[GameSpot] - Battlefield 2042 Kaleidoscope And Specialist Reworks Coming August 2: Full Patch Notes

[343iBot]

After months of gathering fan feedback, the first of Battlefield 2042's map reworks, as well as visual reworks for the game's Specialists, will go live on August 2 as part of the game's update 1.2.

The rework of Kaleidoscope headlines the update. In response to fan feedback, DICE has added new cover throughout the map while also raising the terrain in certain areas to break sightlines. The new and improved Kaleidoscope also sports new objective locations and points of interest, such as a forward operating base in the park and a command post added near the map's central tower. DICE states in the official patch notes that in addition to new map areas and added cover, parts of the map have also been updated to have a more "war-torn look" that is "more faithful to 2042's setting."

An example of the updated Specialist character models coming with Battlefield 2042's 1.2 update.

Updating Battlefield 2042's visuals to more properly align with fans' expectations of what a world at war might look like also applies to the game's Specialists, which are receiving "style and tone" visual updates as part of update 1.2. The new Specialists character models look far more serious than before, with DICE stating they now "better reflect the intense situations they have experienced."

For players eager to see more information about their in-game performance, the update will add a Player Profile page, where players can easily see their rank, masteries, unlocks, as well as a Statistics page, where players will find detailed stats such as their kill-death ratio, accuracy, matches played, and more.

Other notable changes include improvements to aim assist on controllers, nerfs to the RAH-68 Huron and YG-99 Hannibal 30mm cannons so that they have a more limited impact on infantry, tweaks to various Specialist abilities, and numerous bug fixes.

Due to the various improvements made to Battlefield 2042 since launch and the introduction of a new map and Specialist as part of the game's season 1 content, user reviews for the title on Steam recently improved from "mostly negative" to "mixed." Despite Battlefield 2042's rough launch, EA has stated it remains committed to the franchise, with a new EA studio working on a single-player campaign set within the Battlefield universe.

Battlefield 2042 Update 1.2 Patch Notes

Content & Improvements

Kaleidoscope - Map Improvement

Earlier this year we had an open discussion with you on map design via our Core Feedback - Maps initiative. Through your feedback, we identified several focus areas for our launch maps where our quality standards could be improved through Cover, Intensity, Line of Sight, Pathing and Traversal changes. As a result, we have been reworking our launch maps to ensure their gameplay is updated to these revised standards of quality.

Reworking maps takes time, and Kaleidoscope is the first map for which we have completed this rework. You can play the improved version in this game update.

What’s changed?

We have revised the playspace to add more cover, creating new flag positions, and improved the flow across the whole map.

Cover has been added not only with the placement of new assets, but also in the raising of terrain to help break sightlines and let infantry move more purposefully around the map. Most importantly, these new assets bring more tactical destruction which help to ensure that the map evolves throughout the duration of each round, and provide both Attackers and Defenders with new options when playing in key areas.

We have also introduced new areas onto the map, by adding a Forward Operating Base into the park, with a second command post added close to the Tower. The Data Center has similarly received multiple passes from the teams to help ensure that there are more cover points, and new war torn looks to certain areas that help make the map more faithful to 2042’s setting.

We hope you will enjoy the new gameplay on this map, and we are looking forward to your feedback on how this updated version plays once you have tried it out.

As a reminder, Renewal is the next map we are reworking. That work is still ongoing, and the revised version will be available for play during Season 2.

Specialists - Style and Tone Updates

In this update, we are revising our art direction to ensure Specialists meet your Style and Tone expectations for our world of 2042. You will notice updated Specialist character models to better reflect the intense situations they have experienced.

Here are several examples of those updated models. We would love to hear your thoughts on the new Specialist looks once you have seen them in-game.

Player Profile

Another area of feedback we have heard from you is being able to view your in-game performance and stats. This feature will be in your hands in Update 1.2 through the introduction of the Player Profile.

Your Profile shows your current in-game progress and your performance stats since launch. View information such as your current Rank, XP required towards the next Rank and the associated unlocks, your top Masteries and the unlocks you are next closest to completing.

While on the Statistics screen, you can check out information such as your K/D Ratio, kills, deaths, assists, revives, accuracy, shots fired and much more.

We are excited for you to discover how you have been performing once the Player Profile is in your hands. And of course, we are looking forward to seeing those impressive K/D ratio screenshots coming our way.

