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Battlefield Briefing - Development Update, February 2023

A development overview ahead of Season 4

Hey everyone,

It’s been an exciting start to 2023! On January 31, we introduced The Return to the Class System, alongside Update 3.2 to close out Season 3.

It’s been an important journey for the team as we acted on your feedback and worked to bring Classes to Battlefield 2042. This update also came with new and fresh gameplay, and we hope so far you’re enjoying it as much as we did developing it.

We’re happy with how the new meta and balance is playing out so far, though there are still further improvements we’d like to make. Expect further changes in the future, such as character balance for Lis.

Now on to our first Development Update of the year! Let’s take a look at what’s upcoming in Season 4: Eleventh Hour, and beyond:

  • New Map: Flashpoint
  • New Specialist: Camila Blasco
  • New Weapons: Super 500, RM68, AC9, RPT-31
  • New Vault Weapons: SVD, Type 88
  • New Vehicle: CAV-Brawler
  • New Gadget: SPH Explosive
  • New Battle Pass
  • Map Reworks: Discarded, Hourglass

A complete Specialist roster

We’re excited for you to try out Camila Blasco - the latest addition to the Specialist roster once Season 4 is available to play. Her ability to move without alerting motion-based technology, alongside the X6-Infiltration Device creating communication dead zones should make for exciting Recon gameplay.

With her addition into the Specialist roster we now have a total of 14 Specialists available for varied gameplay across the 4 Classes. As we look towards Season 5 this means Blasco is our last Specialist, and we won’t bring further new ones to Battlefield 2042.

Gadgets and the Return to the Class System

A change we made with Update 3.2’s Return to the Class System is that Gadgets are now linked to Classes - similar to how it worked in previous Battlefield titles. As we continue to introduce new gadgets in future updates, you’ll find that we’ll now design them for specific Classes.

For Season 4 this means that the new SPH Explosive will be an Assault Class gadget, and thus available for Dozer, Mackay, Sundance and Zain. This also gives us the opportunity to further enforce Class identity by designing the right tools for the job.

Taking the SPH as an example, we had a lot of fun designing it to ensure Assault can help the team push objectives. Once it latches on to a target, watch it explode after a short delay - perhaps that enemy was already running towards their friends and you thought they could use an extra gift…

Map Reworks: Discarded, Hourglass

The work to bring you evolved and reworked versions is still ongoing. With only 2 maps left, Discarded is up next during Season 4, and Hourglass will follow during Season 5.

Here is an overview of the improvements we made for Discarded:

Submarine

We’ve given more importance to the flag position in the submarine, while adding new cover to block line of sight. Especially when coming from the corridors into this room. We’ve also worked on the lighting across the map to improve visibility.

Colossus Ship

We’ve strengthened the flag on the Colossus Ship to allow soldiers in the lookout to keep the beach under control. With an added variety of cover to improve infantry combat, the destroyed ship tower gives the space a more epic look and feel.

Salvage Yard

What used to be an open field has now become the Salvage Yard. It’s designed to host a variety of combat, and the car wrecks and the flipped buses provide cover and alleyway-like paths that can give infantry the upper hand.

Dismantled Hull

A destroyed convoy and rows of military cover have been added to strengthen the frontlines of this flag. The smoke from the convoy provides cover from snipers on the upper floors of the hull. We’ve also closed a part of the hull to limit frequent sniping from the deck of the ship.

Beach Worksite

This flag is now placed in the Beach Worksite part of Conquest and Breakthrough so there’s always an objective between the Colossus ship and the Dismantling Yard. There are also improved paths leading to it, by streamlining the roads and adjusting the cover across the beach.

The new center piece allows for mid to long range combat, but with cover to make it more approachable for infantry, yet still with space for vehicles to drive around it.

Antenna

We have brought an existing flag closer to the Antenna and Flooded Village, to better link the north and south parts of the map. This will allow you to move between these two points more easily. If you’re up for an adventure, then you can also climb the Antenna and parachute down to the Colossus or Flooded Village.

For Hourglass you can expect a new route under the highway. This change will come in as part of our overall efforts to reduce distance between objectives. We’ll also allow for improved cover, sightlines and combat opportunities across the map. And as with our other maps, we’ll also add a war torn atmosphere throughout.

We’ll share more details on the Hourglass rework as we get closer to the release of Season 5.

 

What’s next for maps?

Speaking of Season 5… it’s already in full development and the team is super excited about the new map. Here is another look at the concept of what we’re working on.

You’ll set foot on a forgotten battleground where armies clashed decades ago while trying to secure a vital train track being used for the transportation of armaments.

As the region is once again engulfed in conflict, attempts are taking place to capture the route for the delivery of heavy armor to key positions. Attempting to stop the enemy’s plans, a counter offensive prepares for an ambush that will secure the much needed supply line and tip the balance of power back in their favor.

Development of this new map has been a lot of fun for the team, and we’re looking forward to sharing more with you at a later time.
 

It’s been an exciting start of the year as The Return to the Class System and the Breakaway rework became available to play in January. It’s early in the year, but we’ve already brought several major improvements to core gameplay, and with Season 4: Eleventh Hour incoming shortly we invite you to come check out everything that’s new.

Tomorrow we’ll follow-up with the Season 4 Update Notes which include a full overview of all the changes and improvements you can expect alongside the new content.

We’d also like to invite you to listen along to our Inside Battlefield Podcast where we talk all things Battlefield. A new episode is released each Monday, and you can catch more details on Season 4 in the next episode.

Lastly, see you on the Battlefield, and Play The F*cking Objective!

 

//The Battlefield Team
 

The details in this article may change as we listen to community feedback and continue developing and evolving our Live Service & Content. We will always strive to keep our community as informed as possible.