Battlefield™ 6 News

[p]Hey everyone,[/p][p]The team is incredibly excited to see all the fun you’re having with REDSEC. We’ve poured years of work into it, and watching your clips, reading your feedback, and hearing your concerns has been fantastic. Thank you for playing and for sharing your thoughts.[/p][p]With tons of REDSEC matches played since the launch of Battle Royale and Gauntlet, we’ve seen a lot of feedback on the topic along with some recurring questions and misunderstandings around how armor works in REDSEC, how it differs from main Battlefield 6 Multiplayer (MP), and where we might be looking at bugs versus intentional design. So today we’d like to go in depth on the topic of armor and cover:[/p]

• [p]Our philosophy for armor in REDSEC[/p]
• [p]How this ties back to Battlefield 6 MP[/p]
• [p]A deep dive on current armor mechanics from Ryan, the lead designer on the armor system[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Our Armor Philosophy in REDSEC[/h2][p]When we set out to build the Battle Royale experience, one of our big goals was to keep as much parity with Battlefield 6 Multiplayer as possible, while still delivering the core fundamentals of the Battle Royale genre.[/p][p]We want skills and muscle memory you build in one experience to transfer into the others. If you learn recoil patterns, ranges, and damage breakpoints in MP, that knowledge should mostly still apply when you drop into REDSEC.[/p][p]At the same time, Battle Royale has some unique needs:[/p]

• [p]High stakes: One fight can end your match.[/p]
• [p]Looting: Gear progression is core to the experience.[/p]
• [p]Map scale & pacing: Engagements tend to be mid- to long-range, which already lines up nicely with Battlefield’s overall DNA.[/p]

[p]Because of that, we made lootable infantry armor a key area where REDSEC intentionally diverges from standard MP tuning.[/p][h3]What Armor Is Meant to Do[/h3][p]Armor’s job in REDSEC is to extend time-to-kill (TTK) so you have a bit more breathing room in high-stakes fights. We want armor to impact how long you live, not make weapons feel totally different between modes.[/p][p]So our guiding principle is to leave core gun mechanics and soldier health damage the same across experiences, and tune REDSEC by adjusting damage vs. armor (extra health) instead.[/p][p]That way, a weapon feels familiar whether you’re in MP, Gauntlet, or Battle Royale. We can also make changes that only affect REDSEC by tweaking damage vs. armor, without breaking weapon balance elsewhere.[/p][p]We feel we landed armor in a good spot for the launch of REDSEC, but this isn’t “set and forget.” We’ll keep monitoring your feedback and our data, and we’ll make future balance passes where needed.[/p][p]Now, let’s hand it over to Ryan for the more detailed breakdown.[/p][p][/p][h2]Armor & Damage – A Deep Dive[/h2][p]Hi! I’m Ryan.[/p][p]For those who don’t know me, I’ve been around the Battlefield franchise in one form or another since BF1, and in various Battlefield communities back in the BF3/BF4 days. For REDSEC, I’m the lead designer of the armor system, and I’d like to walk you through how armor works, how weapon damage plays into it, and how it differs from the rest of Battlefield 6.[/p][h3]Armor Values in REDSEC[/h3][p]Let’s start with some basic numbers:[/p]

• [p]Armor in Gauntlet: 40 HP[/p]
• [p]Armor in Battle Royale: 80 HP total (2 plates at 40 HP each)[/p]

