Can I say it? I’m going to say it. Battlefield 6 is officially out! After years of waiting for a proper Battlefield game, the series is back, and better than ever before. No doubt all you long-time fans are going to feel right at home with this one, as the game is nearly everything we’ve been hoping for it to be. With that said, despite the series going strong for over two decades, many are joining the fight for the very first time.
Luckily, our team of seasoned veterans has put together a list of top tips for Battlefield 6 to help you understand how the game works and make you a better player.
No one should be surprised by this one, as it’s the biggest thing all Battlefield players have told other players since the very beginning of the franchise. But for all you new players out there, this is probably going to be the biggest tip you’ll want to pay attention to. When you see somebody say “PTFO,” it means “Play the F***ing Objective.” You’re going to see that word thrown around a lot during the in-game chat, so it’s best you know what it means now.
Now, unlike a majority of shooters out there, Battlefield isn’t solely about racking up kills and having the highest kill/death ratio. Yes, killing enemies is important because for every kill that a player doesn’t revive from, you take a ticket away from that team. Tickets are essentially shared lives, and once a team runs out of them, the match is over.
But solely going out of your way for kills and trying to lonewolf things isn’t completely beneficial to the team. So you’ll want to play around the objectives and help teammates in any way you possibly can, while also getting kills. It would be more beneficial for the team if you were getting kills while defending an objective, rather than off somewhere randomly on the map. That way, you can defend a point from being captured, which in turn increases the cost of a ticket per death for the more points you have as a team.
If you are playing Rush or one of the other modes where it progresses as you advance, then tickets are even more important here, as you need to conserve them. So, work with your team when big pushes need to happen, instead of trying to solo an entire team, because you will lose 100% of the time.
There are also other ways to PTFO, and that’s by leaning into your class specialty. If you’re a medic, make sure you are reviving players, but do it smart and make sure there’s no one around to kill you and the person you revive the moment you pick them up. Engineers, make sure you are repairing vehicles. Aiding vehicles and making sure they are at full health can help turn the tide of war. Assault players should be using spawn beacons, so teams can have better positioning and pushes on an objective. And recons, well, you guys make sure to have all the other classes’ backs, and snipe away at any other snipers and enemies that are coming into an objective.
There are more ways to play the objective than just killing, so don’t solely rely on that and think that just because you aren’t getting kills, you can’t contribute to the team’s progress.
Don’t be afraid of getting a little explosive in this game. The developers worked hard at ensuring there is a good deal of destruction for players to play with, so use it to your advantage. Not everything can be destroyed, but there is plenty of buildings that can be taken down, walls that can be blown up, amongst other things.
There’s a great deal of dynamic gameplay here. Blow up walls to create new pathways for teammates. Make your own cover by hiding behind the debris of a fallen structure. Surprise enemies by blowing up the floor from underneath their feet, or flanking them from behind after blowing up a wall. Heck, destroy their cover. The destruction is there for you to play with, so USE IT!
It may not be as destructive as the Bad Company series or a more recent title, The Finals, but with years of feedback behind this new entry, the studios have made sure that there’s enough to keep things interesting.
Battlefield is a series best played with friends, but understandably, not all of us can gather a group of friends every day and night to play — especially those of us who are “Battlefield Oldheads” who have been with the series from the start. They don’t call us Oldheads for nothing, I mean, it’s mostly because of our takes on wanting the series to stay the same, but it’s also because we’re all getting up there in our years. But at the end of the day, everyone has real-world responsibilities to attend to, which means that your friends might not always be there to squad up with you.
Obviously, if you can get a group of friends together, then do so. You’ll find that not only is the game more enjoyable when you’re having laughs with friends, but synergy within the squad is just so much better, as you can play off each other’s weaknesses and strengths a lot better.
But if you’re going into this as a lonewolf, then I highly recommend sticking with your squad mates. There is strength in numbers, and that has always been the case with Battlefield. Sticking with your squad not only gives you numbers, but it also helps with objectives, being revived by someone who’s likely paying attention, and having a portal spawn point, just as long as they aren’t in combat. You might not be communicating with them over comms, but a good chunk of players will understand squad play.
