Battlefield Briefing - Development Update, November 2022 [ Edited ]

[T0TALfps]

Hey Folks - 

As we head into the end of Season 2: Master of Arms, we want to get you up to speed with where we’re at with Season 3, our work on the Specialist and Classes Revamp, which weapons are next to join the 2042 arsenal, map reworks, and exciting news about life for Battlefield 2042 beyond Season 4.

Here’s Alexia Christofi from the Battlefield 2042 Development team to tell you more:

To recap our Development Update video, we’re drawing ever closer to the start of Season 3, which is set to bring with it a new Specialist, a brand new map alongside reworks for both Manifest and Breakaway, and all new hardware to add to your armory. Season 3 will also see the return of classes to Battlefield 2042, but that’s not all.

We’re also excited to share that we’ve recently started pre-production on all new content that will come after Season 4, next year. Our work on Battlefield 2042 isn’t done.

We’re proud of the work that we’ve done over the past 12 months and so if you haven’t jumped in yet, starting in Season 3 we’ll be introducing Battlefield 2024 into EA Play, making the game available to EA Play members across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC through Steam, the EA app, and Origin.  Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members will also have access through EA Play. While in December, we’ll also have free access periods across all platforms*. Experience the evolution and improvements we’ve brought to the game for yourself, and we look forward to welcoming you onto the Battlefield.

New Vault Weapons

At the start of Season 3, we’re bringing Bad Company 2’s XM8 into the LMG pool, alongside Battlefield 3’s A-91, with more Vault Weapons arriving in further updates during the Season. These classic weapons will sit alongside all new hardware that the team have developed for Season 3. Stay tuned for news on what they are, and how they’ll transform the Battlefield in the coming weeks.

Specialist Rework - Update 3.2

As we’ve finalized our work on Season 3, we’ve been able to lock down when you can expect to experience the overhaul that we’re bringing to Specialists, reintroducing Classes to Battlefield 2042. This big change will deploy in the early part of 2023, during the later half of Season 3 as part of Update 3.2.

In case you missed our most recent update on the Specialist rework, we’ve committed to the reintroduction of classes into the game, placing our Specialists within defined roles that see them gain access to a specialized set of gadgets and equipment that best suit their purpose on the Battlefield.

We’ve been testing these changes extensively, recently inviting folks from across the Battlefield community to play with us, and to share their immediate feedback on the changes and to help affirm that we’re headed in the right direction. With their help, we’ve been able to test the Weapon Proficiencies that we introduced as a result of your feedback, a system that enables us to retain the combat freedom we know you’ve come to appreciate playing the game your way, but better reward players who stick to more common archetypes of weapon and class combinations.

Here’s where we’re at with the weapon proficiencies that we have so far:

Assault - Assault Rifle Proficiency

• Assault Rifles are ready to fire quicker after sprinting

Engineer - Utility Proficiency

• Utility Weapons have improved reloading capabilities

Support - LMG Proficiency

• LMG’s have additional magazines and are more efficient when deploying bipods

Recon - Sniper Rifle Proficiency

• Faster to stabilize when holding breath, with longer hold breath durations

Using the feedback that you’ve shared, we’ve also switched Irish into the Support role, with Crawford swapping in as an Engineer. Irish will therefore take Crawfords current trait, reviving downed teammates with additional gadget ammunition, and we’ll be developing a new trait for Crawford that will allow him to better specialize as an Engineer.

We’ve also reviewed how it is that Rao best fits into the new system and are working on improved team and squad communication around this Specialist so he performs as a strong asset within the Recon Class. For more on those changes, be sure to check out our recent blog.

With Season 3 just on the horizon, we’ve another new Specialist to introduce to you, who will later go on to join the ranks of Assault. We look forward to you meeting them in the coming weeks.

Updating Manifest and Breakaway

We have 2 more map reworks coming your way during Season 3. With Update 3.1, you’ll receive an update to Manifest, and then alongside the Specialist rework in Update 3.2, look forward to a massive overhaul of Breakaway.

With Manifest, the team has reworked the map to bring it in line with the updates that you’ve already experienced with Kaleidoscope, Renewal, and Orbital - bringing the HQ flags closer to the action, and removing redundant playspace.

We’ve also worked to improve the visibility that you experience on this map, ensuring that our play spaces are better lit, and that your sightlines are improved when you’re scanning for enemies.

