The decision to use Specialists instead of the class system in Battlefield 2042 has been controversial, but Hazard Zone seems to be a game mode that brings the Specialsts' tactical abilities into great consideration. Squads of four will face off against opposing teams and AI opponents alike in Hazard Zone, a high-stakes game mode that emulates the structure of Escape From Tarkov. Though it's just one of three major game modes for Battlefield 2042, Hazard Zone will uniquely utilize the game's Specialist characters, restricting each to only one per squad.
In essence, Hazard Zone is a glorified capture the flag match where players are inserted into one of 2042's maps, are tasked with retrieving Data Drives from a downed satellite, and need to exit via one of two extraction zones in order to keep their reward. Depending on which platform Hazard Zone is played on, there will either be a total of six or eight four-person squads. Players will be competing over the same objectives and extractions, and will have to face NPC enemies throughout the map as well. The same Specialists from Battlefield 2042's All-Out Warfare game modes will be playable in Hazard Zone, but there more restrictions on availability.
Each squad is only allowed to have one of each Specialist in Hazard Zone. It seems that Hazard Zone is an attempt at a more tactical approach to Battlefield, and the stakes of only having one life (excluding potential revives) makes team composition all the more important. Restricting each team to only one Specialist was likely a move to broaden Hazard Zone's meta game, as well as a measure taken to ensure exploits aren't found that take advantage of a particular Specialist's unique gadget.
Hazard Zone Looks To Promote True Squad Gameplay
The Battlefield series has always been about teamwork, but Hazard Zone pitting up to eight teams against each other for a common objective dials in exclusively on squad gameplay. The high-stakes nature of Hazard Zone makes it inherently more competitive than the chaotic sandbox of Conquest, for instance, where a single person may not feel as though they have much of an impact on the match's outcome. With permadeath in 2042's Hazard Zone, players will have to rely on each other more than usual, and mandating Specialist diversity is one way to ensure players take specific play styles into consideration.
Imposing a one Specialist per squad limit may also be an attempt at mitigating exploitative tactics. A whole squad of players using Mackay, for instance, could use their grappling hooks to get to places unreachable by other squads. In a similar vein, four Boris players could create a perimeter around extraction points or objectives with their turrets. There are likely many small reasons the Battlefield 2042 developers saw for restricting Specialists in Hazard Zone, and opted to make diverse squads a requirement, leaving the wacky Specialist antics to Battlefield Portal.