As I already mentioned, when you die, your team loses a ticket. If you’ve played Call of Duty or any other twitch shooters, your instant reaction is going to be to skip the revive phase and go straight into redeployment. I cannot tell you how many times I have been on the battlefield as a medic, everything is perfectly clear for a revive, and that player decides to respawn instead. This isn’t helping anyone. You’re getting back into the action this way, actually hurting the team more than you think.
I understand if you are in the middle of a firefight, and you see an entire team rolling up over your corpse. Yes, then it makes sense to respawn because no one is going to risk their lives going 1v10 for you. But if you have a bunch of teammates around you, and a medic is clearly coming for you, give them a chance to revive you. Reviving a downed player doesn’t use up a ticket, and it’s just as good as respawning back in. Yes, you might have to wait a little bit, but that waiting you’re doing is going to be the same amount of waiting as you backtracking to where you want to go. Trust the system, let medics do their job and revive you, and you’ll see this is actually a much better way of playing.
For many, Battlefield 6 is going to be their first Battlefield game ever. There are a lot of rules and how combat flows that make it a very different game than others, and with the market being dominated by more arcade-like shooters, such as Call of Duty, Apex Legends, and even some hero shooters, a lot of you are probably going to try to play like that. Unless you have god-like aiming on PC, you’re going to find that bunny hopping and sliding around matches aren’t going to get you very far.
For all new players out there, I recommend taking things slowly. Get used to the controls and movement, and you’ll find that this isn’t your everyday twitch shooter. It’s, well, it’s Battlefield, a game that is a middle ground between arcade and realism, without leaning too deep into either. Firefights are quick and frantic, but the means to reach the action has always been more of a slower pace. You aren’t going to get into a gunfight after the first 20 seconds of starting a match, which should, in a lot of ways, set the mood of things.
Understandably, for many, dying might feel a bit discouraging because it means you might have to work a way to get back to where you died, or get back into the action of things. Don’t let that feeling take over, because it’s going to blind you from just how deep Battlefield really can be. The gunplay is less about twitch reactions and more about positioning, cover, and teamwork. Learn the controls, understand the movement, and take the time to appreciate the immense scale of the maps. It’s a game of patience, where the calm before the storm is just as important as the storm itself.
I know Battlefield can get pretty hectic when it comes to all the action and explosions happening, so it’s easy to forget to look at the mini-map. But you should always have map awareness, as it will tell you where enemies are, including vehicles rolling up on you, as well as teammates. Knowing the map layout is one thing, but mastering that mini-map is another thing, one that can help you become a better player.
Especially if you play solo with no comms whatsoever, having map awareness is going to save your life in this game.
Battlefield is all about playing strategically, rather than going it alone and bunny hopping around the field. Knowing your surroundings is a key thing for all good players, and you’ll want to pay attention to any kind of cover on the playing field. Even the tinniest bit of it could turn a firefight around, so make sure you’re using it whenever you can.
Additionally, make sure you spot enemies, whether they are within shotgun range or far across the map. Spotting enemies will help other players out. You don’t have to kill every enemy you see; if there is another teammate who is closer and better positioned, let them know with that spot.
Suppressive firing. I don’t care what some may think about this; suppressive firing is a viable form of gameplay that can help your teammates out. Drawing the enemy’s attention towards you, as you safely sit behind cover, could help other teammates in flanking maneuvers and such. Sure, it opens you to their line of sight, but if there’s a chance someone else can take said enemy out because they are behind cover, then it’s not a form of gameplay I am against.
I mentioned some of this in the PTFO section, but it’s very important before you even pick a class to know exactly what their role is. You don’t want to play as a support, never reviving someone or placing ammo and health kits, as you only focus on kills. You’d be better off playing as an assault class in that case. But even there, if you aren’t using spawn beacons, then what’s the point? Playing an engineer and ignoring all repairs doesn’t help anyone either.
