I don’t know about you, but I’m still recovering from that Battlefield 2042 trailer. Dropping earlier this week, Battlefield is bouncing back from its time in the past straight to the year 2042.
For the first time in a while, it finally feels as though DICE is focusing on what made the Battlefield franchise so popular in the first place. That’s all-out warfare in a delightfully playful sandbox environment. All with a modern twist that should hopefully see the game thrive in years to come.
Bombastic as it was, the Battlefield 2042 trailer didn’t tell us much about what the game will actually be like to play. Here’s everything that the Battlefield 2042 trailer should have told you.
Setting
As the title suggests, Battlefield 2042 takes place 21 years into our future. In the span of ten years, much of the world has fallen. The sea levels are rising, economies are collapsing, and adverse weather patterns are ravaging the landscapes. Resources such as food, water, and energy are getting scarcer by the day.
As such, we don’t play as soldiers serving under a particular nation. Instead, we take control of ‘No-Pats’, refugees who have lost everything they once had and who have been denied rights by the remaining nations.
As.a war sparks between the US and Russia, both sides hire No-Pats to fight their war, each side promising land and resources in return for their service.
It’s all set dressing to pave the way for the new class system, which forgoes the typical Battlefield formula and switches things up with ‘Specialists’.
Specialists
In a left-field move, Battlefield 2042 utilises a specialist system on top of its typical weapon loadout and class sub-systems.
There will be ten specialists to pick from at launch, all of which have a set of abilities that make them unique. Each of them will fall into one of the classes that we’ve come to know and love from Battlefield – Assault, Engineer, Support, and Recon.
For example, one of the specialists we’ve seen is Webster Mackay, who falls into the Assault category. He can carry a Grappling Hook that attaches to structures and enables him to swing from or pull himself up to higher ground. He also has a passive which makes him more nimble, allowing him to move faster while aiming down sights.
The Support character we’ve seen can revive enemies from a distance, much like the Doc operator seen in Rainbow Six Siege. She can also revive people back with more health, indicating that, once again, reviving is now a universal ability that all soldiers can do.
The Engineer can place a Sentry Turrent on the ground which will automatically target enemies and will spot them on the mini-map. A pilotable recon drone is on offer to the Recon specialist who also possesses a movement sensor that alerts when enemies are nearby.
We’ll learn more about the other six specialists in the coming weeks. With gadgetry such as the robo-hounds shown in the trailer, I can imagine we’ll get some inventive combinations.
Weapons
With the specialists providing the class variety, that frees up the loadout system to be much freer than it has in previous titles. Certain weapon types used to be locked behind subclasses, but that’s no longer the case with Battlefield 2042.
Any weapon, sidearm, or gadget can be equipped with any specialist. That means you should be able to craft just about any loadout for any situation, should you like.
There’ll also be the ability to customise your weapon loadout on the fly. Dubbed the ‘Plus’ system, you’ll be able to swap out your weapon scope, barrel, ammunition and under-barrel while walking around the maps.
If you ever played the Crysis games, this system is very similar. It means you should be able to change up your loadout to suit your specific gameplay needs without having to mess on in the spawn menu.
We don’t know exactly which weapons will feature in Battlefield 2042, but expect them to be slightly advanced versions of ones we see in current modern shooters.
Vehicles
As for vehicles, they’ll play a much bigger role than they have in previous instalments. All of your favourites are here – Jets, Attack Helicopters, Scout Helicopters, and much more.
Each vehicle has multiple seats. The more seats that players occupy, the more efficient the vehicle will be. With a squad of four, you’ll finally be able to build that tanker squad you’ve always dreamed of.
Vehicles should be much more accessible than before, too. Ground vehicles specifically can be air-dropped in from anywhere around the map. We’re not yet sure exactly what these weapons will cost – there must be some limit to how many there can be.
Maps
Let’s talk maps because there’s plenty of them: seven at launch with several more coming in the live service.
