Battlefield 6 - Community Update - More to Season 5

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• What can we expect next?
• More from the Discord Q&A
• We're not done yet

Hey everyone,

Our last roadmap update in July detailed what we were preparing for in Season 5. Now that the season is officially live, we want to update you on our active development plans and what you can expect from Battlefield 6 through the end of the year.

• October - Season 5 Phase 1 Oct 20: The Battlefield x Dead Space: Convergence Event is now live and runs until November 10! Check out the event guide if you haven’t had the chance yet.
• November - Season 5 Phase 2 Nov 10: European Casino, Multiplayer Leaderboards, and balance changes
• December - Season 5 Phase 3 Dec 8: Server Browser and Platoons launch, alongside Blackwell Fields and New Sobek City map updates
• 2027 - Season 6 and more: Ongoing live-service support, balance passes, and more

Recently, developers from across Battlefield Studios joined the community for our Season 5 Battlefield Discord Live Q&A [discord.gg/battlefield]. The team answered 42 questions during our 60-minute live Q&A session.

What Can We Expect Next?

We have several major features and content updates scheduled throughout the rest of the season. Following the launch of our two new maps Vegas Strip and Area 51, the team is preparing for another battlefield arriving in Phase 2: a close-quarters map set inside a European Casino. We’ll have more to share about this new map and the Casino Heist event arriving at the same time as we get closer to release.

Maps in Season 5

Beyond the upcoming European Casino map, we are focusing on refining our existing maps. In Phase 3, we will deliver our updated maps for Blackwell Fields and New Sobek City. We focused more on adding a variety of ways for players to move throughout each map. This includes more separation between HQs, additional gameplay space along the map’s boundaries to support flanking, more terrain breaks, and more ways to reach rooftops and approach objectives. We'll have more to share as we get closer to Phase 3.

Server Browser and Matchmaking

We know how highly anticipated the Server Browser is, and we want to address some of your most frequently asked questions as development moves forward.

The Server Browser will launch side-by-side with our existing matchmaking system. We’ve already started making some changes over the past few weeks to validate a few features in the live environment.

We have been working to keep more players together from one match to the next, and that’s because the Server Browser will feature persistent lobbies. If you choose to matchmake through our playlists or Custom Search, you may queue into official player-hosted servers listed in the Server Browser or other official servers that support your selections. However, you may move to a different server between matches depending on your selected map and mode preferences.

The Server Browser will also be positioned as the first tile in the Quickplay menu for Battlefield 6 owners to ensure finding an official experience to play is as easy as possible. You will also be able to find Verified and Custom Experiences within the Portal section. We are preparing a dedicated Server Browser blog in the coming weeks to take a closer look at its implementation.

Platoons

Platoons will arrive in Season 5 Phase 3 as planned. This initial release is designed as a foundational step, and we plan to expand its community and social tools over time based on how you use them.

At launch, Platoons will support up to 100 players, complete with custom group names and squad tags. The feature will have its own dedicated tab in the main menu, making it easy to find and navigate to.

Through this menu, players can create or join a Platoon, set up their custom identity, and track their platoon’s combined gameplay stats. You will also earn an XP bonus whenever you play with fellow Platoon members in your squad.

The team is really excited about the addition of Platoons in Phase 3 and how you will engage with it to build your own communities in-game. We have additional information coming your way a bit closer to December.

Weapon, Vehicle, and Gadget Balance

As you might have seen in our 2.1.1.0 Update Notes, we made several vehicle balance changes that arrived with Season 5’s first update. Our team is now reviewing live data following these changes going live, and we’re taking a first look at your initial feedback on these changes. We want to make sure we are taking a measured approach to this data, along with your feedback, to ensure we don’t make knee-jerk adjustments to armor or helicopter dynamics.

We hear you loud and clear on wanting balance updates in Multiplayer as well. To give you a peek at what we’re working on, we’ve looked at nerfing the extended mags on the SCW-10 and KV9 and also buffing some underused attachments available across many weapons. We are finalizing a pass on these changes as well as other weapon balance updates scheduled to arrive in Season 5 Phase 2. As always, we’ll provide details about exact changes in our Community Update and Update Notes.

