While the open betas for Battlefield 6 had been tremendously successful, the title has still been seeing some criticism over its decision to include open classes alongside the franchise’s traditional class system where weapon types were restricted to certain classes. In a social media post, producer David Sirland wrote about how the problems highlighted by players have more to do with the balancing between infantry and vehicles than it does with open classes.
Responding to a post about how, during the open betas and playtests of Battlefield 6, infantry ended up feeling more dangerous to vehicles than the other way around, Sirland described the issue of vehicle survivability as being balance-related issues that Battlefield Studios is still actively working to sort out. He also noted that, at least for the purposes of testing, the studios are more comfortable with vehicles being too weak rather than them being too strong. Along with this, he mentioned that balancing will get even trickier once players have more time with Battlefield 6 and thus get better at using the game’s various vehicles.
“That is a balance issue wholesale, not specific to this special situation however,” wrote Sirland, referring to a player’s complaints about vehicles feeling too weak against infantry. “And one we are actively working on. Rather have too weak vehicles over too powerful to start. Its a tricky one as players get better at using them over time as well.”
The overall discussion largely revolves around a clip shared on social media that involves an Engineer being able to take out other infantry by using a sniper rifle, as well as taking out enemy vehicles with their Anti-Tank weaponry, all while being constantly uspplied thanks to their own gadgets. This, note players, is only possible because of the open class system that doesn’t restrict weapons to specific classes.
Battlefield as a franchise has traditionally featured a more closed class system, where weapons are restricted depending on the player’s class. For example, only Recon players can equip and use sniper rifles. On the other hand, Engineers are typically equipped with submachine guns, while assault rifles are restricted to the appropriately named Assault class. It is worth noting that the open betas for Battlefield 6 allowed players to choose between distinct matchmaking pools for both open class players as well as restricted class players.
With the open betas having been wrapped up back in August, the developers under the Battlefield Studios banner – DICE, Criterion, Motive Studios and Ripple Effect – are now gearing up for a new round of Battlefield Labs testing, this time around with a focus on the server browser that will be available through the Portal option in the main menu. Along with this, the playtest will also feature combined arms maps, which involve both infantry as well as vehicles, to allow developers to fine tune the balance between the two styles of gameplay.
Battlefield 6 is being developed for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and is set for release on October 10. For more details about the PC version, check out the trailer showcasing some of the platform-specific features, like support for ultrawide monitors.
