Battlefield 6 beginner’s tips – when not to respawn and how to fly a jet

As Battlefield 6 launches worldwide, here’s some key tips and tricks to get you started, especially if you’re new to the series.

Based on the popularity of the beta, Battlefield 6 has the potential to be the biggest entry in the series yet, with many players experiencing the franchise for the first time.

While the shooter has been around since 2002’s Battlefield 1942, it has largely played second fiddle to the popularity of Call Of Duty. The failure of the last two titles threatened to kill the franchise entirely, but EA has got things back on track with Battlefield 6.

That means Battlefield 6 is going to be awash with newcomers, either to first person shooters at large or those simply tired of Activision’s shooter series. As such, we’ve compiled a list of essential tips you should know, so you’re not overwhelmed out in the trenches.

Resist the temptation to respawn constantly

For anyone coming from Call Of Duty, Battlefield leans more on coordination and teamwork – both in its class system and how points are tallied in the large-scale modes like Conquest, Breakthrough, and Escalation.

Essentially, every time you die you deplete a limited number of respawn tickets from your team. The amount of tickets you have is also affected by how well you stop the enemy team from capturing and holding objectives, but to help your team win overall, you’ll want to resist the temptation to automatically respawn when you are downed.

It’s a different mentality to other shooters, where jumping back into the action is the first priority. But in Battlefield, you’ll want to hang onto life for as long as reasonably possible (be very aware of the indicator that tells you if someone is nearby) as revives will help your score in the long run.

Revive others as much as you can – but be careful of your surroundings

By extension, you’ll want to revive your teammates as much as possible to avoid depleting points, but also to bolster your nearby squad against the next inevitable firefight.

However, don’t be a hero. The opposing team might be using a downed enemy as bait, or it might leave you completely exposed to a loitering sniper. In Battlefield 6, you can now drag bodies while reviving them, so utilise this to pull them, when the coast is clear, to a safe space.

It’s important to note too, while the Support class revives teammates faster than others with a defibrillator, every class can revive downed allies. So, even if you believe your calling is in the running and gunning, make sure you put in a healing shift when necessary.

Swap out gadgets on the fly

While you can alter your loadouts in the downtime between matches, the option to customise your class when you die can turn the tide. The Engineer class, for example, has separate launchers designed to take down either ground or air vehicles, so if you’ve just been gunned down by a roaming helicopter, respond accordingly.

This applies to other classes too. The Support gadget can be swapped between a defibrillator for faster revives or a grenade intercept system to cancel out enemy projectiles. Meanwhile, the Recon class has a drone you unlock at rank 10, which while not ideal in every situation, can be a huge boon for scoping out targets surrounding a control point.

Keep an eye on challenges to level up fast

In the early stages, you’ll want to level up your multiplayer rank to unlock better weapons and gadgets. While you’ll naturally do this by playing matches, you can speed up the process by keeping tabs on the daily and weekly challenges (under the Challenges tab).

You’ll get bonus XP for completing these tasks, and they’re often specific to certain classes, weapons, or modes. While we’d usually encourage playing Battlefield 6 however you like, if you want to fly through the ranks at a faster rate, prioritising these will help.

Activate those XP boosts

It’s very easy to miss, but on the game’s home screen (above the small list of challenges), there’s a tab you can access to activate various XP boosts for a limited time. These can be applied to your overall progression rank, or levelling up weapons, in 15 minute, 30 minute, and 60 minute bursts, so whether you’re settling in for a quick session or not, they’re well worth firing off to reap the rewards.

Additionally, you’ll trigger a +5% XP modifier if you join an in-game party with someone, and (on PlayStation 5, at least), an extra +5% if you join a party with two or more PlayStation Plus subscribers. It’s unclear if the requirements for these will be altered beyond launch, but you can keep an eye on them right at the bottom of the XP Boost tab.

How to access jets and helicopters

Battlefield 6 doesn’t do a great job of explaining all of its quirks, and that especially goes for the vehicles. While the tanks and jeeps are relatively straightforward in terms of where they spawn and how they control, the jets and helicopters are a befuddling mess.

Instead of being scattered around the map (aerial vehicles are only available in the large-scale modes like Conquest and Escalation), helicopters will spawn periodically at your team’s HQ. However, for jets, a prompt will appear stating ‘aircraft available for deployment’ when one is ready during a match. You’ll then have to activate it by interacting with the Vehicle Supply Station at the HQ, where you can spawn anew directly in the cockpit.

The problem, beyond the very elaborate controls, is how limited in number these jets are – so you’ll have a race on your hands to secure one before your allies. For newcomers who aren’t so well versed in how airborne vehicles operate, your best bet is to spawn directly into an already active helicopter or jet on the map (available if they are green), which will often throw you into a gun turret on the side for some quick thrills.

Don’t forget to modify your guns

Beyond the class differences, each weapon can be modified to alter different stats, including hip-fire, precision, control, and mobility. You can choose different suppressors, sights, grips, barrels, and even ammo types, with the latter giving you boosts in damage and headshot multipliers, so it can be very useful.

Your options will be limited when you start Battlefield 6, as most of them are tied behind specific unlock conditions, but once you’ve found a weapon you particularly like, it’s worth tinkering with what’s available to give you an extra edge.

Knives and smokes

For some general tips while you’re running in the field, if you equip a knife, your overall movement speed will be faster than if you have your gun equipped – which can be useful if you’re looking to make a quick getaway or traverse a long distance.

Similarly, smoke grenades can be a lifeline in Battlefield 6. Not only do they obscure vision in the way you’d expect, they wipe off any tagged markers on your allies. In other words, chucking a smoke is a brilliant way to reset any enemy Recon hijinks.

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