Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Developers
	DICE
Windows	Coldwood Interactive
Publishers
	Electronic Arts
Engines
	Frostbite 1.5
Release dates
Windows	March 2, 2010
Reception
Metacritic	87
IGDB	90
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, Expansion pack, DLC
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, FPS
Vehicles	Automobile, Helicopter, Motorcycle, Naval/watercraft, Tank, Transport, Truck
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Contemporary, Eastern Europe, North America, South America
Series	Battlefield

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person action and FPS game in the Battlefield series.

The game received a minor DLC, SPECACT Kit Upgrade Bundle Pack in April 2010 (otherwise split to smaller pieces on consoles) and a multiplayer-only expansion pack, Vietnam, in December 2010.

The game was delisted from digital stores on April 28, 2023, online features were shut down on December 8, 2023.

The game's issues range from authentication/DRM problems (especially due to Steam serial key depletion) and server connectivity.

General information

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 hub on Planet Battlefield

The Battlefield series on Battlelog - PC section.

EA Answers HQ

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Choice of SecuROM DRM disc check or SecuROM PA DRM online activation with a 10 machine limit. A De-Authorization Tool is available. All DRM except the EA account requirement for multiplayer can be removed using the latest patch.
Amazon.com (unavailable)		Includes DLC.
(unavailable)
Games for Windows Marketplace (unavailable)
Humble Store (unavailable)		Ultimate Digital Collection.
Origin (unavailable)		Digital Deluxe Edition was also available. Singleplayer runs without the client running or even installed, while multiplayer required an in-game login.
Steam (unavailable)		No SecuROM DRM. Multiplayer requires an EA account.

All versions require an EA account for multiplayer access.

Delisted on April 28, 2023, with online features shutting down on December 8, 2023.

Monetization

Type	Notes
DLC	The minor DLC includes new infantry gear, awards and skins.
Expansion pack	The expansion pack includes new multiplayer maps, vehicles, infantry gear and awards.
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
SPECACT Kit Upgrade
Vietnam

Co-operative "Onslaught" mode DLC is not available for PC version.

Essential improvements

Patches

Patch R11

Updates the retail release to the latest version. Not required for digital editions.

If clicking the hyperlink doesn't work, copy and paste the link into the browser search bar.

Skip intro videos

Delete the Intro video[citation needed]
Go to <path-to-game>\Output\win32\movies\. Delete or rename ea_logo_hd.res and dolbydigital.res. Press ESC to enter in game at the black screen.

Logging in requires a CD Key

Logging in on the Steam release prompts for a CD key, which are depleted for the base game.

Request a CD Key

Alternative solutions
Sign up for a Venice Unleashed account (predominantly used for Battlefield 3 but has basic Bad Company 2 support). Download Project Rome Files and put them in <path-to-game>. Log in with a Venice Unleashed Account.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\BFBC2\settings.ini
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/24960/pfx/

BF:BC2 Configurator.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\BFBC2\GameSettings.bin
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/24960/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Origin		Does not sync campaign progress, graphics settings or keybindings.
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game options menu.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution			Menus are always 16:9 and rendered at 720p.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)		See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed		Toggle with Alt+↵ Enter.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)		CSAA and MSAA. Built-in AA only works on DX10+. Enhanceable with TrSSAA on Nvidia systems. Can also force AA in DX9 on Nvidia with flags 0x004030C1(MSAA) and 0x004412C1(SGSSAA).
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		Frame rate capped at 200 FPS. No refresh rate cap.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Color blind mode		Under Options, Settings, Gameplay.

Field of view (FOV)

This game uses vertical FOV. See FOV Calculator for help.

3rd party fixes[citation needed]
Use Widescreen Fixer or BC2 Cinematic Tools. Notes May apply to single-player only. Widescreen Fixer only works in the Steam version of the game, and adjusting FOV will also break ADS and scope zooming in the campaign.

Edit configuration file[citation needed]
Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\BFBC2\settings.ini. Change Fov=55 to the desired FOV and save the changes. Notes Applies to multiplayer only. On some systems, DirectX 9 may have to be forced in order for the FOV to change.