[p]Think of armor as extra health layered on top of your standard soldier health. Once that armor is gone, everything works like you’re used to from other Battlefield 6 experiences.[/p][h3]How We Think About Damage[/h3][p]Every weapon in Battlefield 6 has a damage profile. That profile is primarily driven by the caliber of bullet it fires. A specific caliber (for example, 7.62x39mm) has a core damage profile. When that caliber is used across different weapon archetypes (like rifles, carbines, LMGs), we may tweak it slightly, but they still share underlying values and behavior.[/p][p]For REDSEC specifically, each caliber effectively has two damage curves: Damage vs. Soldier Health and Damage vs. Armor.[/p][p]In REDSEC, we only adjust weapon damage against armor. Once armor breaks, that weapon will deal the same damage to soldier health, at the same ranges, as it does in the rest of Battlefield 6.[/p][p][/p][h2]The Two Big Systemic Adjustments[/h2][p]We currently make two systemic adjustments to how infantry weapons interact with armor in REDSEC.[/p][h3]1. Extended Damage Drop-off Ranges vs. Armor[/h3][p]All weapons have damage “steps” at different ranges (max damage, then lower damage as range increases). For damage vs. armor, we extend those drop-off ranges by 10 meters.[/p][p]REDSEC fights tend to happen at longer ranges (the larger map size and extended engagement ranges found on Fort Lyndon). Extending the effective ranges vs. armor helps weapons feel more consistent between MP and REDSEC, even though the context is different.[/p][p]This adjustment applies to all primary and secondary weapons.[/p][h3]2. Lowering Extreme Close-Range Damage vs. Armor for Automatic Weapons[/h3][p]For automatic weapons, we make another key change vs. armor. The first, very close-range max damage step against armor is essentially removed (or significantly reduced). In cases where we have a Carbine variant of a bullet (like 7.62x39mm vs. 7.62x39mm_Carbine), we keep the caliber’s max damage vs. armor aligned across the caliber and lower that close-range damage step to match the non-carbine, instead of flattening it all the way down.

During playtesting, we found that at very close ranges, where both theoretical and practical hit rates can approach 100%, armor often felt nonexistent, especially against high-rate-of-fire weapons. You’d land a perfect close-range spray and barely notice armor was there at all (or worse, it felt inconsistent depending on the weapon).[/p][p]So this adjustment is primarily aimed at controlling high-ROF weapons at very close range and making armor feel like it actually matters when you’re face-to-face, instead of just evaporating instantly.[/p][p][/p][h2]A Concrete Example (7.62x39mm)[/h2][p]To make this a bit more tangible, let’s walk through an example using 7.62x39mm. For 7.62x39mm (ACE, RPKM):[/p]

• [p]Deals 33.4 damage out to 9 meters, then drops to 27.3 damage[/p]
• [p]Drops to 21.5 damage at 21 meters[/p]
• [p]Drops to 20 damage at 36 meters[/p]
• [p]Drops to 16.7 damage at 75 meters[/p]

[p]For 7.62x39mm_Carbine (SIG553R):[/p]

• [p]Deals 33.4 damage out to 9 meters, then drops to 25 damage[/p]
• [p]Drops to 20 damage at 21 meters[/p]
• [p]Drops to 16.7 damage at 36 meters[/p]

• [p]Drops to 14.3 damage at 75 meters[/p]

[p]These “steps” line up with changes in bullets-to-kill (BTK) and are what you’re feeling when a weapon shifts from, say, a 3-shot kill to a 4-shot kill.[/p][p]Now compare that to damage vs. armor, all those damage drop-off ranges are pushed out by 10 meters vs. armor. The very close-range damage (within ~9 meters) is flattened, so armor doesn’t just vanish instantly. Example: 33.4 is reduced to 27.3 damage vs. armor at those very close ranges. Carbine variants are lowered to match that 27.3 damage, rather than being pushed even lower.[/p][p]At longer ranges, your damage against armor feels more in line with your expectations from MP, just with the added buffer armor provides. At very close ranges, armor meaningfully slows down TTK, especially against very fast-firing weapons, without making the gun feel like a totally different weapon.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Where We Go From Here[/h2][p]Armor in REDSEC is in a place we’re happy with for launch, but this is not the final word. We’ll keep tracking data across all skill levels and modes, listening to your feedback on how armor feels in real matches, and looking for any outliers. [/p][p]When sharing armor feedback from BR experiences, specific details about the weapon or archetype of weapons involved in the encounter, as well as engagement ranges, are very helpful. In Gauntlet, including details on the mode that was being played helps the team a lot. Please continue to report bugs on our EA Forums, and join the community on the Battlefield Discord server.[/p][p]When we make changes, we’ll continue to favor adjustments vs. armor, to preserve weapon feel across Battlefield 6 and be transparent about what changed and why.[/p][p]Thanks again for playing, for putting time into REDSEC, and for sending us your thoughts (and your wild squad wipes). Keep the feedback coming, we’re listening, we’re iterating, and we’ll see you in the next drop.[/p][p][/p][p]//The Battlefield Team[/p][p]
This announcement may change as we listen to community feedback and continue developing and evolving our Live Service & Content. We will always strive to keep our community as informed as possible.[/p]

