Battlefield 2042 update fixes almost as many bugs as there are players

An upcoming patch for Battlefield 2042 will introduce hundreds of bug fixes and quality of life improvements to the ailing multiplayer shooter and it’s expected to roll out on April 18.

Dice community manager Kevin Johnson announced update 4.0 on Twitter, outlining several of the key changes we can expect (thanks, Eurogamer). The patch will include over 400 bug fixes, which is a sizeable amount and not far off Battlefield 2042’s concurrent player count, which dropped to a paltry 832 on April 13.

Attachments are being overhauled to make them feel more unique, allowing them to better impact your loadout choice and gunplay. Playable Specialists Rao and Paik will also have their traits updated, and some fixes will be made to Sundance’s grenade belt to improve their close-quarters, anti-armor targeting.

XP rewards for support actions and squad-play will be rebalanced to encourage greater teamwork, and Ribbons – BF 2042’s in-match rewards – have been tweaked so they’re easier to unlock in some modes, such as Rush.

Balance tweaks are also being applied to Vehicular Warfare to improve the dynamics between infantry and vehicles. Aim bugs that occur when exiting a vehicle or reviving near obstacles will also be fixed.

Johnson says this “merely scratches the surface of Update 4.0 in Battlefield 2042” and the team appreciates “the patience afforded to us with getting this update out there”. 

Damage control

For many Battlefield 2042 players, that patience looks to be wearing thin. The multiplayer shooter has seen an exodus of players since it launched late last year, as fans of the franchise remain disappointed by its persistent bugs and glitches. The slow rollout of additional content – such as voice chat and its delayed first season of DLC – has pushed more players from the game.

The updates that have been implemented so far haven’t been particularly well-received by the community. A batch of recent map tweaks were welcomed as a step in the right direction but weren’t substantial enough to win over disappointed fans.

Battlefield 2042 recently dropped below 1,000 concurrent players on Steam, marking a new low for the multiplayer shooter.

Those who have stuck with the game will be eager to see whether the 400+ fixes in this upcoming update substantially improve it, or paper over the cracks.