Battlefield 2042 finally starts this week in Season 1, over 6 months after release. MeinMMO author Marko Jevtic got to test the new content and finds: it is going in the right direction, but too slowly. And the new map curiously has a lot of symbolic power.
On the evening of June 6, I was able to play the first season of Battlefield 2042 alongside other journalists and content creators. This finally starts on Thursday, June 9, after more than 6 months. And there could hardly be a heavier burden on this new content.
Because Battlefield 2042 has been in a real crisis since release. The developers at the preview event avoided words like “flop” or “failed,” but their carefully chosen phrases made it clear that they do not find the current state of the shooter to be good either. After some delay, Season 1 is supposed to change that.
Battlefield 2042 Season 1: “Zero Hour” brings map, specialist, and 2 new weapons
Season 1, titled “Zero Hour,” is DICE and EA’s biggest attempt yet to turn the tide. But is it enough to still save Battlefield 2042 contrary to my expectations? You can already decide in advance by watching the confident trailer for Season 1:
Key innovations in Zero Hour include:
- 2 new weapons: a versatile DMR & a crossbow
- 1 new map: Exposure, whose main feature is the verticality
- 2 new stealth helicopters
- The new anti-vehicle specialist, Lis, and her TV-guided rocket
- 1 new gadget, the smoke grenade launcher
After I was able to play for about 2.5 hours in advance, I have to draw a divided conclusion. For although I had a lot of fun with the new content, the innovations are too few in total to fully convince me. The numerous adjustments in response to negative feedback paradoxically emphasize how many fundamental issues have already gone wrong.
DICE identifies 4 areas for improvement in Battlefield 2042
When I listened to the developers’ presentation of Zero Hour, I had a very sobering thought. For with all DICE’s explanations of how many fundamental errors in Battlefield 2042 will be adjusted, I noticed:
I have never experienced a live service game where the live service is primarily a complete overhaul of the game.
DICE started the presentation by clearly naming “4 areas” that need improvement:
- the maps
- the game modes
- the core gameplay
- content
They want to radically improve these areas but, according to their own statement, need time to do so.
This is how the game is gradually to be “unleashed” from the major feature of 128 players, so that the focus for future maps is instead solely on 64-player modes. Old maps will get more cover (starting with Kaleidoscope in August). The future new maps will also be designed to be smaller.
Construction site on a pile of rubble: New map with involuntary symbolism
The developers from DICE proudly stated that Exposure is the best map in Battlefield 2042 so far. And after I played it, I can easily agree, even if the bar was certainly not set high with the original maps.
Exposure excels mainly due to its high verticality. You fight through deep gorges up to the peaks, with almost labyrinthine lab complexes and the associated tunnels in the middle. This vertical “cake design” works very well, as it clearly separates areas for vehicles and close combat areas for infantry.
On the new map, you can also see how much better Battlefield 2042 plays when the map is smaller and has more cover. Debris piles everywhere caused by a landslide and construction vehicles, which are supposed to restore order to the crisis area.
But as good as it plays, this image of a construction site on a pile of rubble will involuntarily become a symbolic image of Battlefield 2042 in June 2022. Battlefield 2042 feels like it needs to be completely reinvented in live service, to the point where I couldn’t shake the feeling while playing that I was more in an active construction site than a finished shooter.
The UI is partially completely different from when it launched, the design philosophy of the maps has turned 180 degrees, even the specialists are now completely silent at the end of the game following disastrous feedback (thankfully).
Yes, these are all changes for the better, and you can clearly see how much the developers are now putting in the effort to eventually realize the full potential of the shooter. But it is exactly in this transitional process that the game feels even more fleeting, hollow, and at times even soulless. It’s as if you are watching live as a patient is being hastily put back together by a surgeon on the operating table.
Battlefield 2042 is going in a good direction, but in too slow steps
The other innovations in the game follow the same principle: the new content is in itself good and clearly shows that the developers under new leadership likely understand what Battlefield 2042 needs. But there is far too little content to eliminate all the fundamental problems with the game.
Let’s take the new weapons as an example. The BSV-M is essentially the AS VAL, which you can already use in Battlefield Portal. However, it is very flexible and adaptable thanks to the attachment system in Battlefield 2042.
Standardly, this weapon is a semi-automatic DMR that can deliver quite a punch at medium distances. With a few adjustments to the attachments and switching the fire mode, it turns into an aggressive SMG with a high rate of fire in just a few seconds.
This is exactly the strength of the Plus system and a great showcase of the flexibility I have always appreciated in Battlefield 2042. But it’s only one truly new weapon. The crossbow is primarily a neat gimmick for players who enjoy that kind of gameplay. At least the explosive arrows can also damage vehicles.
Even the best new weapon will not improve the old maps, nor will it make the specialists fit better into the gameplay. This also applies to the new specialist Lis, who is supposed to curb the dominance of helicopters with a steerable rocket and automatic markings of enemy vehicles. Like all specialists in the game, she falls into the category: nice idea, but it doesn’t fit into the game.
And that’s how it went in my play session. I initially had fun with the new content, but after about 1.5 hours, I lost interest again. Especially when the bots were activated for my last rounds, I knew again why I felt that Battlefield had lost its appeal for me.
The players are mostly gone and prefer to play 6-year-old shooters. That’s why I’m even shooting at dumb bots with the latest weapons. And this unsatisfying feeling of having to fight against AI soldiers because the player community hardly exists is unfortunately the reality in Battlefield 2042 before the launch of Season 1.
The new content of the first season is good, especially the new map. But whether this is enough for real players to populate the servers instead of all these bots starting Thursday, I doubt. Also due to the generally catastrophic mood.
Season 1 of Battlefield 2042 with its new content will be released for free to all players on Thursday, June 9. The season will run for 12 weeks. If you want to get started, our weapon recommendation still applies:
The currently best weapon in Battlefield 2042 – Here’s how to use it and why it’s strong
