However, like many of the new features, such as world events and wingsuits, one feature caught everyone’s eye and spiked the players’ interest. The new “plus” HUD. That’s right, as the characters stood inside an elevator being lifted to a higher elevation, one of the characters pulled out their weapon and started changing their attachments in-game. This is one of the most welcoming additions to the game and opens doors to various combat strategies making combat much more engaging than before.
This feature has never been seen before in any of the games except the Crysis series. It essentially gives you the freedom of being able to adjust your weapon attachments on the go without having to go to the menu screen when you die or before the match starts. From what we’ve gathered from the trailer, it seems it can be done from a touch of a button that brings up a plus-shaped “holographic” interaction HUD on the weapon. The player can scroll through the HUD and select whatever attachments they want on their weapons. It is unclear what attachments can be selected or customized. Still, the four confirmed attachments, according to what we’ve seen in the trailer, include the Reticles, Muzzle, Grip, and the Magazine. We can see a total of 10 different attachments on the new plus system HUD. This could mean that the game will allow players to bring in 10 attachments of their choice before the match starts and select them according to their situation. Nothing is confirmed yet and we cannot consider any of the information ‘written in stone’ until the game releases. This is also important as allowing players to change the attachments on the go would mean some serious game balancing. This brings us to the next point - Game Balancing. While this new feature is huge for the Battlefield players, it could bring some serious unbalancing to the game. For instance, one of the advantages is the design of the new weapon plus system wheel doesn’t force you to go to a separate menu screen, and attachments can be selected while you are in the game. This allows players to still keep an eye on their surroundings and for any potential enemy players. While this sounds fun, it can be devastating if not balanced correctly. If an enemy vehicle such as a helicopter shows up, you can always switch to your explosive weapons and take out the helicopter. Now, this is something we hope not to see.
Therefore, we expect DICE to introduce major balancing tactics, whether in the form of a cooldown or specific attachment selection criteria. The new weapon plus system is great for Battlefield players, especially given how long some players survive and stay alive. In the previous installments and just like any other popular FPS such as Call of Duty, players could only change their weapon loadout or attachments once they die and respawn. But, in Battlefield 2042, that changes. Even if you are alive for a long period of time, you have full autonomy to change the attachments that best suits the scenario you’re in. Get ready to utilize the new weapon plus system to develop creative and engaging combat strategies, one that may even end up being a meme for the next Battlefield game trailer, perhaps? Battlefield 2042 will be released on October 22, 2021, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
