Battlefield 6 Season 5: Siege of Vegas goes live on Tuesday, October 13, bringing two new maps, four new weapons, the official launch of Ranked Battle Royale, and major vehicle and Anti-Air rebalancing. Game Update 2.1.1.0 is available to download on all platforms from 8:00 UTC, and Season 5 content becomes available at 12:00 UTC.
Two New Battlegrounds: Vegas Strip and Area 51
Vegas Strip supports all combat sizes, land vehicles and helicopters. Open sightlines and large-scale vehicle battles meet the iconic Strip, fountains, lavish casinos, rooftop ziplines, hotel towers and storm drains built for close-quarters combat. For more on the new maps, see our Season 5 maps coverage.
Area 51 is a top-secret desert military base where jets, helicopters and tanks fight across the surface. Players can launch a dirt bike over rolling hills, pilot a jet, or bring down the Air Traffic Control tower to reshape the battlefield. A fresh crater leads down into underground tunnels for close-quarters fights.
Rapid Royale and Ranked Battle Royale Expand REDSEC
Rapid Royale is REDSEC’s fastest and most aggressive Battle Royale mode yet. It has a lower player count, airdrops with some of the best loot in the game, and the fastest ring of fire. Kills earn redeploys, and matches are played across multiple maps, including Vegas Strip and Mirak Valley. Our REDSEC Season 5 gameplay trailer post shows the season in action.
Ranked Battle Royale officially launches with Season 5, moving beyond Battlefield Labs. It brings redesigned Ranked badges and new rewards for squads climbing the ranks.
Four New Weapons Join the Arsenal
- Mk 24: An Assault Rifle that becomes deadlier at longer ranges, balanced by a limited magazine capacity.
- RSPR: A compact, short-range Personal Defence Weapon with rifle-cartridge stopping power. It performs better at range than most PDWs, but its higher recoil demands careful control.
- Z84M: A belt-fed Light Machine Gun built for close range, with a 100-round capacity and a wide selection of attachments.
- ELR-40: A Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle with a very long-range sweet spot in its standard configuration. Its single-shot mode moves the sweet spot to shorter distances, giving Recon players more flexibility.
Battle Pass, Battlefield Pro and Free Trial
The Season 5 Battle Pass offers six instant unlocks, four themed paths and more than 100 tiers of rewards. Multiplayer Leaderboards also arrive this season.
Battlefield Pro includes six exclusive instant unlocks, full Battle Pass access, 25 Tier Skips, a limited-time Bonus Path, new vehicle radio music, a 15% XP boost, persistent Portal Server Hosting and 100-player servers in Portal.
From October 15 to 19, Battlefield 6 is free to play on PlayStation and Steam, with every available map and mode open across land, air and sea. Check the official Battlefield post for platform terms.
Dead Space Event Arrives October 20
From October 20 to November 7, the limited-time Battlefield 6 x Dead Space: Convergence Event adds a Halloween twist to Battlefield 6 and REDSEC. In Marker Incursion, a 16-player PvE experience, you wield the Pulse Rifle Battle Pickup against hordes of AI-controlled Marked Soldiers. The goal is to destroy the Marker, an alien artefact uncovered in Area 51, before its madness spreads. Rewards include the “Aegis VII” Soldier skin, the “RIG-Certified” SMG Weapon Package, two Weapon Stickers, Soldier Patches, a Player Card Background and two in-game Bundles.
Anti-Air Gets Serious Teeth
The developers felt anti-air cannons were not effective enough at punishing aggressive mid-to-long-range aircraft fly-bys. Mobile Anti-Air now has a maximum range of approximately 800m, base turret rotation speed is up 50%, and projectile drag falls from 0.0025 to 0.0015 across all ammunition types.
- 35mm High Velocity: Infantry damage rises from 13 to 25, velocity from 1,175 to 1,250 m/s, and convergence distance drops from 300m to 90m.
- Anti-Armor AA Shell: Velocity rises from 560 to 900 m/s and rate of fire from 240 to 480 rounds per minute.
- Multi-Purpose AA Shell: Per the listed notes, velocity rises from 850 to 1,175 m/s and the round no longer fires in burst mode.
Scout Helicopters Lose Some Bite
Light attack aircraft, particularly the Scout Helicopter, were considered too effective against infantry. The 70mm FFAR Light Rocket’s splash damage is cut by 30%, which prevents one-hit infantry kills at the most common engagement distances. The rocket pod resupply cooldown rises from 28 to 38 seconds. Light Rockets now need 7 hits (up from 4) against Scout Helicopters, 9 (up from 5) against Attack Helicopters and 15 (up from 11) against Transport Helicopters.
Tank and IFV Changes
Main Battle Tank and Infantry Fighting Vehicle regeneration is nerfed slightly. Time from critical to full health is now 8 seconds for both, up from 6.66 and 7 seconds respectively. Firing either vehicle’s weapons resets passive regeneration and reapplies a 12-second delay. Tank rear hits within 86-94 degrees now deal 2.5x damage.
One planned change, making low-altitude aircraft more vulnerable to infantry MANPADS lock-ons, needs more iteration after Battlefield Labs testing and is not part of this update. The developers say they will share progress later.
Broader Polish
Update 2.1.1.0 also improves animations (deaths, swimming, revives, hit reactions, vehicle seating), UI and HUD, Spectator Mode, audio, AI and stability. Portal creators get new Verified Portal Modes, Custom Maps and SDK functions. REDSEC changes cover class equipment, Field Training, redeploy loadouts, armour plating, loot presentation, Second Chance and Ranked End of Round information. The full changelog is longer than covered here.