Before removing gauntlet, give it a real chance to grow.

I have played Gauntlet since launch. I kept playing Gauntlet regularly, mostly as a solo player. At that point there wasn’t even a reward left for me to chase. I kept playing because I genuinely enjoy the mode.

That’s why I’m having a hard time with Gauntlet being removed because of declining engagement. I understand that the population isn’t as large as Multiplayer or BR, but I also don’t feel like Gauntlet was ever really given the same opportunity to grow.

We’re four seasons in and the core mode is still largely what we had at launch. Same maps, many of the same objective locations, same round types, and very little added to the permanent reward/progression system. Once you finish the endurance challenges, what’s really left for a dedicated Gauntlet player to work toward?

That’s also why I was disappointed when Phantom was announced and it ended up being BR-only. Why not give Gauntlet players a version of those challenges too? Give us another reason to play. Give BR and new players a reason to come over and try Gauntlet. New weapon camos, stickers, badges, challenges, anything. Instead it felt like another opportunity where Gauntlet was just kind of… there.

And DICE has actually made some really cool things that could have been used to expand the mode.

Knightfall didn’t necessarily have to disappear after being a limited-time event. Why couldn’t something like that become another permanent Gauntlet round type?

The vehicle stuff is another example. We’ve had the Red Bull dirt bike race, Rodeo and Gauntlet Fighter Sweep. Now Season 4 has boats. You almost accidentally have the pieces for an entire vehicle-focused Gauntlet variant right there. Four rounds, different vehicle-based objectives, teams eliminated between rounds until somebody wins. Keep normal Gauntlet infantry-focused and let the vehicle players have their own version.

That’s what I think the biggest missed opportunity has been. Gauntlet didn’t have to be one fixed playlist. The basic format itself is really good: teams compete through different objectives, lower teams get eliminated, and whoever survives eventually wins the tournament. You can do a LOT with that framework.

Even just moving objective locations around would help. After this much time playing Gauntlet, there are rounds where I can almost predict how things are going to develop based on where everyone spawns and where the objective is. Four seasons is a long time to still be fighting over many of the same places.

Then there are the bugs. Heist is a good example. I’ve seen the final round produce what I can only describe as ghost captures, where capture progress happens without anyone actually touching the cache. There have been Gauntlet issues hanging around for a long time. (Rodeo has been bugged forever and it has not stopped me from playing gauntlet either).

And that’s where I think there’s a bit of a chicken and egg problem with using engagement as the reason to remove it.

Multiplayer and BR understandably have larger populations, so they get more attention. They get new content, rewards and fixes. Gauntlet gets less attention because it has fewer players. But if Gauntlet gets fewer updates, fewer rewards, little permanent expansion and slower fixes or just no fixes at all, that’s also going to make it harder for the mode to retain and attract players.

I also don’t think removing Gauntlet means those players automatically become BR players. I tried BR. It’s just not for me. If Gauntlet disappears, I’m not suddenly going to enjoy BR because it’s the remaining REDSEC option. I’m sure my fellow Gauntlet players will say the same. 

If anything, Gauntlet is the REDSEC mode that feels closest to the whole Battlefield “PTFO” mentality to me.

You have an objective every round. Your squad has to work together. You can have all the kills in the world, but if you completely ignore what the round is asking you to do, you’re putting your team at risk of elimination. Positioning matters, gun skill matters, teamwork matters, but you still have to play the objective.

It actually makes me wonder whether Gauntlet might have benefited from being more visible to the regular Multiplayer audience instead of living where it does. How many Battlefield players who enjoy objective modes would have liked Gauntlet but either never tried it or barely knew what it was?

I’m not pretending Gauntlet secretly has some massive population. Obviously DICE has the numbers and I don’t.

I just wish that before deciding the answer is to remove it, we could see what happens when Gauntlet actually gets a real push, even just for one season.

Give us some new round types. Move the objectives around. Bring back good limited-time concepts as permanent additions. Give veteran players another reward track to chase. Let seasonal REDSEC content like Phantom involve Gauntlet too. Give the mode more visibility. Fix some of the issues that have been sitting there.

Then see what engagement looks like.

Because if I could finish 300+ wins, run out of rewards to chase, deal with the same objectives and locations for four seasons, and still want to queue Gauntlet solo just because it’s fun, I have a hard time believing there wasn’t more potential here.

I just wish we got to see what Gauntlet could become before saying goodbye to it.