Battlefield 2042: All We Know So Far

NEWS Sacha Loric - Sep 15, 2021, 12:00 PM - 16 comments

One of the most hotly anticipated first-person shooters of the year, Battlefield 2042 left gamers speculating since it was announced in June 2021. But thanks to the latest reveal, we now have some answers to our burning questions about the latest game. Check out the Battlefield 2042 trailer now.

Set in the ‘near future,’ Battlefield 2042 sees the planet’s resources running low due to intensifying climate change, bringing the Earth to the brink of disaster. Those who fled their collapsed nations have been dubbed Non-Patriated (No-Pats) and have banded together in an attempt to survive. Some of these No-Pats have become mercenary soldiers called Specialists, tasked by governments to fight wars around the globe.

In 2040, a new catastrophe strikes the planet. The collisions from low-orbit space junk caused 70% of the world’s satellites to fall from the skies. The ensuing blackout causes simmering tension between the United States and Russia to boil over, and war breaks out in 2042.

To help bring us into this apocalyptic future, DICE has produced a short film called ‘Exodus,’ which also introduces us to a playable character, Specialist Kimble ‘Irish’ Graves, Commander of the No-Pat ship Exodus.

Battlefield 2042 Gameplay

Developers EA DICE has announced that Battlefield 2042 is the “most ambitious” FPS they’ve created to date, and it shows. The game is a large-scale FPS where up to 128 (two teams of 64) players may participate in multiplayer games across various maps. Unlike the previous games, Battlefield 2042 will not have a single-player campaign. All stories will be told through the maps where the players fight.

The maps themselves are wondrous to behold. Wars are fought across skyscrapers, Arctic zones, abandoned ships, and desert cities. Extreme weather conditions also play a role in the game. Sandstorms not only obscure vision but can pull players into its vortex, destroy structures, and down aircraft. Players must be ready to fight the environment as well as the enemy.

Speaking of the enemy, you may never know when you are facing a live opponent or a bot. To keep the battles feeling like full-scale assaults, the game will keep filling the server with AI soldiers, both for your side and your opponent’s. Meanwhile, in Co-op mode, you and your friends will be fighting against an AI army. In Solo mode, it’s you against the AI.

Finally, vehicles will play a crucial role in each combat zone. Given how large the maps can be, you’ll need vehicles to traverse them. The game introduces a vehicle drop mechanic wherein you can call in the vehicle you want from anywhere on the map. These vehicles include Apache warchief helicopters, F-35E Panther Jets, Hovercrafts, M1A5s, MV38 Condors, and more. The list will keep expanding as the game continues to develop. Of course, if you prefer not to ride a vehicle, Battlefield 2042 also has wingsuits that let your ride the winds. Just watch out for the occasional tornado.

We’ve certainly come a long way from the original 2002 Battlefield with its World War 1 era pistols, bolt-action rifles, and trench warfare. The current Battlefield now features deployable turrets, drones, futuristic vehicles, and even mechanical dogs.

The Specialists

Another significant change is that classes have been replaced with Specialists, individual soldiers with their own permanent Specialties and Traits. These don’t change, but players can alter their Specialist’s loadout on the fly, including their primary and secondary weapons, throwables, and other gear.

Thus far, we have ten Specialists revealed and will come at game launch, with one more to be released each season. They are:

Kimble "Irish" Graves - can protect allies using his DCS Deployable Cover; shoots down enemy missiles before they reach targets with his APS-36 Shootdown Sentinel.
Wikus "Casper" Van Daele - a recon-class Specialist whose OV-P Drone uses a motion sensor that lets him detect enemy soldiers attempting to sneak up on the squad.
Webster Mackay - an assault Specialist who possesses the Nimble trait; he can use a grappling hook to scale elevated areas quickly.
Maria Falck - a Specialist with the Combat Surgeon trait, who can heal injuries from afar and even bring allies to full health with her S21 Syrette Pistol.
Pyotr "Boris" Guskovsky - a Specialist with the Sentry Operator Trait; can deploy an SG-36 Sentry Gun, which he can boost performance by being nearby.
Navin Rao - Has the Trojan Network ability, allowing him to access to enemy systems. His Cyber Warfare Suite lets him hack enemy vehicles, remotely trigger defenses, and bring down Rangers.
Santiago "Dozer" Espinosa - his Blast Resistant ability keeps him mostly safe from explosives. Employs an SOB-8 Ballistic Shield to protect himself and teammates from enemy fire. He can also use it to bash enemies.
Emma "Sundance" Rosier - has the unique Wingsuit Operator perk, allowing her to glide through the battlefield. Uses Smart Explosives to scatter tiny drones and grenades.
Constantin "Angel" Anghel - as a Trauma Specialist, he can revive allies while refilling the bonus health armor. His Loadout Crate lets him resupply friends with armor and ammunition. His beacon also lets him and his teammates change loadouts quickly.
Ji-Soo Paik - her Treat Perception allows her to locate enemy shoulders and even return fire when attacked. Her EMG-X Scanner lets her see enemies through walls and even through smoke grenades.

