My Battlefield 6 Beta Feedback

So, the beta is finally over and what a ride it was. Over two weekends + early access I’ve managed to sink nearly 40 hours into the game with a 3.5 K/D and I’ve got a solid idea of what I did and did not like. Overall? I liked a lot more than I didn’t, and I think a few changes could make this one of the best FPS games to come out in over 10 years.

Starting off, the Assault class just doesn’t really work. It’s as if they were designed to irritate everyone around them, offering nothing to the team except a faster cap IF the Assault player bothers to step on a point, while also having access to a pocket shotgun OR double grenade launchers. Being killed by double grenades or a surprise shotgun feels awful, and they were some of the greatest sources of displeasure in the beta for me. The weapon sling just doesn’t work, and the community overall seems to agree. That, and the ability to equip two lethal grenade launchers, needs to go. Then you have the signature gadget, a pen to increase sprint speed for what seems like 3-5 seconds and some minor explosive resist. This gadget is awful, I barely ever acknowledged it and never felt like it contributed when I did use it. Let’s compare it the other classes signature gadgets. First, we have the resupply box, replenishing the health AND ammo of every player around it while being able to be spammed freely and contributing significantly to the team’s performance. Next we have the repair tool, the only reliable method of repairing vehicles in the entire game, which your tanks will constantly rely on. Then finally we have the motion sensor, providing the entire team surveillance of a small area, great for flanks or important objectives. Compared to those, the pen is NOTHING, it’s a selfish and almost useless gadget that Assaults are forced to waste a slot on. No rebalances or stat juggling will fix these issues, it’s fundamentally flawed as a signature gadget. Therefore, the best solution in my opinion is to replace it with something more appropriate, something that potentially benefits both the user and their entire team. That solution being the Assault Ladder, something you’ve already mentioned being in the Assault arsenal. The ladder, I feel, is the perfect gadget to flesh out Assault’s new identity, and when combined with the sledgehammer allows Assault to reliably provide something none of the other classes can, that being mobility and new routes. By swapping these two gadgets, I believe Assaults can become a significant asset to the team while providing fun and unique gameplay compared to the other classes. I also believe this is better than taking Recon’s spawn beacon in a vain attempt to fix a class that is currently flawed to its very core.

My second gripe is with the current state of the Support class. Besides 2042, I’ve “mained” (with significant playtime in the other classes) the ammo guy in every Battlefield since 2142. I like having the ammo box, I like the increased capacity of the machine guns or the different feel of automatic rifles. What I don’t like is being expected or pressured by teammates to revive them and give up my position, potentially opening an entire flanking route to the enemy while I’m distracted. “Combat Medic” and “Machine Gunner” just don’t mesh very well. Aggressive or medically inclined Supports can always switch to a shotgun or carbine, but a gunner will always be hounded to revive whether they like it or not. This issue goes both ways too; I’ve seen Supports being flamed in the chat constantly for not reviving when they probably don’t want the responsibility in the first place. I also feel like Supports having constant access to health regeneration and ammo is a bit much, and makes them extremely powerful when holding down positions. Now, rather than doing something radical like completely reworking the classes or adding a fifth one, I think the best solution is to divide more of Support’s abilities and traits between the two training paths. Combat medic will remain pretty much the same, with one exception; the resupply box is replaced with the medical crate like in previous titles, only providing medical assistance and no ammo. The machine gunner on the other hand will lose the ability to revive any teammate by default (though still having defibrillator access) and carries an ammo crate that resupplies ammunition, gadgets, and explosives. This seems like the most balanced approach to the class that pleases all sides.

My next issue is with the excessive bloom you get with any sort of movement. I understand that an effort has been made to encourage precise and stable fire and avoid Call of Duty “movement god” laser beaming, but even when tap firing your accuracy rapidly decays and you become unable to hit targets at even close to medium range. This also makes it extremely difficult to deal with snipers with any other weapon, as they don’t seem to suffer very much aim punch when shot and the second you stop moving they can instantly kill you. Even Battlefield 4 seemed less punishing in this aspect sometimes, and in BF4 you had access to ergo grips that made the problem lesser. That also brings up another issue, that being the foregrip selection. Nearly all of the foregrips in the beta had a crippling penalty to accuracy or stability while moving, when that seems like the opposite of what they should be doing. What makes matters worse is that without recoil dampening attachments such as the foregrips, nearly all of the automatic weapons are extremely difficult to control even when bursting. Unless, of course, you play with a controller (for the second game in a row). It was a brilliant decision to put in a secret easy mode for the people most likely to impulse purchase the many skins you intend to push out on release, but it isn’t very fun getting beamed by Lil’ Timmy Two Thumbs because keyboards are too complex for them to use. Not every attachment needs to be a balancing act, you’re already potentially losing out on other options which can be punishing enough on its own.

My last gripe was hinted at near the end there, and it’s the lack of input based matchmaking or the ability to turn crossplay off on PC. I don’t want to play with people who choose to play on training wheels while complaining about the precision of the mouse. Imagine entering a marathon, or a generic footrace, or whatever, and half of your opponents are strapped to rocket powered wheelchairs, and when you complain that doesn’t seem very fair they pipe up and say “but you get to use your arms AND your legs!”. Oh, and almost none of them are actually crippled, they just chose the wheelchair because it was convenient. Classy! If you aren’t going to give M&K players a way to segregate, at least give portal servers the option to disable aim assist and input-based recoil.

I know I’m just one voice drowned out by thousands, but I believe these changes would make a massive improvement over the already pretty good state the game is in. I’ve played Battlefield for nearly two decades, and I want nothing more than for the series to succeed and provide me with thousands of more hours of playtime. If someone at DICE or EA could read this and consider my suggestions, I’d appreciate it. Here’s hoping for a better release than 2042.