All vikisGauntlet
Gauntlet was REDSEC's squad knockout mode, in which eight squads of four played four short missions and the lowest scorers were cut after each, from Oct 28, 2025 until it left the playlists on Oct 13, 2026. It survives as a verified Portal mode.
Gauntlet was a 32-player knockout mode in REDSEC: eight squads of four played a run of short missions on Fort Lyndon, the lowest-scoring squads were eliminated after each, and the last two met in a final. It launched with REDSEC on Oct 28, 2025 and left the active playlists on Oct 13, 2026, when Season 5 began, staying only as a verified mode in Portal (EA Season 5 roadmap, Oct 9, 2026). EA Help's own explainer sums it up: points for downing enemies, reviving allies and completing objectives, with "no two missions" playing the same. Critics liked it more than the battle royale beside it; IGN called it "one of the coolest game modes I've seen from a military shooter in a long time".
Quick facts
| Players | 32: 8 squads of 4 |
| Structure | 4 missions; the lowest squads are cut after each (8, 6, 4, then a final of 2) |
| Round length | About 5 minutes per mission |
| Map | Fort Lyndon (Empire State for Ice Lock, Hagental Base for Nightfall) |
| Mission types at launch | 8 |
| Scoring | Kills, revives and objectives; points double in the last minute |
| Reward | Top 3 squads get bonus Training Path progress |
| Live | Oct 28, 2025 to Oct 13, 2026 |
| Now | A verified Portal mode |
| Achievement | Never-Ending Game: play 125 rounds |
Sources: EA community update; EA Season 1 roadmap; Game Informer, Oct 27, 2025; PowerPyx.
How Gauntlet works
A match is a tournament. Eight squads start; after each mission the two lowest-scoring squads are eliminated, so eight become six, then four, and the best two play the Final Mission (EA Season 1 roadmap). FPS Tactics' guide (Nov 18, 2025) describes it as traditional Battlefield multiplayer mixed with battle royale elements, with a point system that rewards both kills and objectives.
You pick your loadout before the match, and there is no looting. Players from squads emptied by quitters can be moved into other squads, though not before the final, and the top three squads earn bonus Training Path progress (EA community update; EA new player guide). Each mission lasts about five minutes (Game Informer).
The scoring is the part new players miss. Kills give one point, but objectives keep paying, so a squad that plays the objective usually beats one that only hunts. And in most missions every point doubles in the last minute, which lets a last-place squad come back and punishes one that sits on a small lead.
Every mission
EA listed eight mission types at launch, and FPS Tactics' guide gives the scoring it observed for each (Nov 18, 2025). The point values below are FPS Tactics' observations from play, not EA figures.
| Mission | Plays like | How you score |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit | Domination | 1 point per held terminal every 20 seconds |
| Contract | Squad deathmatch | 1 per kill, 1 per revive, 15 for wiping a squad |
| Deadlock | King of the Hill, several teams | 1 point every 3 seconds in the zone |
| Decryption | Carry and hold beacons | 10 per beacon decrypted over 50 seconds |
| Extraction | Carry drives to drones | 1 per drive extracted |
| Vendetta | High-value target | The marked HVT scores 1 every 5 seconds |
| Wreckage | Rush with roaming bombs | 10 per detonation; 5 to a squad that defuses yours |
| Heist | Capture the flag | Final round only |
| Rodeo (added Nov 18, 2025) | Squads crew tanks | Eliminations |
Circuit
The map is cut into hexes, each with a control terminal. Hold a cluster of two to four terminals close together rather than spreading out; Assault captures faster and can drop a redeploy beacon in the middle, and Support's cover protects a capture. IGN's reviewer named Circuit his favorite, a "chaotic, scrappy battle" over about 15 hexes.
Contract
Squad deathmatch where most matches never reach the time limit, so surviving matters more than kills: hold a spot where you cannot be flanked, let two other squads fight, then take the winner. Players are marked on the map from time to time, which tells you when to push.
Deadlock
Several squads fight over one zone at a time. Only one player needs to stand in it to score, so the rest can guard the edges, and when a fight over one zone stalls, the open zone is usually worth more. A redeploy beacon near the next zone pays off when the current one closes.
Decryption
Grab a beacon and hold it for 50 seconds while it decrypts; you cannot sprint, and you are marked for every squad. Look for the next beacon before the first finishes, guard whoever is decrypting, and use Assault, which decrypts much faster. A beacon finished in the last minute is worth 20.
Extraction, Vendetta and Wreckage
In Vendetta, the first player to get a kill becomes the high-value target, marked for everyone and scoring every five seconds alive, so the HVT should play safe while the squad fights around them. Extraction rewards squads that keep moving between drives and drones rather than camping one drone, since there are several.
Wreckage, the Rush-like mission, spawns bombs around the map; pick one up and a timer starts, so plant it fast, then defend it until it blows, because a defused bomb gives the other squad points. FPS Tactics calls it one of the hardest missions for squads that do not know the rules.
Heist, the final
In FPS Tactics' guide, Heist appears only in the final round: capture the flag, taking the enemy's cash to your base while guarding yours. Splitting the squad across lanes works better than moving as one.