You’ll experience better cover, and improved pathing between the flags, with the flags themselves receiving careful attention that ensures that you can better focus your attack and defense when playing the objective.

Be sure to check out the preview of these changes in today's video, and look forward to a more detailed preview as we get closer to Update 3.1

In early 2023, we’ll return with a new and improved Breakaway, bringing a dramatic overhaul to the map which see’s us move the Oil Rig much closer to the action, and better focus our gameplay within a more refined playspace.

We’ve carefully reviewed the purpose of the Outlook flag and decided that we can create a more engaging round of Conquest without it, empowering us to consider how much of the playspace we should retain on top of the Glacier, and design new ways to play within the ice itself.

There are entire new flags for the map, as well as heavily reworked the Town and nearby Refineries to ensure that you’re able to move with more confidence between these flags when playing as infantry.  

Ice and Snow shaders have also been reworked, helping to bring a new visual look to the map, and we’re excited to see you get hands on with this one in 2023.

Our work to bring map improvements will continue next year beyond these two changes and we’re excited to show you what we’re doing next.

Season 2 - In Review

During Season 2: Master of Arms we introduced the first of our Mid Season Events: The Liquidators, and we wanted to acknowledge some of the learnings that we gained throughout the event.

We know that you enjoyed the event itself, and that Tactical Conquest was a fun alternative to the All-Out Warfare of Conquest. We saw more of you jumping in and sticking with the mode more than any other mode during those two weeks so thanks for playing! 

We have heard your feedback around spawn trapping in rounds where one team took total control of the Battlefield, and the improvements we may consider making to flag spawns to ensure that respawns are more predictable in the future. We also recognise that 8v8 and 16v16 helped to create entirely different playstyle experiences, with 16v16 showing itself to be better suited for the mode and size of the playspaces. 

If we return Tactical Conquest to the mix in the future, we’ll take this feedback on board and bring it back with improvements that help to improve the experience.

We wanted to also acknowledge that the event could have felt more rewarding than it did. We got that feedback loud and clear and as we think about the Mid-Season events that we want to bring during future seasons, we’ll be ensuring that you have opportunities to earn and unlock more cosmetic items, and that you receive clearer communications from us about what is earnable heading into the event itself.

We’d also like to improve the feedback you get at the end of round to help track your progress with these events, and this is something that we’re looking at possibly introducing in a later season.

Season 3 (and what to expect)

We’re only a few weeks away from the start of Season 3. This season will see us head to an all new Battlefield, in a location we’ve always wanted to realize, but haven’t so far in our 20 years of creating Battlefield.

Vi är väldigt förväntansfulla!

Season 3 will bring with it a new Specialist, all new Battle Pass, brand new hardware, and a new event, experiences and more with Battlefield Portal, alongside more improvements, fixes, and quality of life enhancements with each and every update.

Stay Informed

Make sure to follow @Battlefield and @BattlefieldComm to stay informed on all things Season 3. There’s not long to go now!

Go Spin Some Dogs

Freeman // @PartWelsh
Community Manager, Battlefield

________________________________________________________________________

US / ROW (excluding EU, UK, Germany, Brazil):

“*Limited time free trial. Trial time is subject to change. Free trial runs from:

• On Xbox, from December 1, 12:01 AM PT through December 4, 11:59 PM PT.

• On Steam, from December 1, 10 AM PT through December 5, 10 AM PT.

• On PlayStation, from December 16, 8 AM PT through December 23, 8 AM PT.
  
  

Internet connection, EA account, and acceptance of EA User Agreement (terms.ea.com) and Privacy & Cookie Policy (privacy.ea.com) required to play. Access on certain platforms may require a premium platform account. Additional in-game content may be available for purchase and is available for continued use in the full game; purchased content will not be refunded upon completion of the trial.

EU / UK / Germany / Brazil:

“*Limited time free trial. Trial time is subject to change.  Free trial runs from:

• On Xbox, from December 1, 12:01 AM PT through December 4, 11:59 PM PT.

• On Steam, from December 1, 10 AM PT through December 5, 10 AM PT.

• On PlayStation, from December 16, 8 AM PT through December 23, 8 AM PT.
  
