Ravenfield: Complete Guide

Everything for Ravenfield's Blue-vs-Red bot battles: setting up a good match, infantry and vehicle tactics, Arcade Mode, the new Island, the Thunder Katana, and getting started with Workshop mods and custom campaigns.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Early Access update EA39 ("The Thunder Katana", September 11, 2026) plus the EA39 security patch (September 19) and gameplay patch (September 25). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Important: Update Now (September 2026 Security Patch)

On September 19, 2026 the developer patched a critical remote-code-execution vulnerability in how Ravenfield loaded custom maps (.rfl / .rfld files) from the Workshop or elsewhere. Content mods (.rfc) were not affected, and the developer reported no evidence of it being exploited. A follow-up patch on September 25 restored map-loading behavior that the emergency fix partly broke.

What this means for you:

• Make sure Steam has updated the game before loading any custom maps.
• If you run old builds (beta branches, offline copies), don't load third-party maps on them.
• Modders: EA39 patch 1 (September 18) also fixed custom campaigns not loading custom maps; update your mod tools so test mode doesn't launch with the old -noworkshopmods parameter.

Quick Start

• Ravenfield is single-player. You fight alongside Blue AI soldiers against Red AI, with as many bots as your PC can handle.
• Start with a moderate bot count. Bot count is the main performance cost; raise it once you know your frame rate.
• Capture points win games. In ticket-based modes, holding more flags drains the enemy's tickets.
• Grab a vehicle early. Tanks, helicopters, planes and boats swing fights; the AI uses them too.
• Use cover and crouch. Soldiers die fast; ragdoll physics means explosions throw everyone around.
• Pick a loadout per role. A rifle plus anti-tank launcher plus medical/ammo gear covers most situations.
• Command your squad. AI commanding lets you give your nearby soldiers orders so they follow or attack with you.
• Try Arcade Mode (the first official campaign) for structured progression and weapon unlocks.
• Subscribe to Workshop content for thousands of maps, weapons, vehicles and campaigns.
• Check the patch notes after every EA update. The game still changes often, and the dev team posts detailed notes on Steam.

Setting Up a Match

The instant-action screen lets you tune almost everything:

Setting | What it does | Tip

Game mode | Flag-capture battles, Spec Ops (a small special-forces team with named characters), plus Arcade Mode and story missions from the menu | Start with a flag-capture battle on a medium map

Map | Official or Workshop maps | Island (overhauled in 2026) is a good default

Bot count / balance | Number of AI per team and team balance | Lower counts on weaker PCs; uneven balance for challenge

Night mode | Night lighting variant (on supported maps) | Dramatic, but harder to spot enemies

Weapon/vehicle availability | Toggle vehicle types or weapons | Disable jets on small maps for infantry-focused fights

Mutators | Script-based rule changes, many from the Workshop | Great for silly or hardcore variants

Performance: Ravenfield scales with AI count. If battles stutter, lower bot count first, then shadows and draw distance.

Infantry Tactics

• Move with the flow of your team. A lone soldier gets focused; a push with ten Blues takes flags.
• Aim down sights for accuracy; hip fire is for point-blank.
• Suppression and cover: bots react to incoming fire. Pinning them with sustained fire lets allies flank.
• Headshots count. Most rifles kill much faster with headshots.
• Watch for blood splats. Team-colored blood marks where fights happened, which helps you read the front line on big maps.
• Resupply: carry or find ammo gear so you're not reduced to the pistol mid-push.
• Anti-vehicle: launchers are the answer to tanks and helicopters; aim at the side or rear of armor where possible.

Vehicles

Vehicle type | Role | Tips

Jeeps/cars | Fast transport | Fill the seats with bots to rush distant flags

APCs / tanks | Armor and firepower | Stay with infantry; alone, you get rocketed

Helicopters | Transport and attack | Keep moving, stay out of launcher range, use terrain to hide

Planes/jets | Air superiority and bombing | Take practice; dive and pull out early

Boats | Water maps and flanks | Great for Island's coastline flanks

• Enter and exit vehicles with the interact key; bots will hop into free seats near you.
• Helicopter flying takes practice. Try a quiet map with no enemies first.
• Damaged vehicles: if a vehicle is smoking, bail out or pull back rather than push into launchers; check your loadout options for support gear.
• AI vehicles are dangerous: prioritize enemy helicopters and tanks with launchers before they farm your team.

Squads and AI Commanding

Ravenfield supports commanding the AI soldiers in your squad. Use it to:

• Have your squad follow you into vehicles or on a flank.
• Send them to attack or hold a capture point.
• Keep a squad in reserve to defend a key flag while you roam.

Squads make a big difference on large maps where the default AI tends to spread out.

The battle plan view goes a level higher: you pick which capture points your AI teammates should focus on defending or attacking. On a big map, marking one or two attack targets and one key defense point stops the Blue team from scattering across every flag at once.

