Battlefield 6 arrives this week for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, and we’ve already gone over everything it improves on from Battlefield 2042. But how does it compare to the last numbered title, Battlefield 5? The latter launched in 2018, following up on the immensely successful Battlefield 1, but garnered controversy for several reasons (the premature abandoning of post-launch support also didn’t help). Still, it’s interesting to look back and see just how much has carried over and improved.
Without further ado, here are the 14 biggest differences between Battlefield 5 and Battlefield 6.
World War 2 vs Modern Day
Obviously, the first major difference is that Battlefield 5 unfolds during World War 2 while Battlefield 6 occurs in a more modern setting. While the latter is set in 2027, it’s focused on grounded military engagements and doesn’t include any near or future technology.
The Company vs Loadouts
For all the things that Battlefield 5 did right, there were some odd systems introduced, like The Company. It was essentially a loadout system where you could assign Combat Roles, weapons, gadgets, grenades and melee weapons into each class slot. You could also assign different characters, customizing their appearance with cosmetic items and vehicles. Battlefield 6 offers loadouts as well for each Class, though DICE has committed to a more grounded look for its characters (and only two factions to choose from, at least for now).
Co-op Support
With everything that Battlefield Studios is doing to ensure Battlefield 6’s success – including the introduction of a proper Server Browser, going so far as to rename the Portal section to Community – it won’t have co-op. You can’t team with other players in the campaign, and there are no separate modes or even a Horde-like activity to battle AI enemies together. All that said, the Portal and its toolset could allow for creating such missions after it goes live (heck, if the development team can use it to create Pong, anything is possible).
As for Battlefield 5, it didn’t have co-op at launch either, but added it post-launch in Lightning Strikes, the second Tides of War Chapter, with Combined Arms. It offered four unique objectives, from assassinating targets to slaying a select number of targets, followed by an extraction phase against hordes of enemies. Not the most complex mechanics, but it offered a diverse range of levels with unique plots.
Class Changes
Remember how the Assault Class in Battlefield 5 focused on infantry combat and vehicular destruction, packing anti-tank mines and rocket launchers alongside assault rifles? Following Battlefield 6’s open beta, DICE has reworked the Class to focus more on flanking and deployment. It now has an Assault Ladder for accessing higher ground more easily, and the Recon’s Spawn Beacon, now known as the Deploy Beacon. There’s also a new Signature Trait, Enhanced Mobility, which allows for faster objective capture when near allies.
Grand Operations vs Covert Operations
Grand Operations were introduced in Battlefield 5 and arguably represented the most ambitious mode in the series yet. Players would fight in massive conflicts over the course of four in-game days with different locations and modes. For example, the Battle for France began with attackers parachuting into Twisted Steel on the first day as defenders tried to stop them. Day 2 on the same map involved playing Breakthrough, while Day 3 took place on Arras in a 64-player version of Frontlines. Assuming both teams hit a stalemate, the Grand Operation would proceed to Day 4 and Final Stand – an all-out war with no respawns and a continuously shrinking zone.
Battlefield 6, unfortunately, doesn’t have this, but EA did mention something called Covert Operations in a recent email. It’s unlikely this is a substitute for Grand Operations, and as some have pointed out, it could simply be the name for seasonal objectives. Time will tell.
Number of Launch Weapons
DICE hasn’t detailed all the weapons available in Battlefield 6 at launch, but it confirmed that there will be over 40. By comparison, Battlefield 5 offered 30 primary weapons, seven sidearms and nine melee weapons. Neither total factors in all the Gadgets either, but it seems that players will be spoiled for choice when Battlefield 6 arrives.
Combat Roles vs. Field Specs
Each Class in Battlefield 6 has a Signature Trait, from the Support’s faster revive and drag speed to the Engineer taking less damage. Believe it or not, Battlefield 5 offered something similar, known as Combat Roles. Assault started as Light Infantry, with two traits – more health and more ammo from corpses – but leveling it up unlocked Vehicle Buster with its ability to spot vehicles for the team when damaging them (and gaining more Requisition upon their destruction).
Battlefield 6 has Field Specs, which essentially provide progressively improved benefits when performing Class-specific actions. The Recon, for instance, makes it so that enemies can’t be revived when killed by sniper headshots in level 2 of Sniper Training Path. However, if you opt for the Spec Ops Path, its level 2 benefit will effectively remove any spotting on yourself upon going prone. Both of these paths have their own passives available from the outset, and as you progress, level 3, an active ability, becomes available.
