Battlefield 6: All game modes explained

Battlefield 6 seeks to deliver a storm of high-energy, destructive warfare. And since the first beta weekend, we’ve learned how each key Battlefield 6 game mode works in the new iteration. While there are some pretty clear and more subtle differences in victory requirements, each mode requires a large amount of playing the objective to win.

With that core Battlefield requirement securely installed in the code, it looks like BF6’s game modes can deliver hours upon hours of enjoyable, explosive gameplay. Beyond a single-player campaign and BR mode, multiplayer’s variety across maps and modes should make for an intriguing mix of large and small-scale battles. Let’s take a look.

Below are the key game modes available throughout the Battlefield 6 betas. However, not all game modes mentioned during the BF6 multiplayer reveal were made available during the betas, and this list doesn’t include the single-player campaign or the yet-to-be-confirmed ‘Battle Royale’ mode.

Conquest is one of the classic Battlefield game modes, and the home of all-out warfare across large-scale maps with 64 players, 32 to each team. Here, snipers can take up embedded positions with vehicles available for movement around the battlefield. Tanks, jets, helicopters, and machine-gun-mounted off-road vehicles are available. 

This is a mode where matches usually take 20-30 minutes. Teams need to capture and hold the majority of the six flags, labelled from A to F. One team’s HQ is near A, and the other is near F, meaning you’re guaranteed a head-on collision in the early game. That’s before tactical holding and reinforcing of points, and desperate attempts to sneak past to unguarded flags to turn the tables can be attempted.

Both teams start with 1,000 points, and capturing and holding flags depletes the other team’s points. Ultimately, despite the chaos on the battlefield, the objective is to reduce the enemy team’s points to zero, which is why flag-holding and strategic plans to capture them are key. Spawn on flags you hold…or squad members when they’re out of combat, and get those flags back with the vehicles that come with them.

The BF6 beta had open-weapon and closed-weapon conquest options, the latter restricting specific weapons to classes (like sniper rifles for the Recon class). The open-weapon option removed this restriction, meaning you could, for example, snipe as the Support class if you wanted. It’s unclear if both options will make it to full release.  

A highlight mode for many players in the beta, Breakthrough is another ‘large-scale’ mode where select vehicles are available. Here, two teams of 24 battle each other as teams fight to control two flags at the same time. If the attackers gain control, their numbers are boosted. But if the defenders can keep one flag, the attackers can be thwarted. 

As the defenders attempt to hold off the advancing team, the attackers’ numbers become depleted, and should they reach zero, the defenders win. However, this tense and dramatic game mode requires relentless attempts to attack and defend during the 20 to 40-minute game time. 

For the attackers, a last-ditch assault can capture two flags with the defenders pushed back to defend two further points against a refreshed attacking team. The ultimate goal for the attackers is to push through to the enemy base, meaning smoke, covering fire, and coordinated teamwork are essential in splitting and supporting advances. 

Although this mode was largely ‘open-weapons’ in the beta, a closed-weapon Breakthrough mode was also made available during the second weekend of the BF6 beta.

The final ‘large-scale’ map mode available for Battlefield 6, Rush pits two teams of 12 against each other, where the focus is on ‘securing’ progressive M-Com points, which attackers need to reach and plant a bomb to destroy. Both points A and B need to be destroyed before progression to the next points, as the defenders attempt to protect and defuse.

This game mode is a classic for Battlefield, but 12v12 is a smaller-scale environment than many fans are used to, despite the ‘large-scale’ maps BF6 uses for the shifting Rush warfare. For those keen on Rush from older BF titles, 24 players is small, missing the point of the hectic, large-scale warfare (and ALL vehicles!) used to reach the objectives. Yes, all vehicles, including jets.

Briefly, this writer has vivid memories of being taken by helicopter to deploy, parachute, smoke the life out of an M-Com, cut the parachute, and land into smoky mayhem to attempt to plant a bomb…which was super rewarding when it paid off. BF6 Rush follows the same theory, but is very much ground-based with smaller teams at the time of this article. Fun and chaotic, but for some players, it misses some…scale.

A small-scale multiplayer Battlefield 6 mode, Domination is a 16-player (8v8) game mode where three flags, A, B, and C, are fought over, without the support of vehicles. Essentially, it’s a cut-down and more intensely focused Conquest-type mode in that way, with non-stop action and reflexes favoured more than slower-paced tactical thinking. 

Unlike Conquest, you can respawn immediately upon death, ramping up the pace as you attempt to hold the majority of the flags and reach the 300-point goal first. The more flags you have, the quicker the points go up, but if you have no flags, you’re in trouble; your points won’t increase until you capture one. 

This desperation can lead to frenetic and relentless assaults in a game mode designed to be quick to jump in and out of, given the speed of the matches. Certainly, Domination is one for FPS fans who prefer things fast and furious, but it’s not the only mode designed this way, since there’s one more left on our list. 

Imagine Domination, but with one moving flag. That’s King of the Hill, and it’s the most singularly-focused multiplayer mode available in Battlefield 6. There are no vehicles here, and once again, it’s two teams of eight fighting for victory. KOTH provides a singular flag, which will deliver one point per second when it’s not contested. If it is contested, all points are paused. 

That flag will remain in place for one minute before transporting itself to another nearby location, where the same can happen again. If your team fails to capture the flag at all, you don’t get any points, and if you or the enemy team is the only team gaining points, you’ll be winging your way to the 250 points requirement far quicker. 

This makes securing and clearing the active flag essential in this BF6 game mode, and it’s unlikely you’ll have to look far for enemies, given the concentrated nature of the gameplay. Not one for players preferring larger-scale warfare, where you can move around a map at will. Conversely, it is certainly a mode where a quick blast of action and adrenaline is guaranteed. 

The BF6 beta delivered a selection of game modes, but some were missing. We know that the single-player campaign is confirmed, but not a candidate for early testing. We also know that the unconfirmed Battle Royale mode was absent. But there are others we have in mind. 

During the BF6 multiplayer reveal, Team Deathmatch, Squad Deathmatch, and an ‘Escalation’ were confirmed. However, these were not included in the BF6 beta. Although it’s not hard to know what the Deathmatch modes will involve, we lack specifics. Meanwhile, Escalation is a mode that has some speculation around it.

In a Reddit post on the game mode, some fans believe it could be similar to the Operations mode from BF1, where two to three maps are linked, with subsequent maps unlocked if attackers are successful in controlling the first. A further theory is that BF6’s Escalation will be similar to Conquest Ascension and Control from BF 2042. 

In that mode, transports are available to start, with specific objectives and actions allowing vehicle support. Right now, though, the specifics remain to be seen or revealed. So we’ll have to wait and see what further tricks and treats Battlefield 6’s modes have to offer. 

At the time of writing, we’ve seen five of Battlefield 6’s game modes, with plenty of variety, and some notes from fans on the positive and…less positive aspects of each. There’s plenty of warfare to choose from, from classic modes to refined and smaller-scale battles across a variety of maps. 

We don’t doubt that BF6 has plenty more to offer in the modes we’ve yet to see. Not to mention, the confirmed single-player campaign and long-rumoured Battle Royale mode have yet to break cover. These will surely bring added value to the multifaceted approaches to destructive victory we’ve already seen.