Battlefield 2042 is bringing in its first major season update on June 9. It’s called Zero Hour and it includes a new map, new Specialist, weapons, and Battle Pass. Here’s everything you need to know about Battlefield 2042’s big season 1 content drop.
The new map in season one is called Exposure, and it’s located in the Canadian Rockies. There are multiple points of elevation and caves and multiple ridges for different angles and entry points. It almost reminds me of older Battlefield maps where you run up mountain sides to get from one point to another. Exposure has a lot of varying zone environments that set it aside from the other maps in 2042 and encourage equal ground and air warfare.
Meanwhile, Ewelina Lis is the new specialist dropping in Season 1 and she has a special rocket launcher that is player controlled. There is no auto targeting with this rocket launcher, so once you aim in a direction and fire, you can manually guide the missile to your target. There is a distance limit on it since the missile only has a set amount of fuel so it can’t go long in the air, but it is a very useful weapon and especially deadly since you control the projectile. Lis also has a passive ability that allows her to see damaged vehicles highlighted in red, which works perfectly with her rocket launcher since she can then finish off the damaged vehicles. Her rocket launcher isn’t too powerful where it destroys vehicles in one hit, but it packs a good punch – especially to those already damaged vehicles.
Speaking of vehicles, there are two new stealth helicopters, the RAH-68 Huron and the TG-99 Hannibal Gunships, that have radar deflection abilities and enhanced defenses. New weaponry introduced in Season 1 include the Ghostmaker R10 Crossbow which is near silent and best in short to mid-range combat. You can go between regular, light, heavy, and explosive ammo, but the explosive ammo type is so strong you really want to be utilizing that ammo type consistently. There’s also a new Marksman rifle in All-Out Warfare, the BSV-M DMR that’s suppressed and works best in midrange. The reload does take a bit of time since its single bullet reloads so be aware of when you decide to press that button.
With Season 1, Battlefield 2042 also gets a new battle pass system. It has 100 tiers and free content you can earn, but also a $10 premium pass that includes more rewards. The battlepass features access to weapons, vehicles, cosmetics, player cards, weapon charms, takedowns and more.
Finally, Season 1 also brings some updates to existing maps. Kaleidoscope will be getting a minor facelift in August, with more cover strewn across the map and new POIs. It’s also in the works for Renewal to get a slight rework in Season 2. There are some other quality of life updates that are coming later in June and July as part of Season 1 to improve visuals, animations, game performance, and weapon balancing. It’s also important to note that starting in Season 2, the maps releasing in that season and in the future will not support 128 player game modes and focus instead on 64 player lobbies. The original launch maps will have 128 player game modes but the future maps will not.
The entire update, minus the battle pass, is free and releasing June 9th. Are you excited to play on the new map Exposure? Do you like the changes Season 1 is bringing to Battlefield? Let us know! For more on Battlefield 2042 news, be sure to keep it right here at IGN.
Stella is a Video Producer, Host, and Editor at IGN. Her gameplay focus is on competitive FPS games and she’s previously reviewed Apex Legends, Hyper Scape, Halo Infinite Multiplayer, and Battlefield 2042. She regularly hosts and shoutcasts competitive Apex Legends and Halo Infinite tournaments when she isn’t streaming on her Twitch channel after work outs. You can follow her on Twitter @ParallaxStella.