[p]Hello everyone,
[/p][p]Welcome to our latest Community Update for Battlefield 6! With Update 1.1.2.0 settling in, we are taking a moment to share a deeper look at ongoing and upcoming work across the Battlefield Studios as we prepare for the Season 1 Winter Offensive update.
[/p][h2]Latest Improvements[/h2][p]Here is a recap of recent adjustments before we dive into the upcoming changes.[/p]

• [p]Escalation - On November 18, we increased the time required to capture objectives and territory in Escalation by roughly 20%. This keeps the mode’s high-energy pace while giving players more room for tactical decisions, better reactions, and smoother, more strategic matches. Your feedback has been positive about your experience in Escalation after the changes, and we will continue monitoring both internal data and community feedback.[/p]
• [p]Challenges - On November 19, alongside the 1.1.2.0 Update, we made several changes and fixes to the Challenges system. While this has alleviated several issues with progression and reward tracking, we’re still seeing reports from players that not all challenges properly unlock their rewards after finishing them. The team is investigating, and we’ll provide an update as we get more traction on this. [/p]
• [p]Anticheat - On November 28, our Anticheat team provided an update on the current state of anticheat, how the Match Infection Rate is trending, how we use it to help measure game quality, and what’s next for them.[/p]
• [p]Portal - ICYMI, Downtown, Marina, Sandbox maps are now available in Portal, through REDSEC, and we’re excited to see what experiences you’ll create in these new areas.[/p]

[h2]Winter Offensive[/h2][p]Update 1.1.3.0, Winter Offensive will be arriving on December 9, and the Update Notes are incoming over the next few days. Below you’ll find some of the highlights.[/p][p]Audio Improvements With this update, we have made a broad set of audio improvements, including better prioritization of important combat and vehicle sounds, and a comprehensive pass on footsteps to improve clarity, distance definition, and positional awareness across the game. We have also continued to work on performance and memory issues that could cause sounds, such as vehicles or footsteps, to sometimes not play as intended, which has been particularly noticeable on larger Battle Royale maps.[/p][p]Mode Adjustments Across Rush and Breakthrough, we’re making major updates focused on improving attacker flow, reducing defender oversaturation, and tightening clarity around objectives. Our goal is to make each push feel more readable, fair, and momentum-based without undermining strong defensive play.[/p][p]In Breakthrough, capture volumes and vehicle availability have been updated across several maps. These changes are guided by your feedback and internal data to help bring win rates closer together for both teams. As one example, Siege of Cairo now features an additional attacker tank in Sectors 1 and 3, along with an updated capture area on B to give attackers a clearer foothold.[/p][p]In Rush, M-COM locations on Manhattan Bridge and Liberation Peak have been adjusted to give attackers more reliable access and to smooth out the flow between sectors.[/p][p]Across both modes, multiple capture zones have been reshaped or clarified so players understand more clearly where to contest or defend. Vehicle spawns have also been rebalanced on several maps to better support attackers where pushes tended to stall and to reduce setups where defenders held overwhelming vehicle advantages. These updates are intended to reduce bottlenecks, remove frustration points, and create more consistent and engaging fights around objectives.[/p][p]Beyond these highlights, we have also made a range of quality-of-life improvements across UI clarity, minimap behavior, controller aiming responsiveness, and more, which you will see detailed in the full notes.[/p][p]Lastly, beyond the Winter Offensive update, we are also looking into recent performance issues reported by some players and are reviewing data to understand where improvements are needed.[/p][h2]Combat Systems[/h2][p]In this update we have also made broad improvements across our combat systems to help deliver more consistent, predictable, and responsive gameplay.[/p][p]Hit Registration and Netcode We are continuing to build on our work to make hit registration feel consistent, reliable, and predictable during every engagement. With this update, we have improved how bullet trajectories are aligned in fast-paced situations, including cases where shots were fired while transitioning into a zoom. These improvements correct inconsistencies that could affect hit registration and the readability of where your shots were landing. We have also made updates to better handle high-density combat scenarios to ensure bullets register more reliably when multiple players are fighting in close proximity.[/p][p]In parallel, we have tightened the clarity of damage feedback so that health UI changes and damage cues feel more immediate and easier to understand during combat. While this is separate from Netcode itself, improving how damage is presented plays a key role in making hit registration feel responsive and intuitive.[/p][p]Lastly, we have resolved an issue where clients could briefly display certain pieces of geometry as intact even though they had already been destroyed on the server. Fixing this eliminates cases where incoming damage could appear to pass through walls.[/p][p]Soldier visibility[/p][p]Development is also ongoing to further enhance soldier visibility and to make combat readability feel sharp and intuitive across all environments. In this update, we have refined how visibility effects activate at close range so that soldiers stand out more clearly in darker or low-contrast areas. We have also updated prone animations to include more subtle movement, improving the ability to spot soldiers using low-profile positions.[/p][p]We are already looking ahead at broader improvements to lighting and exposure, especially in indoor vs. outdoor transitions, and how characters read against complex environments. This work continues to be a major focus for us, and we are approaching it with the goal of improving clarity without compromising the intended Battlefield visual style.[/p][p]Weapon adjustments[/p][p]Weapon feel and reliability are always top priorities for the team. This update includes wide-ranging improvements to weapon handling, including fixes to first-shot accuracy, attachment behavior, and tuning across various recoil patterns and weapon categories. These changes aim to deliver more predictable and consistent weapon performance in active combat. We will continue to refine weapon behaviour based on live data and player feedback, with additional adjustments already in development for future updates.[/p][p]Ongoing work and future improvements[/p][p]We are actively exploring several areas aimed at improving clarity, responsiveness, and fairness in combat. This includes further work on edge cases related to hit registration, investigating rare desync scenarios with destructible objects, and gathering deeper data on situations where players feel they were eliminated after reaching cover. These areas remain key priorities, and the findings from our ongoing investigations will inform updates planned for the new year.[/p][p]On the weapons front, we will continue monitoring the effects of the dispersion changes introduced in California Resistance. The early trends show a healthy distribution of weapon usage across categories, and we will keep tracking performance to identify outliers as the meta evolves.[/p][p][/p][h2]REDSEC[/h2]