More from the Discord Q&A

Our Battlefield Discord Live Q&A gathered developers from across Battlefield Studios to answer as many community questions as possible. We appreciate everyone who joined us on Discord and asked questions.

Below, you will find all of the questions and responses that were shared during the live discussion. We will also take time to review questions that we didn’t have enough time to get to and will look for more opportunities to address some of those topics in the future.

Some questions have been edited from their original Discord posts for brevity and readability.

Question: Is Gauntlet or Carrier Strike ever going to come back as a limited time event?

Answer: Nothing to announce yet but we are very eager to bring back both Carrier Strike and Gauntlet Fighter Sweep in future seasons.

Question: Custom Lobbies and Spectator Mode are great features, but could they be made consistently available across all Portal game modes, or at least all Certified modes?

Currently, their availability seems inconsistent. For example, BR Quads supports Custom Lobbies, but BR Duos does not.

Ideally, both features should be available in all Portal game modes, or at least in modes with two clearly defined teams. Are there plans to expand their availability?

Answer: Yes, we are looking at expanding spectator mode to cover more modes in the near future, starting with the Elite Series in Season 5!!

Question: How will the server browser tie into matchmaking? For example, will matchmaking put you in the same persistent servers as those listed on the browser? And will community servers (within a certain ruleset) be included in the matchmaking pool?

Answer: We know the Server Browser is an important feature for our community, and we wanted to provide some answers to the most common questions we’ve seen. We will also have a dedicated Server Browser blog coming your way, which will go into more detail.

The Server Browser will feature persistent lobbies, which means that players will stay together in between rounds on their selected server. Players who choose matchmaking via Custom Search or official playlists will also be matched into official servers listed in the Server Browser, but might leave the server between matches depending on their selected map and mode options.

To make sure that our players have easy access to this matchmaking option, we currently plan to show the Server Browser as the first tile in the Quickplay menu for owners of Battlefield 6. In Portal itself, Battlefield 6 owners will see a Verified Experiences Server Browser tile, and then a Custom Server Browser tile second, to find user-created experiences. We’re actively testing the Server Browser internally, and are making progress ahead of launch.

Question: Will you add the 2 seater jets to other maps? Can we at least get the fighter sweep mod for portal?

Answer: We are investigating adding the new two-seater jets to additional maps, but there are some technical performance and game balance issues we need to address first.

Question: When will prox chat be added in multiplayer?

Answer: We’ve been getting a lot of great insights from the first iteration of Proximity Chat in Battle Royale Ranked. We’ll be extending Prox Chat to also be available in Rapid Royale in the near future to do additional tests and get additional telemetry data. While we’re still committed to bringing the feature into multiplayer, we still have some work to do to make that happen.

Question: I wonder if commander mode would be added?

Answer: We don't have official plans to add Commander Mode at this time.

Question: When will you fix the bug causing players to be unable to connect to Portal servers?

Answer: We recognize this bug has been present for a couple of releases. The Portal team is still trying to get clear steps to reproduce and isolate the issue. Once we can do so, we'll get a fix into a future update.

Question: Are you going to fix the support pouches rolling around like balls? They need to act like pouches and not fly 10 feet away from me.

Answer: We're currently doing a full review of gadgets, and the team is discussing where we can make improvements and adjustments. The Support Pouch is high on our radar, but we currently don't have a rollout timeline to share.

Question: A recent community note stated that the devs planned to evaluate “the balance and power of bolt-action sniper rifles.”

Currently, landing shots on a sniper doesn’t seem to disrupt their ability to inhale, focus, and land a one-shot headshot. This is a pain point for fire support players, who must land multiple shots through recoil & sway. Do the devs still plan to improve players’ ability to counter snipers?

Answer: Yes, this is a critical issue that we are looking to address. We're looking at a range of solutions, such as increasing sway or dispersion when being counter-sniped all the way to actual aim deviation when hit. We will be testing these solutions to find the best fit for Battlefield.

