Battlefield 6 Nightfall Mode Guide

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Nightfall Mode Overview
  • Shedding Light on the Darkness Feature
  • Know Your Map - Hagental Base
• Top Five Tips

Time to strike from the shadows.

Hagental Base is the featured map in Season 2 Nightfall, where squads must plunge beneath the surface and prepare for gripping underground close-quarters combat. In the Nightfall Multiplayer event playlist, the lights are out and the hunt is on: a power failure has plunged most of the base into pitch black darkness, requiring the use of NVGs and flashlights to navigate, making the darkness your secret weapon to use against enemy forces.

Stay close to your squad and move with precision, caution, and strategy - here’s how to survive Hagental Base under Nightfall.

Nightfall Mode Overview

Within the Nightfall playlist, squads can compete in a mix of Team Deathmatch, Squad Deathmatch, and Domination matches on Hagental Base. All matches will take place with Nightfall’s Darkness modifier active.

Shedding Light on the Darkness Feature

The Darkness modifier cuts most of Hagental Base’s lights out; your survival during Nightfall depends on your ability to see through the dark…

In summary, these are all the methods that grant the ability to see through darkness, including their benefits and risks:

Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) Gadget

BENEFITS: Cuts through darkness completely. Available to all Classes regardless of loadout.

RISKS: Light sources blind vision through NVGs. Limited battery life that recharges when not in use (or with Support Class features, such as Supply Bags and a passive recharging buff). Must be manually put on when spawning in initially or when respawning after a death, as well as manually taken off. Compared to the Gauntlet version of Nightfall, the NVGs in Multiplayer modes have a much shorter battery life.

Recon Drone Thermal Sight

BENEFITS: Effectively cuts through darkness and allows for enemy marking. Light sources aren’t overblown (except in extreme cases, such as fires, that can blur objects together).

RISKS: Uses up a Recon Class Gadget slot, let alone being limited to the Recon Class.

Thermal Optic Attachments

BENEFITS: Effectively cuts through darkness; light sources aren’t overblown (except in extreme cases, such as fires, that can blur objects together).

RISKS: Can lead to “tunnel vision” by blocking movement outside of the optic. Uses additional Attachment Points compared to regular optics.

Flashlight Attachments

BENEFITS: Portable light source with unlimited power. Low attachment point cost in most cases.

RISKS: Visible by enemy.

Laser Attachments (Visible by Enemy)

BENEFITS: Varies by Laser; some offer hip-fire benefits, others allow for faster ADS.

RISKS: Can compromise your position, especially in low-light conditions within Hagental Base.

It’s your call on what combinations of gadgets and attachments to use in Nightfall, but remember that you are not alone. Your best asset is your squad, who can use another set of tools on this list to complement your own loadout and mitigate risks. For example, without even touching those NVGs, a Recon Drone operator can scout ahead for the squad while Assault soldier prepares to aim down the sights of a thermal scope into a long hallway, all while an Engineer carefully treks forward with a flashlight, primed to deliver a blinding light up close to counter the enemy’s thermal capabilities.

Above all else, Nightfall matches may lead to more tactical, methodical movements, which might be something to take into your traditional Battlefield modes if you tend to be downed often. Allowing for additional time to check darkened corners, noting where natural or artificial light seeps in, or listening for loud enemy footsteps can be differencemakers in a more tactical situation like the ones you’ll encounter here… But of course, these rules of engagement can lead to opposites prevailing: careful tactics can fly straight out the window - or crumbled walls and ceilings - when someone goes loud and proud with a smashmouth, explosive-laced punch.

You’ll know when it’s time to bring the noise instead of keeping a low profile, but it would also help to learn your surroundings:

Know Your Map - Hagental Base

By design, Hagental Base is built for a tactical infiltration or strategic defense, whether you squad up for NATO or Pax Armata who you swear allegiance to in the War of 2027.

