Battlefield 2042 gets a launch update overview and a roadmap
Published , by Sam Chandler
Battlefield 2042 has had a bit of a troubled launch. From glitches and bugs to performance woes and odd design choices, it’s been a tough experience for a lot of long-time Battlefield fans. However, there is a silver lining in that the game is still being worked on. The team at DICE has offered an exhaustive look at various improvements coming to the game this week as well as a look ahead at updates coming in December and beyond.
On November 23, 2021, the team at DICE published a news post highlighting the updates coming to Battlefield 2042 in November and December, as well as what players can expect from the game next year. Update #2 is scheduled to release on Thursday, November 25 while Update #3 will arrive in December.
Battlefield 2042 should be a bit of a better experience after Update #2 and #3 land in November and December.
There is large amount of information to unpack here. First off the rack is a discussion about server and hardware performance issues. A fix is incoming to address the spawning issues and the team is working hard to discover the cause of incorrect hitmarkers. On the hardware side of the equation, PC players will be pleased to hear that DICE is working to ensure better performance for those that don’t have access to high end GPUs and CPUs.
Also of note are the myriad of changes coming to Battlefield 2042’s gameplay, specifically it’s gunplay. Users have noted some oddities with weapon performance and DICE has been able to corroborate this. Update #2 will look to address weapon spread on Assault Rifles, which should make your carefully aimed shots land where intended:
Reduced spread globally when zoomed and moving
Improved stationary zoomed accuracy for many weapons
Spread now decreases faster and earlier when pacing shots. This means more success with single-fire or short bursts.
Increased PP-29 vertical recoil to ensure that the weapon does not overperform when engaging outside of its intended combat range
Towards the end of the post is a massive collection of changes that are coming to Battlefield 2042 with Update #3. The update is scheduled to arrive in December, and those that have been hoping for several fixes will be pleasantly surprised. Below you’ll find the changes the post notes. This is labelled as a “snapshot” in the blog post, which should give you an indication of just how big this update will be:
Fixes, Changes and Improvements
User Interface:
Improved the collection screens making them easier to use and clear as to what you’re interacting with
Improved the ways in which you’re able to manage your attachments via the collection screen to reduce the number of interactions you need to have when building your loadouts
Enhancements to our Player Card screen and End of Round (EOR) to provide additional polish
Added new markers to make your newly unlocked items easier to find
Improved screen transitions when entering and returning to the Main Menu
Improved Report a Player flows, specifically around toxicity and cheating reports
Matchmaking & Friends:
Improved the experience between EOR and the Main Menu
Improved Matchmaking reliability and reduced instances of Matchmaking failed
Improved Crossplay invite flows
Fixed Rich presence update issues, ensuring that your friends are better able to track where you are in Game
Addressed servers getting stuck in unresponsive game states, where rounds fail to properly start
Fixes to Friend Invitations for players on PC
Progression and Unlocks:
Introduction of weekly missions, providing set challenges that reward cosmetic unlocks.
