Why was bf 2042 so hated by the community

It was a story of within 2 years after BF2042's release:

• had no scoreboard
• had no chat and no VoIP iirc
• had bad fps performance issues on huge maps, especially on the early version of Hourglass (BF20~42 fps meme)
• players were afraid of 'creepy' end-of-match credits and in ready room (direct specialist comments)
• had no typical classes
• bad weapon balancing & exploits as drone+c5 combo to one-shot everything, especially tanks
• exploit or some working cheat to instantly unlock everything and to max S999 ranks
• portal got nerfed, especially XP gain

some more players also had disliked layouts of early maps, i was on the opposite and liked these 1st huge maps

BF2042 never got rid of its bad reputation about these early mistakes and missing features and lacking QoL up to today, but already got fixed within some weeks and months after its release:

• fps issues got quickly fixed a few weeks after release
• chat and scoreboard got added and improved a few months later
• 'creepy' specialist comments were removed somewhat quickly (".. dont be sad, this is how it works out sometimes .." ~ Angel)
• classes were somewhat added back and balanced, Sundance sadly nerfed
• weapons and maps balancing, general balancing as well as new vehicles, new weapons and even more maps up to summer 2025
• regular events, weekly events, regular and weekly free (shop) unlocks which have been removed since SlopField 6

and also finally that particular drone+c5 exploit got removed about 2 years later after release, which made me quit BF2042 before!

i could not stand this anymore getting instantly killed without any indication. EA tried to balance or to fix this "exploit" in various ways no one liked, and finally removed it. so i returned back and really do like BF2042. This drone+c5 combo was ultimatively the worst !!

for comparison: suicide buggies ever been ok and ever been a 'fun' feature in Battlefield series as such could be countered, but that stealthy drone+c5 combo and exploit was literally game breaking. the whole sky was infested by them, no chance for a regular gameplay

toxic players had controlled the battlefield in 2042, not only in chat but also and especially by their beloved drone+c5 combo to literally one-shot everything without even being catched or spotted. and by a dropped Ammo Crate nearby, they could spam these game breaking drones on every minute. it was not only buffing XP gain but it also was becoming very impossible to play and i had left for about 1~2 years. after finally removing this "exploit" as various balancing attempts did not succeed, the last amount of players had left, these were toxic players anyways, and i have fully returned since around Season 6~

it was all too late already, people had moved on .. but do now return back to BF2042 again (?) as i see a lots of new accounts online

EA had promised to bring back BF2042 after BF6 release, to bring back more events, free stuff to unlock, to return skin unlocks and to add more new vehicles and weapons, but up to now we still wait for it. they rather removed the last bit of QoL features and events in BF2042 to let it bleed out in favor to a potential BF6 success. but we all know how bad CodField 6 is .. everything feels wrong in BF6, lets begin it to call it a meat grinder in a compact cell, move over to worst vehicle and weapon handling over worst moving and spotting and what else. BF6 is "no" Battlefield !!

after the shutdown of BF Bad Company 2, BF2042 has truly become the best Battlefield game .. in BF2042 you can even setup dedicated portal servers in various Eras of BF, for free. but people are biased still, are still under PTSD about these early failures

in the end, BF2042 was unfinished and rushed for its release. it is typical for Electronic Arts, ever has been for past 3 decades, to rush and to release unfinished games . . . and maybe you did not know why, especially to this BF2042 case, as BF2042 first plans was to release it as a pure Battle Royale Hero Shooter. Thats why many features as scoreboard and chat were missing at first and balancing were off for a (classic) first-person shooter.

good step forward though, EA has brought their Testing Labs alive, to test and to playtest alpha and beta states of games

i HIGHLY recommend to play BF2042 today or since 2023, the last real battlefield game and title within its franchise .. best movement, best weapon handling, best vehicle driving and maintaining, amazing maps .. BF2042 has become the best title in its franchise, while i still wish to see more classic maps implemented to BF2042, as:

• #1 ARICA HARBOR (has been added)

https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Arica_Harbor#Battlefield:_Bad_Company_2

• #2 PORT VALDEZ

https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Port_Valdez

• #3 HEAVY METAL

https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Heavy_Metal_(Multiplayer)

• #4 ISLA INOCENTES

https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Isla_Inocentes

• #5 OASIS

https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Oasis

and hey, BF2042 even includes a hidden  hot progressive solo-/coop campaign (Phantom Program) and to solve puzzles, to clear some gaps in BF history of earlier titles, to unlock the hidden (best) Prototype Weapon as well as to unlock the best ID Tag and ID Card

i am a true Battlefield Veteran, have played this franchise since BF1942. during my Airforce era we even played BF2 LAN Parties with our commanders. Then BFBC2 released and it was AWESOME !! only a downside though, no Jets .. so my airforce commanders sticked to BF2

one of my many comments on Steam:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1517290/discussions/0/805722145474871871/#c805722145474872366

BF2042 has become the best title in its franchise, while i still wish to see more classic maps implemented to BF2042, 

So true, yet the majority of Battlefield's playerbase still judges it by how it was on release and will never give it another chance. It is my favorite Battlefield. It simply needs more bug fixing, more maps, and a stable playerbase.

In contrast, BF6 feels dumbed down. No player choice or agency. They tried to make the game more accessible and lowered the skill ceiling tremendously.