In Battlefield games of years gone by, players were forced to pick weapons that suited the class they opted to play. However, in Battlefield 2042, players, regardless of their chosen role, are able to run around with whatever gun they please, thanks to the new Battlefield 2042 specialist system.
Specialists are individual characters you can take into battle, each housed within one of Battlefield’s four staple roles and equipped with unique traits and equipment. There is a total of ten Battlefield 2042 specialists at launch, with more coming at a later date. In fact one will drop at the beginning of each content season in Battlefield 2042, meaning there will always be regular shakeups to the specialist line-up.
So if you, like us, are trying to work out which character to pair with the best Battlefield 2042 guns, read on for how the Battlefield 2042 specialists system works, then read on.
What are Battlefield 2042 specialists?
In Battlefield 2042, specialists are unique characters with their own roles and specific traits that you chose to play as. There are ten of them in total, spanning across the four roles of Assault, Support, Recon, and Engineer.
Each specialist has a speciality (which is tied to their role) and a trait (which is unique to them). These specialties and traits cannot be changed, so only one specialist will be able to use the wingsuit, only one will be able to use the grappling hook, and so on, so forth.
However, you are able to customise loadouts for each and every Battlefield 2042 specialist. Since classes no longer restrict what weapons you can carry onto the battlefield, you’ll be able to customise your primary and secondary weapons, equipment, and throwables for each character.
While this, in theory, means everyone in your four-man squad could carry RPGs, you do have to consider your role on the battlefield when choosing your loadouts. Opting for explosive firepower in your equipment slot means you won’t be able to carry a Medical or Supply crate – giving your team less options and less time on the objective.
Battlefield 2042 specialists
Here are the ten Battlefield 2042 specialists in full:
Webster Mackay (Assault)
- Speciality: Grappling Hook – Fires a rope that attaches to surfaces. When attached, the rope is retracted and the player gets pulled towards the attach point
- Trait: Nimble – Allows the player to move more quickly while aiming down sights, further enhancing their speed-related advantages
Maria Falck (Support)
- Speciality: S21 Syrette Pistol – Fires a syringe at friendlies to provide healing. The pistol won’t revive friendlies at range, just heal them. If fired at an enemy, the syringe will do damage
- Trait: Combat Surgeon – Allows the player to return downed allies to combat with full health when reviving
Pyotr ‘Boris’ Guskovsky (Engineer)
- Speciality: SG-36 Sentry System – Automatically spots and engages enemy targets detected within a certain area
- Trait: Sentry Operator – Spots the enemy target when the sentry gun locks on to the enemy in question
Wikus ‘Casper’ van Daele (Recon)
- Speciality: OV-P Recon Drone – Spots nearby moving targets and can disorient enemies by using EMP blasts. Can also designate targets for lock-on weapons
- Trait: Movement Sensor – Alerts the player to approaching enemies, both while boots on the ground and while piloting the Recon Drone
Kimble ‘Irish’ Graves (engineer)
- Speciality: Fortification System – Includes the DCS Deployable Dover to protect from bullets and explosives, and the APS-36 Shootdown Sentinel to take down explosive projectiles.
- Trait: Veteran – Provides armour, with additional bonuses from downed enemies
Navin Rao (Recon)
- Specialty: Cyber Warfare Suite – Hack enemy equipment and in-world objects
- Trait: Trojan Network – Killing a hacked target reveals enemies around them
Santiago “DOzer” Espinoza (Assault)
- Specialty: SOB-8 Ballistic Shield – Carry a shield that protects from incoming projectiles
- Trait: Blast Resistant – Take less harm and recover faster from explosive damage
Emma “Sundance Rosier” (Assault)
- Specialty: Smart Explosives – Use a versatile set of anti-armor, EMP, and scatter grenades
- Trait: Wingsuit – Traverse great distances and surprise the enemy
Ji-SOO Paik (Recon)
- Specilaty: EMG-X Scanner display an electromagnetic overlay of hostiles in cover
- Trait: Threat Perception – Automatically spot enemies who deal damage to you
Constantin “Angel” Anghel (Support)
- Specialty: Loadout Crate – provide armor, ammo, and new loadouts to yourself and allies
- Trait: Trauma Specalist – Revive allies rapidly and restore their armor
You can see some of the gameplay for the latest Specialists below:
How many Battlefield 2042 specialists can you have in a squad?
Squads in Battlefield 2042 consist of four-players and in All Out Warfare, squads can contain more than one unique specialist.
However, in Hazard Zone, teams must have four unique specialists.
How can you differentiate between Battlefield 2042 specialists?
Working out who’s who on the battlefield can be pretty tough, especially if two teams are using the same specialists. However, EA says the coloured icons highlighting your team, squad, and enemies will return alongside some new systems that the development team is still testing.
There are also the options of customising Battlefield 2042 specialists through skins, allowing you to alter your character’s appearance over time. EA has also confirmed cross-progression and cross-commerce will be featured, meaning you can carry your skins over to each and every platform you decide to play on.
That’s all the info we have on specialists right now, but as more are revealed and added throughout the course of Battlefield 2042, we’ll keep this guide updated for you. For now though, check out the Battlefield 2042 cross-play details and the Battlefield 2042 maps.