Developer Battlefield Studios has announced some impactful changes coming to its military shooter, Battlefield 6. This includes new content like an additional limited-time mode and weapon, as well as adjustments to how revives work so you can’t spam them anymore.
In an update post on the official Battlefield 6 website, the developer outlined all the changes coming to the game on April 14. There are quite a few additions and adjustments in the works, but the one that’s catching the most eyes within the patch notes is a tweak to Defibrillators. When Battlefield 6 launched, you could essentially spam the Defibrillator to revive your teammates without any risk. When Update 1.2.3.0 lands next week, this revive mechanic will be reverted to how it worked in previous Battlefield titles.
With Update 1.2.3.0, instead of unlimited Defibrillator charges, you’ll start with three for quick revives before recharging the device. Depending on how long you charge your Defibrillator determines how much health is restored, with 50% giving you about half your health and 100% replenishing your entire health bar. There will be a UI indicator letting you know your charge progress, too; that way, you aren’t just guessing or using it too early.
“This update brings a meaningful balance pass to the Defibrillator, aimed at improving game flow and overall combat pacing while keeping revives impactful and rewarding,” the team wrote. “After reviewing its behavior over the past few months, we found it was too easy to revive multiple teammates in quick succession with minimal risk. Our goal is to preserve those clutch moments where you can get your squad back on their feet quickly, while encouraging more deliberate use.”
This change recalls previous entries in the series, like Battlefield 4 or Battlefield 2042, where the Defibrillator came with more intentional usage. As the developer explained in the post, these Defibrillator charges are restored every four seconds, with a 0.35-second charge required before you can revive anyone. And like previous games, you can also kill players with the Defibrillator if it’s fully charged. Even if it’s not, you can still do some damage depending on how charged your device is, as the pain scales with the charge level.
Below is a breakdown of the imminent Defibrillator changes as part of the patch notes for Update 1.2.3.0:
- Added a progress crosshair UI while charging.
- Damage now scales from 50 to 100 based on charge level, in 10-point increments.
- Fixed cases where downed soldiers could not be revived when pressed into corners or when lying on stairs.
- Full charge time has been increased to 1 second from 0.65 seconds.
- Fully charged shocks now deal 100 damage again, up from 60.
- Now use 3 charges that regenerate over time, with 1 charge restored every 4 seconds.
- Now requires a 0.35 second charge before a revive can be performed.
- The rate of fire is slightly reduced.
- Revives now restore between 50 and 100 health based on charge level, in 10-point increments.
- Updated deploy timing so charging can begin faster after selecting the gadget.
Elsewhere in Update 1.2.3.0 is the new The Ripper 14″, a “fast, direct, and unforgiving” blade for getting up-close-and-personal, as well as the Operation Augur limited-time mod, which starts on the larger Contaminated map and then descends into the claustrophobic Hagental Base. This update is quite massive and comes with a whole smattering of adjustments and additions for Battlefield 6.
Battlefield 6 might have been a massive success for EA when it launched last October; however, the publisher recently slashed the Battlefield Studios staff as part of a “realignment” to better address the community’s needs. Despite the desire to cater to its community, EA has no plans to speed up the time it takes to do things like release new maps because quality maps take time.
