Electronic Arts has launched its first season of live service content for its marquee shooter, Battlefield 6, alongside a new free-to-play battle royale mode named REDSEC and many other updates.
Following on from last week’s hands-on preview event, Season 1 for Battlefield 6 brings with it a lot of changes and updates. From new maps, new modes, new weapons, new skins, and much more, it’s clear that EA intends to continually evolve and expand Battlefield 6 as a major platform beyond being just another shooter.
The new battle royale mode was no secret, as it’s been heavily leaked for weeks, alongside the REDSEC (shorthand for Redacted Sector) branding. But despite all of that, there are still lots of surprises today, and the end results are decidedly mixed.
Battlefield 6 Season 1 and REDSEC impressions
Wave 1 of the heavily marketed and talked about Season 1 of content is just as EA promised: a new small-scale 4v4 Strikepoint game mode, a new Blackwell Fields map, and several new items like guns and gadgets. This was all covered in the preview event from last week.
Personally, I’m a big fan of the new Strikepoint mode. I love the forced-proximity and very slow-paced gameplay that forces teams to work together. In this mode, since it’s just 4v4, that means the maps are smaller and there is only a single point to fight over without any respawns. It’s incredibly tense and tactical.
On the other hand, a lot of players are unhappy with Blackwell Fields because of just how wide open and flat it is. When you spawn into the map as a defending team, all the way back at your HQ, it’s not uncommon to get immediately sniped from across the entire level before you even have a chance to move. I’m not sure what adjustments need to be made, but Blackwell Fields feels far too open and easily exploitable in its current form.
However, today is also the debut of the Battlefield 6 Battle Pass. As is customary, the battle pass is available in two variations: either as a free track of rewards or a paid track with additional rewards unlocked along the way. Rewards include Battlefield Points as virtual currency, gun kits, cosmetic customizations for player profiles, class skins, and more. Notably, if you buy the base battle pass for $9.99 and finish the entire thing, you’ll earn enough currency to save up and buy the next battle pass. Theoretically, you could keep doing this and only ever need to spend the initial entry fee. That’s a good deal.
Something interesting that EA does here is that it’s not an entirely linear track that you must unlock in order. Instead, once you finish the opening “Recruit” section of the battle pass, you get to choose from a handful of sections to tackle in whichever order you prefer, followed by two final sections to end the battle pass.
This is a great adjustment because most people don’t have the time or ability to finish an entire battle pass during a season of content, so now they can prioritize the section that has the weapons or skins they really want most. This is a very good tweak to the typical structure.
Alternatively, if you want, you can drop $25 up front and unlock the entire battle pass from the start.
Battlefield REDSEC is the other big chunk of new content today, all of which takes place on the single, massive Southern California map called Fort Lyndom. Within REDSEC, there’s the Battle Royale offering, a new Gauntlet mode, and a new Portal toolset. All three of these pillars of REDSEC are available as entirely free-to-play offerings.
Obviously, the main draw of REDSEC is battle royale, but oddly, you can only play this mode either as a Duo with one teammate or a full squad of four. There are no options to drop in either solo or as a trio. However, in the Training Grounds section of the menu, you can queue up for Duos with the match filled with mostly bots. It’s a good way to get your feet wet and learn the mode without the pressure of fighting other players the entire time.
I’ve only played a few rounds for myself so far, but overall, the sentiment is quite positive on the battle royale content. There’s a circle of fire gradually closing in on the map, forcing players into proximity, creating flashpoints of conflict. One feature I particularly appreciate is the missions that are sent to your squad during gameplay, giving you specific objectives to complete during a round, such as hacking a point for intel, planting a bomb, and so on. Once completed, a supply drop lands at the location, granting you an infusion of gear.
It’s a good feature because it adds a risk vs. reward element. Once you begin a mission, it typically sets off very loud alarms or causes a lot of commotion that attracts attention from other players. But if you can hold out long enough, you’ll get a great boost of gear.
When you add in all of the mechanics that make Battlefield 6 so great, such as the destructability of buildings and cover points, class-based dynamics, and vehicular combat, it really amps up the tension.
Then there’s a new Gauntlet mode, which wasn’t really talked about much at all before today. In this mode, you drop into the same map used for battle royale, but instead, you’re given specific objectives to complete against competing squads in a tournament-style, round-based format. By the end, only one squad remains.
And finally, the new Portal content. This is where things start to get confusing and messy because if you’re a free-to-play player who does not own Battlefield 6 itself, you have access to all of the REDSEC content, including the new Portal, but you won’t get access to any Portal content that uses base-game content at all, which creates a clear split in the player base.
Overall, Battlefield 6 is absolutely one of the best shooters on the market, and the massive influx of new content today is great news. However, with so many options between the existing modes and new content, the UI is incredibly muddled and messy now.
Before today, Battlefield 6 was a very cleanly designed game without any microtransactions and a heavy focus on in-game progression and challenges. Now, it feels like EA is gradually moving back towards a heavily monetized structure that rewards players for deep pockets first and foremost. Time will tell if players mind that shift in focus or not.