Here's our first look at Battlefield 2042's weapon and character skins

Alongside finally announcing solid beta dates and details for Battlefield 2042, DICE also dropped another long-awaited piece of intel. That being an introduction to how the game handles progression systems, and what unlocks players can expect.

Battlefield games have often had a troubled relationship with progression systems, and many hoped DICE would revamp them for the upcoming game. In a blog post, the studio laid out the various progression systems in the game, and how they're going to reward players.

For starters, Battlefield 2042 has 99 standard levels. Over the course of this journey, you'll be unlocking weapons, Specialists, vehicles, gadgets and some cosmetics. When you're done with that, you'll get into S-levels, which reach all the way to S999. This is basically just a recognition of your time, so don't expect any rewards as you climb through the ranks.

Levelling up a weapon remains the only way to unlock attachments, and the same is true for vehicle upgrades. But you'll also earn mastery badges for getting enough kills with a given weapon, which unlock cosmetics such as skins.

Ribbons return in Battlefield 2042, awarded when performing general tasks, such as kills, assists, playing the objective and so on. They offer XP rewards when acquired, and come in three tiers.

Battlefield 2042 introduces player cards, an expanded version of these personalised player identities. A card is made up of several layers for players to customise. There's the background art itself, icon, title, and enough space for badges and other accomplishments you may want to show off. Player cards also appear in the kill screen, similar to past Battlefield games.

As for skins, DICE clarified that some of them will be unlockable, while others can only be purchased. You'll find skins and cosmetics for Specialists, weapons and vehicles. All of that will slot into four different rarities: common, rare, epic, and legendary.

While Specialist legendary skins are unique outfits that cannot be customised, rare and epic will include certain components that you can mix and match with other skins (such as headgear). You'll also be able to earn some of those cosmetics through mastery.

For weapon skins, DICE confirmed that they will apply to the entire weapon, including attachments. As for vehicles, you'll be able to further customise them with decals. You can also expect universal weapon charms, and melee weapons with unique takedown animations.

Though most content in the beta will be pre-unlocked, it’ll definitely be an opportunity to sample some of those systems next week. Battlefield 2042 is out November 19 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.