Classes are coming back to Battlefield 2042

Paik, Casper and Rao's potential equipment in a future class update

Yesterday, DICE provided an update to the Battlefield community concerning the future direction of the game. The biggest news is the reintroduction of classes to the franchise (they were conspicuously absent from the game when Battlefield 2042 was released) but before we get to that, here's what is coming in Season 2:

• 1 new specialist
• 1 new map
• 2 reworked maps (Orbital and Renewal)
• 2 new primary weapons
• 1 new sidearm
• 2 Vault weapons
• Reworked Main Menu UI

There isn't much to report yet with respect to the new specialist or the new map, but the development team are apparently taking inspiration from the most recent map Exposure that was introduced in Season 1 (which apparently has a smaller overall layout and ideal for infantry-focused gameplay).

In terms of reworking existing maps, they are bringing in changes similar to what they have already done with the map Kaleidoscope (think shorter distances, more debris and cover, a better experience for those that prefer infantry-focused gameplay).

If you're wondering what the Falck a "Vault" weapon is, it has nothing to do with the Fallout franchise. DICE are planning to bring in a whole bunch of legacy weapons from previous Battlefield games that you can already use in Portal mode but into the main Battlefield 2042 experience. The first two guns they're planning to make available are the M16A3 and M60E4. I can tell you now, I'm pretty keen to use these classic weapons and it'll be interesting to see how they stack up against the current BF2042 arsenal. None of the weapons they're bringing over from Portal will have unlockable cosmetics but that's fine with me since I kind of like the original look to the guns anyway. Unlocking of the weapons themselves will be done via relatively simple assignments as per below:

M16A3

• 30 Kills and Assists with Underbarrel Grenade Launchers
• 100 Kills and Assists with M16A3 or SFAR-M GL

M60E4

• 100 Kills and Assists with the M60E4 or PKP-BP
• 100 Teammates Resupplied with Ammo

Later on, DICE plans to bring in the P90, AKS-74u and the M98B.

A new support operator will be coming in the second season

Finally, the big news is that we are finally getting classes back! Assault, Support, Engineer and Recon will be making a return to Battlefield 2042 but not until Season 3 by current estimates, so there's still a bit of a wait. While the introduction of classes will mean restrictions on what kind of gadgets each class can bring (e.g. only engineers can bring along repair tools) there will remain no restriction on which primary weapons they can carry (so you can have engineers running around with sniper rifles).

Specialists will still exist in the game but they have now been assigned to classes (e.g. Irish is an Engineer, Casper is a Recon, Falck is a Support, etc.).

I think it's a step in the right direction, but as was the case with Battlefield V, is it again, too little, too late? What do you all think?