Added 1st match bonus of 1000 HZC for HZ
Fixed an issue that was not properly awarding XP for Angel resupplies
Improved overall XP/Rank tracking and reliability
Improved Mastery rank tracking
Improved reliability of Player card tracking
Rendering:
Addressed a variety of visual flickering and stuttering issues
Improvements to water rendering when Aiming Down Sight (ADS)
Addressed multiple graphical issues affecting water reflections
Fixed reflections in Kaleidoscope for late-joining players
Addressed issue with character rendering for late joiners
Improvements to artifacts affecting DLSS implementation
Maps:
Over 150 individual fixes, small changes, and improvements across all of our Maps
Improved level geometry issues across all levels addressing issues such players getting snagged or trapped
Resolved multiple spawning issues
Visual glitches such as lens flare, visible seams in skydome
Resolved a large number of collision and placement issues
Addressed issues affecting local audio placement in multiple Maps
Battlefield Portal:
Builder additions
Rush game mode layouts for all 2042 All-Out Warfare maps (through Portal)
New official Vehicle Team Deathmatch template
New official Team & FFA Gun Master templates
New official Infection template
Rules Editor - Added the ability to detect what players were killed with in order to apply additional logic
UX Improvements
Added Server Info for the Pause screen
Added support for server admins to write periodic server messages
Added support for reporting a server from the pause menu
A series of visual, audio, and gameplay improvements to weapons, vehicles, and gadgets
Battlefield Hazard Zone:
Improvements to visual presentation of Hazard Zone currency system in Front End
Added an animation and audio cue when the player's Remaining Balance changes in the Hazard Zone lobby
Modified Squad and Player Screen in Hazard Zone to only show your squad
Modified Scoreboard to no longer show players connected in Hazard Zone to elevate tension experienced
Improved extraction zone smoke visibility
Added additional flares to extraction point offering players better visibility of extraction area, as well as providing additional cover
Added variation in Hazard Zone to preplaced intel locations. Initial Data Capsules now have a chance to contain several data drives
Resolved an issue with persistent scoring in Hazard Zone
Improvements to the Intel Scanner’s accuracy and enemy identification
Resolved an issue where two teams could extract simultaneously in Hazard Zone
Resolved inconsistency in warning to alert players that they’re being scanned in Hazard Zone
Resolved capacity issues with intel collection in Hazard Zone
Made it easier to interact with intel pick-ups
Added distance read-out for next extraction point in Hazard Zone
Improved Hazard Zone end-of-round camera placement
Conquest:
Tuned information spamming in Conquest, reducing the amount of messages that appear in the world log. In particular we reduced messages about flag state changes so that they’re not as distracting
Breakthrough:
Tuned capture times for Breakthrough
Improved out of bounds defender spawning in Breakthrough to ensure that you’re able to more consistently spawn in safety
Improvements to Breakthrough’s UI to enable you to better track round progress in the form of a Game Mode Widget.
The Game Mode Widget is also visible inside the Scoreboard (displaying only when playing Breakthrough, and also on Rush) to put emphasis on sectors and attackers reinforcements
Elapsed time is now added and trackable in both the Scoreboard & Deploy Screen.
Added a pulsating effect on the Team 1 (attacker) score and progress bar when their tickets are =< 25% of their initial tickets. This is also present in the GMW in the HUD, Scoreboard and Deploy Screen for both Rush and Breakthrough
General:
A fix for missing loadouts, sometimes seen when first loading into a server and seeing blank boxes on the deploy screen
Modified Recent Players screen to include everyone from previous match to allow for easier user reporting
Improved interaction point system. Switched the default "INTERACT" text on multiple interactions to reflect the action you are about to do, i.e. "OPEN CONTAINER", "CALL ELEVATOR" etc.
