Top 10 Specialists in Battlefield 2042

Love them or hate them, Specialists are part of the Battlefield franchise now, and if you want to beat the competition, you better make sure you avoid the trash ones. Here's a complete ranking of every Specialist in Battlefield 2042!

Battlefield 2042 specialists classes
The above can be thought of as the "founding four" - these were the only ones available way back during the beta | © EA

Battlefield 2042 is defined by its Specialists. Some of them are terrible, and some of them are boring, but a lot of them are great fun, and a couple of them are downright OP. So if you've just grabbed a copy of Battlefield 2042, and you want to give yourself the best advantage – pick your Specialist wisely. Here's a ranking of the top ten Specialists in Battlefield 2042!

Who are the Best Specialist Characters in Battlefield 2042?

10. 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

Oh, sweet Navin. You might not even recognize this Specialist because you certainly won't see anyone playing him. His ability to hack vehicles isn't a bad idea, but in practice, it's hard to pull off before they've escaped you, and it means you need to put yourself directly in harms way. We might see Rao reworked in a way that make it easier to use his ability, and then he would certainly jump up in the rankings, but for now, we recommend you pick one of the Specialists beneath...

9. 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

Falck isn't terrible, but in a game where everyone can heal, being able to do it from 20ft away just isn't a good enough reason to be picked. If you want support, then you want to go with Angel, who you'll find lower down in this list. He's just objectively better than Falck, and he's unlocked from level 1.

8. 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

We wish Casper could be higher on the list, it's honestly one of the bigger disappointments in the game that the one ghillie suit character isn't worth taking. The drone just doesn't provide enough useful intel in a game as huge and chaotic as Battlefield, you'll almost never use it. We can't put Casper at the absolute bottom because the movement sensor passive is nice to have when you're camping far away from the objectives and trying to snipe.

7. 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

Irish is sort of the main-character of Battlefield 2042, despite there being no campaign, and for that alone he's pretty popular. He's sort of the Captain Price of Battlefield. In-game, he ain't bad, but he's not too exciting either. The armor plates he collects from dead players offer solid utility, but you won't find yourself using the deployable cover very often at all.

6. 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

There's a reason Ji-Soo Paik was suspiciously locked on launch – the fans were worried she'd be broken, and they didn't want her making the launch any more painful. Her trait is an absolutely top-tier passive, but the EMG scanner ended up being frankly underwhelming in practice. It just doesn't really serve much of a purpose in BF2042.

In short – if you have Paik unlocked, use her before she's nerfed again.

5. 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

Boris's SG-36 isn't the best gadget in the world, but people would complain very quickly if it was any stronger. What makes the sentry gun so great, is that it's a fire and forget weapon. You don't need to focus on controlling it, you just pop it down near an objective and let it do its thing while you do yours. It tags people it hits, which offers great passive support to your team.

4. 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

Dozer doesn't just look like a badass, he's also got one of the best abilities in the game and a passive that's constantly useful. Let's start with the passive because it's easy to explain why it's so strong – BF2042 gives you a ton of explosives, Dozer has extra resistance to explosives, ergo, this will save your life in almost every game. Now, the riot shield might seem out of place in Battlefield, but when you're pushing the objective, you basically act as a giant distraction, and while the enemies are focused on you, they make themselves easy targets for your team. This couples brilliantly with a few of the other assault Specialists, and is one of the best ways to cap objectives.

3. Constantin "Angel" Anghel | 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

We were surprised by how much we enjoyed Angel, and how strong he is in play. What appears to be a simple Support ability can be used for so much, and it allows Angel to keep literally dozens of other players in the fight. Look, we know that Support will never be the most popular class in Battlefield, but someone needs to do it, and Angel is without question the best at this task.

2. 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

Mackay may be deeply irritating (seriously, some of the worst voice lines in the entire game), but he's also a fantastic Specialist. His grappling hook is fun to use, but more importantly, it gives you unparalleled movement. BF2042 has a ton of buildings and natural features to climb on, but without Mackay, they're largely inaccessible. But it's his trait that really sets him apart. Having a flat buff to handling on all weapons is easily the best trait in the game, and you'll be enjoying the benefits from it every single time you spawn.

Looking for the best weapon in the game? Maybe something to complement these more competitive Specialists? We got you.

1. 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

Sundance is great fun, and in the right hands, she's broken. Even for the average player, Sundance is enjoyable, and super competitive. The grenades are strong, but the wingsuit offers unparalleled mobility. You can get right up on objectives in seconds and pull off the kind of flanks that other Specialists can only dream of. No wonder she's by far the most popular Specialist in the game.

How Many Specialists Are There In Battlefield 2042?

Battlefield 2042 launched with ten Specialists, but each season a new Specialist will be introduced. And in case you didn't – know there are four seasons in a year, so once every three months. A fairly decent content drop we think, but please EA, let's get a few more vehicle focused Specialists!
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....