Question: Are there any plans to add Fort Lyndon poi's as multiplayer combat zones/maps? Although in portal, the limited servers make these potential maps quite underplayed and adding them to official playlists could also help to expand the total map pool.

Answer: There are no current plans to add Ft. Lyndon POIs for all core multiplayer modes. We have seen some promising Portal experiences which use these maps, though, like "Gulf of Lyndon". If the Portal community creates a high-quality experience on one of these POIs, we look forward to featuring that as a recommended tile to make it easier for more players to see these maps.

Question: Are there any plans to improve REDSEC Ranked matchmaking in the APAC region?

Ranked matchmaking has been extremely difficult in Asia, especially on Singapore servers. Are there plans to improve regional matchmaking, merge matchmaking pools, or introduce a queue counter so players can see how many people are waiting?

Answer: We hear you. Ranked matchmaking received an overhaul during Season 4, allowing for better quality of competition by matching players with similar ranks. This improved the experience in most regions, but we are aware that some challenges still exist in APAC and South America. The team is currently testing some changes to help alleviate those challenges, and we will keep the community updated.

Question: Given the recent criticism and feedback you've received with the latest update and content (particularly regarding cosmetics), has your approach to developing and supporting the game changed for this and future Seasons? Will you maintain the same approach or not?

Answer: With every patch we deliver, we look for opportunities to get better. The recent feedback on the Season 5 launch patch is no different. We look into all the issues that slip into live, and work to adjust our process to better address the gaps. We also look at reprioritizing our current plans to fix and improve the areas that our players have identified as issues. We will continue this approach and shift focus to the areas that are most important to our players.

Question: What’s the most exciting and challenging part of creating a brand-new Battlefield map set in a location the franchise has never explored before, such as Las Vegas or Area 51? How do you balance capturing the identity of a real-world location with making it fun, balanced, and unmistakably Battlefield?

Answer: Creating new battlefields in unfamiliar territory is always a fun challenge. In this case, with Las Vegas and Area 51, it was even more exciting. The Vegas Strip is a super iconic location with varied architecture, which was an interesting opportunity for us to give strong identity to our POIs, but it was also challenging to balance indoor and outdoor spaces with the wide-open road structure. It's all about balancing expectations we have with iconic locations such as these, making sure we do this while keeping in mind our Battlefield gameplay pillars and bringing something unique and fresh. And of course, a lot of testing and iteration to see what lands and what doesn't.

Question: Is this dead space event a teaser at maybe new game types we can play? or able to use this style in portal? Would love to know if official PvE styles could be added to get away from always PvP

Answer: For the Dead Space event, introducing a PvE experience as an exotic mode made sense to us, as we wanted to pit squads of players against Marked Soldiers / Necromorphs. The special ingredients we are featuring in the event will be available in Portal so that our community can create even more crazy experiences with these. As far as introducing new PvE experiences in the future, this is something we keep evaluating as part of our live animation programming. We shall see.

Question: Why did you make TTK adjustments for weapons like the SCW-10 only in Redsec—where the TTK is already higher—but not in multiplayer, where the TTK is extremely low? Multiplayer needs these changes too.

Answer: Some gunplay adjustments were made for REDSEC in preparation for the upcoming Elite Series, and we are targeting more expansive gunplay tweaks for Season 5 Phase 2 that will impact both traditional MP and REDSEC.

Question: Where are the battle pickups ?? And Will we get some more interesting ones like the sniper pickups from bf4 ?

Answer: There is a special Battlepickup available during our Dead Space Event - the event is live now! We also recently completed a balance pass on the Minigun and Railgun, and we will continue monitoring their performance.

Question: Can we expect to see a year ahead roadmap this season?

Answer: We are focusing on Season 5 today...but we already have plans for what's coming after for Battlefield 6 and REDSEC! We plan to share details early in the new year on what is next.

Question: As you expand the development team for the next update, do you plan to recruit or involve passionate, long-time franchise veterans from the community? Would love to know if there's a path for dedicated players to contribute to the game's development!

