Battlefield 6 Delivers A Focused Update With Big Implications For Melee And Jet Combat

After a month and a half of silence, the first update of the new year for Battlefield 6 is scheduled to arrive on January 20. The developers at BF Studios have framed Update 1.1.3.5 as “a smaller set of focused improvements aimed at polish and consistency,” and here’s the patch notes list.

The update targets some long-standing points of contention within the community, specifically the balance of jet combat and the reliability of melee attacks. These changes arrive while players continue to wait for new content, following the news that Season 2 has been postponed.

Going into the extended Season 1, I see that aerial combat will feel noticeably different. The cannon damage from jets against other air vehicles has been significantly reduced. It will now require approximately 40% more hits to destroy an enemy jet or helicopter. This change is clearly aimed at addressing the feeling that dogfights ended too quickly, though there is still no sign of the dedicated air radar that was promised to arrive sometime after the launch of Season 1. Melee combat, another area players have found frustrating, is also getting a wide-ranging pass. Since the game’s launch in October, players have reported inconsistent hit registration with knives and the sledgehammer. This patch aims to improve the overall responsiveness, damage consistency, and sprint behavior for close-quarters combat. Now, sprinting is only interrupted until the melee attack connects, not for the entire animation, which should make it feel more fluid.

Other smaller, but welcome, adjustments are being made. The Assault Ladder should now behave more predictably, fixing issues where players could be launched across the map or were unable to mount a ladder positioned above them. These quality-of-life fixes come as the game’s first season, which began on October 28, has been extended. The community had been anticipating news on Season 2, but on January 13, BF Studios announced the next season would be delayed until February 17. In the meantime, Season 1 will continue with smaller updates like this one to address gameplay issues. On a related note, it was also recently announced that Julian Gerighty, former lead on The Division at Ubisoft, has joined the BF Studios team at DICE, though what his role will be is not yet public. For now, this small update is what players have to carry them through the next few weeks.

Battlefield 6 Season 1 Update 1.1.3.5 Patch Notes:

The update will be available on Tuesday, January 20, at 9 AM UTC (1 AM PDT, 4 AM EDT, 10 AM CET).

Major Updates for 1.1.3.5

• Improved responsiveness, consistency, and sprint behavior for melee attacks, including knives and the sledgehammer.
• Updated jet combat balance by reducing jet cannon effectiveness against other air vehicles.
• Updated and refined the UI and HUD across Multiplayer and REDSEC, improving armor bar visibility, reticle presentation, and menu navigation.

CHANGELOG

VEHICLES:

• Fixed an issue where vehicles could explode when a takedown was performed on an enemy soldier lying on top of them.
• Reduced jet cannon damage against other jets and helicopters, requiring approximately 40% more hits to destroy enemy air targets.

WEAPONS:

• Bipod attachments no longer display as always providing a hipfire accuracy bonus, as this bonus only applies while the bipod is deployed.
• Fixed an issue where the GRIM 1.50x optic on the DB-12 cost fewer loadout points than intended (15 instead of 25).
• Fixed an issue where the RPKM iron sights would shoot low when using the short barrel.
• Fixed an issue where the TR-7 Light Barrel incorrectly improved muzzle velocity.
• Fixed bipod mount input behaviour for Alternate, Lefty Alternate, Southpaw, and Legacy Southpaw presets so the bipod mount now follows the melee button.
• Improved attack speed for knife melee attacks.
• Improved buffering behaviour for knife and sledgehammer attacks.
• Improved consistency of melee damage timing against enemies and the environment.
• Improved consistency of recoil modifiers when using a controller across different weapons.
• Improved how sprint is interrupted when performing melee attacks. Sprint is now only interrupted until the attack reaches its target, rather than for the full duration of the animation.
• In the Firing Range, target dummies can now take damage while in the process of getting back up.
• Shooting with a suppressor now emits a small muzzle flash when viewed from close range only.

GADGETS:

• Fixed an issue where the GDPIS was not destroyed when targeted by the XFGM-6D Recon Drone, Defibrillators, or the Repair Tool.
• Fixed an issue where the Sniper Decoy did not properly hide scope glints from nearby snipers.

Assault Ladder

• Fixed an issue where ladders positioned above the player could not be entered.
• Fixed an issue where soldiers could be launched unexpectedly when attempting to enter a ladder.
• Improved the soldier animations while climbing ladders.

UI & HUD:

• Added a new option allowing players to customize the reticle colour inside weapon and gadget scopes.
• Fixed an issue where home screen focus navigation could become locked to the bulletin.
• Fixed cases where weapon menus displayed incorrect Reload Time stats for LMGs.
• Soldier lightning improvements to the front-end
• Improved front-end lighting to enhance the visual quality of soldier characters.
• The Reticle Colour option now correctly updates reticle colours for Thermal Scopes and other supported gadgets.

VFX & Video:

• Adjusted explosion particle effects by lowering the shockwave force.

REDSEC

WEAPONS:

• Fixed an issue where jump landing movement speed reduction behaved inconsistently in REDSEC compared to other multiplayer experiences.

MAP & MODES:

• Fixed an edge case in Gauntlet mode “Data Extraction” where the drone could disappear permanently if drives were deposited at the exact moment it landed.

UI & HUD:

Battle Royale

• Fixed an issue where the armor bar could disappear intermittently.
• Fixed an issue where the Airburst Incendiary Launcher icon appeared as a grenade in the loot feed.

Gauntlet

• Fixed an issue where the armor bar could disappear after quickly editing a loadout.