Being given the opportunity to test out season 5 of Battlefield 2042 was pretty exciting, premiering on the 7th of June 2023, the latest season promises a ton of updates which include a stronger focus on combined arms as well a new map and weapons.

Aside from that, the latest season will also introduce an all new Battle Pass which has various rewards such as Cosmetics, XP Boosters and BFC (in game currency) for players to unlock by completing the missions assigned to them.

New Map: Reclaimed

The newest map coming to Season 5 called Reclaimed, is a map where a past conflict has taken place nearly three decades ago. Five years after 2042, war comes to the area once more with a new conflict taking place amongst the remnants of the old one.

Reclaimed has six points to capture and hold with each one requiring the player to approach it differently due to its landscape and position.

Flag A1 (Train Derailment) – This particular area focuses on medium range combat with vehicular action suited in the surrounding area. Due to the area being a wide open space, the likelihood of you getting killed by enemy vehicles is quite high as there are not many places to hide from tank shells and rocket strikes.

Flag B1 (Supply Drop) – Forestry area with lots of cover but tons of blind spots as well. During my playthrough, half the time I had no idea where the shots were coming from as I could not see the shooters through the dense forest, luckily there is also a small hill which you can utilize to lose the enemy’s line of sight. This area is perfect for some close quarter action. 

Flag C1 (Turbine Hall) – This capture point hosts an indoor space which focuses on mid to close combat on the ground level, however as the roof is all blown out, you have to be aware of attacks from above such as Helicopters and enemies parachuting in. 

Flag C2 (Military Storage) – Tons of entry points which will have players watching their backs as you make towards the objective. It is a mix of indoor and outdoor play so playing cautiously when going through point C2 would be the best option. 

Flag D1 (Fortified Bunker) – Point D1 takes the fight to the mountainside which unfortunately has wide and open areas for air vehicles to capitalize on. This point also has a bunker with a connecting corridor that had me participating me in some intense firefights. 

Flag E1 (Fuel Silos) – the Fuel Silos is definitely the point where those on foot will need to be most careful. It features huge open spaces that makes you susceptible to almost any form of attack. This is also the point where I feel that a stronger emphasis on vehicles were given as there was a lot of room for maneuverability which accommodated even Battle Tanks. 

Image Credit: Electronic Arts

Image Credit: Electronic Arts

Image Credit: Electronic Arts

Image Credit: Electronic Arts

Image Credit: Electronic Arts

Image Credit: Electronic Arts

Personally I enjoyed playing the new map, the points are well spaced out which has small skirmishes happening every so often keeping you engaged in the battle throughout the game. The map also boasts quite a few areas where Close Quarter Combat would really shine which would make SMG and Shotgun users very happy. For those who prefer the Sniper Rifle such as myself, the map still accommodates us especially at point A1 or E1. 

New Weapons

As mentioned above, season 5 will include new weapons which are as follows:

XCE Bar – The XCE Bar is a high precision bolt action rifle that has a lot of attachment capabilities which allows you to adapt to the situation quicky and engage the enemy in various distances. 

In addition to the XCE Bar, two weapons from Battlefield 4 will also be making their appearance in Battlefield 2042 namely the GEW-46 and BFP.50:

• GEW-46 – Assault Rifle that offers high stability, the weapon is great for medium range encounters.
• BFP.50 – A powerful hand cannon that offers another sidearm option which deals heavy damage at close range.

Un-Edited Image Credit: Electronic Arts

Un-Edited Image Credit: Electronic Arts

Vault Weapons

Additionally, at the beginning of Season 5 of Battlefield 2042, certain Vault Weapons will also receive a rework which are:

• M16A3
• ACW-R
• A91
• M416
• MTAR-21
• AEK-971

New Gadgets

The gadget line will also be getting an update with Season 5, the game will add three new gadgets which are the Spring Grenades, a smaller grenade that bounces into the air before detonation, AT Grenades that detonates on impact against vehicles as well as Mini Grenades that can be thrown faster and further compared to regular ones.

I did not make full use of the new gadgets however as I am quite comfortable with the normal Grenades, but from my time in the preview I did get killed a few times by the new gadgets due to unfamiliarity with their behavior.

Un-Edited Image Credit: Electronic Arts

Un-Edited Image Credit: Electronic Arts

Un-Edited Image Credit: Electronic Arts

Battle Pass

A new Battle Pass will also be made available in the game during the launch of Season 5 of Battlefield 2042. Similar to their previous Battle Pass in Season 4, there will be two types of rewards available for players, a Free rewards tier and a Premium tier.

For the free battle pass, you will receive at least 30 rewards which includes the new weapons and gadgets mentioned earlier as well as some cosmetic options for your Operators and vehicles which are: 

• Epic “Matrix” Zain Specialist Set
• Epic “Neoteric” Weapon Skin
• Epic “Fail safe” Weapon Skin
• Epic “Peak Performer” Weapon charm
• Rare “Solenoid” Vehicle Skin

While for the Premium Battle Pass, you will receive more rewards consisting of 20% Seasonal XP Booster, time-limited XP booster, 1,300 BFC, as well as cosmetic items such as:

• Legendary “Regenerator” Falck Specialist Set
• Legendary “Brutal Partisan” Lis Specialist Set
• Legendary “Overthrower” Specialist Set 
• Legendary “Firelight” Weapon Skin
• Epic “Brave New World” Player Card Background

Final Thoughts

Season 5 of Battlefield 2042 looks to be a fun time, with the addition of a new map, new weapons and new gadgets the game would definitely be injected with more life as the variation in content would have players experiencing new things in the game, similar to what I went through during the preview with the new gadgets.

All in all Battlefield 2042 still remains fun to play and its chaotic nature coupled with its intense moments during firefights still gives me that rush of adrenaline similar to the ones I had when playing Battlefield 4 all those years ago.

Season 5 of Battlefield 2042 will be releasing on 7th June of 2023 and will be available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows

You may find more find more information in regards to the game at their official website.