Battlefield 2042‘s mysterious Hazard Zone mode has finally been revealed. The objective-based mode throws multiple squads consisting of four players each into a map and tasks them with collecting hard drives from fallen satellites. The goal is to extract as many drives as possible without dying to earn credits.
There’s a narrative motivation behind the mode. In Battlefield 2042 lore, a worldwide blackout event took place in 2040, destroying 70% of satellites. Countries begin sending out temporary low-orbit satellites to enemy territories in order to collect data. Players control teams of No-Pats, the game’s term for soldiers, who set out to retrieve the data on the crashed satellites.
Hazard Zone puts players in four-person squads. Players begin a round by picking their loadout in an equip phase. Squads can not have duplicate specialists, so players need to coordinate a bit here. Players will also select a Hazard Zone-specific tactical upgrade in this mode.
Interestingly, Hazard Zone uses its own currency called Dark Market Credits. Extracting drives will give players more credits, which can be spent in the equip phase. It’s slightly similar to economy shooter mechanics seen in games like Valorant, though there’s only one buy phase during a match.
After that, all squads will enter battle and start hunting down satellites. An intel scanner gadget helps players find the approximate location of downed satellites, so at least one member of the team should have one equipped. Once a satellite is found, players will find occupying forces protecting it, which appear to be A.I. bots. Storms can also pop up on the map, meaning that players need to survive against humans, bots, and the environment. More valuable satellites land on the map midway through a match.
Players have two chances to extract the hard drives. Halfway through the map, a random location is selected as an extraction point. Players will have a limited window to jump on a plane and leave, while fighting off bots. The second extraction opens near the end of a round.
If a squad wipes without extracting, they’ll lose everything. If one squad member makes it out alive, the whole squad will get to keep what they’ve collected. Players are able to revive each other using a Reinforcement Uplink, which are scattered across the map. The gadget can also be bought during the equip phase.
The matches consist of 32 total players on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5, and 24 players on Xbox One and PS4. The mode uses all of the maps featured in the All Out Warfare mode.
Hazard Zone is quite a departure for the Battlefield series. While the franchise is no stranger to objective-based modes, the extraction angle is an entirely new concept. The idea of spending credits to build a loadout is also new, putting it in line with recent hits like Valorant and Apex Legends‘ Arenas mode. True to the developer’s word, it’s certainly not a battle royale mode.
Battlefield 2042 launches on November 19 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