Answer: We're always looking for new ways to get franchise veterans more involved with how to shape the next iteration of the game. One of the most effective ways for the community to make that impact has been to build Portal experiences, especially if they prove popular and give the players a chance to "vote with their feet". One good example of this is FaithWalker's Hardcore mode. We hope to see many more examples like this.

Question: In the July Q&A, you mentioned that Strikepoint was being improved and planned for a future season. It's now been 82 days since that response, and the mode still hasn't returned. Can you share any update on its status or whether it's still planned to come back?

Answer: Strikepoint still has bugs that have proven tricky to address, and given the lower popularity of this mode, it's been difficult to prioritize fixing those bugs over other issues that affect more players.

Question: Are we getting Assault class rework?

Answer: As I mentioned with the question about the Support Pouch, we are taking a focused look at many of the gadgets we launched with, and Assault is getting a specific focus. Several of the gadgets for this class are not hitting the mark, and we want to take a look now with all the data we have at hand since we shipped.

Question: Is there a plan to implement more customization to air vehicles? For example, ECM smoke on the jets and little bird, changing rocket types, etc. with the inevitably of air radar being taken out for shoulder mounted AA, ECM jammer would be a nice balance for it

Answer: Subject to change, but we currently have customization for all the launch jets planned during Season 6. With this update, all of the jets for each faction will have weapon customization options. On top of this, we are also looking at new balance and abilities for the Scout and Attack helicopters, though we don't have a timeline to share for the heli changes at this time.

Question: Will you make an option to turn off crossplay on pc?

Answer: We're putting a lot of effort into creating healthy matchmaking experiences for our players, with recent adjustments you might have seen, as well as the Server Browser coming later in Season 5. With that, we don't currently have plans to add an option for PC players to turn off Crossplay, as this would potentially negatively affect these efforts.

Question: What is the design philosophy/ thought process on deciding where objectives are placed in all modes?

Answer: Objective Placement Philosophy could be an entire dev talk, but in terms of process, generally we start by figuring out what scale of combat we're trying to focus on, infantry or large-scale vehicle combat. From there, we come up with a list of POI's that we want to include and what kind of gameplay we want to support within them. Those POI's are arranged in a way that has some natural symmetrical balance. We typically start by focusing on Conquest and Breakthrough layouts. For Conquest, we try to find good loops with rough distance symmetry and a variety of engagement types. For Breakthrough, we try to find a good linear string of Conquest objectives that we can embellish further to support nearby objectives. There's then a ton of playtesting, iteration, and tuning and a million other micro decisions that go into the final map layout.

Question: How will proximity chat be moderated? I get the common sense no bullying guidelines for the text chat, but how can I guarantee I won’t get an auto ban for something like a mispronunciation? I remember when other games tried to have proxy chat moderation, the unworthy bans went rampant.

Answer: Proximity chat interaction recordings and reports are handled via a multi-layer review approach via our wonderful EA moderation team. While mistakes can happen in the review process, they are very rare. Additionally, you can always appeal any account action via EA Help!

Question: Was the team at Motive involved with the new Dead Space content, and if so was it exciting to work with the series again?

Answer: Yes! The team at Motive, including some who worked on the Dead Space remake, were involved in the collaboration for this event. Their contribution was instrumental, and their passion to dive back into this universe was really contagious as they shared their knowledge and excitement with our other teams across Battlefield Studios.

Question: Who likes cake 🍰?

Answer: Cake > Pie

Question: Do you plan to rework some of the generally unliked/older maps? Vegas, Sobek, and Empire State to name a few.

Answer: Yes! We have updates to New Sobek City and Blackwell Fields coming in Season 5 Phase 3.

Question: Can we get a little bit more info on Platoons, how they work, can we customize something (Badge, Patches, Emblems) and how is it gonna be implemented in the game?

Answer: Platoons arrive in Phase 3 of Season 5, and we will have more dedicated info as we get closer to release. We want Platoons to be a great way to build and play with your own community. To help with that, Platoons will adjust with your feedback and the way you’ll use them. Current plans are to show the Platoons UI in the main menu as an extra tab. Players will be able to create a tag, a name and a description. Playing your platoon will give you an XP bonus. Management and hierarchy will be managed through the EA Connect UI in-game. We’ll have even more details when we get closer to the release!