Changelog

General

• Fixed an issue with Aim Assist that prevented Auto Tracking from working as intended for moving targets
• A scroll menu has been added while viewing weapon attachments
• Previewing skins while in a game will no longer show character feet clipping into the ground
• Text in the Collection screen identifying Ranger's category is now easier to read
• The Hide UI button in the Battle Pass screen no longer hides Player Card backgrounds or Tags

Battlefield Portal

• Rush - corresponding era-specific MCOM's have been added for all maps. The Bad Company 2 version also received visual improvements from its original look and feel
• Fixed an issue where AI Soldiers driving tanks wouldn't move in the El Alamein: Axis Airfield map layout

Modifiers

• Dozer will no longer regenerate explosive damage even when Soldier Health Regeneration is On
• The call-in Vehicle Cooldown modifier now affects the window of time when a vehicle is destroyed and when it's available for use again
• The call-in tablet now correctly displays when vehicles are unavailable due to limits being reached
• AI Soldiers are now able to fly planes

• Vehicle Superiority will now respect the ticket multiplier modifier
• Vehicle Superiority ticket progress bar will now update based on max tickets remaining
• A new separate Modifier has been added for enabling AI passenger seats

Rules Editor

• Quad Bike vehicles placed in the map now respond to ModBuilder Blocks
• Resolved a Rules Editor teleporting issue on Exposure
• The “Equals” Rules Editor block now supports Capture Point type
• Disabled Capture Points will no longer impact the game, such as still having ticket bleed
• Teleport now works in vehicle superiority game modes
• Several new Rules Editor blocks have been added
  • GetPreviousOwnerTeamId
  • GetOwnerProgressTeamId
  • GetCurrentOwnerTeamId
  • GetCaptureProgress
  • OnCaptured:CapturePoint
  • OnCapturing:CapturePoint
  • OnLost:CapturePoint

Gadgets

• Picking up Ammo Pouches should now always register when collecting them in quick succession
• An incorrect status is no longer displayed while using insta-lock projectiles such as Sundance's Anti-Armor grenade
• Fixed an issue where the player could use both IBA Armor Plates consecutively after placing Boris's SG-36 Sentry Gun or Irish's DCS Deployable Cover

Anti-Tank Mine

• The handle of the Anti-Tank Mine no longer floats while held when changing to it from the NTW-50

C5

• C5 no longer gets attached to the MV38-Condor when thrown from the passenger seat

Insertion Beacon

• The Insertion Beacon health bar and icon should now not be offset when it's placed on uneven terrain

Repair Tool

• The Repair Tool now starts cooling down immediately when stopping a repair
• There is no longer an incorrect delay before the overheat progress starts

Smoke Grenade Launcher

• The Smoke Grenade Launcher now shows the correct category tag in the Battle Pass

Hazard Zone

• There is now a chance for a powerful AI Tank to appear which guards a significant number of Data Drives. It's marked on the map, so it's up to you if you want to try and get the sweet loot...
• In-world icons have been adjusted to make it easier to read how many Data Drives are at each location
• You are now able to pick up Gadgets dropped by Players and AI Soldiers
• An issue has been resolved that prevented Ranger and vehicle call-in items from being used after picking up the required Uplink

Soldier

• Auto deploying a parachute should no longer deploy too late or cause fall damage
• The camera will no longer clip in transition from 1P to 3P view while performing a takedown
• Soldiers sometimes did not drop their weapons when dying in a vehicle. This has been resolved
• Made changes to areas where explosion damage would still reach out of range soldiers
• Fixed an issue where melee attacks could cause physical issues on transition areas such as slopes
• Fixed as bug where reviving and trying to melee didn't cancel the revive
• Soldiers no longer clip into each other during takedown animations
• Fixed an issue where downed animations were not played correctly if the player died before others players spawned in
• Fixed an issue reviving an ally inside the elevator on Renewal wasn't possible
• Added high quality animations for occluded soldier kill cams
• Spawning on a player that is prone will ensure you are now also in prone stance
• Prone behavior on steep slopes has been improved which should prevent instances of inaccurate dispersion while firing
• You are now able to go prone while walking backwards
• Player models would sometimes stick through walls while prone, which allowed them to be damaged. This should no longer happen
• Stairs or slopes should no longer sometimes show vaulting animations
• You should no longer sometimes see a stuttering animation when starting a slide
• Visuals for soldiers and vehicles popping into player view after being hidden has been made smoother
• Fixed an issue where the forward button had to be held for a short duration to enter ladders
• Jumping should no longer get interrupted directly after vaulting
• An issue has been resolved that prevented sliding immediately after climbing a ladder
• Jumping during a slide should now always trigger correctly

Specialists

Paik

We felt that Paik’s EMG-X Scanner was not consistently worth using as an offensive tool as it caused her to become spotted, and thus vulnerable. We therefore removed this self-spotting effect, and slightly increased the spot duration of scanned enemies to make the Scanner more reliable for use.