Limited-time Gauntlets
| Dates | Variant | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 18, 2025 | Rodeo mission | Squads crew tanks for eliminations |
| Dec 9, 2025 | Ice Lock Gauntlet | On a frozen Empire State; three fixed missions (Deadlock, Extraction, Wreckage); cold drains health outside Heat Zones |
| Feb 17, 2026 | Altered State | Played in VL-7 smoke |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Nightfall | Hagental Base in darkness, with night vision |
| Mar 31 to Apr 14, 2026 | Red Bull Supermoto Gauntlet | Solo, 8 riders, dirt bikes only, no damage; checkpoints worth 3, 5 or 10; top 6 then top 4 advance over three rounds on courses at Golf Course, Area 22B, Tech Campus and Jewel Beach |
| Aug 18, 2026 | Fighter Sweep | Jets only, two-seat fighters with a wingman; 2-player squads from update 1.4.2.5 |
Sources: EA Season 1 roadmap; Season 1 Winter Offensive notes; Season 2 roadmap; Supermoto guide, Mar 31, 2026; update 1.4.2.0, Aug 14, 2026. More events are on Limited-Time Modes.
Why Gauntlet was removed
Battlefield Studios announced the change on Sep 30, 2026: with Season 5 it would prioritize Rapid Royale and remove Gauntlet from the active playlists, leaving it as a verified Portal mode (EA, Siege of Vegas incoming, Sep 30, 2026). It left on Oct 13, 2026 (Season 5 roadmap), and EA confirmed it stays in Portal (More to Season 5, Oct 21, 2026). Rapid Royale took its place as REDSEC's short-match mode; see REDSEC and Season 5.
One side effect: the REDSEC achievement Never-Ending Game asks you to play 125 rounds of Gauntlet (PowerPyx). With Gauntlet out of matchmaking, the only way left to try for it is the Portal version, and whether Portal rounds count is not confirmed by EA as of Nov 8, 2026. The full list is on Achievements and Trophies.
How to play Gauntlet now
Open Portal in REDSEC or Battlefield 6 and look for Gauntlet among the verified modes; the server browser rolling out after Nov 10, 2026 also adds a Verified tab (see Portal and Server Browser). Verified Portal modes have their own XP rules, also on that page. A full match needs 32 players, so expect fewer games than in its year in matchmaking.
What critics said
IGN's REDSEC review (Nov 11, 2025) put Gauntlet above the battle royale: it drops the storm and turns REDSEC's side missions into full game modes, rotating locations on Fort Lyndon with the two weakest squads cut each time, and works "almost more like a brilliant mishmash between Fall Guys and a squad-based free-for-all version of traditional Battlefield".
The verdict was clear: where the battle royale "only dilutes" Battlefield, Gauntlet "boils down and concentrates the best stuff", and the reviewer hoped EA would flesh it out, saying he was "certainly interested in more Gauntlet".
Our view
We think Gauntlet was REDSEC's best idea and its smallest audience, and that the second fact decided its fate. It asked 32 players to stay for four rounds and punished squads that lost one player, while Rapid Royale fills a match with 36 players who can each leave when they die. We expect Gauntlet to come back for a limited event before the end of 2027, most likely as a themed variant like Ice Lock or Fighter Sweep, because its missions are already built and EA kept it in Portal. That call and others are on Predictions.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gauntlet still in REDSEC?
Not in matchmaking. It was removed on Oct 13, 2026 and remains as a verified Portal mode.
How many players are in Gauntlet?
32: eight squads of four.
How do you win Gauntlet?
Finish in the top six after the first mission, the top four after the second, the top two after the third, and win the final. Points come from kills, revives and objectives, and they double in each mission's last minute.
What were Gauntlet's missions?
Circuit, Contract, Deadlock, Decryption, Extraction, Vendetta and Wreckage, with Heist as the final, and Rodeo added on Nov 18, 2025.
Can I still get the Never-Ending Game achievement?
It needs 125 Gauntlet rounds. Only the Portal version remains, and EA has not said whether Portal rounds count, as of Nov 8, 2026.
Sources
- EA: Community update, introducing REDSEC battle royale, Gauntlet and Portal
- EA, Oct 28, 2025: REDSEC new player guide
- EA: Season 1 full roadmap
- EA: Season 1 Winter Offensive
- EA: Season 2 roadmap
- EA, Mar 31, 2026: Red Bull Supermoto Gauntlet mode guide
- EA, Aug 14, 2026: Game update 1.4.2.0
- EA, Sep 30, 2026: Siege of Vegas incoming
- EA, Oct 9, 2026: Season 5 roadmap
- EA, Oct 21, 2026: More to Season 5
- Game Informer, Oct 27, 2025: Battlefield 6's battle royale mode is called REDSEC
- PowerPyx: Battlefield 6 REDSEC trophy guide
- EA Help, Oct 28, 2025: Battlefield REDSEC, Gauntlet 101
- FPS Tactics, Nov 18, 2025: Battlefield 6 Gauntlet guide for beginners
- IGN, Nov 11, 2025: Battlefield REDSEC review
Moments
Battlefield REDSEC | Gauntlet 101
EA Help
Battlefield 6 Gauntlet Guide for Beginners | Win More RedSec Gauntlet BR Matches | BF6 Tips & Tricks
FPS Tactics
- A match is a tournament. Eight squads start; after each mission the two lowest-scoring squads are eliminated, so eight…
- The scoring is the part new players miss. Kills give one point, but objectives keep paying, so a squad that plays the…
- The map is cut into hexes, each with a control terminal. Hold a cluster of two to four terminals close together rather…
- Squad deathmatch where most matches never reach the time limit, so surviving matters more than kills: hold a spot…
- Several squads fight over one zone at a time. Only one player needs to stand in it to score, so the rest can guard the…
- Grab a beacon and hold it for 50 seconds while it decrypts; you cannot sprint, and you are marked for every squad…
- In Vendetta, the first player to get a kill becomes the high-value target, marked for everyone and scoring every five…
- Wreckage, the Rush-like mission, spawns bombs around the map; pick one up and a timer starts, so plant it fast, then…
- In FPS Tactics' guide, Heist appears only in the final round: capture the flag, taking the enemy's cash to your base…
Battlefield REDSEC Review
IGN
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