Thoughts on vehicles in Battlefield 6
The beta test feels really solid. The infantry gameplay is great, and I think, apart from some small changes, it's in a good spot. My main concern is about the vehicles.
I've been playing Battlefield for over 4 years, which I know isn't long compared to other people in the community, but I think that my opinion is shared with a lot of other people, regardless of how long they've been playing. I have 1000 hours on Battlefield 4 and around 150 hours on 2042.
The ground vehicles in this game feel good. They feel heavy, like they're actual tanks. The weapons they have feel good, and they deal the right amount of damage to be strong but not overpowered. Plus, their engines, especially the Abrams', sound sick. I can tell some of the sound effects were from BF4, bringing in some nostalgia.
My complaints with the ground vehicles are mainly regarding how they're balanced. Considering how the engineers have 5 rockets, the armored vehicles should have active protection systems, both the MBTs and the IFVs. The AT mines, which engineers can place, also need some changes. They should have their damage decreased or made easier to spot. I think that the turret rotation speed on the tanks needs to be increased, at least for the IFV. I also would like it if you could zoom in and out quicker, like in Battlefield 4 or 2042, and if you could switch to third person while being zoomed in. Personally, the ground vehicles should have thermal optics for both the driver and the gunner. The slow turret rotation for them balances it out. I would also like it if there was angle-based damage, like how in BF4, if you hit a tank on the back with a rocket or tank shell straight-on, its engine would be disabled for a couple of seconds. This would bring in some extra depth and skill to the currently shallow tank battles.
Regarding the air vehicles, I think they need some drastic changes.
The flight model for both the jets and helicopters feels really weird. For the helicopters, they feel too responsive - you can't fine-tune where the chopper is going. i heard that the flight model for them is based on Battlefield 4, but I'd prefer if it had a closer feel to BF4's. I also don't like how the gunner's cannon only has 12 rounds in a magazine. I hope you can change this in the vehicle loadout.
For jets, the flight model seems better, but it still needs improvement. The guided missiles need to be stronger - they should deal more damage to vehicles, and it'd be better if the bombs were like the JDAMs from BF4 instead of having parachutes. The bomb should have a screen like the one in BF4. I really dislike the shift towards being able to do almost everything in the air vehicles in third person. The cannon on them is also too strong. You can kill another jet before they can even react to it. Furthermore, the air radar on the F16 doesn't seem to work at all - I hope this is a bug and not intended.
One thing that I dislike about both ground and air vehicles is that you need to go to a specific place to resupply and repair them. It'd be better if they did it automatically, like in BF4. They can be easily camped, and it just makes you an easy target.
Overall, I hope these issues are fixed by the time BF6 comes out. I don't want the vehicles to be overpowered, as that would drive away players, both old and new. But vehicles are really what makes Battlefield, Battlefield.