• Increased the spot duration while using the EMG-X Scanner from 0.5 -> 0.85s
• Paik is no longer spotted when using the EMG-X Scanner

Rao

• Rao's Hack effect should no longer last when in the passenger seat of a vehicle
• Rao's hacking animation should no longer sometimes get stuck
• Rao's hacking now properly goes through some penetrable or see through objects, while before it didn't always do that

Sundance

• Resolved discrepancies with Sundance Grenade Icons
• Sundance's Wingsuit audio should no longer continue playing when entering a vehicle
• You should now be able to perform takedown while inside bushes

Angel

• Angel’s Loadout Crate should no longer block ladders

Casper

• The OV-P Recon Drone is now always destroyed when hit by air vehicles

Dozer

• Bashing with Dozer’s SOB-8 Ballistic Shield should now always follow the enemy soldier
• The camera should no longer clip through structures when attacking with Dozer's SOB-8 Ballistic Shield

Irish

• Ammo Crates and Medical Crates can no longer go through Irish's DCS Deployable Cover

Lis

• Fixed an issue where hitting the back of a T90 MBT with Lis' G-84 TGM would deal 1% damage
• Fixed issues with aircraft HUD disappearing when shooting and reloading the G-84 TGM from a passenger seat
• G-84 TGM camera missile visuals now properly interact with the sandstorm on Hourglass
• Lis's animations should no longer sometimes clip during End of Round
• Reduced the brightness for Lis's Armor Hunter trait

UI/HUD

• Added support for Aim Based Icons Opacity. This new feature allows the opacity of icons to be adjusted based on how close or how far they are from the center of the screen. Icons at the center of the screen will be more transparent, whereas icons at the edge of the screen will be more opaque.
  • This feature aims to prevent icons from blocking the visibility of enemy targets that you are aiming at. It is active at all times with greater effect when zoomed (very low opacity when the icon is in the center). Enemy player icons' opacity are not affected by this feature.
• Added options to customize the area of the screen where the opacity is affected as well as the transparency in the periphery of the area or at the center of the screen when zoomed and not zoomed. The option can be found under DIsplay > HUD Icons."
• Added a new HUD option called "Horizontal HUD Padding" which allows adjusting how far off the left and right side the HUD is positioned. When set to 0, elements such as the minimap and the inventory will be positioned at the edges of the screen. When set to 100, those elements will be close to the center. This option can be found under Display > HUD General
• Improved readability of nearby grenade threats through an updated grenade warning indicator icon. Animation, size and opacity scaling over distances adjustments have been made to ensure it's easier to see the warning when the grenade isn't in the player's view
• In-world health bars, icons and names should now always be visible on unoccupied and friendly vehicles
• Fixed issues with distance not being visible on location, danger and objective pings when these icons are sticking to edge of screen

Vehicles

• Adjusted helicopter rotor transparency in 1P view to reduce potential photosensitivity risks.
• Ammo counters and the actual replenish time are now fully synced properly on vehicle weapon pods.
• Fixed an issue that was causing the MV38-Condor to not take off while in flight mode
• Fixed an issue where the reload timer on missiles would stay on screen after switching weapons.
• The spark element for miniguns has been adapted to light level so it doesn't block player view while in low-light environments
• A Minigun/20mm shell eject effect has been added for the MD540 Nightbird
• Added 25mm shell eject effects for aircraft Anti-Aircraft weapon
• Collision damage has been updated for light vs heavy air vehicles. This does not mean the vehicles are immediately destroyed while colliding, but they will take more damage than before

50mm Air Cannon Pod (Condor / Hind)

We felt the offensive capabilities from the MV-38 Condor and Mi-240 Super Hind against infantry were still too strong. We are adjusting their 50mm Cannon to help further limit their impact on infantry, and to put more focus on these helicopters being intended as a means of transport.