Kaleidoscope server room lighting issue resolved
Resolved an issue related to the velocity / trajectory while spawning in jets
Improved helicopter animation in level fly-bys during insertion
Improvements to address an issue where players killed in vehicles would fall beneath level geometry
Improvements to streaming assets in deploy screen presentation
Dynamic World Improvements:
Addressed issues for VFX affecting late-joiners
Made improvements to correctly align the bridge behavior on Kaleidoscope for late joiners to the match
Made improvements to correctly align the destructive silos state for late joiners in Renewal and Orbital
Improved interaction of SG-36 Sentry Gun and elevators
Quality of Life fixes and improvements to interact prompts
Tornado and smoke visual effect improvements
Resolved a large number of collision issues with large scale animation events
Fixed issue where missile countermeasures sometimes didn’t work, causing missiles to not blow up and instead reacquire the same target
Made exit position from vehicles more consistent
Made improvements to controller vibration for vehicles
Fixed an issue where the Nightbird’s rockets hitting the ground can appear frozen
Fixed an issue where a player driving the Hovercraft can not be shot through the front window
Added an option to have vehicle boost as toggle or hold
Fixed an issue where vehicles took double damage when getting hit through glass
Improved TOW Missile Projectiles flying behavior
Balanced Nightbird minigun spread buildup and convergence
Removed blast impulse on Attack Helicopters Anti Vehicle Rocket which caused nudging of vehicles on hit
Fixed the F-35E Panther repair system ability missing from customisation
Fixed instances where vehicles sometimes would become stuck on world geometry
Gadgets no longer pause their cooldown when the player enters a vehicle
Fixed an issue when a player dies in a vehicle which allowed for the camera to go underground
Weapons:
Reduced spread globally when zoomed and moving
Improved stationary zoomed accuracy for many weapons
Spread now decreases faster and earlier when pacing shots. This means more success with single-fire or short bursts
Increased PP-29 vertical recoil to ensure that the weapon does not overperform when engaging outside of its intended combat range
Fixed an issue where spread would be too high when trying to fire while zoomed right after sprinting for some Portal weapons
Reduced effectiveness of the NTW-50 against vehicles
Fixed the 8X Scope having a faster ADS time than the others
Fixed M44 revolver chambering an extra bullet
Fixed an issue where soldier is unable to shoot after getting hacked while in a vehicle
Reduced switch back to weapon delay after throwing grenade
HUD:
Added a UI list that shows nearby players that can revive you within 50m when downed
Added a UI list that shows incoming revivers when downed and pinged by a player that intends to revive you
When low on ammo or health, nearby friendly players within 50m will now show a resource icon above their head indicating that they can provide you with health or ammo
Increased Big Map Resolution for improved navigation
Added health bars on enemy vehicles and enemy soldiers when looked at
All player world icons now scale over distance, making them smaller when far away in an effort to reduce icons cluttering the screen
Time before revive completion is now visible for the downed player when being revived
Fixed an issue where friendly player icons would sometimes not be hidden when behind walls causing a lot of icons to be constantly visible on screen.
Fixed an issue where friendly soldiers are missing their blue UI icons when a player is in a downed state
Fixed an issue where some player names don't show when looking at multiple Soldiers/Vehicles that are next to each other
Changed the visibility behavior of the fire mode icon in the HUD. By default, the fire mode icon is now visible if it is currently possible to change fire-mode. The behavior can be changed to allow the fire mode icon to always be visible (even if it’s not possible to change fire mode) or turned off. The option is called “Fire Mode Indicator” under “HUD” Options
Added an option that allows for the disabling of the button prompts visible in the HUD
Added message about which player healed you when getting healed by other players
Added message about which player shared ammo when getting ammo from other players
Fixed an issue where IFF markers on Squad Members do not change with colorblind option
Improved visibility of IFF marks over distances
Fixed an issue where IFF markers would not be visible when using low video settings
Bots:
Fixed issue where Bots sometimes didn’t revive players
Improved Bots helicopter handling
Improved Bots combat behaviors
Improved Bots gamemode behaviors
Audio:
Improved reliability of various ability sounds when offscreen, such as reiving, SOB-8 Ballistic Shield, flares, wingsuit, vehicle smoke discharges and system repairs
Switched lock-on warning sound with incoming missile warning sound
Improved weapon mix for enemies firing at the player
Generally tweaked content and mix for distant weapons, improving audibility at range
Preventing warning sounds and transmission sounds from continuing when a vehicle has low health
Specialists
Sundance: Grenade Belt
Fixed an issue where the Sundance’s Anti-Armor grenade could get stuck circling in air after the targeted vehicle deploys counter-measures or attempt to target another vehicle instead
Adjusted the behavior of Sundance’s splitter fragment grenades to bounce once before detonating
Angel: Loadout Crate
Players that require armor and can receive it now have a white outline around them to indicate that the magnetism will throw the armor to the outlined player.
