Battlefield 6’s second beta weekend kicks off today, with EA making some playlist and matchmaking tweaks

The dawn of the second Battlefield 6 open beta weekend is here. Before it got underway, EA made a few tweaks based on feedback from last week’s bout of FPSing about, with the headliners being some playlist changes and the introduction of custom match searching.

It’s no massive reinventing of the big battlewheel, but hopefully should make a positive impact on the time folks have in this bit of the beta, which sees the Empire State map debut alongside week one’s offerings. Rush and squad deathmatch modes are also joining the fray.

With the great entry bell for this second beta weekend having just tolled at 9AM BST on August 14th, EA snuck out a post last night revealing these “learnings and changes.” The playlist rejigs are, I suspect, the bit you’ll care most about, with the devs aiming to deliver “more variety and choice” by having more playlists rotate between different modes.

The example given is the All-Out Warfare playlist, which includes Breakthrough, Conquest, and Rush modes for this second weekend. “Rotating through multiple modes within playlists helps us understand what our community enjoys as we shape the launch experience, and enables us to keep more fan-favorite modes available at the same time,” EA explained. There’s a full rundown of which modes you can expect in playlists at different times across the four days of the beta weekend in that post, so peruse at your leisure.

The custom search feature, meanwhile, lets you pick your desired map and mode combos before you start matchmaking, with the game then endeavouring to stick you in a session that mirrors your choices. That’s provided such a gun-filled Goldilocks zone is currently out there, and has a free spot. EA also insist that it’s “not a server browser,” thank you very much. It’ll be on offer for open weapon mode playlists during the beta.

Also worth noting is that the training grounds, an initiation mode, and a run-through of of how Rush matches work will be on offer for newbies this weekend, so no worries if this is your first chance to jump into the Battlefield beta.

Time will tell whether the entry queues will be a bit less huge at the outset, or that the other initial teething issues were all whacked on the head during that first weekend. In any case, don’t forget to enable secure boot if necessary. If it helps, picture that old DVD piracy warning blaring out the words ‘you wouldn’t do a cheating.’