Voice chat is a pretty standard feature in online multiplayer games, and it can prove integral to a team’s success. In games like Battlefield, where teams and squads must coordinate their actions to either attack or defend bases, it’s a pretty invaluable tool to make sure everyone is on the same page. Oddly enough, Battlefield 2042 — despite introducing a new mode, Hazard Zone, where proper team communication/coordination is made even more important due to each player only having a single life — did not launch with this feature. However, DICE has confirmed that voice chat will arrive in an update in early April.
Until it arrives, there are a few alternative methods of in-game communication that you can use. The most obvious one is to invite at least your squadmates to a party on the console you’re playing on. Xbox and PlayStation each have their own party systems, but it’s worth noting that you can only invite folks who are playing on the same console as you are to your console’s party. Because of this, you might want to disable crossplay to ensure that every person you’re encountering in-game is playing on the same console as yourself and thus able to join your party.
If you’re playing on PC, you won’t have a native party chat feature like Xbox or PlayStation, so you’ll want to make use of third-party apps like Discord to set up a voice call with your teammates possibly. If you’re planning on playing with friends, this is the preferred way to go, but random players might not be receptive to the idea of joining a voice call with strangers. There’s also the caveat that not every PC player has a Discord account; Discord is a fine solution, but not a perfect one. If all else fails, you can resort to using the game’s text chat, but reading and typing while in the heat of battle is a surefire way to get killed here, so this should only be used during moments of downtime.
