To DICE’s credit, Battlefield 2042’s first weekend was mostly devoid of the launch woes that plagued their last-generation titles. It wasn’t perfect, however, with a mishmash of different issues plaguing the weekend. Reddit posts were filled with users discussing server issues andgeneral disappointment with the game. 2042 also found itself mired in controversy after Ukrainian players linked one of theSpecialist’s skins to a real-world crisis. None of these issues stack up to the launch woes of Battlefield 4 or controversies of Star Wars Battlefront II, though. Granted, this isn’t the full launch, which takes place on November 19, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility that the servers will collapse once the floodgates open for everyone.
While we reviewed the game on PC, our Early Access time took place on PS5. Surprisingly, the console version turned in a much more stable performance than the PC version. Perhaps it was toned down graphical settings or the locked 60fps, but the micro stuttering and FPS dips noticeable on PC were smoothed out on PS5.
What didn’t improve on PS5, however, was the UI. Since the beta, the UI has received its fair share of criticism and DICE somewhat addressed it for launch. It now correctly displays points earned from capturing objectives, eliminating enemies and helping allies, while the opacity of distracting elements like the ‘Majority" status bar has been turned down and missing elements like the big map have been restored. That being said, the UI remains overly complex, and features from previous titles remain missing. While the Plus menu is a great addition, customizing weapons and getting different attachments onto the Plus menu is frustrating. The game also doesn’t provide good descriptions to differentiate between specific attachments. Still missing are Battlefield stables like a full scoreboard and health bars for vehicles, a particular annoyance considering how strong vehicles are in 2042. Console owners get it worse with a UI that makes it actively challenging to swap spawn points. On Hourglass, it was physically impossible to spawn at a captured E sector using a controller because our team didn’t control an adjacent sector. No matter how many times we hit the up arrow from our spawn, we could not select E3.
Coming into a more precise picture over the weekend is the state of the balancing. Vehicles remain overly strong, but without UI elements that correctly display enemy vehicle health, it’s difficult to honestly state just how powerful they currently are in the meta. What isn’t up for debate is the poor state assault rifles are currently in now. The gunshot bloom, which determines how shots deviate from the crosshair, has been a talking point in the community over the weekend. While all weapons are affected, it’s the assault rifles that are experiencing the worst of it. Indeed, the spread from assault rifles is so random that SMGs are more reliable at medium ranges. It’s a surprising turnaround from the beta where assault rifles performed well and SMGs felt underpowered.
As for the Specialists, they remain as divisive as ever, though none have severely broken the game. Teamwork remains in shambles, though you do encounter instances of a random Falck or Angel wandering about and reviving allies not affected by the reviving glitch. The only problem Specialist remains Dozer, whose ballistic shield caused so many problems during the review period that DICE disabled it over the weekend. To this date, it remains unusable with no indication when the ban might lift.
Like all Battlefield games, 2042 is filled with glitches. Some, like the Reload indicator not disappearing or bodies clipping through scenery, are minor. Others are more serious, including persistent reviving issues that make it impossible to respawn and hovercrafts climbing buildings. It’s clear from this weekend that DICE has their work cut out for them to clean up the game.
Moving over to Battlefield Portal, fan-created content over the weekend was a mixed bag. Seeing the community create classic game modes like Infected and Noshahr Canals Team Deathmatch was touching. On the flip side, however, Portal has quickly become a dumping ground for XP farming servers to the point where the only matches brought up on the server browser were for XP farming. The issue was so prevalent that DICE and Ripple Effect Studios disabled all XP rewards on custom Portal servers.
While the weekend didn’t offer up any fixes for Battlefield 2042’s lack of content or fixes to the core map designs, continued tinkering with Portal offers up some ray of hope. Ripple Effect Studios has already done the hard work creating sections of the large-scale maps that would work with standard 64-player Conquest and 32-player Team Deathmatch. Adding traditional Conquest and Team Deathmatch modes to All-Out Warfare would inject much-needed variety and allow players to escape the empty feeling of the current Conquest mode and the meat-grinder insanity of Breakthrough. Hopefully DICE considers porting over these modes.
DICE and Ripple Effect Studios have a lot of work to get Battlefield 2042 prepared for its full launch this Friday. Though the game manages to eschew many of the launch issues that crippled its predecessors (including the Battlefront games), there’s still much that needs addressing. After its initial weekend, weapon balancing, UI elements, glitches and XP abusers are currently the most pressing issues facing the game. We’re still waiting to hear if there’ll be a Day 1 patch, but hopefully, DICE will have one prepared. The gameplay remains solid, and Battlefield Portal remains a robust and brilliant component, but Battlefield 2042 needs a helping hand elsewhere.
Battlefield 2042 launches November 19 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS4 and Xbox One. The Early Access period for Gold and Ultimate Editions owners and EA Play Pro continues throughout the week. EA Play members can participate in a 10-hour trial.