Learn the classes before you play the game, then test each of them out and find the role that actually fits your playstyle. This is a team-based game, play like the team needs you.
A lot of you are going to be tempted to hop into a vehicle for the very first time. I can tell you, controlling any of the vehicles in a Battlefield game is no easy task. It’s always been a major complaint from players, and Battlefield 6 appears to be no exception. But I will tell you, people are going to be angry that you decided to hop inside that helicopter or fighter jet and crash it the moment you took control.
I get it, you’re excited. All of us veterans have been in the same spot as you, and we’ve all crashed our first time. I suppose that’s part of the Battlefield experience.
But you know what, there’s probably going to be some Portal Experiences available day one that are created by members of the community to help learn these things. There was for Battlefield 2042, and with Portal being more robust here, there should be better training experiences. Maybe not day one, in that case, I highly recommend just starting your own password-protected experience, starting it solo, and playing around with the vehicles. Learn the controls and the feeling of it before you try out the real thing in a match with actual people. You’ll thank me later, or maybe not, and you’ll just crash into a mountainside from the sheer pressure of carrying other players.
There’s also the Training Grounds, where you can read up on general mechanics, practice in a firing range, and even start up a bot-loaded Breakthrough match. There’s plenty of ways to practice, and I recommend taking full advantage of them.
The last tip is, well, have fun. Cliche, I know, but I think something that needs to get across to everyone’s mind is that you don’t have to win to have fun. Battlefield is a lot of things, but for me, it’s always been about making moments. Sometimes I win a match, and other times I lose one after spending 20-30 minutes on it. However, most of the time, I’m having fun regardless of how that match ends. Be it because I’m hanging out with a squad of friends and catching up and having laughs, or because of those “Only in Battlefield” moments that always put a smile on my face. These are the moments you’ll remember long after the match ends, not your kill/death ratio. When I look back at the series as a whole, it’s all about the crazy and insane stunts that I’ve witnessed over the years that flood back.
There’s a reason why so many are passionate about the Battlefield experience, and it all comes back to moments like witnessing the first rendezook, seeing a megalodon emerging from the sea, as the whole server puts their differences aside. Things like watching an entire skyscraper come crashing down, to even smaller moments where you’re running away from an attack helicopter as it fires upon you. It feels like something you would see in a movie, but for us, we call it an only in Battlefield moment, and we live for those moments. So go out there, cause a little mayhem, but most of all, have fun doing it.
Guys and gals, we’re old now; we’re not as patient as we used to be, and our time is precious, given how little we have left. Alright, I’m NOT that old, but the point stands: a lot of us have little time to play, and a whole lot of responsibility to worry about. Most of us know the franchise like the back of our heads, but there’s a new generation of players who join in with each game. This could be their first online shooter ever, or they might be coming from another game, or it could be their first time experiencing Battlefield. Let’s not try to gatekeep new players. We should encourage them and teach them the ropes, even if many don’t listen to in-game cues or requests.
I know, it can be frustrating, especially with some of the takes these new players have. But we were all in their shoes at one point, so let’s not be the reason why they don’t like the franchise. I know the Battlefield community can get very toxic at times, especially with change. But we’re all adults here; we should respect each other and avoid making threats. It’s not just directed at other players, as developers who have worked on this game have caught plenty of shade over the last few years.
We can all voice our disagreement over a choice, but let’s not turn into savages and start tearing into people over them. That kind of feedback gets you nowhere. So be kind, respect other players and developers, and be constructive with the feedback you have to give. With the studio now being more open with their comms, who knows just how far they’ll go to listen to that feedback? We’re all in this together, so let’s make Battlefield 6 a place where both new and old players feel welcome. The community is a huge part of what makes this series special, and it’s up to us to make sure it stays that way.
I suggest checking out our Battlefield 6 best settings guide for consoles and PC, and yes, this also includes controller settings.
That’s all I have left to say; it’s time to get out there and start having some fun.
Battlefield 6 is now officially available globally, on the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
