Servers Can't Handle Battlefield 2042 Beta; Players Criticize Scope and AI

The first reviews of Battlefield 2042's open beta have appeared on the web, with many complaining about poor bot AI, oversized maps, crashing servers, and many - often hilarious - bugs and glitches.

Battlefield 2042 hype continues - open beta too. Our editors have already had a chance to check out the newest installment in action and spoke very highly of it, comparing its atmosphere to the legendary third and fourth installment. Unfortunately, not everyone shares this opinion. Reddit is teeming with complaints from players about the gameplay itself, as well as (as usual) the condition of servers.

Source: Reddit.

As for the gameplay itself -players accuse it of lack of polish and hastily designed mechanics. Many are disappointed by the lack of a significant increase in visual quality compared to the last two installments, despite the release of next-gen consoles (although it is worth reminding here that the title is also coming out on last-gens, which limits what it can do).

"My biggest problem is moving on foot. Everyone runs around like a friggin' Usain Bolt, while moving around in ADS is at a snail's pace. I literally launched my character 80 feet forward by sliding down a cliff," writes one Reddit user.

Negative opinions are also aimed at the HUD. Although stylishly designed, it is not always legible, and its markers like to merge with the game environment. In addition, some strange solutions are visible, such as the requirement to select a grenade before throwing it. The audio layer also leaves a lot to be desired, mainly due to too quiet footsteps.

"Good points man, I especially agree with the HUD. It's terrible, I have no idea which sector is which and where they are. The blue banner looks like a chopped up "click to download" virus button on a porn website," another user comments.

The biggest complaint, however, are the bots. They often stand still and just stare at the player, frequently bump into walls, shoot guns into the sky or group together aimlessly.. The size of the map isn't to everyone's liking either - it's too big, making the players run around aimlessly most of the time, and spawns are poorly spaced. Firearms lack the 'kick' of previous instalments, and the introduction of dual-wield sniper sights have met with mixed reception. The novelty in the form of grappling hook is also said to be overused:

"You get to a built up area and see 20 Spider-men attaching themselves to everything. Lol."

On top of that, there are glitches like flashing shadows, self-firing weapons ("It's not a bug, It's a feature"), minimaps showing dead enemies, and parachutes unfolding under players' feet. The controls are also a pain, particularly when trying to revive your comrade in arms, where the same action is assigned the button responsible for raising weapons (a problem dating back to the previous game).

"I've been playing this series since Battlefield 1942, but this feels more like an early alpha than the beta. Honestly, I'd be happy if the game was delayed another 6 months, because it doesn't give me the classic Battlefield vibe at all. It's fun, yes. But compared to previous titles it reminds me of a Chinese F2P clone at this point," writes another user.

Still, it's worth remembering that this is still a beta, and although there's not much time left before the game's release, a lot can still change. What's more, the opinions quoted above are purely subjective, and many other players have very positive things to say about the beta (ignoring the bugs). Battlefield 2042 will be released on November 19, on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Xbox One and PS4.