When using the Loadout Crate, players can now scroll if more than 4 loadouts are available
Visual effects and polish on destruction and despawning of Loadout Crate
The cooldown for the resupply action on the Loadout Crate is now shared between Loadout Crates
Added a unique sound when picking up armor
Player can hold down the specialist ability button to self-apply armour
Loadout Crate can now no longer be called-in when underneath tall buildings
Added a hand gesture animation when placing the Loadout Crate
Irish: DCS Deployable Cover
Fixed an issue where the DCS Deployable Cover Minimap Icon was not displayed correctly
Improved reliability of the DCS Deployable Cover’s deployable placement allowing placement on more angled surfaces
Dozer: SOB-8 Ballistic Shield
Fixed an issue where the SOB-8 Ballistic Shield didn’t block bullets when inside an elevator.
Fixed an issue where Dozer would not be targeted by Boris's SG-36 Sentry Gun and AI ignoring the user while having a SOB-8 Ballistic Shield equipped.
Fixed an issue where players couldn’t enter vehicles while the SOB-8 Ballistic Shield was equipped
Fixed an issue where reviving is hard to perform while having the SOB-8 Ballistic Shield equipped
Fixed an issue where killing a player with the SOB-8 Ballistic Shield would also take the victim’s dogtag.
Fixed an issue where players were flung up in the air after being melee’d by Dozers with his shield equipped
Rao: Cyber Warfare Suite
Added a short grace period for Rao's Cyber Warfare Suite when something occludes the target being hacked. This will help most frequently when trying to hack vehicles that may be driving in front of trees
Paik: EMG-X Scanner
Added a sound effect for the victims being scanned by the EMG-X Scanner
The EMG-X Scanner should now be able to spot targets above or below Paik.
Disabled the usage of EMG-X Scanner while inside vehicles
Fixed the EMG-X Scanner’s “target found” audio effect not working for targets beyond 20m
Casper: OV-P Recon Drone
Fixed an issue where user is unable to deploy the OV-P Recon Drone while in a prone position
Improved the visibility of Enemy Recon Drones; they now have lights making them easier to see
Players now switch back to their previous weapon after exiting the OV-P Recon Drone
Updated OV-P Recon Drone EMP hint message to clarify that firing requires a lock on
Increased the range of the EMP on the OV-P Recon Drone
Fixed an issue where Casper’s OV-P Recon Drone is sometimes unable to lock onto enemy targets
Increased the OV-P Recon Drone’s movement speed
Increased the OV-P Recon Drone’s hitbox size to make it easier to hit.
Adjusted the “near drone” spotting distance
Adjusted size of the spotting area when controlling the drone’s camera view.
Boris: SG-36 Sentry Gun
The SG-36 Sentry Gun will now be destroyed when the owner dies instead of when the owner is downed
Fixed an issue where Boris’ SG-36 Sentry Gun would not be able to acquire targets that are near a vehicle
Sundance: Wingsuit
Fixed an issue where the repair tool crosshair was visible in the wingsuit when you entered the wingsuit whilst having the repair tool equipped
Fixed an issue when undeploying and then deploying the Wingsuit can cause 1p view while flying
Falck: S21 Syrette Pistol
Added Lock On and Lock Off sounds for S21 Syrette Pistol for when a target is designated by the magnetism of the S21 Syrette Pistol
Players that require health and can receive it now have a white outline around them to indicate that the magnetism will fire at the outlined target.
Added healing VFX for when you’re being healed by the S21 Syrette Pistol
Added sound feedback for when being healed by the S21 Syrette Pistol
Mackay: Grappling Hook
Fixed an issue where the Grappling Hook rope got misaligned in front of the gadget after changing FOV settings
Fixed the vault after the Grappling Hook animation where it could cause camera jerks or provide no animation at all
Gadgets
CG Recoilless M5
Fixed a bug where the CG Recoilless M5 would not lose its lock on to enemy air vehicles when locked on via SOFLAM Designator and the target deployed countermeasures
C5 Explosive
Fixed a bug where the C5 Explosive blast damage was sometimes inconsistent when trying to detonate the C5 Explosive on a moving vehicle
Fixed an issue where the C5 Explosive server and client positions were not correctly synced
Adjusted the deploy time of the C5 Explosive and reduced the delay before allowing it to be detonated to improve responsiveness.
