Battlefield 2042 has finally introduced Hazard Zone. MeinMMO summarizes the most important information for you.
What you need to know about Hazard Zone: Many fans suspected Hazard Zone to be Battlefield’s answer to CoD Warzone. However, DICE emphasizes that this mode is not a Battle Royale. Rather, PvP and PvE elements are mixed, as revealed in a major leak. Hazard Zone thus resembles the Dark Zone from The Division a bit.
There are not only human opponents but also NPC enemies. These are the so-called crew troops who besiege important data carriers or try to prevent you from extracting the data. Your primary goal is not to kill opponents.
Instead, you need to extract these data carriers and survive.
How many players are possible per match? It depends on your platform. Older consoles have to settle for fewer players:
- 24 on Xbox One and PS4
- 32 on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5
There are already significant differences between older and new consoles in other modes. For example, in All-Out Warfare, a maximum of only 64 players are on one map, while on PC, Xbox Series, and PS5, up to 128 are possible.
Here you can see the trailer:
This is how the 5 phases of Hazard Zone work
How does a match proceed exactly? DICE divides Hazard Zone rounds into five key sections that make up a match:
- Planning and equipping
- Every match starts with a briefing that informs you about the mission area and where you will start
- Based on this information, you can equip and prepare yourself
- Landing
- You will be dropped at your target point by helicopter
- You start with 4 players on a map
- Recovery
- The search for the data carriers begins
- These data carriers are scattered across the battlefield
- For this, you can take an “Intel scanner” that is supposed to help you in the search
- First extraction
- The first opportunity for takeoff starts about halfway through the elapsed time
- An extraction point appears at a random location on the map
- During the recovery, opposing players and bots can make your life difficult
- Final extraction
- This is your last option to successfully complete a match
- It is your decision when to extract, but be mindful of the approaching storm
- When it approaches, the match ends as you can no longer be rescued
In total, a maximum of two squads can survive a Hazard Zone match. The priority lies on recovering the data, not on killing other players.
During a match, you may encounter random factors such as tornadoes, which can create unpredictable circumstances. For example, additional satellites may fall from the sky containing even more datasets.
What happens if you die? Initially, you will be shot down and can move by crawling. However, if you get killed permanently, you will be sent to the spectator screen.
Your squad can bring you back with a reinforcement call that you can either find on the map or take as a tactical upgrade.
What is the purpose of collecting the data? Battlefield 2042 is set in the near future. The EU no longer exists, Germany is bankrupt, and climate change has plunged the world into chaos. Only the USA and Russia stand as great powers against each other, recruiting elite soldiers, known as “No-Pats”, from former other countries.
Both great powers are on the brink of a third world war in 2042. This also sets the framework for the storyline of Hazard Zone. In 2040, due to a global blackout, about 70% of satellites crashed to Earth. Therefore, both sides now rely on temporary low-orbit satellites as the most important method for collecting strategic data.
These satellites are launched and later land with their collected data in US or Russian territory. The respective factions can then recover this data in the form of data carriers and use it for their strategies.
Your task is to set out and collect this data. Aside from the story, the data has value for the players. Each extracted data carrier is converted into the special “Hazard Zone” currency “Dark Market Credits”.
Battlefield 2042 Hazard Zone – Dark Market Credits, Tactical Upgrades, Maps
What are Dark Market Credits? You can spend these credits before a match to equip your character with weapons, upgrades, and gadgets. The equipment is specifically designed for Hazard Zone.
You get Dark Market Credits not only through the data but also through other actions that DICE does not elaborate on.
Tactical Upgrades
What tactical upgrades are there? At launch, 15 upgrades are expected to be available.
Free upgrades:
| Name | Effect |
| Starting Armor | You start with +20 armor |
| Negotiated Bounty 1 | You receive +50% credits for kills of crew troops |
Upgrades that you need to buy with Dark Market Credits:
| Name | Effect |
| Squad Reinforcement | Can revive a killed squad member. Usable only once |
| Quickdraw Holster | You switch weapons 15% faster |
| Data Storage | Your capacity for data carriers increases by +2 |
| Loadout Insurance | If you fall in combat, 50% of the costs for your loadout and tactical upgrades will be refunded |
| Biometric Scanning | Enemies are spotted 50% longer |
| Faster Healing 1 | You heal 20% faster |
| Faster Healing 2 | You heal 50% faster |
| Ammo Increase 1 | You receive an additional magazine for your primary weapon |
| Ammo Increase 2 | You receive two additional magazines for your primary weapon |
| Insider Information | Reveals crash sites of data capsules 30 seconds before they land |
| Throwable Increase 1 | Increases the capacity for throwable items by +1 |
| Throwable Increase 2 | Increases the capacity for throwable items by +2 |
| Table Deal | 100% extra credits for recovered data carriers |
What these upgrades cost and how many credits you receive is currently unclear.
All Maps of Hazard Zone
On which maps will it be played? All 7 new maps from Battlefield 2042 are playable in Hazard Zone:
Orbital 
Hourglass 
Kaleidoscope 
Manifest 
Discarded 
Breakaway 
Renewal
What about Specialists? Which ones are playable is currently unknown. However, players can only play different specialists. Unlike in All-Out Warfare, two Mackays cannot be in one squad.
At the launch of Battlefield 2042, 10 different specialists are expected to be available, but only 5 of them are officially known at the moment, we have summarized them for you in an overview.
When will Battlefield 2042 be released? The official release is on November 19, 2021. Then the shooter is expected to be released for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One.
Hazard Zone is just one of three major parts that make up the multiplayer of Battlefield 2042.
In addition to classic modes like Conquest in All-Out Warfare, there is also Battlefield Portal, which reintroduces numerous content from previous iterations: All information about the mode and which maps are included
What do you think of Hazard Zone? Do you find the mode interesting? Or does it have little to do with Battlefield for you? Let us know your opinion in the comments.