Arcade Mode and Campaigns

• Arcade Mode (a roguelike-style mode that replaced the old Conquest mode) is the first official campaign built on the new moddable campaign system (released in the first half of 2026). It has structured progression between maps, dialog, and a weapon unlock sequence where a helicopter drops a crate.
• EA38 (July 22, 2026) opened up Custom Campaigns to modders: story campaigns, custom takes on Arcade Mode, or even a recreation of the old conquest mode. An example retro-style campaign (walk around a 2D map, get challenged to matches) ships with the mod tools and is on the Workshop.
• The Arcade Mode source scripts and assets were released as a Unity package (available on the official Discord) so modders can modify it.

The Island (2026 Overhaul)

• In 2026 the team released a complete overhaul of the Island map with a new art style and assets. EA37 patch 1 (June 22) integrated New Island as a built-in scene, fixed pink materials on Mac/Linux, improved pathfinding, added a car spawn on the backside and fixed night-mode materials.
• The old version is still available as Island 2023.
• EA38 patch 1 added "a fun little summer vibe secret" on Island. Explore the coast and pond areas.

The Thunder Katana (EA39)

The EA39 update (September 11, 2026) added the Thunder Katana, a melee weapon with its own sounds, animations, abilities and visual effects. The developers describe it as "flashy, fast, and a little bit OP," designed to make you feel like the main character.

• It's a secret weapon. The patch notes say it is "sealed away beneath the surface in a remote place far away from the mainland," and the team deliberately didn't reveal how to find it.
• If you want to discover it yourself, avoid spoilers; otherwise the Ravenfield Discord and Steam discussions have community findings.
• EA39 also began updating the look and feel of many existing weapons (models, audio, animations). Some changes are minor, others noticeable.

Modding and the Workshop

File type | What it is

.rfl / .rfld | Custom maps (the format affected by the September 2026 security patch, now fixed)

.rfc | Content mods: weapons, vehicles, skins, mutators

• Workshop: subscribe in Steam, launch Ravenfield, and the content shows up in instant action (and campaigns if supported).
• Mod tools: download from the official modding page. They're Unity-based: the modding page asks for the latest Unity 2020.3 and warns that the HDRP/URP render pipelines are incompatible, so create a standard (built-in pipeline) project.
• Ravenscript is the Lua-based scripting system (official docs on ravenfieldgame.com) for mutators and behaviors. Recent updates exposed more functions (e.g., VehicleInf.FromName() in EA38 patch 1) and many Trigger Components for story-mission style levels.
• Test mode: from the mod tools, you can launch the game directly into your map or campaign (Ctrl+T in the example campaign scene per the EA38 notes).
• Mod conflicts: if the game misbehaves after an update, unsubscribe from recently updated mods first.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Maxing out bot counts on a mid-range PC, then blaming the game for stutter.
• Driving tanks alone into enemy lines; stay with infantry.
• Flying helicopters low over enemy positions where launchers wait.
• Ignoring flags. Kills don't win ticket battles; holding points does.
• Loading random custom maps on an outdated build after the September 2026 security fix.
• Subscribing to hundreds of mods at once, making load times and troubleshooting painful.

Advanced Tips

• Night mode makes for a different, slower playstyle: enemies are harder to spot, so flanks and ambushes work better.
• Use the map screen to find where the fighting is and which flags are undefended.
• Helicopter transports: fill a chopper with your squad, fly to a far flag, drop them, then provide air support.
• Mutators can create training scenarios (e.g., unlimited ammo, specific weapon sets) to practice flying or tank gunnery.
• Beta branch: incremental updates go to a beta branch first, per the store page. Opt in if you like testing new features early, but expect bugs.
• Custom campaigns are the future of the game's content; follow modders on the Workshop for story campaigns built on the new system.

FAQ

Is Ravenfield multiplayer? No, it's a single-player game against and alongside AI bots. (Community mods have experimented with multiplayer, but it's not official.)

Is Ravenfield still in Early Access? Yes. The current major update is EA39 (September 2026). Major updates arrive regularly, with patches in between.

Is it safe to download Workshop maps? The map-loading vulnerability was patched on September 19, 2026. Keep the game updated before loading custom maps.

Where is the Thunder Katana? The developers intentionally kept its location secret: it's hidden "beneath the surface in a remote place far away from the mainland." Community threads have spoilers if you want them.

Why is Island different? Island was fully overhauled in 2026. The previous version is still selectable as Island 2023.

How many bots can I run? As many as your PC can handle; there's no fixed cap for fun. Start moderate and increase until frame rate drops.

Sources

• Ravenfield on Steam
• Steam news: EA39 Thunder Katana, EA39 Patch, EA39 Security Patch, EA38 Custom Campaigns, EA37 Patch 1, Summer Break & Autumn Plans
• Official Ravenfield modding page
• Ravenscript documentation
• Ravenfield (video game) — Wikipedia