[GameSpot] - Battlefield 2042 Update Makes Changes To Breakthrough To Help Improve Balance

[343iBot]

DICE has made some significant changes to Battlefield 2042's Breakthrough mode, which had been suffering from some amount of gameplay imbalance.

In a forum post, DICE said it is aware that the attacking team was often provided with too many reinforcements for the final sector--and that's a problem. This is "neither balanced, nail-biting, nor fair for the opposing team," the studio said.

As a result, the ticket values for the attacking team in Breakthrough have been updated. "The purpose of this change is to help even out the odds and create a more exciting experience throughout the match, especially in the final sectors," DICE said of the changes.

For the 128-player version, the attacking team gets more tickets to start each match, but fewer with each sector cleared. That is the general rule, but the specific ticket numbers vary by map.

"We'll be monitoring these changes to ensure that it's producing healthier rounds, and will let you know if we need to make further adjustments in the future," DICE said.

DICE delayed the launch of Battlefield 2042's Season 1, citing a desire to improve the core game first before adding new content. Additionally, management at Electronic Arts plainly stated that Battlefield 2042 failed to meet its sales expectations. Though the company did not disclose a sales target for the game, management said issues related to COVID and some design choices that did not resonate with fans were partially to blame.

Still, EA stressed that it remains committed to growing and improving Battlefield 2042 and turning it around, not unlike how DICE successfully improved Star Wars: Battlefront II after a rocky start. There have been ongoing rumors that DICE is considering making at least some of Battlefield 2042 free to help reinvigorate the community, but no official announcements about this have been made.

Despite its issues, Battlefield 2042 was the fifth best-selling game in the US during 2021.

Battlefield 2042 Breakthrough Changes

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Breakaway

• 128 Players
  • Initial Tickets: 650 (up from 600)
  • Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 200 (down from 300)

• 64 Players
  • Initial Tickets: 300 (down from 400)
  • Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 75 (down from 150)

Discarded

• 128 Players
  • Initial Tickets: 750 (up from 600)
  • Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 200 (down from 300)

• 64 Players
  • Initial Tickets: 350 (down from 400)
  • Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 100 (down from 150)

Hourglass

• 128 Players
  • Initial Tickets: 700 (up from 600)
  • Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 225 (down from 300)

• 64 Players
  • Initial Tickets: 300 (down from 400)
  • Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 75 (down from 150)

Kaleidoscope

• 128 Players
  • Initial Tickets: 600 (No Change)
  • Tickets Rewarded per Sector:300 (No Change)

• 64 Players
  • Initial Tickets: 300 (down from 400)
  • Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 75 (down from 150)

Manifest

• 128 Players
  • Initial Tickets: 700 (up from 600)
  • Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 275 (down from 300)

• 64 Players
  • Initial Tickets: 400 (No change)
  • Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 75 (down from 150)

Orbital

• 128 Players
  • Initial Tickets: 700 (up from 600)
  • Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 150 (down from 300)

• 64 Players
  • Initial Tickets: 300 (down from 400)
  • Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 75 (down from 150)

Renewal

• 128 Players
  • Initial Tickets: 650 (up from 600)
  • Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 150 (down from 300)

• 64 Players
  • Initial Tickets: 400 (No change)
  • Tickets Rewarded per Sector: 75 (down from 150)

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