With all of the hype surrounding the new release, however, many fans of shooters who have not played the series before have had their interest piqued. For those players, there is quite a lot to know about the game before deciding whether or not it is worth picking up, especially if they missed Battlefield 2042’s open beta and won’t have a chance to try the game out beforehand. From what a Battlefield game entails to the changes the new title brings and how players can get early access to the game if they just can’t wait to get on with the action, potential players have a lot to consider.
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The Core Battlefield Experience
Battlefield games are all about playing a small role in a massive conflict. With large servers of up to 128 players, Battlefield 2042 matches are chaotic and of a large enough scale that it is very difficult for a single player to have that big of an impact on a match. While this can seem like a negative at first, it ultimately allows players to do just about whatever they want throughout a match rather than stress too much about winning. Instead of focusing on which team member is at the bottom of the leader board, players can focus on throwing themselves at the nearby objective for a while or trying to get rid of the pesky enemy helicopter that has been dominating a region of the map for half of the match.
The scale also opens the doors for players to play games in a variety of different ways. Players can focus on mastering vehicles and spend entire matches in dogfights, can snipe from the hills in pursuit of a higher kill count, or can root at an objective with their squad to try and hold it with a number of different tools. Not only does this help offer variety to players, but it also plays into Battlefield’s tenet of pushing players to fill different roles across the battlefield to encourage cooperation and teamwork. This takes the form of players focusing on getting kills, healing others, providing ammunition, or even just staying alive in a helicopter so that allies can spawn on them and parachute onto an objective.
Battlefield 2042’s Changes to the Series Formula
Battlefield 2042 aims to honor the spirit of the series that has seen it garner such a passionate fanbase while making some big changes to what fans are used to. The biggest of these changes is the new specialist system. Battlefield 2042 will launch with 10 specialists that each has a unique ability and piece of equipment for players to build their classes around with all of the game’s weapons. These cover a range of various benefits and effects, like having a deployable wingsuit, placing automated turrets, or calling down a supply drop that allows allies to change up their loadouts. The specialists are replacing the series’ traditional structure of four classes that each limited players to a particular pool of different guns and gadgets, which has proved to be contentious amongst the series’ community.
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Another big change coming to the series is Battlefield 2042’s new weather disaster feature that sees matches being subject to massive weather events such as huge tornadoes, hurricanes, or dust storms. These give new hazards for players to avoid while also helping add some variety and chaos to matches. There are also two big new modes that are being introduced to the series, with the new Portal mode allowing players to make custom game modes with maps and assets from multiple Battlefield titles and Hazard Zone offering a new experience similar to titles like Escape From Tarkov and Hunt: Showdown. The new modes are built on the bones that players love about Battlefield while offering entirely new ways to experience the series for fans and newcomers alike.
Release Date and How to Get Early Access
The official release date is November 19 after Battlefield 2042 was delayed from its original October release date. This puts the game in pretty direct competition with fellow shooter Call of Duty: Vanguard while still putting it in a strong position moving into the Holiday season. However, players who just can’t wait that long can get into Battlefield 2042 a week early by pre-ordering the Gold or Ultimate editions for $90 or $110 respectively. The Gold Edition also comes with all four seasonal battle passes for the game’s first year that will include four new specialists and three epic skin bundles as well as including a next-gen copy of the game for any players on console. The Ultimate Edition includes that on top of an exclusive cosmetics bundle alongside a digital artbook and soundtrack.
Curious players can also try the game out without having to purchase it if they are an EA Play member, which is included for all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. members can try new EA releases for up to 10 hours for free, with their progress transferring over to the full game if they ever decide to purchase it. This can be a great way to try out the game for any players who are still on the fence, especially if they already subscribe to one of the two services. Members will also get exclusive bonus rewards in the game moving forward for any subscribers who do end up purchasing the game, from cosmetic rewards to XP boosters.
Battlefield 2042 releases on November 19 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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