• Ammo count reduced from 12 to 8
• Blast radius reduced from 5 -> 3.5m
• Replenish time increased from 3.5 -> 6s

EBAA Wildcat

We are adjusting the EBAA WILDCAT’s anti-air capabilities to ensure these weapons are more effective in their intended use of dealing with air vehicles.

• Anti-Aircraft Missiles - Damage increased from 130 -> 210. This means it's now a 2-hit kill against the Nightbird and Jets, and will leave Attack Helicopters at critical HP.
• Anti-Aircraft Missiles lock on range increased from 400 -> 600m
• Dual 30mm AA Cannons minimum damage has been removed. It now always does the same damage at all ranges
• Dual 30mm AA Cannons now do slightly more damage against Jets and all Helicopters

RAH-68 Huron / YG-99 Hannibal

We felt the Stealth Helicopter 30mm Cannon Pods were too powerful against infantry because they could be fired for extended periods of time and leaving little opportunity for infantry to retaliate. We have therefore increased the overheat speed for these Cannons to limit their impact on infantry.

• Increased overheat of the 30mm Cannon Pods on the RAH-68 Huron and YG-99 Hannibal
• The wrong keybind is no longer being displayed for the Equipment Slot in the Gunner seat for RAH-68 Huron and YG-99 Hannibal
• Adjusted entry icon position on the YG-99 Hannibal/ RAH-68 Huron

Weapons

• Fixed an issue where Shotguns were dealing damage up to 300m. They no longer deal damage above 200m.
  • For those fired upon from distances with a shotgun, it means less instances of falsely giving you feedback that you might be in danger. For shotgun wielders, it should no longer mistakenly give you the indication that you could effectively eliminate your target from such distances
• The Incendiary Grenade launcher no longer one shots enemies
• Reduced the peripheral blur around weapon scopes when zoomed in to aid with general visibility
• M5A3 barrel is no longer visible through some scopes
• BKS Scope no longer clips with camera in NTW-50
• Ghostmaker R10 barrel is no longer visible through certain scopes
• A number of scopes have been updated to ensure a larger playable area is visible when Aiming Down Sights
• Tweaked shell eject effects so that the shell casings aren't visible when ADSing with the PSO-1 scope
• Fixed an issue that was breaking scope visuals on the BKS 8X and SDB 10X when certain underbarrels were equipped
• The Target 8T 1.25-4.5X scope is no longer missing its "Toggle Optic" label
• Buckshot Shell's default magazine now has the correct magazine size icon
• The MP28 default red-dot sight is now using the correct icon
• Fixed an issue that was causing incorrect visuals to be displayed through scopes with some skins

BSV-M

• Full Auto mode on the BSV-M no longer provides Recoil Compensation and instead gives a 15% Dispersion Penalty
• Adjusted the BSV-M High Power Magazine damage dropoff to begin at 50m instead of 100m
• Fixed an issue where the BSV-M would not get reduced recoil while using the bipod
• Fixed an issue where the BSV-M magazine size in the HUD did not match the one equipped on the weapon

K30

• Reduced K30 ammo type damage for Subsonic, Standard Issue and High-Power rounds
  • Subsonic, 0-10m - 22 dmg > 18 dmg
  • Subsonic, 30-40m - 18 dmg > 15 dmg
  • Standard Issue, 0-10m - 22 dmg > 18 dmg
  • High-Power, 0-10m - 22 dmg > 18 dmg

M5A1

• Reduced the M5A3 Close Combat rounds damage
  • 0-20m - 22 -> 18 damage

MP9

• Reduced the MP9 Close Combat rounds damage
  • 0-5m - 28 -> 22 damage
  • 30-40m - 22 -> 18 damage

Underbarrels

• Reduced the size of the Masterkey's attachment crosshairs
• Players would take damage from the initial impact of the 40mm Incendiary launcher, but not the fire itself. Players will now burn as expected
• Firing an underbarrel now also spots you on the minimap
• Fixed a broken animation that would sometimes play when triggering an underbarrel attachment while being in the Plus Menu
• An underbarrel icon will now be displayed while ADSing in Launcher/Masterkey mode
• Added missing Default underbarrel to the Hazard Zone M5A3
• Fire Mode UI icon is now present while using underbarrel attachments
• Fire Mode Key bind is no longer present while using underbarrel attachments

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