  

Internet connection, EA account, and acceptance of EA User Agreement (terms.ea.com) required to play. EA’s Privacy & Cookie Policy applies (privacy.ea.com). Access on certain platforms may require a premium platform account. Additional in-game content may be available for purchase and is available for continued use in the full game; purchased content will not be refunded upon completion of the trial.

This announcement 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.

[Ga-Knomboe_Boy]

I know its wishful thinking but I hope some of the container stacks on Manifest will topple over as a form of destruction.

Also, add server browser to All out war.

ps. classes look good.

[Anarchiesx]

The reworks have all been great, but the Breakaway rework in particular looks awesome. Question: any chance the devs could add a SNOW STORM to Breakaway? It is the only map where weather is completely static all the time, so I think an occasional snow storm would go a long way. We had some inclement weather on Operation Whiteout in Battlefield 4, so I would think it's totally doable here. Please consider this for the Breakaway rework.

[UP_Hawxxeye]

What about the recategorization of vehicles? Jets need their own slots.

Bolt-E needs its very own category because it does not fit in the heavy armor category.

[ATCleeghoofd]

@T0TALfps looking great, can't wait!

[SgtHL]

I´m worried about the map reworks.

Look at Renewal, it´s now a total disaster where two teams run in a straight line towards eachother.. wtf?

While i like the addition of more cover the removal of several flags and something like 30% of the actual gaming area was a complete disaster.  Now there is just an ugly empty space where the warehouse used to be.. really? Who´s dumb idea was that? That is just lazy and incredibly poor map-design.

Devs.. please try to remember that this is BattleFIELD not Battlecloset. The maps are supposed to be large and make you think about what flag you should attack or defend next. Having to engage your brain is what used to set Battlefield apart from other fps-games.  (sidenote: please bring back destroyable commander assets). 

If you want to "streamline" maps for Rush-mode then do that, in Rush-mode. Please don´t destroy Conquest-mode by making the actual play-area small and stupid like what happened to Renewal.

p.s. still no real fix for Hourglass? You know, the map that makes people quit when it loads because it´s so boring to play? Maybe actually include the amusement-park etc from the concept art for that map?

[Explosive_Oats]

Please EA for the love of all things DO NOT restrict the Recoilless 5 use only to engineers. I quite frankly dont like the idea of bringing classes back, it is very counterintuitive to the way that BF2042 was meant to be, it really feels like we're forcing 2042 to be like the old games, and while thats good in some cases, in others its not and is better to have something new.

The Recoilless 5 is extremely versatile, and honestly most of us miss over 80% of our shots with it, its hard to use it and is not like BF4 Straw that had laser guidance and you could literally move the rocket, the Recoilless 5 isnt just good for vehicles, but it is amazing to take down snipers for those of us Assault people that we DONT want to be a Recon, we want the action not just standing in a spot sniping, it is also amazing to take down turrets, and rangers. I quite honestly feel like the Recoilless is exactly where it needs to be, it is weak and most shots are missed, but with the amount of people and a bit of luck sometimes youre able to take some vehicles down, but it is NOT often. There are way too many vehicles/robots/gadgets that having the Recoilless available for everyone makes it an absolutely amazing choice, I truly DONT want to have it locked to Engineer class because i DONT want to use an engineer operator. The C5 is a good gadget but it is EXTREMELY circumstancial, due to the amount of people in game and vehicles some of them with over 5 people in them, getting close to a vehicle to be able to place C5 on it is extremely rare and really difficult, it works well when it does, but again, it is very cicumstancial. I really want the Recoilless to stay available for everyone, it is a NECESSITY for the huge amount of vehicles and gadgets that are deployed in the game, restricting it to a class would be a TERRIBLE decision and personally would seriously hurt my enjoyment of playing this game, reading that change was quite devasting and gave me a very harsh feeling of hopelessness for the games future not being fun anymore. It would also create a big unbalance because since R5s are such a necessity we could have too many engineers on both teams and lose the other operators, as well as having an overwhelming amount of these engineer gadgets deployed, making them feel overpowered when in reality theres just too many of them, which will lead to them getting nerfed, essentially creating a new issue where was none before, besides. classyfing every operator would essentially take away the diversity that BF2042 was so build upon, with too many restrictions, because one of the best parts is having many operators and still having the choice to use them as you want amd every one having their own ability is wonderful!

So PLEASE, EA, this is just not the right way to go!