Battlefield 6 Update 1.4.2.5 patch notes

What changed

• CHANGEHelicopter minigunsverified

  Helicopter miniguns can hit soldiers in the water again

  Helicopter miniguns can damage soldiers in the water again, so swimming no longer protects you from them.

  Swimming no longer makes you immune to minigun fire from the air.

  • EA lists this under Vehicles in the 1.4.2.5 changelog: helicopter miniguns can now damage enemy soldiers who are in the water. Water became a real lane in Season 4 with Tsuru Reef and the return of naval warfare, and until this update a soldier who entered the water could not be hurt by that weapon.
  • EA does not publish damage figures for the restored behaviour.

  TipUntil this update a soldier in the water could not be hurt by that weapon, so the surface worked as a way to break off from a helicopter. It does not now. Treat open water as exposed ground and put a boat hull or the swell between you and the air rather than relying on the water itself.

  Official source
• CHANGEEOD Bot Armverified

  EOD Bot Arm reclassified as a light melee weapon

  The EOD Bot Arm now counts as a light melee weapon, so you run faster with it out, but it cannot destroy things the way heavy melee weapons can.

  EA now classes it as light melee: the faster run speed, without heavy melee destruction.

  • EA lists this under Gadgets in the 1.4.2.5 changelog: the EOD Bot Arm has been adjusted to function as a light melee weapon, providing the faster run speed benefit without the destruction capability of heavy melee weapons.
  • The weapon was added in Season 3 High-Value Target. EA publishes no speed or damage figures for either melee class, and does not spell out what the weapon's profile was before this change.

  TipThis is a trade, not an upgrade. EA says the arm now gives the light melee run speed benefit without the destruction capability of heavy melee weapons, so if you want that destruction a heavy melee weapon is the tool for it. EA publishes no speed or damage figures for either class.

  Official source
• FIXLaser designationverified

  Laser designation works on the new jets in Carrier Strike

  Laser designation now works correctly on the F/A-81F Super Spectre and F-74A Seacat jets in Carrier Strike.

  The two Top Gun jets can be designated properly during Carrier Strike.

  • EA lists this under Vehicles in the 1.4.2.5 changelog: laser designation now works correctly on the F/A-81F Super Spectre and F-74A Seacat while playing Carrier Strike. Both jets and the Carrier Strike mode arrived with the Top Gun update in August.
  • EA states the fix for Carrier Strike specifically, does not say the behaviour was wrong in other modes, and does not say how designation was behaving on those two jets before this fix.

  TipThis is the counterplay to the Top Gun jets. EA says designation now works correctly on both of them in Carrier Strike, so the designator is worth carrying in that mode, and if you fly either jet there expect to be designated.

  Official source
• CHANGEMatch Triggerverified

  Match Trigger no longer changes full auto on the BROD and EF88

  The Match Trigger attachment no longer changes how the BROD and EF88 behave in fully automatic fire.

  The attachment stops affecting fully automatic fire on the BROD and EF88.

  • EA lists this under Weapons in the 1.4.2.5 changelog: the Match Trigger attachment no longer affects fully automatic fire on the BROD and EF88. EA names those two weapons and no others, and does not say what the attachment was doing to automatic fire or what it does now.

  TipIf you built either of those rifles around the Match Trigger since Season 4, re-test the build before you rely on it. EA names no replacement and no figures, so the honest move is to fire it on a range rather than assume the rest of the build carries it.

  Official source
• FIXSupportverified

  Support can ping downed team mates properly

  Support players can now ping downed teammates correctly.

  The ping a Support uses to mark a downed team mate now works correctly.

  • EA lists this under Player in the 1.4.2.5 changelog: Support players can now ping downed teammates correctly. EA does not describe what the ping was doing before.

  TipIf you play Support, the ping is how your squad learns you have seen them and are coming. It is worth using again now that it lands, rather than relying on the downed player calling it out in voice.

  Official source
• CHANGEGrenade warning indicatorsverified

  Grenade warnings stay on screen when the grenade is out of view

  Grenade warning indicators now stay pinned to the edge of your screen when the grenade is out of view, so you can still tell where it is.

  The indicator now sticks to the screen edge instead of disappearing.

  • EA lists this under Gadgets in the 1.4.2.5 changelog: grenade warning indicators now remain at the edge of the screen when the grenade is outside the player's view. EA does not describe what the indicator did before, only that it now persists at the screen edge in the case where the grenade is out of sight.

  TipRead the side the marker sits on and move away from it. A grenade outside your view now keeps a marker at the edge of the screen rather than that marker not persisting.

  Official source
• GF

  FIXGauntlet: Fighter Sweepverified

  Gauntlet: Fighter Sweep now limits squads to two players

  Gauntlet: Fighter Sweep, the jets-only REDSEC mode, now correctly limits squads to two players.