Question: Are you planning to add actuated module variants that reduce recoil, enable faster ADS speed, or both

Answer: No, not at this time. The Actuated Module is based on a real piece of tech intended to stabilize the firearm while aiming (i.e. sway) and the current gameplay effects reflect that functionality.

Question: Why was Gauntlet removed instead of being developed into a ranked mode? It was one of the best modes for testing real squad coordination, communication, teamwork and tactical skills. Unlike other modes, Gauntlet rewarded teams that truly worked together. Why not bring it back as a permanent ranked mode? It has huge competitive potential and deserves a second chance. What was the real reason for removing it?

Answer: We've enjoyed seeing players jump into Gauntlet and compete through its unique round-based experience since REDSEC launched. We’re proud of what the team created with Gauntlet and the different kinds of competitive experience it brought to Battlefield.

At the same time, we want to be transparent that Gauntlet currently represents a much smaller portion of REDSEC play, which can make it increasingly difficult to consistently find and fill matches, particularly in smaller regions or in regions with a smaller Gauntlet population.

Question: Hello dev team, are there any plans around balancing attachments? Right now, many attachments are not worth the use because the cons are so aggressive, for example, high cost grips or muzzle breaks. Also, any plans on reworking or removing the 3D spotting?

Answer: Typically, high-cost attachments are justified with high amounts of positive effects, rather than giving them similar amounts of negative effects to lower their cost. That said, we are aware that some attachments feel prohibitively expensive, seeing limited to no use, and targeted adjustments for those attachments are on the table to encourage them to be viable options.

We have heard the feedback around 3D-spot-on-fire and are considering alternatives, though we do consider it to be an additional layer of depth to gunplay and tactics and subsequently don't want to outright dismiss it as a balancing lever.

Question: Do you have any plans to bring back Gauntlet?

Answer: Gauntlet is still available as a verified Portal mode for players to create their own modified version (or play the original unmodified mode). We plan to try to increase the visibility of these modes to make sure that Gauntlet fans can find populated servers.

Question: Are there any plans to bring the TV missile to Attack Helicopters in Season 5 or beyond? And if not, then why not, when TV missiles have been a mainstay of AH gameplay since 2005?

Answer: As I mentioned in the answer above about Jet Customization, we are looking at new abilities for the Scout and Attack helos. One of those for the Attack Helo is the TV Missile, but there are some improvements we want to make to that weapon before adding it to other vehicles. We don't have a timeline at the moment, but it is one of our targets.

Question: Will Solo-Coop mode ever make it in the game ? 🙏

Answer: Co-op modes are always a challenge to get right when it comes to in-game progression, but we do feature them from time to time when we're able; anyone can play solo by finding a Portal experience (like verified Conquest, for instance) and using the "host locally" option.

Question: Is there a reason the balancing team has focused so hard on nerfing vehicles? Teamwork and combined arms are the biggest strengths of the series and its unfortunate to see them forced into a backseat

Answer: Combined arms is the heart of Battlefield, and our focus is to ensure the rock-paper-scissors balance between all the combat elements. Armored vehicles should feel incredibly powerful and formidable, but they should also be balanced by clear vulnerabilities that coordinated infantry can exploit.

In Season 3, there were some boosts to armored vehicle handling, health regeneration, and critical hit rules. After reviewing data, playtesting, and community sentiment, we judged that those changes went a bit too far. The recent adjustments were aimed at bringing that power down a bit, making sure that vehicle crews and infantry squads have to rely more on teamwork to succeed.

Question: For the development team: How does Battlefield 6 measure whether its maps deliver meaningful infantry combat, effective flanking routes, and strong match flow, and will player feedback and gameplay data lead to substantial map redesigns when the existing layouts aren't delivering that experience?

Maps shouldn't just look like battlefields. Their design should determine how the battle unfolds.

