Hello, sure, it’s me once more, one of many 14 individuals on Earth who take pleasure in taking part in Battlefield 2042. As I enter my sixth month of taking part in the sport, and as I method the sport’s stage cap, I’ve discovered my consideration of late turning in direction of the finer particulars of the sport’s maps, and which of them I desire taking part in.
Six months in the past I believe I hated all of them. Or not less than hadn’t but come to grasp how they work on this much-changed entry within the sequence. It’s in the identical method I believe quite a lot of sequence veterans are nonetheless struggling to come back to phrases with a lot else about Battlefield 2042. All of them appeared so massive, so empty, so suited in direction of chopper and tank play and little else.
I’ve put sufficient hours into the sport now to know that’s solely considerably true. A few of the sport’s maps are certainly barren wastelands which can be in dire want of a retune, however others have grown to turn into a few of my favourites from the entire sequence. Let’s discover out which is which (and word that I’m solely rating 2042’s personal, authentic Conquest/Breakthrough maps right here, not the basic maps in Portal like Caspian Border which have had their day!)
8. KALEIDOSCOPE
G/O Media might get a fee
Save 46%
Hearth TV 55″ Omni Sequence 4K UHD Sensible TV
Alexa-enabled
The Omni Sequence are all produced 4K UHD image high quality and are geared up with the identical interface it’s possible you’ll be used to on a Hearth TV Stick. Which means they’re additionally Alexa enabled so no have to kind in your favourite films and reveals. Simply maintain the distant button and ask Alexa.
Yikes. This map is an entire catastrophe, from high to backside. Which, funnily sufficient, are the one two ranges Kaleidoscope takes place at. Its flat, central “bowl” form has turned it right into a meat grinder, a spot the place solely snipers positioned within the towers looming over the periphery can have a great time, and I’ll audibly groan each time I see it loading up. And I’m a sniper, in order that’s saying one thing.
7. HOURGLASS
There are some cool areas right here on this monumental desert map, just like the half-buried stadium, residential villages and downtown space, and when battles deal with these flashpoints they are often nice! However the extensive open dunes in between them are a nightmare for each infantry (due to autos) and autos (due to choppers), and everytime you hear a few participant complaining about lengthy slogs for foot troopers, that is most likely the map they’re speaking about.
6. DISCARDED
Discarded appears to be like much more attention-grabbing than it really is. The assorted, monumental rusting ship hulks must be the spotlight right here, however the extensive open areas round them and repetitive structure makes them a little bit of a drag. As a substitute, it’s the smaller vantage factors on the sting of the map, like a brief settlement paired with a comms tower, that result in essentially the most pleasurable showdowns.
5. BREAKAWAY
If somebody is complaining a few lengthy stroll on foot and it’s not Hourglass, it’ll be Breakaway. However DICE’s depiction of a climate-ravaged Antarctic base additionally has some exquisitely-linked seize factors in its important cluster of buildings, and a terrific elevated “gateway” level the place the towering ice shelf ramps all the way down to the valley beneath. I’m additionally an enormous fan of the absurdity of its mountaintop station, which might solely be reached by plane or a single zipline.
4. RENEWAL
Probably the most visually interesting map within the sport, Renewal’s defining function—and my favorite factor about it—is a huge wall that runs proper by way of the center of it, separating a desert area from lush inexperienced farmland. Monumental battles are thus nearly at all times centred round who’s holding this wall’s central entry level, which appears to be like cool as hell, but in addition in flip makes any flanking breach an thrilling firefight.
3. MANIFEST
Right here’s an enormous shock! In case you’d requested me per week after launch which was my least favorite map, I’d have stated Manifest, as a result of the very fact it’s 70% stacked delivery containers was repetitive as hell. However first impressions will be deceiving, as a result of this map’s numerous ranges of elevation, and the countless struggles to manage the central hill trying down on the remainder of the map, imply that is really one of the vital attention-grabbing—and different—maps obtainable, by way of the sorts of experiences it gives to all courses and car sorts.
2. ORBITAL
Orbital is an enormous map however by no means seems like a chore to get round, and has extensive open areas for car duels but in addition loads of cowl and terrain selection for infantry. It has iconic focal factors but in addition massive tracts of attention-grabbing countryside in between, and even the sport’s standout map-based trick, when an enormous house rocket both takes off or explodes on the launchpad mid-game.
Of all of the maps the sport launched with, Orbital was simply essentially the most “Battlefieldy” of all of them.
1. EXPOSURE
Publicity, you arrived not a second too quickly. Addressing almost each criticism followers had with the sport’s launch phases—and likewise doubtless benefitting from extra time within the oven than 2042’s preliminary roster—Publicity is an unimaginable map, and for me has immediately landed within the Pantheon of all-time greats for the sequence. Set amidst a landslide it’s actually three maps in a single, and has every thing each sort of participant may need, from tense firefights in cramped tunnels to tank duels on grassy plains. A specific spotlight is the wrestle over a boardroom jutting out from a sheer cliff face, which in some way combines intense city fight with aerial bombardments from exterior and the verticality of letting gamers parachute their method out of it. Although the enormous tank elevator can also be nice.
Regardless of the place you find yourself on this map it’s simply enjoyable. It’s so good that, weeks after the launch of Season One, DICE are nonetheless working a mode the place you possibly can simply play this map time and again and over all day.
A word earlier than we go: I’ve tried to rank these on some sort of imprecise general stage of enjoyment, as an alternative of catering it in direction of sure playstyles. And that is how issues stand in March 2022; I’ll add to this record each time the sport will get new maps, which can hopefully be quickly!
UPDATE, June 27: Now that Publicity is out, I’ve added it to the record, straight at #1.