Game modes for Battlefield 2042

Mainstay game modes Conquest and Breakthrough return in the latest game, with Conquest supporting 128 players for specific platforms. Each enormous map has been split into sectors, each with more than one flag. Of note, there is no battle royale mode and no single-player campaign.

A new mode, Hazard Zone, is a “high-stakes, squad-based” game where players form a team of four different Specialists, drop behind enemy lines to hunt down special Data Drives, then escape to the Extraction Point. Up to 32 players can play in this mode. The catch is that the zone will be occupied by unfriendly enemy AI forces.

All teams must compete to get Data Drives. Once your team has the Drives, they must head to the Extraction point and wait for the window. There are only two time windows for Extraction with only one team allowed to board the MV38 Condor to escape. Each time has to fight to the end in order to win. All teams that fail lose their Data Drives.

The last game mode is called Battlefield Portal, a sandbox-style mode where players can revisit classic maps from previous games as well as the current game’s maps, and set up any rules they wish. There will be a total of 128 maps in all. Players may choose between Conquest Large, Conquest, Rush, Free-For-All and Team Deathmatch play modes.

Battlefield 2042 Maps

Seven maps have been announced so far, with more on the way as the seasons come.

Orbital (Kourou, French Guiana) - A war breaks out amidst the countdown to a rocket launch. Storms will prove to be an environmental hazard.
Hourglass (Doha, Qatar) - A city half-buried by the encroaching desert contains a convoy you must control. Naturally, fierce sand storms will cause problems.
Kaleidoscope (Songdo, South Korea) - War erupts among the towering buildings and spires around the city’s data center.
Manifest (Brani Island, Singapore) - a labyrinth of cargo containers that’s in constant danger of tropical typhoons
Discarded (Alang, India) - Fight in a graveyard of ships that have been washed ashore while dealing with storm surges.
Breakaway (Queen Maud Land, Antarctica) - Both Americans and Russians are vying for control of the oil extraction plant from this frozen region. Apart from the weather, take caution when around explosive silos and oil tanks.
Renewal (Eastern Desert, Egypt) - features agricultural areas separated by an enormous wall. Players need to breach the gate in order to reach objective points.

Battlefield 2042 release date

Now that appetites have been sufficiently whetted, Battlefield 2042 releases on November 19, 2021, one of many notable FPS releases coming in the final quarter, including Far Cry 6, Halo Infinite, Deathloop, Dying Light 2, Back 4 Blood, and more. An open beta is available for those who pre-order Battlefield 2042.

Playing Battlefield 2042 Early

EA offers early access 10 hours ahead of the release date for those who have the EA Play membership as well as Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions, as they are connected to EA Play. Those who are subscribed to the Pro tier of EA Play get access starting November 12, as well as those who ordered the Gold and Ultimate Editions.

Battlefield 2042 Editions

Apart from the Standard Edition which is just the regular game, there are two other editions available.

Gold Edition:

Year 1 Pass: 4 Specialists (1 per season)
4 Battle Passes (1 per season)
3 Epic Skin Bundles (”Blistered Earth”, ”Tempest”, and ”Cold Blood”)
Early access to the game - Friday, November 12
Cross-gen Bundle

Ultimate Edition:

Everything in the Gold Edition, including Early Access
Midnight Ultimate Bundle (Shadow Stalker Legendary Outfit, Obsidian” Legendary Weapon Skin, Onyx Legendary Vehicle Skin)
Official Digital Artbook
Exclusive Digital Soundtrack

Pre-order any editions and get these bonuses:

Baku ACB-90 Melee Takedown Knife
“Mr. Chompy” Epic Weapon Charm, "Landfall" Player Card Background
"Old Guard" Tag
Irish - “Battle Hardened” Legendary Skin

Required specs to play Battlefield 2042

Dice has revealed the minimum and recommended specs:

Minimum:

OS: 64-bit Windows 10
Processor: AMD FX-8350 or Core i5 6600K
Memory: 8GB
Video Memory: 4GB
Graphics card: AMD Radeon RX 560 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
DirectX12
Internet Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection

Battlefield 2042 Crossplay

EA has announced PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, with PC-console Battlefield 2042 crossplay. However, the 128-player matches will only be supported on PC and the newer consoles, PS4 and Xbox One will not have access to this feature.

Prices for a Battlefield 2042 pre-order

Battlefield 2042 is available for pre-order with three different versions: Standard, Gold, and Ultimate. You can check out our price comparisons for Battlefield 2042. You can find more game deals with dLCompare.com’s price comparison tool.