As promised, Battlefield Studios has detailed how the gunplay of Battlefield 6 is being overhauled, and it turns out the developer wants it to feel closer to Battlefield 4. The proposed changes will arrive 30th June with the final update for Season 3.
In a blog post, Battlefield Studios explained that the handling characteristics of all weapons are being updated. The goal is to make controlling the weapon’s recoil more predictable. But while you may find automatic fire more consistent, you’re still expected to pace your shots at range; Battlefield Studios wants to discourage full-auto fire at distance, which it hopes to achieve through tweaks to muzzle velocity alongside recoil changes.
The overall goal is for each weapon archetype to play a more distinct role; sub-machine guns being the best in close ranges, light-machine guns the best at delivering oppressive suppression and assault rifles as jacks of all trades.
All of those changes should bring the gunplay closer to how it felt in Battlefield 4, particularly when engaging targets at range. Battlefield games have always required players to pace their shots when engaging distant enemies to varying degrees, but weapon accuracy in Battlefield 6 has been high enough that most players could comfortably ignore that.
Then there’s the adjustment to damage multipliers. Battlefield 6 splits the body into different zones (hitboxes) that each carries its own damage multiplier. The head has the highest multiplier but it’s also the hardest to hit.
Previously, targeting the limbs, chest and lower torso dealt the same amount of damage. Now, limbs and lower torso have lower damage multipliers than the chest, which should further make players less accurate at range.
The goal is to reduce the average time-to-kill (TTK) slightly, without ruining the fastest-possible TTK for the weapons that can deliver it. In practice, Battlefield Studios wants players to feel like they can take down multiple enemies in close range with accurate fire but not dominate at range.
Going forward, you’ll have to be more accurate when shooting from a distance – aiming for the areas of the body that net the highest damage. The change to damage multipliers shouldn’t affect close-quarters combat all that much, in theory, at least.
Those changes have been in the hands of Battlefield Labs players for testing, so it’ll be interesting to see how the wider player base receives them next week, given the wide range of situations they cover. I also find the timing of those changes intriguing; as we’re just a few weeks away from the launch of one of Battlefield 6’s largest maps in Season 4. In case you missed it, the 30th June update is adding a new limited-time event that has a mechanic suspiciously similar to one from Call of Duty: Ghosts.