SOFLAM Designator
Fixed an issue where the visual SOFLAM Designator UI elements are still present on the screen when switching to other gadgets while zoomed
Fixed the SOFLAM Designator’s tooltip text being misaligned
Anti-Tank Mine
Fixed an issue that caused Mines and other deployables to not trigger sound effects when deployed from inside a vehicle
Medical Crate and Supply Crate
Fixed issue where the Medical Crate healing cooldown was triggered when at Full HP.
Adjusted Medical and Supply crates' trajectory to align with the animation of the throw and address jitter
Improved responsiveness of Medical and Supply crates deployment. It is now possible to throw them a lot quicker after selecting them
Fixed an issue where the resupply animation would not play when resupplying gadgets from the Supply Crate
Smoke Grenade
Changed the detonation behavior of the Smoke Grenade; it will now bounce once before detonating
Fixed an issue where Smoke Grenades could be destroyed by bullets or explosions
Fixed an issue where the VO was not triggering when an enemy Specialists’ Smoke Grenade has been thrown
Frag Grenade
Ensured that the grenade warning icon does not draw under certain elements of the HUD like the minimap
Repair Tool
Fixed an issue where the Repair Tool can repair vehicles while not facing the vehicle.
Improved the Repair Tool so that it is quicker to equip and put away
Insertion Beacon
Fixed an issue where picking up an Insertion Beacon would not make any sounds.
EMP now blocks spawning on Insertion Beacons
Reduced the delay before the Insertion Beacon is placed after throwing it
FXM-33 AA Missile
The FXM-33 AA Missile reload sound effect will now appropriately fit the animation of reloading
Extended the animation of the FXM-33 AA Missile reload
Soldier
Fixed an issue where attempting to traversal sprint while swimming resulted in a broken swimming animation.
Fixed missing weapon deploy animation when transitioning from water to land.
Adjusted soldier animations when swimming.
Various visual adjustments and fixes for Specialists
Fixed issues where the soldier would sometimes not properly follow the ground when sliding
Fixed an issue where jumping would be buffered if holding jump when trying to stand up from crouch or prone pose
Reduced occurrences where Specialists can be seen with low quality animations in the distance
Adjusted the pose of the legs when falling to avoid legs blocking the view
Addressed issues where players prone on thin surfaces could be seen floating in the air. They will now tend to fall if the surface is not large enough.
Fixed an issue where it is not possible to look up and down enough while prone on a slope
Fixed an issue where character hands were not in contact with ladders when FOV was higher than default
Fixed an issue where you could turn and see your own headless 1P body while on ladders
Fixed an issue where the user was able to gain velocity by hopping on and off a ladder and hit melee
Fixed an issue where setting the “Always Traversal Sprint” Option would sometimes not allow the player to traversal sprint with the intended speed
Melee
Adjusted the timing of sound of takedowns on enemies being prone
Improved the speed in which the weapon switches when watching another player melee attack
Decreased the range in which you can melee a player
Fixed visual glitch when blending between ragdoll and settled state in a takedown animation
Fixed an issue where players sometimes got thrown up in the air while using melee
You can no longer perform a takedown on a soldier climbing a ladder
Added a fix that should allow the melee to nudge vehicles to get them to be unstuck.
Fix for takedowns on enemies lying prone not working from all angles
Fixed issue where the animation was misaligned while taking down an enemy that is prone on stairs
Fixed a camera bug for meleeing players while standing on a moving platform
There’s a lot of great information to go through in the post. If you’ve been playing Battlefield 2042 since launch, how are you feeling about the game and what do you think of the impending updates? Let us know your thoughts in the Chatty thread below. You can also check out our Battlefield 2042 page for our ongoing coverage of this latest entry in the series.