Orbital is the map seen in the trailer with the rocket launch pad. It’s set in French Guiana, just off the coast of Brazil. The dynamic event here is that the rocket will eventually take off, or fail to do so. Tropical storms will also move in from the coast.
Hourglass is a huge map set in the deserts of Qatar. Huge sandstorms have ravaged this place, completely burying half of the stadium. Where much of the map consists of desert, there’s also a huge chunk of the city to explore.
Kaleidoscope is the completely urban map that we saw much of in the trailer. Set in South Korea, this is easily the most metropolitan map of the bunch. It seems that this is also the map that will see the huge tornado roll in on occasion.
Manifest seems like the smallest of the bunch, set in a shipping port and completely filled with containers. It gives us big ‘Noshahr Canal’ vibes.
DIscarded is set in India along a dried up coastline. Much of the combat takes place in and around these massive container ships that apparently have surprises waiting inside for us to discover.
Breakaway is the largest map of the lot, taking place in Antarctica. You’re not the only one who thought that was Damavand Peak at first glance, though that’s definitely what DICE wanted you to think.
Finally, Renewal looks the most striking from above. Split completely in two, one side filled with an arid desert and the other with fertile fields. The wall between the two sections can only be accessed via gates – I can already smell an Operation Metro choke point scenario.
Modes
There will be three different ways to play Battlefield 2042, all of which will be multiplayer. There’s no single-player campaign to be found here. That might be disappointing for some, but Battlefield has always thrived on its multiplayer – more focus on that can only be a good thing.
All-Out Warfare will see your typical Battlefield game modes like Conquest and Breakthrough return. These will function mostly the same as they always have, bar a few changes. Most notably, capture point sizes have now been split up into multiple sectors. You’ll need to capture all of the sectors as a team to fully capture the point.
Those classic modes will support up to 128-players on new-gen consoles and PC, while last-gen consoles will be limited to the standard 64-players. These modes can be played online, or be filled with AI opponents to practice on. Progression will still be earned, even while playing against bots, too.
Another mode called ‘Hazard Zone’ will also feature at launch. We don’t know too much about it yet, but here’s how DICE describe it:
“An all-new, high-stakes, squad-based game-type for the Battlefield franchise that is a modern take on the multiplayer experience that is distinctly DICE but very different from the modes of All-Out Warfare.”
A third mode is also coming that we know next to nothing about. It’s being developed exclusively by DICE LA and is apparently targeted towards veterans of the series. We’ll see that revealed at EA Play in July.
Live Service
Battlefield 2042 looks to be the platform that DICE sticks with for the future, As such, it’ll be supported by a hefty live service.
The first year of post-launch content is already planned out. There will be four seasons, each containing a new Battle Pass, a new Specialist, new maps, and new cosmetics. Two versions of the Battle Pass will exist – one paid, one free, just like most other BP services.
It has been confirmed by DICE that all gameplay-related content will be unlockable for free, while the paid content will exclusively stick to cosmetics. There’ll be no pay-to-win scenarios here.
The Tech
Finally, let’s talk a bit about the technology powering all of this. It’s the latest version of DICE’s own Frostbite engine and has been in the works for around three years now.
The team have put a lot of work into bringing this new Battlefield title to a brand new generation of consoles. As such, it features a completely new physics system that powers destruction and world events like never seen before.
Due to the high-powered nature of the new title, it will be scaled back to an extent on current-gen consoles. The maps will be slightly smaller to accommodate the lower 64 player count.
We don’t have long at all to wait for the full gameplay reveal. Keep your eyes peeled at E3 this weekend as another trailer will release at some point on Sunday, 13th June. It’s safe to say that the Battlefield 2042 trailer wowed us with its first impression. I absolutely can’t wait to see more of what the team at DICE has been cooking up.
What are your first thoughts about the Battlefield 2042 trailer? Let us know across our social channels.
[Featured Image Credit: EA/DICE]
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