Battlefield 2042 best Specialist class recommendations
Our picks for the best Specialists in Battlefield 2042.
Finding the best Specialist in Battlefield 2042 isn't merely a case of picking the single most powerful character, but rather discovering which character best suits your desired play style.
At launch, Battlefield 2042 offers ten Specialists to choose from, which align - broadly - into the traditional classes Battlefield is known for.
Each Specialist has a slate of unique abilities, such as Sundance's wingsuit, allowing them to zip across large spaces of the map in the blink of an eye, or Boris's Sentry System, an automated turret which locks on to enemies that stray into its line of sight.
We'll be presenting an in-depth look at the best Specialists in Battlefield 2042 as determined by play style, as well as analysing which are the best Battlefield 2042 weapons and equipment can be paired with each character.
On this page:
Battlefield 2042 Specialists and classes explained
Battlefield 2042 does away with the 'Class' systems from previous games, and instead offers you more defined characters to play as. Now there's the likes of "Irish", a U.S. combat veteran, or Boris, a Russian specialist soldier to play as instead, each kitted out with unique abilities and equipment that better form them into characters instead of the faceless soldiers we've played as in past Battlefield games.
Assault Specialists in Battlefield 2042:
- Sundance
- Mackay
- Dozer
Engineer Specialists in Battlefield 2042:
- Irish
- Boris
Sniper Specialists in Battlefield 2042:
- Casper
- Paik
- Rao
Medic Specialists in Battlefield 2042:
- Falck
- Angel
In all, there are 10 Specialists featured throughout Battlefield 2042 at launch. Only two of those, Mackay and Paik, aren't immediately unlocked when you first boot up the game, as you'll have to advance to player level 15 and 25, respectively, in order to unlock both of these additional Specialists for use.
You can freely switch between Specialists on the fly in Battlefield 2042. Instead of being locked into playing as an entire Specialist for a whole match, you can change Specialist every time you die in a Battlefield 2042 match, and summarily booted back to the Deployment overview screen.
Not only that, but Specialists aren't locked into using any particular weaponry or equipment. Despite some Specialists being kitted out with certain gear, like Sundance with their grenade belt, or Boris with his special turret, you're free to mix and match main weapons, side weapons, equipment, and grenades as you see fit whenever you step into the shoes of any Specialist.
It goes without saying, but you really need to play to the strengths of each Specialist in Battlefield 2042, if you want to give your team the best chance of winning a match. If you're playing Falck as a sniper for example, hanging hundreds of meters back from firefights, you're effectively wasting her abilities as a combat medic, and similarly, Boris's Sentry System isn't useful if you're going to be staying well out of the thick of firefights.
In a sense, it's fair to say that classes aren't entirely absent in Battlefield 2042, but have instead morphed into something new with the Specialists. Whereas before we would've had assault, recon, support, and engineer classes in games like Battlefield 3, now we've got Specialists that fit into each of these roles in Battlefield 2042. Irish and Sundance slot into the roles of assault, for example, whereas Casper and Paik fill the roles of recon. It's not entirely clear cut, and a little confusing at times, but that's what this guide is here to help sort out.
What are the best Specialists in Battlefield 2042?
With all that being said, how do you even go about figuring which Specialists in Battlefield 2042 are the best? Well, simply put, there are no 'best' Specialists in EA DICE's new game in the traditional sense, but rather characters which far better cater to specific play styles than others.
For example, if you're going to be delving headlong into a firefight, running and gunning your way around objectives, then Dozer, Irish, Sundance, or even Boris might be your best Specialist. Alternatively, if you'd rather take a step back from the fight and pick enemies off from a distance, then you might want to go with Paik, Casper, or Rao to better detect the movements of enemies.
That's really what Specialists in Battlefield 2042 amount to: picking the right character for the right task and situation.
At a glance, we would say these are the best Specialists per class type - but it's best to read our reasoning on the rest of the page:
- Best assault/engineer Specialists in Battlefield 2042: Sundance and Boris
- Best sniper Specialists in Battlefield 2042: Casper and Paik
- Best medic Specialists in Battlefield 2042: Falck and Angel
You'll notice that we've listed Boris and Irish as the 'Engineer' class above, where we've previously talked about them in terms of Assault Specialists. This is because, somewhat unfortunately, there's very little difference in play style between Engineers and Assault classes.
