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'Battlefield 1' enters the competitive gaming world with 'Incursions'

By Gabe Gurwin August 21, 2017

Battlefield 1 Revolution Official Trailer

Battlefield 1 will soon add a new competitive mode meant to appeal to esports players as well as those who prefer to sit back and watch their games. “Incursions” is a five-on-five, fast, and strategic competitive mode unlike anything else offered in the game.

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Beginning with a closed alpha test in September — you can register on the Battlefield website — the small-scale Incursions mode was designed with the help of

Battlefield 1

players and is meant to be an intense mode that is perfect for viewing in addition to playing. Players “draft” their equipment and abilities at the beginning of each match, and the scoring system has been changed so every single point is important. Though it is on a small scale, there still will be some vehicles, including small anti-infantry tanks and these can change the course of a battle in an instant.

Even if you are not interested in Incursions, there is plenty of Battlefield 1 content on the way. The much-anticipated In the Name of the Tsar expansion will release next month and if you have the game’s Premium Pass, you can play the expansion’s “Lupkow Pass” map right now. A third expansion is scheduled to release in December and the fourth will follow in early 2018.

In the Name of the Tsar brings the World War I fight to the eastern front for the first time, offering a look at a particularly bleak side of the conflict, with crumbling buildings and freezing-cold weather.

Don’t have Battlefield 1 but still want to experience all of this content? You will be able to do so with

Battlefield 1: Revolution

, a complete edition of the game that includes the original Battlefield 1 as well as the Premium Pass, giving you access to all the expansions. Battlefield 1: Revolution is currently on sale for $60, which is significantly cheaper than purchasing the game and its $50 expansion pass separately.

Battlefield 1 is available for

Xbox One

,

Battlefield 1

, and

PC

. The game is also included as part of the EA Access and Origin Access subscription services. For $5 a month, members can play a selection of Electronic Arts games for an unlimited amount of time, including Titanfall 2 and several EA Sports games.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

Gaming

Battlefield 2042 Season 2 deepens progression with Assignments

Crawford shoots enemies with a turret he place in Battlefield 2042.

EA unveiled Battlefield 2042 Season 2: Master of Arms today, detailing the new content players can expect when it drops on August 30. Master of Arms features the new map, weapon, gadget, and Specialist content that players desire from a significant update like this, but this next season of Battlefield 2042 also deepens progression with a brand new feature called Assignments.

Battlefield 2042 is a multiplayer-only game, so having an interesting progression system is key to ensuring players stick around. Currently, players can increase their Player Level as they also make their way through a battle pass. The Assignments feature will now allow players to seamlessly work toward unlocking Vault Weapons, which are guns that were previously only available in Battlefield Portal or previous seasons.

Gaming

Battlefield 2042 Season 1 is an improvement, but a late one

A specialist holds Battlefield 2042's new crossbow weapon.

Battlefield 2042's launch didn't go quite as planned for EA. While it was poised to be the publisher's next live service hit, it floundered at launch due to an overwhelming number of bugs, a controversial ability-driven specialist system, maps that felt way too big, and more. While Digital Trends' reviewer loved the base game, many players didn't, so EA spent months fixing it. As a result, Season 1: Zero Hour was pushed back all the way to June 9, over six months after the game's launch. Ahead of its release, I got the opportunity to try out some of Season 1's new content a see if Battlefield 2042 has really changed for the better.
This primarily consisted of going hands-on with the new Specialist Ewelina Lis on the new map Exposure. Is Battlefield 2042 in a better state now than it was at launch? Yes. Will it make enough compelling additions and changes to bring you back if you're not a hardcore Battlefield fan? Not really.
Battlefield 2042 | Season 1: Zero Hour Gameplay Trailer Premiere
What's new?
The main additions coming to Battlefield 2042 at the start of Season 1 are a new rocket launcher-wielding specialist named Ewelina Lis, a new map set in the Canadian Rockies called Exposure, new weapons including a crossbow and marksman rifle, and a battle pass containing lots of free and paid unlockables. It's definitely the meatiest batch of content Battlefield 2042 has received since launch, but it doesn't revamp or fix every core problem with the game.

Starting with the battle pass, don't expect any wild crossover or crazy outfits, just a lot of new realistic looks for your specialists, vehicles, and weapons. It is challenge-based, which Halo has shown the downsides of, but thankfully 30 tiers of it are free and the only things unlocked by paying up are cosmetic. That means everyone will be able to try the new specialist Ewelina Lis. She is a helpful Engineer Specialist as she always has a rocket launcher at her disposal to help destroy vehicles.
While I found the new Ghostmaker R10 Crossbow and BSV-M Marksman Rifle to be too slow and not powerful enough to be very useful in a game with such a quick time to kill, Lis may be a useful specialist that will stick around on most squads. She's particularly useful on the brand-new map Exposure.
When previewing the new season, I got to try out both Conquest and Breakthrough on Exposure, a map that supports both 128-player and 64-player matches. As it takes place in and around a base built into the side of a mountain, it has one of the most distinctive and vertical layouts of any new Battlefield 2042 map. The tensest firefights took place in a spot nestled on the side of the mountain, as players could flank from within the mountain on foot or from the skies in new stealth helicopters. While I enjoyed those moments and attacking the base in the helicopter, it still felt a bit too big to traverse on foot outside of that base, a common problem with all of Battlefield 2042's maps.

Gaming

EA ending Hazard Zone support in Battlefield 2042

A squad of four members in Battlefield 2042's Hazard Zone mode.

EA announced that development is winding down on one of the new modes introduced in Battlefield 2042. Hazard Zone is getting taken off of life support, with future development being brought to an end as active player numbers wind down.

Battlefield 2042 | Battlefield Briefing - Development Update May 2022