Battlefield 2042 won't let you opt out of using bots to fill online multiplayer matches.
Earlier this week, Battlefield 2042 publisher and developer EA unveiled a sweeping blog post, revealing a boatload of new details surrounding the upcoming shooter in the process. We already knew that the game will use AI bots to fill teams in online multiplayer, but now we know there won't be a way to opt out of this.
"In the All-Out Warfare set of experiences of Conquest and Breakthrough, AI Soldiers are used to backfill servers and you cannot opt-out of playing with them," EA's new blog post explains. "However, there is a cap to how many of them you can encounter in a multiplayer match. In general, you will not experience more AI soldiers than players unless the match is still filling-up, or almost empty. Players will always have matchmaking priority over AI."
The blog post continues, giving an example of if there were 120 players on one team, eight AI bots would be parachuted in to bolster that team, and if anyone player left, a bot would fill their place. Additionally, Battlefield 2042 will let you and your team go up against an enemy team of AI bots in a private match, or even let you perfect your skills against bots in practice.
The Battlefield 2042 post also reveals specifics about how the AI bots act. They can't use Specialist classes, or Traits of said classes, nor can they use the special Wingsuit device that's specific to one class in the game. They can capture objectives and use vehicles however, and they can also decide whether to play aggressive and advance towards enemy lines, or hang back and support players with grenades and other items.
In all, it sounds like Battlefield 2042 has put a lot of work into governing how AI soldiers will help players out in the heat of a firefight. It's also nice to know that while AI bots will bolster your ranks if your team is at a disadvantage, they won't ever be prioritized over an actual player joining the game. Battlefield 2042 launches on October 22 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.
For a full walkthrough of all the other games slated to launch later this year, you can head over to our complete new games 2021 guide for more.
