So Battlefield 6 Just Went Free-to-Play (Sort Of) With 'REDSEC' and a Battle Royale
Just when you thought the launch chaos was over, DICE throws another curveball. Alongside the long-awaited Season 1, they've unleashed Battlefield REDSEC, a free-to-play slice of Battlefield 6. Yes, free. And yes, it has Battle Royale.
So, what the hell is REDSEC? It's basically a standalone, free experience that anyone can download, even if you don't own the main Battlefield 6 game. If you do own BF6, you can still jump in and squad up with your freeloading friends. It's launching with three distinct modes, all set on a brand new, ridiculously massive map called Fort Lyndon.
The Battle Royale (Finally) Arrives
This is the big one everyone's been whispering about. It's a 100-player affair, playable in squads of four or duos of two. DICE is adamant this is BR "The Battlefield Way".
That means core classes are still in play, but they've been tweaked. Assault keeps their ladder, Support carries extra plates and ammo, and so on. You level up unique "Training Paths" for each class by finding intel caches and doing missions, unlocking gear upgrades. Destruction is "tactical," meaning you can reshape buildings. And yes, vehicles are scattered around, including helicopters, boats, and the legendary golf carts. Looting crates for weapons and gear is standard BR fare. Oh, and they claim to have the "deadliest ring in BR," which sounds like a challenge.
Gauntlet: The New Elimination Grind
This one's brand new. Gauntlet is a round-based elimination mode where eight squads of four compete across four randomized missions. You score points by doing objectives, getting kills, and playing support. After each mission, the lowest-scoring squads get booted. The top three get bonuses for the next round. It keeps whittling down until the final two squads fight for the win.
An interesting twist: if your squad gets eliminated because people bailed, high-scoring players might get reassigned to a surviving squad. At launch, there are 8 mission types like Decryption (protect beacons) and Wreckage (plant bombs on M-COMs).
Portal Gets Free Content (Mostly)
The Portal creation tool is also part of the free REDSEC package, but limited to REDSEC's content. You can still tweak rules and use the Spatial Editor. The massive Fort Lyndon map is broken into six smaller playspaces for Portal, but only two are available at launch. The rest are coming later. The SDK is getting updated with REDSEC assets, but Gauntlet stuff isn't included yet.
Crucially, if you own the main Battlefield 6 game, you can combine its content with REDSEC content in Portal for maximum chaos.
So, that's REDSEC. It's live now alongside Season 1. It's free, it has BR, and it has golf carts. DICE says this is just the beginning and REDSEC will get regular updates too. Given Battlefield's track record, I'll believe it when I see it, but hey, at least it's free to try. Let the chaos commence.
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