  The jets-only REDSEC mode enforces its intended two player squads.

  • EA lists this under REDSEC Map and Modes in the 1.4.2.5 changelog: Gauntlet: Fighter Sweep now correctly limits squads to two players. EA's wording makes the two player limit the intended behaviour rather than a new restriction. The mode arrived with the Top Gun update as a jets-only REDSEC mode.

  TipQueue as a pair rather than a full squad. Four player squads are now held to the mode two player limit, which EA calls the correct behaviour.

  Official source
• FIXWake Islandverified

  Wake Island AI defenders stop sailing out of the combat area

  On Wake Island in Breakthrough, AI defenders using boats in Sector 3 no longer sail out of the combat area and get eliminated.

  Boat-using AI defenders in Breakthrough no longer leave and die.

  • EA lists this under AI in the 1.4.2.5 changelog: AI defenders using boats in Sector 3 of Breakthrough on Wake Island no longer leave the combat area and are eliminated. Wake Island returned in the Top Gun update with naval vehicles, and the defending AI had been taking boats past the map boundary and removing itself from the fight.

  TipIf you played Breakthrough on Wake Island since Top Gun and found Sector 3 oddly thin on defenders, that was this. Expect the sector to actually be held now and plan the boat approach accordingly.

  Official source
• PC

  FIXPortal Custom Lobbiesverified

  Portal Custom Lobby Start tile stays responsive

  The Start tile in Portal Custom Lobbies now keeps working after you open Lobby Settings or the Pause menu during the countdown.

  Opening Lobby Settings during the countdown no longer kills the Start tile.

  • EA lists this under Portal in the 1.4.2.5 changelog: the Start tile now remains responsive after opening Lobby Settings or the Pause menu while the lobby countdown is active. EA calls out Custom Lobby reliability as one of the update's three highlights. Custom Lobbies shipped with the Top Gun update as an early implementation, and EA has continued patching them since.

  TipYou can now open Lobby Settings or the Pause menu during the countdown and the Start tile keeps responding. If you host, that removes the reason to have everything configured before you start the timer.

  Official source
• UA

  CHANGEUI and HUDverified

  Black screens after a match reduced, end of round cleaned up

  Black screens after a match should happen less often, though they are not fully fixed; placeholder squad names and icons no longer show in the End of Round Top Squad presentation, and the Featured Event tab now appears correctly.

  Three menu fixes, and EA is explicit that the black screen is not fully solved.

  • EA groups three items under UI and HUD in the 1.4.2.5 changelog. It has addressed several causes of black screens after finishing a match and switching from the Event tab to the lobby, and says this should reduce how often the issue occurs while it continues investigating remaining occurrences. Placeholder squad names and icons no longer appear during the Top Squad presentation at End of Round. The Featured Event tab now appears correctly in the menus.

  TipThe black screen is reduced, not fixed, and EA says so itself. If you still hit one after a match, it is a known open issue worth reporting rather than something wrong with your install.

  Official source
• S

  FIXStabilityverified

  Server performance around water improved, Xbox Series S hang fixed

  Servers should run better around water, and the game no longer stops responding on Xbox Series S after you leave a multiplayer match.

  Two stability fixes, one for water processing and one for Xbox Series S.

  • EA groups two items under Stability in the 1.4.2.5 changelog.
  • Server performance around water has been improved by reducing unnecessary water-related processing. And the game no longer becomes unresponsive on Xbox Series S after returning from active Multiplayer gameplay. EA publishes no performance figures for either.

  TipIf you dropped Tsuru Reef or Wake Island because rounds felt rough near the water, this is the change to re-test them on. On Xbox Series S the hang after leaving a match is the one worth checking first.

  Official source
• PI

  CHANGEParty invitesverified

  Party invites can be accepted from the splash screen

  You can now join a party by accepting an invite while you are still on the splash screen.

  You no longer have to be past the splash screen to join a party.

  • EA lists this under Player in the 1.4.2.5 changelog: players can now join a Party by accepting an invite while on the splash screen. EA does not say what happened to an invite accepted there before.

  TipSmall one, but it removes a step when a squad is waiting on you. Accept on the way in rather than loading to the menu first and then finding the invite.

  Official source
• FIXCombat Training POIverified

  Combat Training POI no longer leaves visual artefacts

  Destroying structures at the Combat Training POI no longer leaves visual artefacts behind.

  Destroying structures there stops leaving visual artefacts behind.

  • EA lists this under REDSEC Map and Modes in the 1.4.2.5 changelog: destroying structures at the Combat Training POI no longer leaves visual artefacts.

  TipEA does not say what the artefacts looked like, only that destroying structures at that POI no longer leaves them behind. If you saw odd leftovers there after a demolition, this is that fix.

  Official source