Battlefield 2042 Season 2's new map centers on a drained Panama lake

It's a time of renewal and recovery for Battlefield 2042. After a rough road over the last year, EA and DICE have an eye towards the future and that future will continue with Season 2, which is being subtitled Master of Arms. With developer Ripple Effect Studios lending a hand, Battlefield 2042 will launch with a brand new map, one that carries much of the spirit of the classic Battlefield by placing teams in the middle of a desolate Panamanian lake.

Stranded is Battlefield 2042's next map. In the middle of Panama sits a lake completely drained of water. A container ship was sitting along that lake and now sits in the area completely beached. The ship will play a major factor in the map, which is where many of the Breakthrough and Conquest capture points will be held. While Stranded doesn't quite boast the same level of verticality that Exposure did, it does lead to a far more streamlined combat experience.

Vehicles can patrol the surrounding area, driving around some unmanned communication stations, shooting ranges, and shipping crates scattered along abandoned scrap depots. One of those vehicles is the new EBLC-RAM, which is a four-seated vehicle that can more easily maneuver around rougher terrain. It'll also prove useful with its ability to plant a spawn beacon on the ground.

While verticality is not a major component of Stranded, it is possible to use ziplines to get on the top of the abandoned cargo liner. Once stationed along the top of the ship, snipers can position themselves to either pluck enemies trying to capture points below ground or aim anti-vehicle rockets at passing helicopters. The comms tower will also reach skyward, allowing for players to either station themselves or coordinate an assault from the attached ziplines.

While Stranded is an exciting new addition to the Battlefield 2042 map rotation, there are also a few changes coming to some of the game's additional maps. As noted earlier this week, Renewal and Orbital will both receive reworks to fit more with the game's current direction. New Portal weapons are on the way with Battlefield 3's M16A3 Assault Rifle and M60E4 LMG teased earlier this week. Expect to see additional weapons from Battlefield 3, as well returning ones from Battlefield 1942 and Bad Company 2. Those who want to try those weapons out in closer quarters can look forward to new extra-small playspaces, which will place players in smaller portions of existing maps for more intense skirmishes.

While the idea hasn't been well received by players, Battlefield 2042 has introduced Specialists and the newest one will debut in Season 2. That's Charlie Crawford, who will bring a Mounted Vulcan stationary minigun along with him. Different from Boris' mounted turret, the Mounted Vulcan can't be moved and won't fire automatically. However, it does fire at a much higher rate and is heavily shielded from the front. Just make sure to keep it away from explosives and always make sure somebody's watching your six. Specialists are planning to be folded into the Battlefield class system, but that change is not coming until Season 3.

It won't be long before players can try out Battlefield 2042's newest map, as well as the game's other Season 2 additions. Master of Arms will launch on Tuesday, August 30.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?