• [p]Armor in REDSEC: We have seen discussions in the community about how armor works in REDSEC, how it interacts with weapon damage, and where behaviour may differ from what players expect. We have sat down with the team to review the system in detail and have a dedicated blog on this topic rolling out in the first week of December.[/p]
• [p]Tank Availability: We have seen your discussions around tanks feeling too strong in some cases, and we are making a first pass on this. We are lowering the frequency of tank missions availability as a first change to the system. We will keep an eye on internal data and how you engage around the change, combined with your feedback, for additional changes with an upcoming update.[/p]

[h2]Community Highlights[/h2][p]Portal experiences you should give a try[/p][p]Our team continues to be amazed by the incredibly talented, creative, wonderful, funny, and entertaining experiences our players put together in Portal. We will highlight more cool experiences going forward, and thought that the two below would be a good start to check out player-created Portal experiences if you haven’t done that so far. 
[/p][p]Snipers VS. Runners[/p][p]Experience code: YT6XX[/p]

• [p]As a sniper: Don’t let the runners reach the end of the obstacle course. [/p]
• [p]As a runner: Don’t lose your head. ;)[/p]

[p]KING OF THE RING[/p][p]Experience code: Z3JN4[/p]

• [p]Players race around a ring and try to reach the end without falling off or being blown up by the rocket launcher-wielding player in the middle of the ring. Will you make it to the finish line or get blown to pieces?
  [/p]

[p]Battlefield REDSEC Elite Series[/p][p]In case you missed it, we’re launching the Battlefield REDSEC Elite Series, and you can become part of those adrenaline-filled moments when your squad pushes their limits and gets the W. [/p][p]Thank you for your ongoing support, feedback, and PTFOing! [/p][p]We’ll see you on the Battlefield.[/p][p]//The Battlefield Team[/p][p]
This announcement may change as we listen to community feedback and continue developing and evolving our Live Service & Content. We will always strive to keep our community as informed as possible.[/p]

Battlefield Studios is seemingly trying something different with Battlefield 6’s next patch, which everyone assumed would be a standard, mid-season update not intended to change the game significantly.

