Greetings, everyone,
The launch of Season 2 is nearly upon us. Before the action begins, we want to provide an overview of the upcoming content and a glimpse into the improvements we are developing beyond the initial release, all shaped by the ongoing dialogue within the Battlefield community.
The inaugural update for Season 2 introduces Contaminated, a new environment engineered for high-intensity skirmishes with various tactical paths and flanking routes. Alongside this map comes a Limited-Time Mode that expands the Battlefield 6 narrative—as glimpsed in our latest story trailer—and integrates fresh strategic layers into the conflict against Pax Armata. Later in the season, players can look forward to even more variety with an additional high-octane map and a dark, claustrophobic Limited-Time Mode set within a subterranean facility.
Beyond new content, Season 2 delivers a comprehensive suite of refinements and bug fixes. Key focus areas include:
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Progression Refinements:
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Versatile Challenge Criteria: We have optimized challenges by reducing the reliance on specific game modes, removing sidearm-only daily tasks from the standard rotation, and broadening requirements—such as allowing assists to contribute toward Daily Challenges. We are monitoring completion statistics closely and will continue to adjust any criteria that feel overly restrictive.
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Accelerated Battle Pass: This season, Battle Pass progression has been tuned to feel more rewarding. By recalibrating how Career XP translates into Battle Pass Tokens, players can now advance through tiers more swiftly via standard matches and Weekly Challenges.
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Enhanced REDSEC Rewards: Career and Weapon XP gain rates have been boosted within Battle Royale and Gauntlet, ensuring that progression feels consistent across both REDSEC and traditional Battlefield 6 modes.
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Career Milestone Rebalancing: We have integrated Career and Battle Pass Boosters into earlier ranks to better assist players who primarily engage with REDSEC. This ensures a sense of meaningful growth even when standard unlocks, like specific gadgets or loadout slots, do not apply to the Battle Royale or Gauntlet experience.
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Gunplay Mechanics and Recoil Overhaul: Recoil compensation is now fully uniform, providing more reliable and intuitive weapon handling. Furthermore, automatic firearms have undergone a comprehensive balancing pass to emphasize their specific roles and ensure they feel distinct across various engagement distances.
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Movement Fluidity: Soldier locomotion has been refined to be more responsive and readable during chaotic firefights. These changes include adjusted acceleration curves, more seamless vaulting and ladder transitions, and fixes for visual glitches or erratic behavior during traversal and close-quarters movement.
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Acoustic Enhancements: We have polished the audio landscape to improve clarity and situational awareness. Players will notice more distinct cues for movement and environmental interactions, better management of overlapping sounds, and more consistent playback of vital audio during heavy combat. Additional audio iterations are already scheduled for later this season.
A comprehensive Season Roadmap will be released at the end of the week, followed by exhaustive Update Notes detailing every specific change. We can’t wait for the community to dive into the new content when Season 2 officially commences.
In parallel with the new season, we are dedicated to a series of gameplay optimizations that will be deployed throughout the season and beyond.
Active development is currently focused on hit registration, netcode stability, further recoil analysis, visual clarity, the tactical ping system, and additional audio precision (specifically regarding footsteps). Several of these refinements will undergo testing in Battlefield Labs for community-led iteration before being integrated into main updates. We will share further details on other areas under review as we finalize our plans.
Battlefield Labs remains a vital tool for testing and validating gameplay mechanics alongside our players. Throughout Season 2, Labs will continue to prioritize combat feel, mechanical consistency, and overall balance.
Recently, we utilized Battlefield Labs to test the Contaminated map and a new gameplay mechanic. These sessions provided crucial data on how these additions influenced player decision-making and comfort. Based on your feedback, we’ve implemented several adjustments to ensure these features are fully polished for the Season 2 launch.
We also intend to evaluate Time-to-Kill (TTK) adjustments, aiming to improve combat predictability. Our objective is to reward precision and fire discipline, ensuring that the fastest TTK requires high accuracy. This involves reviewing limb multipliers, headshot damage scales, and the impact of specific ammunition types that boost headshot lethality.
We have initiated focused playtests for the Golmud Railway map, which is slated to join the Battlefield 6 rotation in a future season. As noted in our previous update, this isn’t a simple port; it’s a reimagined version tailored to the Battlefield 6 experience. Early feedback indicates that players are already noticing and appreciating the strategic changes in this interpretation.
The initial reception has been very positive, particularly concerning the map’s scale and combat flow. Players have remarked that while the map feels familiar, the enhancements to the northern town and the addition of extra cover provide a fresh take on infantry engagements.
As is standard for Battlefield Labs, Golmud Railway is still a work in progress. Certain features, like the locomotive, were not fully operational during the first test, but we are working to restore these elements for upcoming sessions. We will continue to iterate on this map with our Labs participants and provide further updates as it evolves.
We recently implemented a change ensuring players drop at least two armor plates upon being eliminated. Building on this, Season 2 will see increased armor availability by adding a chance for extra plates to appear in Class Crates. This adjustment is designed to improve the game’s tempo and player longevity, especially when resources become scarce in the late game.
Furthermore, we are refining the availability of Vehicle Keycards. While tanks are essential to the REDSEC identity, we believe fielding multiple tanks simultaneously should be a rare, hard-earned advantage. Consequently, we are introducing a cooldown on Vehicle Keycards as mission rewards after one has been claimed, preventing teams from easily chaining tank deployments.
We will monitor the impact of these changes closely and share more specific REDSEC updates in a future briefing.
In addition to highlighting community-curated Portal rotations, here are some standout player-made experiences we recommend exploring:
BF Craft
Author: Yujei
Code: Z1AHQ
A Team Deathmatch experience featuring base-building mechanics. Select your fortification by switching weapons and interact to deploy your defenses.
Battleburg ATV Obstacle Course
Author: royzagaming
Code: YK8TD
An intense ATV trial featuring jumps, rock gardens, and a complex labyrinth. We suggest using the Engineer class to keep your ride in top shape.
Hot Potato
Author: Choanie
Code: ZEQ3W
A high-stakes game of survival where one player wields a blowtorch and must tag an opponent before time runs out. The clock speeds up every round—be the last one standing to win.
We recently highlighted BellumI988’s impressive Portal recreation of Operation Metro (code: ZYDGB). It was a blast joining the community for some classic close-quarters chaos. If you haven’t experienced it yet, grab your squad and jump in!
Portal Tip: If your custom experience is suffering from long load times and doesn’t utilize bots, try disabling “Support AI Navigation” in the web builder. This can significantly decrease loading durations, particularly for larger play areas.
We appreciate your continued feedback and look forward to revealing more as we approach the start of Season 2. To report issues, please visit the EA forums, and be sure to join the conversation on the official Battlefield Discord.
Thank you for being part of the journey. We’ll see you on the front lines.
//The Battlefield Team
This update notice is subject to change as we incorporate player feedback and continue the evolution of our Live Service. We are committed to keeping the community informed every step of the way.