Battlefield 2042 weapon attachments may not always do what they say
You might not be surprised to learn that weapon attachments and their descriptions aren't working as intended in Battlefield 2042.
It seems we can't go a day without discovering one feature or mechanic that's not doing what it's supposed to in Battlefield 2042. A few days into the early access launch, we had already come across misaligned hitboxes, excessive random bullet deviation, and PC performance that's far less consistent than expected.
Battlefield 2042's All-Out Warfare experiences include a small handful of weapons. Though that is itself a problem, there's a more pressing issue about their attachments. In short, attachments don't always have the effects descriptions suggest they do.
The problem is actually threefold. First, descriptions can be misleading, and indicate the opposite of what the attachment is supposed to do.
Reddit user LoKi_Cosmoz picked up on the fact that the VCAR marksman rifle's barrels and their descriptions are mismatched. The Shortened Barrel, which says it ups the rate of fire, actually decreases it to 400 from the standard 450.
The Extended Barrel says it decreases the rate of fire, but it is in fact the one with the highest, at 500.
The VCAR's magazines demonstrate a different problem: attachment properties that don't quite make sense, and seem to have been randomly assigned. The Standard Issue magazine holds 15 rounds, and the Close Combat mag holds 48 (while saying it lowers ammo capacity). Meanwhile, the Drum magazine - which should have the highest capacity, is instead capable of holding 30 rounds.
The third and arguably worst of all is that weapon attachment performance in-game may not be what you expect, and could even have the opposite effect.
Reddit user Skada85 discovered that the recoil of the AK24 assault rifle seems to actually get worse when using a muzzle break - which is intended to decrease vertical recoil.
Their video below clearly shows the AK24 having more manageable recoil with the standard barrel.
The AK24 is among the weapons with the highest recoil in Battlefield 2042, but misbehaving attachments could be contributing to the perception it has as an unusable gun. It seems, right now at least, you should probably do your own testing to determine what's the best build for your play style instead of going off what the game says.
For a list of all Battlefield 2042 known issues - see the link.