Read more

[p]Hello everyone,
[/p][p]Tomorrow, we’re bringing Battlefield Labs back online. Earlier phases of Battlefield Labs helped us gather fast, focused feedback on new ideas before they reached our live game. We’re now evolving and building on that foundation on how we test together as a part of our commitment to deliver the biggest and most exciting Battlefield live service in franchise history.
[/p][h3]Up Next[/h3][p]Our next Battlefield Labs session marks the return of the program, with an early opportunity to experience some of the changes and content arriving in the December 9 game update.
[/p][p]Combat improvements under testing[/p][p]This session focuses on improvements across core gameplay, including clarity, responsiveness, and overall combat feel. These changes will be tested on Eastwood and Operation Firestorm in the All-Out Warfare playlist (Conquest and Escalation) and include:[/p]

• [p]Audio footstep updates that improve distance perception, surface definition, and enemy audibility.[/p]
• [p]Networking and hit registration refinements aimed at more consistent interactions and better responsiveness during close-quarters and high-intensity combat.[/p]
• [p]Broader adjustments across key combat systems that influence all experiences, evaluated through focused Labs testing.[/p]

[p]This play session will be PC-only on the EA app, and through Steam, at the following times:[/p]

• [p]APAC: Tuesday, December 2 from 8-10 PM JST[/p]
• [p]EU: Tuesday, December 2 from 7-9 PM CET[/p]
• [p]NA: Tuesday, December 2 from 4-6 PM PST[/p]

[p]As a reminder, participation within Battlefield Labs continues to be subject to an NDA.
[/p][p]Before the session begins we’ll confirm timing as a separate note to invited participants. Be sure to keep an eye on your email inbox for which you signed-up to Battlefield Labs.
[/p][h3]Evolving Battlefield Labs[/h3][p]As Battlefield Labs continues to grow, we are expanding how we test new gameplay throughout our development phases to gather clearer insights, involve more players, and validate upcoming experiences more effectively. Looking ahead, we'll host two main types of play opportunities for Battlefield Labs:[/p]

• [p]Planned Play Sessions - these are either experimental, or future focused and recurring sessions around specific features or content that we want to validate ahead of release, giving players the chance to experience upcoming updates early and help shape their final form.[/p]
• [p]Quick, short-notice sessions - these sessions are put together on short notice and allow us to gather rapid insights on focused gameplay changes that benefit from immediate community feedback.[/p]

[p]Lastly, we are investigating new and smoother ways to make future Labs sessions accessible for more players. We’ll share more information as details evolve.
[/p][h3]Looking Ahead[/h3][p]In the months ahead, we’ll use Battlefield Labs to look at a broader range of early concepts and experimental scenarios that benefit from real player insight. Beyond that, we are preparing future Labs sessions that explore changes to map layouts, pacing, and alternative team compositions such as smaller player counts or vehicle-focused setups.

As we continue to grow Battlefield Labs, it will continue to be a reliable space for testing early ideas, gathering focused feedback, and involving a wider range of players in shaping what comes next for Battlefield across areas such as:[/p]

• [p]New maps and experiences[/p]
• [p]New modes and experimental rulesets[/p]
• [p]Prototype mechanics and systems[/p]
• [p]Environmental changes[/p]
• [p]Future seasonal beats before they fully solidify[/p]
• [p]Stability and performance[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Get Involved[/h3][p]We’re excited for the return of Battlefield Lab and to resume our playtesting efforts to build the future of Battlefield alongside you. 
[/p][p]Learn more about Battlefield Labs and sign up to EA Playtesting on our website today, and join the Battlefield Discord to join the discussion and stay updated on the latest information.[/p][p]
We’ll see you in Labs![/p][p]
//The Battlefield Team[/p][p][/p][p]This announcement may change as we listen to community feedback and continue developing and evolving our Live Service & Content. We will always strive to keep our community as informed as possible.[/p]