Battlefield 6's clunky helicopters in the firing line for a "large tuning pass"

The Battlefield 6 beta dominated my life last weekend, and I'm very much looking forward to doing it all over again come Thursday. Despite not being the finished product, BF6 already feels like a return to form for the series after the disappointment of Battlefield 2042. There are still some kinks to iron out, though, and for me one of the biggest is helicopters. I'm by no means a wizard with Battlefield's air vehicles, but helis felt rather hard to control and not very impactful when playing on the larger Liberation Peak map. I'm not alone in that analysis, either. Hearing the feedback, one of Battlefield 6's top devs has confirmed that a "large tuning pass" on helicopters is on the way, but it won't be ready for the final stint of the beta.

With more maps and modes, the second stage of the Battlefield 6 beta is set to be even bigger (and hopefully better) than the first, despite the high bar. Then it'll be a matter of a few weeks before the full Battlefield 6 release date arrives, when we'll really be able to see if it can fight for a place on our best FPS games list. However, all good Battlefield games need strong vehicular gameplay, and while tanks and jets feel great in Battlefield 6, the same can't be said for helicopters right now. Some are content with the beta's control scheme and how helis feel to maneuver, but for many, it's not hitting the spot. While these momentum-swinging vehicles should never be easy to pilot, there still needs to be a level of accessibility.

In response to a community question about switching back to Battlefield 4's helicopter gameplay, BF6's lead producer David Sirland says that "there is no 'revert' [planned] but a large pass on helicopter flight is in progress and coming after beta for testing."

Further clarifying this, Sirland says this is a "large tuning pass, as in we've looked at many parts of the flight model, taken a pass to move it based on feedback and our own goals from where we were at in beta."

So, no exact details, but a suggestion that the efficacy of helicopters and how they behave in the air is being targeted.

Unfortunately, as Sirland mentions, these tweaks won't be available in the beta's second weekend, but it sounds like we will be seeing the changes when BF6 launches on Friday, October 10.

If, like me, you're planning on jumping back into the beta this weekend (or you're going to give it a go for the first time), check out our guides on the best Battlefield 6 classes and best Battlefield 6 weapons.

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