The Battlefield 6 beta is raging, with players free to jump into the fray now through the end of Sunday, Aug. 17. This is the second weekend of the multiplayer shooter’s preview period, and there are a few changes that open up the beta with more modes, maps and play options. Plus, the game’s developer DICE has enacted tweaks in response to player feedback.
Those enjoying the beta on PS5 have to be subscribed to PS Plus to play online, but for their trouble, they’re getting double experience points and can earn an exclusive skin, as the brand’s account posted on X.
For all players, here are the changes for Battlefield 6 beta’s weekend 2.
Battlefield 6 Rush mode fix
Players haven’t been too pleased with DICE’s decision to reduce Rush down to matches of 12 versus 12 players. In response, the developer made a few tweaks, including reducing the MCOM timer from 45 to 30 seconds to “better the balance between attacking and defending players,” per a post on X. That pushes defender respawn times from the variable 6-12 seconds to a flat 12 seconds.
This elongated respawn applies to the similar 24-versus-24 mode Breakthrough, which has also been adjusted so that fewer players need to be on an objective to speed up capturing it.
DICE is also working to fix an issue that’s been hiding Nvidia’s DLSS/DLAA graphics features in the BF6 open beta — for now, its solution is to restart your machine and restart or reinstall the Nvidia app.
Battlefield 6 beta new maps and modes
While the first weekend introduced the maps Liberation Peak, Siege of Cairo and Iberian Offensive, the second weekend has added Empire State, a close-quarters map mixing unfinished buildings and blacktop basketball courts for players to take to the New York streets.
As for new modes, the first weekend featured Conquest (as well as a Closed Weapons Conquest mode that locks certain guns to specific classes), Domination, King of the Hill and Breakthrough. The second weekend adds Rush, Squad Deathmatch and several playlists that combine a few of these modes into a rotation.
On the second weekend, players will also get to select which maps and modes they want to queue up for with Custom Search. Note that this will ensure that “matchmaking will prioritize putting you in a match with this combo [of maps and modes], if available,” according to a Battlefield 6 beta information page — which suggests that players may end up getting stuck with maps and modes they haven’t selected if there aren’t other options.
Broken down by day, with some modes and playlists rotating in and out, the BF6 open beta’s weekend 2 looks like this:
Thursday, Aug. 14: Day 1
- Conquest
- Rush
- Attack & Defend playlist (Breakthrough, Rush)
- Close Quarters playlist for smaller maps (Domination, King of the Hill)
- Closed Weapons All-Out Warfare for larger maps (Conquest, Breakthrough)
Friday, Aug. 15: Day 2
- Conquest
- Squad Deathmatch
- Close Quarters playlist (Domination, King of the Hill, Squad Deathmatch)
- All-Out Warfare (Conquest, Breakthrough, Rush)
- Closed Weapons All-Out Warfare (Conquest, Breakthrough)
Saturday, Aug. 16 and Sunday, Aug. 17: Days 3 and 4
- Conquest
- Close Quarters (Domination, King of the Hill, Squad Deathmatch)
- All-Out Warfare (Conquest, Breakthrough, Rush)
- Closed Weapons All-Out Warfare (Conquest, Breakthrough)
Publisher EA noted on the beta’s website that this playlist rotation is just for gathering player feedback and won’t be a feature in the final version of the game.
