After a solid five hours with Battlefield 6's new content coming in Season 1, I can say with absolute certainty that it's the maps you should be most excited for. The new guns are cool—we only had access to those in the first phase, so the SOR-300SC carbine, Mini Scout sniper, and GGH-22 pistol—but the Blackwell Fields and Eastwood maps are, simply put, wonderful.
This is, by far, the most intense yet breathable map in Battlefield 6, but what struck me is how instantly iconic it felt.
Battlefield 6's maps have been controversial since the very beginning, to say the least. Of its launch offerings, I think Siege of Cairo is fantastic (as is the returning Operation Firestorm), and I'm open to Manhattan Bridge and Liberation Peak, and even New Sobek City when people aren't abusing the rooftops. But other than Cairo, I wouldn't say any of these arenas are all that memorable or iconic.
If you've instead been waiting for more of the large-scale warfare that the series is traditionally known for, then Season 1 will be a salve. Already, we're getting two large maps in Blackwell Fields and Eastwood. Both maps support ground and air vehicles, though only Blackwell Fields features jets.
Blackwell Fields is set in the California badlands, and although it's quite rectangular and narrow, there's a good distance between all six Conquest flags, allowing vehicles to roam and shootouts to break out over its hills and trenches.
Then there's Eastwood, a large California suburb that has everything from dense urban neighbourhoods to wide roads, and even a golf course (with drivable golf carts, no less). This is, by far, the most intense yet breathable map in Battlefield 6, but what struck me is how instantly iconic it felt.
At one point, I jumped onto the golf club building (C flag on Conquest) to get a vantage point over the course when an enemy helicopter came crashing down through the roof, lodging itself inside and opening up the building. Then, moments later, I was inside a friendly transport heli as we rained down gunfire and dropshipped troops into a cloister of houses near the enemy base.
You've got these tight suburban streets around the A and, especially, B flag, the open golf course at the back of C, but the more covered car park area out front, with hills leading up to small buildings at D and E. There's plenty of open space above and below the middle of the map to flank around to the two points closer to either team's spawns, and more than enough vehicles to do so. Oddly, it got me thinking about our own Morgan Park's recent breakdown of Battlefield 6's surprisingly well-designed smallest map.
It might not look huge after a cursory glance at the map screen, but the diverse locations and well-designed space between each point certainly make it feel more spacious and accommodating to infantry, ground vehicles, and troop-transport helicopters.
The only issue is that the best map, Eastwood, isn't arriving until Season 1 Phase 2, California Resistance, on Tuesday, November 18. It's only Blackwell Fields that arrives alongside the launch of Season 1 on October 28, so that means I'll have to wait an unbearable 27 days until I'm back in Eastwood.
