The launch of Battlefield 6 has already given fans plenty to explore, but one of the strangest surprises they might find comes in the form of the game's character cosmetics. Customization options are sparse in ways that feel confusing at best and regressive at worst, the most obvious example being that a soldier's gender is now tied to specific characters and classes. That seems more like an oversight than an intentional design direction for Battlefield 6, and, frankly, it's not the only one.
By default, players can no longer have the option to choose the gender of their chosen class's operator. Players can still unlock male and female-appearing skins on both sides through various gameplay challenges, but they aren't available at the start, and there is one glaring omission: NATO's support class, which launched without a male-appearing option. DICE has confirmed one will be added later, but that omission and those default restrictions are representative of the many reasons Battlefield 6's customization system feels less impressive than one of its predecessors.
Battlefield 6's Customization: Specialists, Squads, Omissions, and Restrictions
For context, Battlefield 6's campaign and multiplayer experiences are divided between two factions in the lore: NATO and Pax Armata. The multiplayer customization comes in the form of six distinct squads, three for each faction. Each team includes four unique characters for each of the four Battlefield 6 classes.
NATO
- Coyote Squad (US)
- United Albion (UK)
- Desert Locusts (Egypt)
Pax Armata
- Fireteam Vedmak
- Espada
- Kahina Unité
That's neat from a narrative standpoint, but the obvious downside is that the new options are rigid, and some pretty basic ones are missing entirely. Battlefield 6 improves over Battlefield 5 in many ways, which only makes this downgrade to personalization feel all the more puzzling.
Interestingly enough, Battlefield 5 was the best of the franchise in this regard. Through its version of the loadout system, called The Company, players had a wide range of cosmetic customization options on offer. In fact, none of this new system's issues would exist if the studio had stuck with Battlefield 5's customization.
Battlefield 6's Confusing Step Back From Battlefield 5
Battlefield V
Battlefield 5's loadout system allowed players to personalize soldiers in much more detail, with cosmetics that had rarities running from Common to Legendary. Most importantly, players could select either gender for any class and fine-tune outfits piece by piece. This level of control gave the game a sense of ownership and expression that has now been stripped away.
By comparison, Battlefield 6's factions have earnable specific specialists with set voices and backstories, a few player models, and some additional earnable colorways. The new narrative element is admirable in theory, but the feature doesn't seem like a very confident addition. Subsequently, locking customization into narrower lanes is likewise not exactly a fair trade.
Each specialist in Battlefield 6 has a unique backstory, but they're buried so deeply in the menus that most players likely don't even realize they exist.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
