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.
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.
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:
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.
Seven maps have been announced so far, with more on the way as the seasons come.
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.
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.
Apart from the Standard Edition which is just the regular game, there are two other editions available.
Gold Edition:
Ultimate Edition:
Pre-order any editions and get these bonuses:
Dice has revealed the minimum and recommended specs:
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.
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.
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