EA’s Battlefield 2042 Details and Clarifications: These are the most fascinating comments.
EA published a blog post to clarify some misconceptions and answer a few frequently asked questions in response to the comments and coverage surrounding Battlefield 2042’s reveal.
This post confirms two important things. One, AI soldiers will not be an option for you (which we already knew, but it is now confirmed twice). Two, DICE has begun work on Battlefield 2042 crossplay.
These comments provide more detail, but help to clarify the workings and meaning of what we have seen in the trailers. This iteration of Battlefield has some significant changes. EA is stating that, while Battlefield 2042’s specialist characters can be outfitted in any way they like, their “specialties and traits” (gadgets or perks) are unique to them. EA felt it was obvious from the beginning, but EA wanted to reiterate it. For a while, I was unable to correctly classify the wingsuits in and trailers. It was something I assumed everyone had. However, because it is a specialist’s speciality, only one specialist has it. (EA has been a great supporter of our efforts by giving specialist specialties.
EA also says this about specialists, their specialties and traits, as well as loadouts.
Loadouts include a primary weapon and a secondary weapon. There is also an equipment slot (eg medical and supply crates) and a throwable slots (frag and incendiary bombs). You can place rocket and missile launchers in the equipment slot instead of crates Four players can be in a squad, which can also include duplicate specialists in Conquest or Breakthrough For players to distinguish enemy specialists, “options and systems” will be tested. “The appearance of two specialists can be vastly different when they are wearing different skins.”
The post also notes that the robot dog “Ranger”, as shown in the trailer, is not a speciality nor a trait. You can have the Boston Dynamics-style attack robot drop from the sky with the vehicle call-in system.
Once you have a Ranger under your control, it will follow you around and can be ordered either to scout ahead, or to self-destruct if things get “dire”.
EA writes, “And yes, before your ask, you can put a C5 Explosive onto Ranger and send them to an enemy squad.” This is a far cry from just stroking the dog.
(Also, is it a C5 explosive?) It’s possible that it isn’t a typo, and is actually what DICE calls futuristic C4. (I’m afraid to ask, and have my hopes dashed.
You can also use the call-in system to drop ground vehicles anywhere you are on a map. However, you can still spawn directly in vehicles (which is how aircraft get into them). It works as you would expect. You can only call into a vehicle on maps and modes that support them, and only if your group hasn’t exceeded its vehicle usage. You must wait until the cooldown timer is over before you can order another tank, truck, or robo-dog. This will allow your teammates to have another chance.
The vehicles will be specific to each faction, and although there is a hovercraft, EA states that “there isn’t a focus right now on naval specific warfare.” (EA has “seen you comments about how excited about naval warfare” so it invites your suggestions.
EA has also clarified and reiterated a few details regarding Battlefield 2042’s maps:
At launch, there will be seven All-Out Warfare Maps (that’s Conquest or Breakthrough, the standard modes). Map borders will vary depending on the mode. “When you play Conquest, you’ll be fighting on areas that aren’t available in Breakthrough. And vice versa.” Skyscraper combat is limited to rooftops and lobbies that can be accessed via elevators (or other more Battlefield-y means). To allow for more dogfighting scenarios, the in-bounds airspace will increase than previous Battlefields. “You can expect to be driving or running much longer before you reach an out of bounds warning.”
Next week, EA Play Live will reveal the “love note to fans” DICE LA (now known as Ripple Effect), has been sending. Battlefield 2042 will be released on October 22. Everything else we know.
EA’s complete blog post can be found here.
