Battlefield 6 - Hands-on with the new Escalation game mode

Finally there's a Battlefield mode that has been designed for those of us who actually play the objective. It's called Escalation, and we've played it.

Battlefield 6 - Hands-on with the new Escalation game mode
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TL;DR: Battlefield 6 introduces Escalation, a fast-paced, intensified variant of the classic Conquest mode, featuring dynamic capture point mechanics and escalating intensity. This new mode offers a fresh yet familiar objective-based experience on large maps, enhancing multiplayer variety and appealing to players who prioritize strategic team play.

Battlefield 6 has always had a variety of modes, but the series' bread-and-butter has always been Conquest played out on large maps with 64 players. Divided into two teams of 32, various squads roam the, well, Battlefield, capturing points and taking down enemies on foot, inside a vehicle, or in the sky.

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Battlefield 6's brand-new game mode, joining Conquest and Breakthrough, is called Escalation, and during a recent multiplayer preview session where we got to check out two new maps - Mirak Valley and Operation Firestorm - we got the chance to experience all three modes to see how they stack up in terms of variety.

The best way to sum up how Escalation plays is to say that it's a spin on Conquest that doesn't stray too far from the formula - it's basically Conquest Remixed. It's a little faster because the intensity increases and ramps up throughout the duration of a round, and the focus on capturing and holding points plays into Battlefield's strengths.

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How it works is pretty simple. Taking Mirak Valley as an example, when an Escalation round starts, you have the same two teams, but now there are seven capture points to capture and contest instead of five. Instead of holding the majority of capture points and slowly reducing your enemy team's ticket counter (alongside kills), in Escalation, keeping the majority of points slowly increases a bar; once it hits 100%, your team scores a single point. In Escalation, the first team to three points wins. However, after points are scored, the number of capture points decreases, ramping up the intensity.

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Is it fun to play? Yes, and it's a great alternative to Conquest. The only downside is that it plays it a little safe and feels more like "Conquest but more chaotic when it's a close round," than its own thing. It isn't Rush or Breakthrough, but as a companion to Conquest, it could end up being one of Battlefield 6's most popular modes. Well, for those of us who actually play the objective.