Battlefield 2042 update 3.2 brings back class system

They couldn’t live with their own failure

Released in 2021, Battlefield 2042 did not score all too well with players or critics due to a vast amount of technical issues as well as polarizing design choices like the discarding of the series’ traditional class system in favor of individual operators. Longtime fans of Battlefield saw this as a step towards the Call-of-Duty-fication of their beloved franchise – a shortsighted chase after trends mandated by some upper-level analysts who’ve never actually touched video games.

Well, it turns out that the fans were right – who could have seen that coming? After repeatedly failing to turn the ship around update after update, Battlefield 2042 finally brings back the class system from older games, or at least something like it. EA and DICE had to bring together a whole investigative committee to come to that conclusion, something they could’ve saved themselves from doing if they had listened to what the alpha testers had been saying all along, but let’s not belabor the point.

How do classes in Battlefield 2042 work?

Update 3.2, which is due to arrive in January 2023, will restrict the usage of certain gadgets to specific classes. Over are the days in which everyone runs around with a rocket launcher in their backpack. If you want an anti-vehicle option like that, you’ll need to choose an Engineer. Technically, you'll still choose those specialists with all their unique bonuses and capabilities, but this step makes encounters in the game much more readable and forces specialization instead of everyone going with the same loadout.

However, unlike in the traditional version of the class system, players will still be able to freely choose between all weapon categories. That means that a Recon can still use an assault rifle in Battlefield 2042. To incentivize certain classes to choose specific weapons, the update is going to introduce weapon proficiencies, which will grant a bunch of bonuses to certain combos.

• Assault using assault rifles: three extra magazines.
• Engineer using LMGs: improved dispersion while crouched or prone.
• Support using SMGs: faster draw time.
• Recon using sniper rifles: immediate, constant and steady scope.

Recent years have seen some miraculous turnarounds for games – think about No Man’s Sky going from everybody’s most hated game to a paragon of long term support or Final Fantasy 14’s comeback – so all hope is not lost for Battlefield 2042. But it sure is going to be a long way back to the top.