Input

In-game key map settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		Enabled by default. Can be disabled with BC2 configurator.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		DirectInput. Only supports 4 axes and 12 buttons.
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers		Right analog stick is not recognized. Sensitivity is extremely high regardless of settings.
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

PlayStation controllers		Sensitivity is extremely high regardless of settings.
PlayStation button prompts
Light bar support
Adaptive trigger support
DualSense haptic feedback support
Connection modes	Wired

Generic/other controllers
Button prompts

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		Up to 5.1.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

To switch between localizations, change Locale string under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Electronic Arts\Battlefield Bad Company 2\ to the relative code

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English				en
Czech				Fan - 1 Vietnam
French				fr
German				de
Hungarian				Fan translation.
Italian				it
Japanese				jp
Polish				pl
Brazilian Portuguese				Fan translation, download.
Russian				ru
Slovak				Fan - 1
Spanish				es
Turkish				Fan translation, download.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		Planned for a future version of Project Rome.[citation needed]
Online play		32	Online servers were shut down in December 8, 2023. Use Project Rome.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting		Use Project Rome.
Direct IP

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	80, 13505, 18390, 18395
UDP	10000, 18395

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

3D modes	State	GG3D	Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision			Use Helix Mod for better 3D support.
TriDef 3D
iZ3D

Devices
3RD Space Gaming Vest

Issues unresolved

"Some AA alternatives might not come up for some users"

CSAA and some MSAA alternatives might be hidden for some users.

"Loadouts Lost, Switching between Bad Company 2 (BC2) & Vietnam Multiplayer (MP)."

BC2 MP and Vietnam MP read the same parameters for class loadouts. The ensuring disparity of weapons results in loadout reset.

Workaround[citation needed]
SPECACT DLC adds four classes (SPECACT Assault, Engineer, Medic & Recon) to BC2 MP, absent from Vietnam. Use SPECACT classes exclusively for BC2 MP. By leaving the default classes alone in BC2 MP, the Vietnam MP loadouts are preserved.

Issues fixed

TweakGuides has created a comprehensive guide for fixing issues in this game. It can be found here.

Unable to redeem serial key

(Steam only) Redeem the serial key on EA's site and then launch the game, logging into the EA account on the main menu

Missing base game serial key

(Steam only) Contact EA Help to receive an Origin copy of the game so it no longer requires a key.

"A connection error occurred. If this happen during account creation press cancel and then login with your new account"

Remove special punctuation characters from the password, such as <

"Unable to log in. Please try again."

Remove special symbols from password, such as +

Unable to update

Manually update[citation needed]

Hard crashing

Force DirectX 9[citation needed]

Blinking black screen

Set HSAO to false[citation needed]
Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\BFBC2\settings.ini. Find the HSAO line in the file and change it to HSAO=false.

No servers

If not seeing any multiplayer servers, deselect all filters except for PunkBuster and click search.

Communication Failure: PnkBstrA

Reinstall PunkBuster Services

High frame rate issues

High Frame rates will cause broken animations scripts.

Limit frame rate to 60 FPS

Enable Vsync and set refresh rate to 60 Hz

"Failed to connect to EA Online"

Install or update PunkBuster Services

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c, 10, 11	Automatically set to the highest version the GPU can support. For details on how to manually set the DirectX version used, see Force DirectX Level.
Shader Model support	3, 4, 5

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	Havok
Audio	DirectSound
Input	DirectInput
Cutscenes	Bink Video	1.9p
Anti-cheat	PunkBuster

Mods

Although Frostbite is a relatively modding-unfriendly engine, a nascent modding community has formed and was able to extend the map border, create new in-game items and tweak weapons and vehicles. They have even released modding tools.

Project Rome

Venice Unleashed: Project Rome - server browser and mod toolkit.

Allows players to play Bad Company 2 online after the official shutdown on December 8, 2023.

Also used to fix the logging in requires a CD Key issue.

Force DirectX Level

Modify the settings.ini file[citation needed]
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open settings.ini. Change DxVersion= to the preferred DirectX version (9, 10, 11).

Greatly increase performance for low-end machines

Tweak configuration files[citation needed]

These options are not available in the in-game options menu. Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\BFBC2\settings.ini. Change DxVersion=auto to either 9 or 10. Reduce RenderAheadLimit=2 to either 1 or 0. Reduce any other settings if necessary and save the changes. For these changes to persist, make the settings.ini file read-only, otherwise these settings will be changed back to default when using the in-game UI to change other settings.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP	Vista, 7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium D 3.0 Ghz, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz, AMD Athlon 64 X2	Quadcore 2.0 GHz
System memory (RAM)	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 7800 GT ATI Radeon X1900 256 MB of VRAM DirectX 9, 10, 11 compatible	Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 ATI Radeon HD 4870 512 MB of VRAM
Sound (audio device)	DirectX compatible	DirectX 10 compatible
Other	8X DVD-ROM drive	16X DVD-ROM drive