Battlefield 6 will mark a return to the franchise’s hallmark character classes after controversially changing the system in Battlefield 2042.
During Battlefield 6’s multiplayer reveal, the developers emphasized, “We heard you loud and clear: You want the class system back,” before confirming the return of Battlefield’s four typical archetypes: the assault, engineer, support, and recon classes.
Each class will feature a signature weapon set, as well as gadgets and traits exclusive to them, and clearly the developers have shuffled around some of the familiar tools in Battlefield 6’s revamped take on the system.
The assault class will wield flashbangs and grenade launchers to punch holes in defenses, use an adrenaline shot to improve resistance to stun effects, sprint speed, and provide various combat boosts, and will even be able to wield a second primary weapon in battle.
The engineer class will, as usual, deploy rockets and mines to hound vehicles down and will be the only class with the ability to fix friendly armor. This class seems the most familiar, and seems to have shed some of the bloat that was added to it over time.
The support class has many of its familiar skills, such as the returning ability to heal, revive, and provide ammo to their squad and teammates. In a change for the support class though, players will now be able to deploy cover.
Recon remains the ideal class for lone-wolf types that want to skulk around and pop enemies with headshot via their sniper rifle. However they have added utility in a squad now that they can also deploy drones that mark enemies and use a laser designator that helps guide friendly missiles. They are also now the exclusive owners of C4, making them essential to the elimination of ground vehicles like tanks.
These changes, which in some cases return these classes back to their most basic essence, comes on the heels of Battlefield 2042, which was released back in 2021. At the time, Battlefield 2042 shook up the class system by introducing specialists, who were hero-like characters with unique abilities, and as a result, many of the formerly strict design principles surrounding classes were made more lenient and flexible. This meant that classes could use weapons and gadgets they previously couldn’t, which in turn subtly eroded the squad-based gameplay of the series, which the existing class system promoted.
Battlefield 6 will continue the open-ended approach to loadouts and share weapons between classes, but now each class will have a form of proficiency with their signature weapon types, which will unlock signature game-changing traits when used in concert.
Players won’t have to wait long to get their hands on Battlefield 6 and sample the revamped class system for themselves. An open beta is set to run across multiple weekends in August, and the game itself is set to arrive on October 10 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
