Battlefield REDSEC - Battle Royale 101

Prepare to drop into  Fort Lyndon.

This massive, redacted military facility hidden in plain sight between pristine beaches and a sleepy residential community is home to some of the most advanced military projects in the world.  Rogue operators are racing against time and hostiles to keep each other out and the secrets in.

Your mission? Survive the Battle Royale between NATO and Pax Armata squads fighting for control of Fort Lyndon. Consider this your briefing:

Before You Drop - Sidearms and Classes

Battle Royale is the only non-Portal mode with different Loadouts than any other official Battlefield experience. In other words, instead of a Primary Weapon, Sidearm, customizable Gadgets and more, you are limited to the following items:

• Your Class, which comes with a Class Signature Set - Two Gadgets, a Signature Weapon Proficiency and a Signature Trait  - and a four-trait Training Path, which is different from normal (Multiplayer and Gauntlet) Training Paths (with only one available as of Season 1 launch).
• A Sidearm
• A Melee Tool

Your Battle Royale loadout choice - the Class, Sidearm and Melee Tool - is only editable after joining a match and before dropping out of the infiltration plane.

Each Class gets its default Gadgets, Signature Weapon Proficiency and Signature Trait by default. Their additional Passive Abilities, including their final Level 4 ability shared between all classes, are unlocked by earning score through eliminating enemies, completing Contracts and surviving deep into the match. 

Every soldier also gets Thermite Sabotage, an improved sabotage device which slowly damages a tank and its crew. Meant to be a last resort anti-tank tool against those unaware of a soldier right next to their tank, the Thermite Sabotage can be directly planted onto vehicles.

Assault Class - Pointman

Gain the high ground and eliminate enemies from defilade.

Engineer Class - Field Mechanic

Disable incoming armored threats and maintain combat vehicles to keep them mission-ready.

Support Class - Provisioner

Increase squad endurance with more armor and ammo, enhanced healing, and gadgets that compromise enemy sight.

Recon Class - Drone Specialist

Rain death from above and track enemies on the ground to control the battlefield.

Sidearm - The Choice is Yours

After choosing a Class, you then select a Sidearm and a Melee Tool. Given the similarities between all Melee Tools - save for the Sledgehammer, which is a slower, more powerful weapon compared to the knives - the bigger decision to be made is your Sidearm choice.

All functional Sidearms can be chosen as your starting Battle Royale weapon and can be completely customized based on unlocked attachments and customization items. At the start of Season 1, here is why each Sidearm can be a solid starting weapon, as well as a formidable backup once you find a Primary Weapon:

Custom Weapons

In lieu of starting loadout inclusion, you can earn your Custom Weapons during a Battle Royale match. Your Custom Weapons are pulled from any configuration - e.g. a Weapon Package - you have marked as a “Favorite.”

See the “Upgrading Your Weapon” section of this 101 for more details on procuring your Custom Weapon.

Dropping In - Squad Leader, Breaking Formation and Parachutes

Ready to drop? Open up your mini-map and ping your intended drop point either here or in the overworld to communicate your intentions with the rest of the squad. One squadmate will be automatically assigned as the “Squad Leader” - they are responsible for initiating the drop sequence and maneuvering the “squad formation” through the air to the intended drop point.

At any point, any player who is not the Squad Leader can “break away” from the formation and continue dropping on their own. This is recommended as part of a coordinated strategy, such as splitting up to scavenge multiple buildings within a small city block or complex. If all else fails, or if you are a new player, stick to the formation until you are grounded.

Your parachute will automatically deploy when you get close to the ground (unless you switch this Setting off, which we don’t recommend to new players). Alternatively, you can manually deploy the parachute to delay landing in favor of a more intentional landing spot, but remember that every second off the ground is another second for every enemy to start getting better weapons.

Scavenging - Crates, Vehicles and Vaults

Although it could be a fun challenge to attempt, you won’t get far in Battle Royale with just your starting Loadout and Sidearm.

Scavenging for loadout items, including Weapons, Throwables, Gadgets and more, is done by opening various containers scattered around the map. These containers can be:

Common Chests

Most regularly found around Fort Lyndon, Common Chests are Green boxes that contain Weapons, Ammo, Gadgets and Throwables. Often, their contents can be duplicative across numerous chests, but these items are still better than sticking with just the starting loadout at the beginning of a match.

