility and tactical options in a fight, while also evolving the Battlefield series with all-new features.

For example, players can drag and revive a member of their team, ensuring both are away from danger. Players can get creative and mount weapons, which allows for steadier aim and a decrease in gun recoil. Cover can be further exploited through peeking around corners without being exposed, and you can even roll during combat to limit fall damage and increase the chance of dodging some bullets.

Vehicles in Battlefield 6 have been expanded as well, with the ability to hitch a ride and hang on to the back even if all available seats are taken.

The combat system is unique in that it works to give players reliable recoil patterns that will allow players to learn and adjust accordingly. This is something the team really focused on, and getting that feedback ahead of time really helped shaped the state of the game.

And it wouldn’t be Battlefield without a big focus on destruction. Battlefield 6 offers even bigger transformations to the environment, adding authentic damage that can be wielded to the player’s advantage. There’s some pretty creative solutions here too such as firing on a floor to take out enemies from above.

All of this extends to Battlefield 6’s nine maps, including a remake of Battlefield 3’s Operation Firestorm. Newcomers include Siege of Cairo, Iberian Offensive, Empire State, and Liberation Peak. Several maps that we didn’t see firsthand include Saints Quarter, Manhattan Bridge, New Sobek City, and Kundara Valley.

Within the maps themselves, players can expect to spend most of their time in Combat Zones, or special configurations in the map that focus on quality of gameplay that can switch up depending on the mode. More specifically this means that while the maps remain similar, elements within them can change such as how something becomes destroyed or the location of specific objects.

These modes can be broken down rather simply. There’s Conquest, which involves a lot of vehicles like tanks and helicopters, and it’s up to players to control specific locations on the map. When a team’s resources hit zero, they lose the game.

Breakthrough divides the map into sections that players will have to fight for one at a time. These battles will continue until all sections are captured or respawns are depleted.

Rush involves defusing and arming explosive systems, and the match will end when all communications systems are destroyed or players run out of respawns. There’s also the classic Team Deathmatch, Squad Deathmatch, King of the Hill, Escalation, and Domination modes available.

The Portal feature returns to Battlefield 6 with new tools including a spatial editor. Players will now have the ability to craft their own spaces and their work with the community.

While we didn’t get to experience that particular mode, we did spend some quality time with many of the aforementioned gameplay features, as well as each of the four combat classes. It’s a lot to take in, but so far promises made seem to be promises kept.

Battlefield 6 already feels incredibly polished, and not just in visuals. While yes, the fidelity is there, the explosions are bigger than ever, and the audio tuned along with it, it’s the gunplay that feels familiar yet fresh and tightly tuned.

Things are chaotic, but the assigned roles give you a sense of purpose - you’re not simply running and shooting, there’s the potential for specific tactical actions, and as the developers stressed, a real learning experience. 

The Support class in particular feels like a star for the versatility added to a typical healer. Being able to drag and revive people means you’re not going to be stuck out in the open, and playing around with shields, healing items, and zapping enemies with a defibrillator means that there’s a level of creativity involved outside of shooting a gun. When things get tough, hanging out in one of the vehicles isn’t a bad play either.

The different game modes are also all unique in their own way. It truly does feel like you’re doing different things on the same map. This is especially true in the close quarters locations like Cairo, which relies a lot on buildings and small spaces.

These few hours were only a taste of what’s to come in Battlefield 6. With promises of post-launch support and an open beta for fans beginning early next month, it’ll be worth seeing if everything we saw holds up on a larger scale. The setup is certainly there, so it's safe to say, at least tentatively, that Battlefield is back.

Battlefield 6 was previewed at an event hosted by the publisher - all screenshots were provided by the publisher.