BF6: Great foundation but serious issues holding it back
After playing multiple hours in both beta phases I have some feedback to give.
Some of it is general regarding bugs and gameplay issues, and some are just my personal views.
General feedback:
- Hit detection: It feels inconsistent. Honestly, it is the same netcode issue almost every Battlefield had at launch. I had situations where I landed 10-15 hitmarkers (including headshots), but none of them seemed to register. There are already videos and analyses on YouTube showing exactly what I mean.
- Weapon balance: Sometimes it feels a bit off. ARs seem powerful in almost every situation, while LMGs are among the weakest. It is not nearly as bad as in some past Battlefields though - I was able to get kills with pretty much every weapon. That said, map design heavily favors shotguns. They are easily the best choice. I had multiple 6+ killstreaks in a single match with zero effort.
(Personal thought: Snipers feel a little too strong on Liberation Peak. It would help if suppression worked like in BF3, or at least disrupted their aim when you land shots.)
- Maps: Honestly, they are all just infantry-focused. Liberation Peak is the only exception, and while it looks amazing artistically, it plays terribly - especially in Breakthrough. It is the worst sniper-fest I have experienced in years, and attackers almost never break through the first point.
(Personal thought: This map needs a massive overhaul. Right now, me and my friends just skip it.)
The other maps are fun but feel way too small. They all play like Metro-style clusterfights with narrow corridors and nonstop CQC. Infantry combat is fun, but not everything needs to be at 10-15 meters. I really liked the balance of distance and CQC in BF1 and BFV - this feels like it is only CQC.
And of course, there are exploits. On Egypt, players keep glitching onto rooftops that should be unreachable, and it is pretty frustrating.
- Matchmaking and map rotation: I am not a fan of SBMM (it kills the fun for me), but the worst design choice is that you are forced into a new server after every single round. Objectively, that is a terrible decision. It makes me quit the game more often, especially when I get thrown onto the same map and position multiple times in a row. Classic map rotations were amazing in older games. We need those back: attacker -> defender -> next map. Playing Liberation Peak three times in a row on different servers with different players completely kills my mood. Honestly, if there is not a proper alternative (and no, not Portal), I will probably just play casually. After a stressful workday, starting up the game and being thrown into Liberation Peak repeatedly is a dealbreaker.
- Vehicles: I think all vehicles should be operational from the start of a match. Having to spawn as infantry, redeploy, and eat the first death just to fly a plane is bad design. Tanks and APCs I can live with, but planes should definitely be manned at the start.
- TTK: It is really fast - feels a lot like early BFV. Normally I would be fine with that, but combined with the heavy CQC map design, it makes combat way too fast and sometimes unenjoyable. What I loved about past Battlefields was the mix of slower-paced fights with faster ones depending on the map. That mix feels gone here.
- Bugs: They are here, but I have not hit anything game-breaking yet. I have had screen glitches with crazy artifacts (usually after revives or deaths), and sometimes my character gets launched dozens of meters after being killed. Weird, but overall it feels more polished than most Battlefield launches.
Final thoughts: This feels almost like the Battlefield I wanted - almost.
Right now, SBMM, the heavy CQC-focused maps, the lack of a server browser, and the uncertainty about whether any of this will change are holding it back for me. It is alright, but I am not fully convinced this game was made with long-time fans in mind. I really hope it turns into something great, but for now, I am staying cautious.
