Battlefield 6 Season 2 Phase 3: Hunter/Prey and Operation Augur
What Hunter/Prey Brought
Hunter/Prey closed Season 2 of Battlefield 6 with one major mode, one vehicle and one new melee weapon. The centerpiece was Operation Augur, a limited-time 48-player mode that the rest of the update was built around.
There were no new guns in the phase. What changed was progression: weapon and vehicle XP became earnable through active use, and multiplayer XP rates went up by roughly 5-10%. For anyone grinding levels and attachments at the time, that was the most practical part of the patch.
Data is current as of October 17, 2026. The phase and the season are long over, so this is a recap of what Battlefield 6 received in April 2026 and what still matters.
This recap suits players returning after a break who want to know what remains of the April phase, and anyone choosing where to spend match time for levels and attachments.
Release Date and Season Context
Update 1.2.3.0 went live on April 14, 2026. The download opened at 09:00 UTC on all platforms and all content unlocked at 12:00 UTC.
Hunter/Prey was the third and final phase of Season 2 after Extreme Measures and Nightfall. The season wrapped up in May, and Season 3 with Pax Armata followed.
A smaller follow-up, update 1.2.3.5, arrived a few weeks later and fixed stance desync and Assault class XP issues. If you are coming back now, those fixes are already part of the current build.
Operation Augur: How the Mode Works
Operation Augur is a 48-player mode with NATO attacking and Pax Armata defending. The map is split into nine sectors across two stages: Contaminated first (five sectors), then Hagental Base (four sectors). Hagental Base debuted in Phase 2, while Contaminated arrived at the launch of Season 2.
The two sides win in different ways. NATO wins by capturing all nine sectors. Pax Armata wins by depleting all three NATO Battalions, which is how the mode counts the attackers' lives. You cannot respawn on captured objectives, so spawns come from squads, spawn vehicles and Assault Spawn Beacons.
Stage one sectors are the Hamlet, the Siegfried Line and Hagental Tunnel, the Maintenance Hangar, the Ramp and Apron, and the Hagental Base Entrance. Stage two covers the Emergency Generators, the Central Tunnel, the Depot and the Server.
Smoke. On Contaminated, attackers use VL-7 smoke to cross open ground.
Tunnels. All vehicles are disabled inside the Hagental tunnels, so fights there are infantry only.
Classes. Recon gets the Hardware Suppression System and a Recon Drone, and Support resupplies gas mask filters.
For attackers the key skill is tempo. Every lost squad brings the battalions closer to running out, so solo pushes burn through the team's lives fast. Pax Armata defenders do better holding choke points, especially tunnel entrances where vehicles are useless, and counterattacking while the attackers wait to respawn at beacons.
The mode was pulled when Season 3 began. DICE said it planned to bring it back during Season 3 without giving a date, so check the in-game menu for its current availability.
LTV, Ripper 14" and the Bonus Path
The phase added a vehicle, a melee weapon and a bonus track on the Battle Pass. A quick look at each.
The LTV is a NATO variant of the Traverser Mark 2 APC. It is a squad-support vehicle rather than a light buggy: it seats four, works as a spawn point and carries health and ammo resupply stations. In Augur, NATO starts with one at the Hamlet next to an IFV. If you want to unlock vehicle mods, vehicle level boosting can help.
Addition | What it is | How to get it |
|---|---|---|
LTV | Four-seat NATO transport with spawn and resupply | Available in Operation Augur |
Ripper 14" | Machete melee weapon | Through Hunter/Prey Battle Pass progression |
Bonus Path | Extra Battle Pass track with equipment and cosmetics | A large share of progress comes from playing Augur |
In practice the LTV does two things well: it keeps a squad near the front and solves ammo and health supply on long sectors. The machete is a melee weapon and a nice reward for Battle Pass progress.
Progression and Balance Changes
Phase 3 was not an empty update. It had several changes that show up in every match.
Weapon XP and Vehicle XP are earned through active use, not only kills and assists.
Multiplayer XP rates rose by roughly 5-10%.
The Defibrillator got three charges, and a full charge deals up to 100 damage.
A Draw Tool for controller deadzones was added.
Bots handle vehicles better and backfill slots in Operations.
For anyone who needs more attachments, this was a good window: XP came from active use of weapons and vehicles, not only from kills. To open attachments faster, there is a weapon attachments unlock service, and overall levels climb quicker when matches are combined with account leveling.
One strong candidate for grinding is assault rifles leveling, since the Assault class received the new Hazmat Breacher Training Path in this phase.
REDSEC and Portal
Phase 3 brought no new REDSEC modes, but it still carried plenty of changes.
REDSEC got balance and loot work. The Hazmat Breacher path arrived for Assault, Armour Plates were added to the Ammo Drop Strike Package, and a new Armor Drop Strike Package appeared. Loot, spawns and destruction were adjusted. Battle Royale and Gauntlet XP now reward time in the match, and Battle Royale kill and damage-assist scores rose by 50%.
If you want to clear mode tasks faster, RedSec wins are on offer.
Portal received the Portal Gadget with custom logic triggers, the Shell Shocked experience returned, and bots now attack and defend capture points correctly.
How to Use the Phase Today
If Operation Augur is back in rotation, start with roles. A handy squad includes a spawn beacon carrier, a Recon player with the drone and a Support player handling filters. Newcomers pick up the mode faster with a mentor, which is what coaching is for, and for playing alongside a strong partner you can rent a booster.
General tips for the mode:
Keep the squad together: spawns depend on living teammates and beacons.
Leave vehicles before the Hagental tunnels and prepare infantry gadgets.
Use the LTV as a rally point for the squad, not as an assault vehicle.
Hunter/Prey added no new guns, but it sped up progression and gave Season 2 its most unusual mode in Augur. If you missed it, check whether Augur is back in the menu and make use of XP for active weapon and vehicle play.