Rare Chests

As the name implies, these black-and-red chests contain better quality items - Weapons, Ammo, Gadgets and Throwables - but are not as frequently found in a Battle Royale match. Occasionally, Rare Chests can contain Strike Packages, which are powerful activatable abilities that can turn the tide of battle. Call-ins can improve artillery strikes, smokescreen drops to conceal movements and UAVs to reveal enemy positions

Class Chests

These chests always grant loadout items that are specific to your Class, arguably making these the most valuable chests out of the three to be found in a match. Whomever opens the Class Chest will determine its contents, such that an Assault Class player will turn it into an Assault Class Chest.

A Class chest will most frequently include a highly-upgraded weapon from the Class’ Signature Weapon, such as an LMG for the Support Class, high-end Gadgets and other items themed around the class’ Training Path abilities. Essentially, Class Chests are meant to bring out the best of your Class and should be opened whenever possible.

Vehicles

In addition to Chests, certain vehicles parked around the map contain items, which are usually themed to the vehicle type.

For example, an ambulance most likely contains a Defibrillator or Supply Pouches that can refill health. Or a disguised box truck can contain weapons that would have been used for nefarious infiltration operations.

Drops

Frequently rewarded after completing a Mission, Drops fall out of the sky and contain valuable items, such as weapons with multiple attachments and call-in abilities.

There are also Custom Weapon Drops, which contain weapons customized in the loadout menu outside of a Battle Royale match.

Locked Vaults

Outside of Drops, the other scavenging container worth mentioning are Locked Vaults, which can only be unlocked by the Engineer’s Repair Tool. If an Engineer interacts with a Vault, they will take a few seconds to open it, rewarding themselves (and their squad) with a mixture of rare items, such as weapons, Gadgets and more.

Intel Cache

One last scavenging note, or intel, rather: throughout Fort Lyndon are Intel Caches, which are briefcases with a “?” on them. Given how vital this intelligence is to both PAX Armata and NATO, picking these up grants Career XP.

Upgrading Your Weapon - Weapon Upgrade Kits and Custom Weapon Drops

Scavenging for weapons is just one way to upgrade your arsenal. Weapons are graded in specific rarity tiers, with each rarity tier associated with an expected power level due to the amount of Attachment Points used in creating that weapon variant. Outside of the “Unique Tier,” which are weapons fit to your personal preferences, the mileage may vary on what weapons in each tier are considered “the best” for your playstyle. 

However, the criteria for each rarity tier and its drop frequency in Battle Royale is as follows:

Weapon Upgrade Kits

Any weapon that is below “Advanced” Rarity can be updated by using Weapon Upgrade Kits, which can be found in a variety of Chests and Drops. Each Weapon Upgrade Kit is unique to a Weapon Category, such as Assault Rifles or Shotguns, and is activated by opening the backpack menu while in a match. Look to the bottom left of your HUD and find the button (or key) next to the backpack icon. Alternatively, when next to a Weapon Upgrade Kit while holding the weapon associated with it  - e.g. holding a SMG when next to an SMG Upgrade Kit - there is an option to immediately use the kit on the weapon you are holding.

Every Weapon Upgrade Kit includes a choice of two upgrade paths. For example, when upgrading an LMG, you may have the option to upgrade its Capacity or its Mobility. Each choice is associated with an attachment (or attachments) that are themed around that upgrade type. Often, upgrades only grant benefits, but there are some upgrade paths that may cause negative effects in exchange for more powerful boosts, such as increasing effective range at the cost of aim down sight speed.

A weapon can be upgraded up until it is of Advanced quality, which is considered its “final” version outside of the incredibly rare Superior weapons.

Unique Weapons are Custom Weapons - Custom Weapon Drops

Custom Weapons are all the “Favorited” Primary Weapons from the traditional Loadout screen, which is editable before joining any lobby. Go to the “Class Loadout” screen of the main menu, then select any class. Next, edit the Primary Weapon of any Loadout and select your weapon. You are able to Modify it by selecting a specific Weapon Package, then Customize it further with available attachments and customization items, before selecting “Favorite” to add it to your “Favorites” tab. This tab, which looks like a bookmark with a star in the middle, saves up to eight weapon configurations; remove them by simply unfavoriting them in this tab or when editing that exact Weapon Package.

