Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
The team at DICE has outlined what's next for Battlefield 2042. Season 2 looks to add a significant amount of content to the latest entry to the franchise. However, it will also introduce a handful of changes. The biggest change will relate to the often-maligned Specialists, which many long-time players have dismissed as EA trying to inject Call of Duty into their Battlefield. DICE is now looking to take action, announcing that Specialists are being shifted into the Battlefield class system.
"Earlier this year, we put together a team to analyze the feedback received and we're now ready to talk about the future of Specialists and the class system," Battlefield 2042 producer Alexia Christofi said during Monday's video briefing. "The arrival of Specialists in Battlefield 2042 has been polarizing. So, in Season 3 we'll be moving Specialists into the classic and familiar Battlefield class system. They'll have traits available to all Specialists within a given class with existing open gadgets and throwables split between classes to fit their role. Our initial thinking is this breakdown, but this is just the start of this discussion. We want to hear more from you. Specialists are not being removed from Battlefield 2042, but this evolution connecting them to the class system is one we know many of you have asked for."
Specialists had originally been a major feature that DICE had been aiming to expand over the course of Battlefield 2042's life cycle. Back in 2021, EA and DICE had expressed a hope to release one new Specialist per Season, a plan that mostly appears to be out the window, though a debuting Specialist is still planned for Season 2. Christofi notes that this is a major change in DICE's development plan, which is why this move is being targeted for Season 3, rather than Season 2.
As for what's coming in Season 2, look for the addition of Vault Weapons, which are Portal weaponry that can be unlocked in All-Out Warfare over time through the completion of Assignments. Vault Weapons will be a mixture of new and classic weaponry, with Battlefield 3's M16A3 Assault Rifle and M60E4 LMG among the old-school firearms being added. New map reworks are on the way, as Renewal will be overhauled in time for the Season 2 launch, while Orbital is targeting an October revamp. This is on top of a new map and a handful of quality-of-life updates.
To learn more about the changes to Specialists and everything else coming to DICE's shooter, check out the Battlefield website. We'll be on the lookout for more changes, so be sure to watch the Battlefield 2042 topic page for any updates.