Locked vs Universal Weapons
Controversial as it was, Battlefield 5 continued the series’ tradition of restricting certain weapon types to their corresponding classes. An Assault class couldn’t just use a sniper rifle, and a Recon wasn’t going to hoist a light-machine gun anytime soon. Battlefield 6 followed 2042 by allowing all classes to utilize every single weapon, but following some backlash, it introduced the Closed Weapons playlist, which once again restricts weapons to their respective classes. You also had Signature Weapons, which provide benefits for a class that utilized its specific firearm type.
Unlocking New Weapons
Leaning further into the whole “Universal Weapons” philosophy is how unlocking new weapons works. In Battlefield 5, progressing through a Class would unlock their respective Combat Roles, weapons, side arms and more. However, in Battlefield 6, new weapons are unlocked by increasing your Career Rank and can include options from outside your class. Again, if you’re the type who enjoys using whatever, this will hardly matter, but for those who want to stick to Closed Weapons, it’s jarring, to say the least.
Campaign vs War Stories
It’s funny when you think about it, but Battlefield 4 is the last time that the series had a campaign focused on a single core cast of characters throughout. Battlefield 6 returns to that concept, focusing on Dagger One Three, as they tour the world and battle the Pax Armata, a private military company aiming to topple NATO, with Alexander Kincaid serving as the main antagonist. By comparison, Battlefield 5’s campaign followed the same structure as Battlefield 1 with War Stories, each with unique characters and plotlines. It worked well considering the massive scale of World War 2, but for those seeking a more consistent cast, Battlefield 6 could be it.
Rush Changes
Rush is perhaps the most beloved mode in Battlefield, dating back to the days of Bad Company, with attackers assaulting an objective while the defenders try to stop them (and subsequently switching sides). It’s frenetic, fast-paced and an overall good time, with Battlefield 5 following in its predecessor’s footsteps by featuring artillery strikes. Unfortunately, Battlefield 6 makes some rather disappointing changes. Instead of 16v16, it’s 12v12, and the overall flow is nowhere close to the Battlefield classics of yore. Granted, DICE confirmed that layouts have been “revised for better balance between attackers and defenders,” but here’s hoping it raises the player count at some point.
Firestorm Differences
One of the biggest new additions that Battlefield 5 brought to the franchise is Battle Royale, known as Firestorm. Taking place on Halvøy, the biggest map in the series till that point, it supported 64 players and included different vehicles, including tanks, as players looted weapons and other resources while evading the ever-shrinking ring of fire. While the map name and player limit of Battlefield 6’s Firestorm is unknown, DICE has been testing 100 players in 25 squads. Perhaps the biggest change from Battlefield 5 is that Classes aren’t cosmetic, allowing you to utilise their unique perks and Signature Weapons to succeed. Then there’s the ring, which vaporizes players caught in it, no exceptions.
Crossplay
Perhaps the biggest downside of DICE ending support for Battlefield 5 to work on 2042 (besides, well, the fact that it resulted in 2042) is that it never received cross-platform play. Battlefield 6, like 2042, fixes that by offering cross-platform play at launch, but it goes even further to avoid many of the pitfalls. The matchmaking will prioritize other console players first and eventually expand to include those on PC if it takes too long to fill a lobby.
First Season Content
Rather than using the term “seasons” for its post-launch content, Battlefield 5 went with “Chapters,” as part of the greater Tides of War initiative. Chapter 1 went live in December 2018 and added the fifth and final War Story, “The Last Tiger,” a new Conquest map (Panzerstorm), five weapons, the Practice Range, and various cosmetics like weapon skins, emblems, dog tags, and whatnot. Not a bad assortment of content, but Battlefield 6 is going much further with its first Season. Starting on October 28th with Rogue Ops, it introduces a new mode (Strikepoint), three new weapons, new attachments, a new vehicle, and a new map (Blackwell Fields).
Phase 2, California Resistance, goes live on November 18th with the new Eastwood map, the limited-time Sabotage mode, two new weapons, a new attachment and the return of Battle Pickups. Winter Offensive is the third phase and offers the Ice Lock limited-time event, where players compete on a snowy version of Empire State and deal with new freezing conditions. It also features a new melee weapon in the Ice Climbing Axe. Whether EA will maintain this cadence with future seasons remains to be seen, but it’s a strong start and ensures that players won’t have to wait too long between new drops.