A Battle Royale match almost always includes a Custom Weapon Drop period where all teams can fight for a handful of drops scattered around the map. Alternatively, Missions can reward a personal Custom Weapon Drop. Regardless on how a Custom Weapon Drop is earned, every squad member can only pick one Custom Weapon out of a Drop.

Ammo and Armor

Outside of your life, the most important Battle Royale resource is your ammo. Ammo is shared between weapons within a Weapon Category - Assault Rifles, SMGs and LMGs, for example - rather by caliber. 

First, the most reliable way to consistently replenish ammo is through the Support Class and its Supply Bag Gadget, which always grants multiple magazines, clips and/or shells for the exact weapon you are using.

When the Supply Bag is not available - either due to cooldown or the Support Class not being used - ammo can be found in chests and vehicles around the map. Found ammo will not always be for the Weapon Category of your choosing, but it will be stored in your backpack for whenever a weapon from its category is used.

Another more reliable way to gain ammo - albeit, rarer than finding it on the map - is an Ammo Resupply Call-In. Available as a more common Call-In, most often as a Mission reward, the Ammo Resupply is a special crate that drops in from the sky to grant full ammo to all weapons in your current loadout.

Eliminated players also drop all of their ammo upon death, along with all other loadout items they were carrying.

Armor

Every soldier drops into Battle Royale with one armor plates equipped out of two total armor plates, represented by a bar above the health bar on the HUD. 

Once armor is broken, indicated by the colored armor bar turning grey, any additional damage will impact health; plates can be replaced through a short process, indicated by pressing the command associated with the “armor vest” icon at the bottom-right portion of your HUD. Additional Armor plates can be found by scavenging around the map and opening up chests.  

Missions

After several minutes in a match, you will receive a prompt to accept a mission at the top of your HUD near the compass; accepting missions are done on the same screen as when you open the full map.

Missions are Battle Royale’s “side-quests” with varying degrees of risk and reward; missions that are most likely to get you into combat - or directly counter other teams - often give the greatest rewards. One squad member can accept a mission for the entire squad; once a mission is accepted, nobody else can accept another mission.

Each mission shows its rewards that can range from Rare Weapons and Drop-Ins to full Custom Weapon Drops on the spot, and even a Vehicle Key Card, which opens special containers around the map that contain a tank. Each mission also has a brief description, including whether or not it involves fighting another squad directly (PvP or PvE).

Some Missions can appear as “Counter Missions;” these become available when another nearby squad accepts a Mission that can be Countered. Counter Missions almost always involve fighting another squad and are tied to powerful rewards for the risk involved.

The following Missions are available in Battle Royale at the start of Season 1:

In order to focus squads at the final fights ahead, Missions are no longer given once there are only a few squads left in a Battle Royale match.

Get Back in the Fight - How Respawning Works

Death is not always finite; depending on how much time has elapsed in a match and how many other squad members are left alive, there are two options for getting back in the fight:

SECOND CHANCE: You can respawn independently once per game. Upon activation, they will be air-dropped above a randomly chosen teammate. As the game progresses, the Second Chance feature will be disabled. However, those who haven't used their Second Chance will earn bonus Career Rank XP.

RESPAWN POINT: If you are eliminated, your team can find Respawn Points scattered outdoors across the map. Once activated, your teammate must remain within the radius as the countdown progresses. If they are downed or leave the area, the point must be reactivated. All eliminated teammates will respawn together at the Respawn Point location. Each Respawn Point can be used only once.

Terminal Conditions - The Circle of Death and Victory

There are three ways for your Battle Royale match to end: the first is being eliminated by an enemy squad.

The second is what we call the Circle of Death. There are no survivors within the deadliest circle in Battle Royale; one step into no-mans land means near-instant death. Fortunately, this area is clearly marked with red on your mini-map. When you are near it, your HUD will also display a red skull icon and a distance to the circle’s edge.

Our advice is simple: avoid at all costs.

Finally, the last remaining squad in Battle Royale wins. This is no easy feat; only the best Battlefield REDSEC Battle Royale players should expect consistent wins. However with enough experience, your squad will find the many paths to victory.