OK PC Gamer, at last, we've got Battlefield 2042 out and about on PC, and you know what that means! Iconic all out warfare with cutting edge arsenal! That's right - this here Battlefield 2042 PC starter guide is purpose-written to serve as your one-stop-shop for all pertinent launch information.

To that end, we've got some details on the three upcoming BF2042 patches, as well as a number of astonishingly good performance fixes for the game. We'll also provide links to other relevant content so that you get everything you need to know about the game as quickly and easily as possible.

We'll keep adding to this guide as more information is revealed, and as we ourselves learn more about the game. Truth is, it's a really fresh product and nobody's all that familiar with it just yet. Easy fix, though, given a bit of time and gameplay effort!

Right now, all you need to do is to scroll ahead and enjoy the show. Speaking of shows, and stealing the show, while Hazard Zone is fun, you can expect Battlefield Portal to be the star Warfare Mode of the game! So, buckle your seatbelt, choose your class, rally your squad, and have fun fighting through the world of 2042 as well as Battlefield's past!

Play Battlefield 2042 right now - right here at 2Game!

Battlefield 2042 PC Release Window - Platforms & Availability, Download Size

Battlefield 2042 is coming out today, on the 19th of November, 2021! Yes, get ready for some all out warfare! Actually, odds are that you're playing this iconic all out warfare game with cutting edge arsenal right now via the game's early access program. For those who might not have been so lucky as to grab a preview build, here are the designated release times for PC, 8 AM GMT being the target window:

As some of you are already bound to know, Xbox and PlayStation owners will have earlier access to the game than that, in some cases. Namely, console builds are set and primed to unlock at local midnight time. Depending on where you live, this may or may not be sooner than the PC build unlock times.

Note, too, that if you haven't made use of the preload option, you'll need to download just over 47 GB of data before the game is installed on your machine. If nothing else, at least the game's not nearly as big as some other popular multiplayer FPS titles.

Planned Patches & Fixes for Battlefield 2042 PC

battlefield 2042 PC starter guide: hazard zone screenshot

Now, let's talk patches. It's no secret that virtually every Battlefield launch ends up being messy, this way or the other. Battlefield 2042, in particular, seems to have gotten off to a rocky start, though it's hardly as problematic as that of Battlefield 4 was, back in the day.

Thankfully, DICE seems to very much be on top of things here. Sources have already detailed three major upcoming patches, one of which should already be out by the time you'll be reading this!

BF2042 Day 1 Patch - November 19th

Set to hit the deck on day one, the launch patch is designed specifically to handle the game's most egregious technical problems. Update 0.2.1 does a number of things, though it won't fix all the issues you might be having right now.

As you can see, this is a very inexhaustive list of fixes. It's welcome regardless, though.

BF2042 Day 10 Patch - November 30th

Set to hit the game servers on November 30th (a tentative release date, mind), this is supposed to be a quality-of-life sort of patch. Not much is known about it at this time, other than the fact that it's probably going to have quality-of-life tweaks for us to enjoy. We'll need to wait and see about this one.

BF2042 Day 25 Patch - December 7th

This one's even more tentative than the previous one. Billed as the 'Content Patch', it's supposed to be released in early December and add various content and features that couldn't make it into BF2042 at launch day. Not new maps, weapons, vehicles, or anything like that, mind. 'Player Stats', for one, are provided as an example of what to expect.

On that note, it doesn't seem like BF2042 will be getting any actual extra content over the next couple of months. As long as this means DICE can get the game up and running properly across the board, it seems like an agreeable approach to ongoing game development!

Battlefield 2042 PC Starter Guide: Performance Tweaks & FPS Fixes

battlefield 2042 PC starter guide: ballistic shield screen

Now, we're not particularly thrilled to report that the game runs very poorly on some PCs. High-end rigs with cutting-edge GPUs, at that. Setting aside the fact that this should not be the case, 128 players or not, we're also happy to report that there are players can do on their end to try and eke out a few more FPS out of the game. We'll cover some of the more relevant tweaks here!

Fair warning first, though: be sure to back up the files we'll mention here before tweaking them. You can always re-verify your game files if push comes to shove, yes, but backing things up before messing with them is just common sense, so we recommend doing it regardless. Also, there's no guarantee that these will massively improve your BF2042 FPS. Just give them a shot and see how they work out.

Forced DirectX12 Mode

Open your Windows Explorer (or whatever other File Manager program you might use) and go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Battlefield 2042\settings\. There, look for the PROFSAVE_profile file, and open it using your favored word processing app.

Hit CTRL+F and look for 'GstRender.Dx12Enabled'. This line dictates whether BF2042 runs in DirectX12 or not, which may or may not boost your FPS, depending on your OS, hardware, and other pertinent software. If the value is set to '0' and you find that the game runs poorly, try pushing it to '1' to force DX12.

Shadow Quality Tweak

Open your Windows Explorer (or whatever other File Manager program you might use) and go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Battlefield 2042\settings\. There, look for the PROFSAVE_profile file, and open it using your favored word processing app - again.

Except, this time you want to look for 'GstRender.ShadowQuality' and change its value to a forced '0'. This is going to substantially downgrade your shadow rendering resolution across the board. In theory, it should also lead to a fairly substantial framerate boost, so you'll need to weigh your options and preferences here.

Closing Remarks

That about covers everything we've got to share (so far) as part of our PC starter guide! We hope you find some of this information interesting and - more importantly - useful in the long run. If nothing else, we've probably helped you eke out a few extra FPS, and we're perfectly fine with that! If you'd like to check out some of our other BF2042 content for more iconic all out warfare and cutting edge arsenal, here's a few prime examples:

With Battlefield 2042 PC out and about, DICE now needs to put out all of the proverbial fires and focus on long-term support for the game. We've no doubt that both the developers and the publisher, EA, will be on top of it in the coming days and weeks. You, however, as a player, may want to steel your nerves for potentially large patches and downtime periods.

Regardless, we're very much looking forward to seeing what else the future holds for BF2042, as you battle your way through Battlefield's past and present immersive multiplayer battles, and get ready to experience all out warfare! Choose your role and form hand-tailored squads through the new Specialist system. We'll see you on the Battlefield!

Play Battlefield 2042 right now - right here at 2Game!

OK PC Gamer, at last, we’ve got Battlefield 2042 out and about on PC, and you know what that means! Iconic all out warfare with cutting edge arsenal! That’s right – this here Battlefield 2042 PC starter guide is purpose-written to serve as your one-stop-shop for all pertinent launch information. To that end, we’ve got some […]