All action funnels into the Central Tunnel, a wide loading area with a massive impact crater and wreckage throughout to be used as cover. Long-range weapon users, such as sniper rifles or LMGs, will find this tunnel - as well as the narrow and deep East / West Tunnels - incredible for their effective range. Close-quarters users will have to bounce between cover pieces and may feel more at home in areas like the Generator, Maintenance, Depot, and Server areas.

Throughout the base, look around to see unstable ceiling sections or walls between major areas. These are your keys to create new paths to victory: the destructible surfaces can collapse onto enemies and deliver the crushing blow when ballistics and explosions aren’t enough. Alternatively, breaking down those walls opens pathways towards critical objectives, especially within the intricate - but still easily navigable - tunnel network.

A map like Hagental Base leans heavily on infantry-based squad tactics. Think about ambushes in the corridors and playing to each Class’s strengths, which we have a quick suggestion for each:

ASSAULT- A third weapon never hurts in a combat situation. The amount of explosive and incendiary options don’t, either. For the latter, that fire is a temporary light resource, otherwise it’s certainly an intimidation factor. However, what stands out among the Gadget selection is the Deploy Beacon: already, an enemy squad can lose track of your allies in the dark, but adding an unexpected redeploy location into the mix could lead to greater confusion. It can also be helpful in a mode like Domination, where taking a more forward position near a contested objective can swing control in your favor.

ENGINEER - One word: explosives. If Hagental Base isn’t reduced to rubble by the middle of the match, then you may want to engineer a better strategy (surely this is not the first time, nor the last time, this joke has been used against you). Once a path is blasted open for the squad, that SMG proficiency will serve you well in the frequent close-quarters situations Hagental Base creates. When the fight gets a bit too dangerous - or when an unexpected ankle-torching is needed - the EOD Bot can be great for scouting ahead, securing objectives, or just being a nuisance.

SUPPORT - In addition to recharging a squad’s NVG batteries on command alongside ammunition and other Gadgets, the Support could shine by deflecting damage before it happens. The Deployable Cover can be set in areas without enough cover pieces, while the various intercept systems can neutralize explosive threats. Reviving squadmates - and teammates in general, because a good Support soldier never forgets the power to revive ANY teammate - will still be the critical role this Class fills, which may be made a lot easier in total darkness where an enemy can’t see a quick revival operation happening.

RECON - Outside of the Recon Drone and its thermal sight capabilities, Hagental Base is a playground for the Spec Ops training to shine. Dampening sound when crouched, prone, or takedowns? Gaining hyperawareness of enemy Gadgets? Clearing combat status faster when prone for quicker health recovery and spotted conditions? Although a Sniper can still work well in Hagental Base, this Training Path lives for Nightfall operations. Plus, that Motion Sensor will work well for spotting, while the option to equip an Anti-Personnel Mine can help you turn hallways into deathtraps.

Looking for an additional challenge? Run into REDSEC and prepare for Gauntlet: Nightfall, an experience built for trios - we cover that mode, as well as some additional advice for the Nightfall version of Hagental Base, here.

Top Five Battlefield 6 Nightfall Mode Tips

1. DARKNESS IS YOUR ALLY. Mold your squad strategies around Hagental Base’s dark areas. NVGs aren’t the only way to see through the dark: try thermal attachments or shed some light on the fight with a flashlight.
2. ASSAULT - CHARGE THROUGH DARKNESS. Lean into Assault’s “first to the fight” mentality and use a third weapon to bridge any engagement gaps in your arsenal. Or use a Spawn Beacon to flank enemies who are busy wandering around with the lights off.
3. ENGINEER - BLAST THE BASE. Explosive tools are an Engineer’s friend on Hagental Base. Collapse the ceilings to deal damage or blow through walls to make new lanes for your allies.
4. SUPPORT - BATTERIES ALWAYS INCLUDED. Support Class can recharge NVG batteries automatically over time, making them invaluable assets during Nightfall. Stay close to your squad to keep those goggles battle ready.
5. RECON - SCOUT AND SNEAK. A Special Ops Recon soldier is more than prepared for Nightfall: vary your stances to sneak around the base, planting reconnaissance tools and anti-personnel mines to disrupt and disorient the enemy.