Answer: We look at all this during the development process and after the maps go live in order to make sure our intentions match the desired player experience, whether we're building infantry-focused maps or All Out War sandboxes. We have a lot of different data points, such as internal telemetry to identify player circulation patterns to evaluate map flow, point stickiness, win/loss balance, quantitative feedback from our testers, labs or the community. As far as redesigns are concerned, once our maps go live, we look at all these data points to drive our decisions. Sometimes we can address issues by simply reconfiguring vehicle spawners, and sometimes we go through more significant updates, as you can see later in S5 with Blackwell Fields and New Sobek City.

Question: Does the team have any plans for a dynamic weather system on any maps, with varying fog, overcast, rain, daytime, etc?

Answer: Our current approach to weather remains on a per-map basis. We may introduce different weather types in future maps, but these are either intended as event-based modifications or as part of the map's distinct biome. Think things like rain, snow, or maybe the map is set during nighttime.

Question: It was said that multiplayer leaderboards were coming in season 5, but it never did? Will it eventually come in a later phase of the season?

Answer: We are currently testing MP leaderboards internally, and the plan is to release them later during season 5.

Question: Are you planning to change the perks for individual classes?

Answer: Nothing to share right now about changes to the Training Paths in MP, but we are aware that some of them feel less useful than others. Rebalancing these underwhelming Training Paths is on our radar. Balancing and QoL changes like these often compete with each other, so you can also let us know if you feel strongly about these!

Question: Why was the LTLM II (SOFLAM) laser designation duration reduced from 9 seconds to just 2 in Season 5? Players report that designation can drop and need to be reapplied even while tracking a target, interrupting friendly engineers' missile lock-ons. Combined with the extremely visible red glint and the longstanding bug where trying to paint a target accidentally triggers tripod deployment, the gadget feels barely worth using.

What was the design goal behind this nerf, and will you consider allowing continuous designation while maintaining line of sight, as in previous Battlefield games, while also fixing the conflicting paint/deploy controls?

Answer: This change to the Laser Designator was twofold, primarily to bring it in line with the Laser Designator gadgets of games past, and secondarily to give the Tracer Dart gadget a solid niche of its own, as it had previously been completely overshadowed by the Laser Designator. The Laser Designator now allows players to constantly designate a target so long as they are in Line-of-Sight (LoS) and "firing" the gadget, while the Tracer Dart only requires a brief moment of LoS, provided the user can land the shot, to designate a target for several seconds without further input on behalf of the player.

Question: Why do players feel that bullet spread, commonly known as bloom, has increased in recent updates? Many players feel that, during gunfights, their opponents are consistently left with very low health, often just 2, 3, or 10 HP?

Answer: Dispersion, also known as bullet spread, bloom, and random bullet deviation, has not changed in recent updates. It has, however, always been an aspect of gunplay that is both critical to balancing weapons in Battlefield and hard to convey to players in a tangible manner. The recent addition of the ADS Dispersion Crosshair option attempts to tackle this communication gap and I highly recommend players give it a go outside of the firing range. Oftentimes, when enemies are left with single-digit HP, it is the result of multiple limb-hits. Landing more shots center-mass or leveraging attachments that increase headshot damage can reduce the frequency of this occurring.

Question: Why don't we have more pistols in the game? WHY THE BERETTA M9 IS MODELLED ON SOME CHARACTERS AND WE DONT HAVE IT INGAME???????

Answer: We have a sizable amount of Hardware content planned and iconic weapons featured in past Battlefield games like the M9 have not been forgotten. We look forward to sharing more on what's coming in 2027 early in the New Year.

We’re Not Done Yet

Battlefield 6 does not stop at Season 5. Our teams across Battlefield Studios have been working diligently to bring more content and features beyond 2026. We hope to share some of those plans with you early in the new year.

For the latest updates, visit our BattlefieldComm X account or our other community platforms. If you need to report any issues, please visit EA forums. If you want to take part in Q&As, giveaways, community events, or find a squad, join the Battlefield Discord.

See you on the Battlefield.

//The Battlefield Team

This announcement may change as we listen to community feedback and continue developing and evolving our Live Service & Content. We will always strive to keep our community as informed as possible.