This week saw the start of Battlefield 6 Season 2, with the first of its three updates — Extreme Measures — bringing the new Contaminated map to Electronic Arts’ large-scale combined arms multiplayer FPS, along with a limited time game mode that covers several of its objective points with hallucinogenic gas, the Little Bird scout helicopter, and a handful of new weapons and gadgets to take into the fight.
The new mode’s gas mask gimmick is far less interesting than Season 1’s Winter Offensive “Ice Lock” mode, and I can’t speak to the quality of the new weapons since they require battle pass progress I haven’t made yet. I have been grinding Conquest, Breakthrough, and Escalation on Contaminated, though, and have managed to spam-click the Little Bird spawn node enough to fly it pretty frequently.
I’ll start with Contaminated, which takes place at a NATO communications base captured by Pax Armata that’s tucked within one of Germany’s alpine mountain ranges. Longtime Battlefield players will instantly be reminded of Battlefield 1’s Monte Grappa — and like Monte Grappa, Contaminated sports a valley-like layout, complete with long open plateaus of high ground with denser, cover-filled points on the low ground between them. The central objective is a large, heavily fortified tunnel with pathways that lead players towards the outer objectives.
Tanks and snipers are at their strongest on the elevated edges of the map where they’re able to take advantage of long sightlines and natural cover from return fire, while infantry are better suited to the tighter, narrower chokepoints and pathways in the valley itself. Both vehicles and infantry shine in the tunnel, with armor able to flush out soldiers hiding in it and anti-tank Engineers able to counter them by flanking them with RPGs using a few underground escape routes.
The helicopters present on Contaminated — attack helicopters as well as the new Little Bird — have a healthy amount of space to maneuver around in, with high mountains and low forests around the outskirts of the map giving pilots cover to use while avoiding missile locks and setting up strafing runs. A lone anti-aircraft gun sits on D, the elevated point that’s the farthest one away from each team’s HQ, but skilled pilots can use terrain to mask bombing runs on it.
All in all, the map is incredibly well-balanced and flows wonderfully, and though it’s not as big as some other maps in terms of raw size, it feels like one of the largest maps in Battlefield 6 because of its verticality. It’s become an instant favorite of mine.
The Little Bird, too, is an excellent addition to the game. Featuring a smaller, more agile frame compared to other helicopters as well as dual miniguns and light rockets, it trades durability and raw firepower for speed and some truly wild maneuverability. Its weaponry is devastating against infantry and light vehicles like jeeps, though since focused small arms fire can destroy it fairly fast, pilots can’t linger in one place too long.
It also comes equipped with a thermal camera just like the one the Recon class’ drone gadget has that a second player can use to spot enemy targets, and a choice between a target designator or a directional jammer that can prevent missile lock-ons against the helicopter as long as it’s activated (using it too long will cause an overheat). As with the transport heli, it has a pair of passenger seats as well.
Though it’s very disadvantaged against attack helicopters in a direct one-on-one fight, the Little Bird’s superior agility lets you fly circles around them if you manage to approach them from a flanking angle. That matchup leads to some very exciting dogfights, especially if both pilots are fairly skilled.
Ultimately, the quantity of Season 2’s content is disappointing — previous Battlefield games have released four maps in the time it’s taking Battlefield Studios to drop two — but so far, I’ve very much enjoyed the quality of it. Even though Season 2 hasn’t done much to improve Battlefield 6’s player count, there are some great new things for those still enjoying the bombastic FPS.
Are you enjoying Battlefield 6 Season 2?
How about you — are you enjoying Battlefield 6 Season 2’s new content like the Contaminated map and the Little Bird? If not, how come? Has what we’ve gotten brought you back to the game if you stopped playing? Let me know in the comments.
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