Highlights

  • The next Battlefield game ought to make room for the Weapon Plus System from 2042.
  • The Weapon Plus System in Battlefield 2042 allows players to swap weapon attachments during combat, encouraging experimentation and adaptability.
  • Despite its innovation, the Weapon Plus System may not fit the desired direction of the next Battlefield entry and could be at risk of being removed.

Once one of the fiercest competitors in the FPS market, Battlefield has fallen from grace somewhat over the last few years, fumbling the bag with Battlefield V's pre-release marketing and post-launch support, and doing the same with Battlefield 2042's unnecessary live-service approach. But Battlefield isn't down for the count just yet.

Over the course of the last few years, Battlefield 2042 has slowly become the game it should have always been. While its bevy of new maps, weapons, and returning features doesn't quite make up for the state of the game on its 2021 launch, it does ignite a spark of hope that the Battlefield series could be better. But there needs to be some big changes next time round, and with there being a strong desire to see Battlefield return to its roots, one genuinely innovative 2042 feature seems doomed to go extinct before its time.

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Removing Weapon Plus from The Next Battlefield Would Be a Double-Edged Sword

Weapon Plus Was a Big Innovation for Battlefield 2042

When Battlefield 2042 first launched in November 2021, it was heavily criticized for its lack of content, and for its removal of staple franchise features. In place of those features, Battlefield 2042 delivered a handful of new mechanics and features, many of which were shunned by the community, such as Battlefield 2042's controversial Specialist system. But among the disappointing changes and bizarre removals, there was one Battlefield 2042 feature that actually felt genuinely new and even innovative.

From its earliest days, the Battlefield franchise has let players customize their weapons to a certain degree, often letting them add various attachments that help the performance of the weapon. While these weapon customization systems have never been as thorough as Call of Duty's Gunsmith system, they've usually offered enough customization to keep fans happy. Battlefield 2042 elevated this customization to the next level, introducing the 'Plus System' that allows players to select a range of different attachments and swap them out on the fly during combat.

In most military shooters, players can only swap weapon attachments between lives, using custom loadout slots to create an ideal class for every occasion. Battlefield 2042's Plus System allows players to cycle through attachments at any point during a match. This means that players could initially have their weapon kitted out for close-quarters combat, but if they found themselves at a long distance from the enemy, they could swap their attachments to create a weapon that's better suited to long-range combat.

This Plus System encourages players to experiment with all of Battlefield 2042's weapons and attachments, as opposed to just finding the optimal loadout early on and sticking with it. It wasn't perfect, but it was a genuine point of innovation for the series and one that deserves to be refined over the next few entries.

Removing Weapon Plus Would Bring Battlefield Back to its Roots

However, there's one inevitable issue standing in the way of Battlefield 2042's Plus System's potential return. More so than ever before, fans desperately want the next Battlefield entry to return to the series' more grounded, immersive roots. Unfortunately, Weapon Plus just doesn't really fit a more grounded, traditional approach, and that'll likely mean that the feature will meet an untimely end, despite it still offering something that even Battlefield's best competitors don't.