Realistically, people playing Irish and Boris are going to run into a fight with their ballistic shields and turrets in the exact same way as Dozer and Sundance will, with their shield and grenade belts. The Engineers are a good example of how little classes ultimately matter when it comes down to Specialists.
What is the best assault/engineer Specialist in Battlefield 2042?
This might be the toughest category to deduce what the "best" Specialist is in all of Battlefield 2042. In fact, we could even further break down this category into what sort of attacking player you are. If you're someone that likes to stay on the move, for example, running around the map and generally covering large distances of the map, then Sundance is undoubtedly your best bet, with their excellent wingsuit and payload of a grenade belt which lets off several explosives at once.
Alternatively, Dozer, Irish, and Boris are all solid options if you're the sort of offensive player that prefers to stick to one point on the map and defend it. Dozer and Irish both have defensive shields they can plonk down anywhere, while Boris specialises in dropping a turret and letting it go to work.
You'll note that we're grouping engineer Specialists together with assault Specialists once again. This is ultimately because there's very little play style difference between how Boris, Irish, Sundance, Dozer, and Mackay play in online matches. You won't find engineer players hanging back to repair helicopters and tanks, but rather charging headlong into the fray, right by the side of their assault cousins. Mechanically, there's very little separating engineers from assault Specialists, and that's why we're grouping them together into one section in this guide.
There's honestly not much in this race to be the best Specialist when it comes to defending or assaulting a particular point in Battlefield 2042. It's tempting to give the edge to Boris, since while Irish/Dozer's blast shields are great, they're countered with an accurate grenade, but then again, so too is Boris's sentry turret easily destroyed by a wave of hostile enemy gunfire.
In the end, the best assault Specialist in Battlefield 2042 is likely a neck-and-neck contest between Sundance and Boris. If you're clever with where you place your turret with Boris, and if you hold on to your grenade belts until you've got enemy troops cornered, either of these Specialists are a winner.
If you're running and gunning in close quarters, which you undoubtedly will be if you're planning on playing an assault-type Specialist, you need an SMG or an assault rifle to fit. If it's the SMG you're after, we'd recommend the rapid-firing PP-29, or if you'd prefer something with a little more range and stability, then you'll want to go with the AK-24 assault rifle.
What is the best sniper Specialist in Battlefield 2042?
The competition with this category of Specialist in Battlefield 2042 is limited to Casper and Paik. The former can utilise a manual drone to pinpoint enemy positions and mark their movements, while the latter can scan enemies behind terrain, and also keep track of an enemy's movements as soon as they fire a shot at her.
So, both Specialists do a pretty darn good job of tracking enemy players from a distance. Casper seems like a better fit for this role though, considering his drone can not only track players and mark their locations and movements, but also detonate an EMP blast that'll disorientate anyone in the vicinity, and even mark targets so other troops can lock on weapons like missile launchers.
Perhaps what ultimately gives the edge to Casper is the simple fact that you'll need to reach player level 25 in order to unlock Paik, which is no easy feat considering how Battlefield 2042 doles out XP by way of challenges and other various feats.
In terms of the best sniper rifle to pair with this specialist, there's really not much competition. The DXR-1 is the best sniper rifle in Battlefield 2042, as although it doesn't have quite the stopping power of the NWT-50, which can literally tear through the armor of a tank, it does have superior accuracy, range, and handling attributes.
What is the best medic Specialist in Battlefield 2042?
This is another two-horse race between Specialists for the best medic role in Battlefield 2042. It comes down to Falck and Angel, two Specialists designed to assist those around them by both reviving and healing others.
While Falck has a special gun which grants health to any allies it shoots, what wins the competition for Angel is his ability to not only revive players to full health with additional armor, but also call down a special care package for any nearby allies to delve into and take advantage of.
This loadout crate can be used to regain ammo, grenades, equipment, and even change weapons by anyone on your side of the fight. This is an extremely underrated ability in Battlefield 2042, and is especially vital for anyone defending or attacking an objective point in Conquest or Breakthrough, as they can immediately go and resupply themselves with ample grenades and other devices.
As for a medic's best weapon in Battlefield 2042, you're probably going to want to go with something that works well in both close quarters and from mid-range distances, so as to better protect yourself from the hail of bullets when you run in to revive something.
For this purpose, we'd recommend either the PP-29 SMG, or the AK-24 assault rifle, the latter of which is better suited to more mid-range firefights, if that's what you think you'll need.