18 months of updates, Battlefield 2042 It is about to receive its fifth seasonal content drop. With the update coming on June 7th, EA invited me to try out the content ahead of launch in a closed online preview session. Here are my thoughts on the new content as well as the future of the game.
As previously announced, Season 5 kicks off with a new map, three new weapons, three new grenades, squad management features, and Reclaim with quality-of-life changes to vehicles, classic weapons, and more. Comes with
New map: Reclaimed.
Diving right in, my first impression of Reclaimed was how small it felt compared to other maps. 2042. It turns out I was right. DICE confirmed that this is the smallest map to hit the game yet, designed to focus on 64 players from the ground up. You read that right, and the only way to reclaim it in 128-mode is to spin up a custom portal session, although I’d hate to see the meat grinder that would be. Due to the low player count and small map area, you won’t find any jets or transport helicopters on this map, although almost everything else is fair game hardware-wise.
If you have ever played Battlefield 4 Zavod 311 map, the new arena may feel a little familiar. Set in Czechia, the new map features a war-torn industrial environment left behind by nature. It’s naturally dirtier and more decayed than the maps we’ve seen so far. 2042. Trees grow through the broken roofs of industrial buildings, and bright graffiti covers many of their walls, created by anti-war groups from around the world.
There are three objective points with flags marked open that allow vehicles to press and take over, while the other three are closed and require the presence of infantry to attack effectively.
The highlights for me were the two side by side set barns that serve two purposes. This allows the teams to fight amongst themselves across the street as the walls of both buildings slowly crumble from the ongoing battle, eventually leaving only a skeleton. While you won’t bring down any buildings yourself, we’re well past that level of destruction. Another highlight was the bunker carved into a cliff, with multiple angles of attack available. Shield welding may be the best choice for the dozer operator thanks to the more closed, narrow sections available.
I can also comment on the map layout which is extremely cover heavy. There were almost no stretches of empty roads or scenery like we’ve seen in the original launch maps before their rework.
The drama session lasted for a few hours and was divided into two parts, presenting the breakthrough and the victory. Unfortunately, the preview experience was mostly against bots, with players only building a maximum of two squads per team throughout the session I was in. To find out if there are any natural choke points that can slow down a more aggressive team.
Weapons, Gadgets, and Squad Management
The Bolt Action family has a new member: the XCE bar. While its firing sound isn’t my favorite due to the lack of a proper ‘thud’, players looking to take down enemies with well-placed headshots now have another highly customizable option. Almost every attachment under the sun comes as an option for this sniper, allowing it to be whatever its user wants it to be. Battlefield 2042 of The live attachment swapping system also shines here, allowing the gun to go from a scoped, long-range killer to a mid-range rifle with a holographic sight for offensive players in seconds.
Battlefield 4 The popular G36C is also here, now sporting the name GEW-46. The Assault Rifle is intended for medium engagements, which is best for a primarily new map. I found the spread pattern a little difficult to control in long bursts, but I believe that with the proper attachments, it can be a monster for almost any scenario.
Finally, in the weapons front arrives the BFP.50, described by DICE as a hand cannon. It can two-shot enemies at close range. If you miss, a fairly long interval between trigger pulls means the enemy will have the advantage of a quick and deadly spray in your direction.
As with anyone Battlefield There have been fan complaints about the game’s frequent use of explosives, or spam 2042. Already, there are grenades, shoulder-fired rocket variants, weapon-mounted grenade launchers, C4, airburst launchers, sticky launchers, claymores, and more from the infantry, and let’s Don’t forget all the firepower of ground and air vehicles. .
Now in Season 5, Dice is adding to it. We’re getting spring grenades that jump and take out people from cover before exploding, low-powered mini grenades that come in packs of three, and anti-tank sticky grenades that are self-explanatory. It’s going to be Christmas for explosion lovers like me, but many others will probably start playing Irish for his projectile neutralizing gadget.
Delivering on fan requests, the classic RPG-7 (V2) is now an option as standard carry for the Engineer class. It also packs a punch, dealing 35 damage to the rear of tanks. Long-range targeting still has a certain nostalgic feel when using this retro launcher. Coupled with anti-tank grenades (about 20 damage a pop, and you get two), a single engineer with the right toolset can now take down heavy weapons relatively quickly if they can avoid the gunners.
Finally, squad management is now a feature Battlefield 2042, something that’s awkward to even type because it was such a mundane feature that I implicitly accepted in previous titles. A new menu option now allows creating new squads, joining one with a free slot, and easily seeing if a friend is in a squad. Previously, you could only go to a random squad, and it was basically a hidden-in-a-corner setting. Adding to this, DICE plans to bring back XP bonuses for squad members who obey squad leader orders in the mid-season update as well.
Overall, this is another much-needed content and feature injection for the shooter.
what’s next?
Battlefield 2042 It was supposed to be the next big step in the long-running franchise, a true next-gen experience with double the number of players, near-future set warfare, an extraction game mode, and even built-in customization from previous entries. Content. Of course, the terrible launch took the air out of the sails quite effectively. As I stated in my original review. 2042Horrible performance, a shocking number of bugs, unbalanced maps, no class system, and the lack of some basic features that we’re finally getting around to getting, made this easily one of the worst launches. Battlefield Never play.
A year and a half of updates from DICE has brought the game to what should probably have been a launch experience. Classes have been brought back, finally giving players characters to follow, almost all launch maps have been reworked (with the final one coming later in Season 5), while crashes and visual bugs have all but disappeared. . Despite its massive battles and boost to focus on team play, the lack of squad management hurt the game a lot in my opinion. But we are finally solving that too soon.
That doesn’t mean there were any casualties along the way. Updates to Extraction Mode were initially cut off, and Portal Mode has yet to receive any new content from the previous one. Battlefield the game Even since launch. The studio seems to be struggling with balancing the 128 player maps. New experts are also not in development. These were actually all major selling points. Sure, the game is still getting seasonal updates every few months, but with DICE’s focus on the future Battlefield An entry that could take on a whole new look for, I don’t know how many more seasons. 2042 It has, if there is another.
At the time of writing, the player counts on Steam shows. Battlefield 2042 As many players as 2018. Battlefield Vwhich had its own launch controversies. When the latest game in a high-profile multiplayer franchise can’t shake the stigma surrounding a bad launch and attract new players despite constant updates, it doesn’t come as a huge surprise to me. Will happen if Season 5 ends with a grand finale. Although I hope not.
While DICE has stated that work on the game will continue beyond Season 5, the studio is vague about what kind of support the game will receive in the future. If EA decides to put it in, it’s a shame. Battlefield 2042 In maintenance mode when the game finally feels like it’s getting to a good state.
Battlefield 2042 – Season 5: New Dawn hits PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 on June 7 as a free update for owners of the game. EA Play, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and PC Game Pass subscription holders also get access at no additional charge.
The gameplay impressions and screenshots in this article were collected during a digital closed preview session of upcoming content provided by EA and DICE.
Gallery: Battlefield 2042 – Season 5: New Dawn Preview
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