Battlefield 2042 Specialists

Battlefield 2042's Specialists are not popular, but they aren't going anywhere. So, here's an overview of the Specialists and why they're so unpopular.

Battlefield 2042 Specialists From Alpha
You can see the four that we were first shown above, but the game launched with ten | © EA

While a hero shooter has its obvious benefit for video game developers (people will pay for skins if they care about the operator), fans of Battlefield are less keen. Here's a rundown of every Specialist in Battlefield 2042, and an explanation for why they've been sop controversial.

Who are the Specialists in Battlefield 2042?

Navin Rao | Recon

  • Place of Birth: India
  • Class: Recon
  • Specialist: Cyber Warfare Suite
  • Trait: Trojan Network
BF 2042 Specialist Rao
Unfortunately, a very poor Specialist. | © EA

Maria Falck | Support

  • Place of Birth: Germany
  • Class: Support
  • Specialist: S21 Syrette Pistol
  • Trait: Combat Surgeon
BF 2042 Specialist Falck
Maria Falck is appropriately matronly for a medic. | © EA

Wikus "Casper" Van Daele | Recon

  • Place of Birth: South Africa
  • Class: Recon
  • Specialist: OV-P Recon Drone
  • Trait: Movement Sensor
BF 2042 Specialist Casper
Casper looks so damn cool. We wish we could place him higher. | © EA

Kimble "Irish" Graves | Engineer

  • Place of Birth: USA
  • Class: Engineer
  • Specialist: Fortification System
  • Trait: Veteran
BF 2042 Specialist Irish
With Michael K. Williams now sadly deceased, we aren't sure how the story will develop... | © EA

Emma "Sundance" Rosier | Assault

  • Place of Birth: France
  • Class: Assault
  • Specialist: Smart Explosives
  • Trait: Wingsuit
BF 2042 Specialist Sundance
Definitely one of the most fun to use. | © EA

Pyotr "Boris" Guskovsky | Engineer

  • Place of Birth: Russia
  • Class: Engineer
  • Specialist: SG-36 Sentry System
  • Trait: Sentry Operator
BF 2042 Specialist Boris
A Russian stereotype to be sure, but an enjoyable one. | © EA

Santiago "Dozer" Espinoza | Assault

  • Place of Birth: Mexico
  • Class: Assault
  • Specialist: SOB-8 Ballistic Shield
  • Trait: Blast Resistant
BF 2042 Specialist Dozer
Dozer is a beast in-game, and rightly so. | © EA

Constantin "Angel" Ahngel | Support

  • Place of Birth: Romania
  • Class: Support
  • Specialist: Loadout Crate
  • Trait: Trauma Specialist
BF 2042 Specialist Angel
We were surprised by how much Angel impressed us on launch | © EA

Webster Mackay | Assault

  • Place of Birth: Canada
  • Class: Assault
  • Specialist: Grappling Hook
  • Trait: Nimble
BF 2042 Specialist Mackay
Webster Mackay is annoying as hell, but he's a great Specialist | © EA

Ji-Soo Paik | Recon

  • Place of Birth: South Korea
  • Class: Recon
  • Specialist: EMG-X Scanner
  • Trait: Threat Perception
BF 2042 Specialist Paik
Wallhacks. Literal wallhacks. | © EA

Who Are The Best Specialists In Battlefield 2042?

If you want to know who the best Specialists are in Battlefield 2042, we've broken down our rankings of them into each class:

Needless to say, there's lots of balancing work to be done...

Why Don't People like the Specialists in Battlefield 2042?

Specialists allow EA to sell microtransactions more easily because they create personalities that people can grow attached to. This explains the success of cosmetics in hero shooters. The problem is, Battlefield fans have an expressed desire for cosmetics that are closer to generic mil-sim uniforms. So the idea of Battlefield growing closer to a hero shooter, and the 'personality' that this entails, has been poorly received. In the Twitter and Reddit threads recently, a lot of responses seem to echo the same sense of loss. A lot of fans would rather play as a normal soldier. They want to be 'generic soldier 1'.

Also, the mechanical strengths and weaknesses of every Specialist has produced a meta. This is not what Battlefield fans, at least for the most part, claim to want. They want variety. This issue will only produce more discontent when the Battle Pass comes around and players start to realize that the new Specialists each season will inevitably have stronger abilities than what's currently available.

Although when we sat down with some Battlefield pros, they made good arguments for Specialists, so it's not all doom and gloom.

Jon Ramuz

Jon has a BA and an MA in English Literature, and as Content Lead for EarlyGame has written over 1,500 articles. He focuses on shooters, but also writes about entertainment and gaming in general....