Battlefield 2042 Progression, Mastery, and Cosmetics Detailed

Electronic Arts and DICE have finally announced open beta dates for Battlefield 2042, taking place from October 6th to 9th. In addition, it also outlined how progression and cosmetics worked. Earning XP is still a thing and you’ll earn them based on different actions like kills, assists and so on. Ribbons are back and now have three tiers, each conferring more XP as you complete objectives.

Some examples of Ribbons include:

• Objective Ribbon – Play the objective
• Wingman Ribbon – Support teammates with revives and various assists
• Logistics Ribbon – Heal and resupply others and repair vehicles
• Intel Ribbon – Spot and disrupt enemies, such as via EMP’s or destroying drones
• Combat Ribbon – Score kills and destroy vehicles

The max player level will be 99 at launch, after which S-levels come into effect. They go up to S999 and don’t provide any rewards but are meant as more of bragging rights. Leveling up will unlock new weapons, gadgets and cosmetics but there’s also Mastery attached to weapons, vehicles and Specialists. Earning kills with the M5A3 assault rifle will unlock a new scope while capturing points with a vehicle will unlock new equipment.

At certain milestones, you’ll also earn new skins and a new Mastery Badge tier for your Player Card. A Player Card can be customized with Player Card Art, a Player Icon and Title, and up to three Badges. Unlocking new customization items for the Player Card is done by leveling up or completing certain actions.

As for cosmetics, they can be earned by playing the game or through direct purchase. These include skins for Specialists, weapons and vehicles and come in four rarities – Grey (Common), Blue (Rare), Purple (Epic) and Gold (Legendary). For Specialists, Rare and Epic skins have a body and headgear component which you can mix and match. Weapon skins apply to the entire weapon and affect attachments like scopes.

Some examples of cosmetics unlocked through gameplay can be seen below. As players progress, they’ll also unlock new melee weapons which have their own unique Takedown animations.

Battlefield 2042 releases on November 19th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5 and PC.