Battlefield 2042 is bucking the series trend of using class balancing in favour of a hero-based system, known as ‘Specialists’.
Instead of limiting weapon and gadget choice to a few select combinations, all weapons and secondary gadgets will be free reign for players to choose from. The variation will come from Battlefield 2042’s version of heroes, known in the game as ‘Specialists’.
If you’re interested in the ‘lore’ for these characters, they’re all from nations that have fallen under the collapse of global civilisation. Following a series of natural disasters instigated by climate change, these characters become known as ‘non-pats’, short for non-patriated.
These non-pat soldiers are hired by the US and Russia to fight their dirty war for them. There’s a promise that the non-pats who survive will be offered a piece of what’s left of the world.
It’s all elaborate set-dressing to explain in a reasonable manner why the same characters are fighting for both Russia and the US simultaneously. Some might argue that it’s not strictly necessary. Overwatch pits unlikely character team-ups against each other all the time. Surely players are able to suspend their disbelief without needing a convoluted backstory? But I digress..
There will be 10 Specialists available to play at launch with several more arriving in Battlefield 2042’s post-launch support. We should be getting a look at most of them at EA Play Live later this month. For now, here’s everything we know so far about the Specialists in Battlefield 2042.
Webster Mackay
First up is Mackay, a Canadian assault-style character whose abilities focus around mobility.
His passive ability grants the player a boost to movement speed while aiming down sights. He’ll be perfect for players who are used to the run-and-gun combat mechanics of fast paced shooters like Call of Duty.
Mackay’s unique gadget is the Grappling Hook. You might have spotted this in the E3 gameplay trailer. When playing as Mackay, you can fire this gadget towards a surface. Once attached, you can retract the rope, launching you high into the air.
From the gameplay trailer, it looks as though you’ll be able to put a bit of a swing onto it, Spider-Man style. Looking closer, the Grappling Hook also seems to have infinite uses with a short cooldown timer between deployment. That could all change between the alpha and retail builds, though.
Maria Falck
Falck is the closest you’ll come to the traditional medic role that Battlefield fans are used to. Her Syrette Pistol operates very closely to Doc for those who have played Rainbow Six Siege. It fires a syringe at downed players, reviving them from a distance.
Falck’s medic duties extend into her passive ability. It seems that the ability for any soldier to revive fallen teammates is returning from Battlefield V. However, players revived by Maria Falck will enjoy full health upon their return. Players revived by squad mates will only see a small amount of health replenished when revived.
Pyotr “Boris” Guskovsky
If defending an area is more your bag, Boris might be the Specialist for you.
His SG-36 Sentry System gadget seems like it will operate like a remote turret. Place it down, and when enemies pass by they will be automatically targeted and shot at.
As a passive, Boris also enjoys that enemies targeted by the Sentry will be spotted on the mini-map. Not only does the turret deal damage, it will act as a recon device too.
Wikus “Casper” Van Daele
Casper is the last of the Specialists that we officially know about so far. Where Boris is a hybrid of an engineer stroke recon character, Casper goes all in on reconnaissance.
His OV-P Recon Drone seems like it will operate in a similar manner to the UAV from Battlefield 4. Sending it up into the air, it will spot nearby enemies moving in the area. It also has an assault function, stunning and disorienting nearby enemies close by. In addition, it can provide a hard lock-on for launcher weapons.
It’s unclear as to whether the Recon drone will be completely controlled by the player or whether it will have some form of autopilot function. Casper’s passive seems to indicate that auto-pilot will not feature, as the Movement Sensor ability will alert the player to approaching enemies. This will work while roaming around the map, but it’ll be especially useful while engrossed on the drone pilot screen.
“Sundance”
That’s all of the Specialists listed officially on the Battlefield 2042 website for now, but we do know of another from the gameplay trailer. You’ve probably already seen them – they’re pretty hard to miss.
Sundance is the character seen wingsuiting about the map in the E3 gameplay trailer and in several of the promotional screenshots. All we know so far is that they possess a wing suit that replaces the traditional parachute of the other soldiers.
Sundance players will be able to leap from tall heights and glide great distance across maps. From the trailer, it seems that the adverse weather affects might prove beneficial to Sundance – using the high winds of the tornado might make for some interesting plays.
It’s not yet clear whether the wing suit is a passive or a dedicated gadget. If it replaces the traditional parachute, one would think that it’s a passive ability. If so, that means we’re yet to discover what Sundance’s main gadget will be.
Surely all will be revealed when we see much more detailed Battlefield 2042 gameplay at EA Play LIve. The 22nd July event is set to reveal much more about the second and third game modes that will be included in the game at launch. One of them is rumoured to be called “Battlefield Hub”, an ultimate sandbox mode that sees classic maps clash with vehicle and weapon highlights from Battlefield’s past.
Want to know more about the maps included at launch with Battlefield 2042? We’ve got you covered – here’s a list of them all, ranked in order of size.
What do you make of the specialists in Battlefield 2042 so far? Let us know across our social channels.
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Featured Image Credit: EA/DICE