— Rao
Navin Rao (Hindi: नवीन राव) is a Recon specialist featured in Battlefield 2042.
Profile[]
Birthdate // September 14th, 2013 (29 years old)
Birth Location // Mumbai, India
Spoken Languages // Native Marathi, English
Nationality // Indian
Personal History[]
As a boy, Rao was struck down by childhood leukemia. He spent many weeks and months in hospital undergoing treatment that often left him bedridden. Becoming increasingly isolated and lonely, he found an online community and learned how to code. It soon became clear that Rao was a prodigious talent, and in an effort to impress his friends, Rao hacked his school's computer network to inflate his companions' grades. When his efforts were traced back to his parents' home in Mumbai, he was sent away to live with his aunt and uncle as punishment.
By 18 he had been in full remission for several years and was facing pressure from his uncle to join the Indian Armed Forces. Grateful for the second chance he'd been given, Rao enlisted and worked hard at being an excellent soldier. His knowledge of electronics and programming were immediately recognized, and he was selected to join the MARCOS special forces. His unit specialized in electronic countermeasures and intelligence gathering, and Rao was at the forefront of developing new methods and equipment to aid their fight.
Increasingly violent climate events around the world began to draw refugees to the coasts of India. Rao's team was sent to surveil these No-Pat groups and he saw firsthand the dire situation they faced. Several months into the mission, Rao's group received a distress signal from a ship just off the coast, carrying hundreds of No-Pats. He convinced his captain to send his team to help. But the situation became critical when the ship began to capsize. They scrambled to stabilize the vessel and rescue as many as they could, when another hostile ship arrived to loot it. Rao attempted to find a peaceful solution but was unable to prevent the loss of life.
News outlets span their own stories about what happened, portraying it as a No-Pat massacre at the hands of Indian forces. As the world screamed for justice, Rao's unit was singled out and castigated by the world's media. Rao was court-martialed and discharged. Isolated, he looked for support and found it among the No-Pats. Their struggle is now his, and he will do everything in his power to end it.
Key Dates[]
- 2013 - Born in Mumbai, India.
- 2025 - at 12, undergoes treatment for leukemia.
- 2026 - at 13, learns how to code.
- 2032 - at 19, joins the Indian Armed Forces.
- 2034 - at 21, advances to MARCOS special forces.
- 2036 - at 23, expands knowledge of electronic countermeasures and intelligence gathering.
- 2041 - at 28, receives a dishonorable discharge and becomes a No-Pat.
Specialty[]

— In-game description
Rao features the Cyber Warfare Suite as his specialty. It allows the player to remotely interact with objects and to hack enemy players and vehicles.
When a player is tagged, They will be visible to the entire team through walls for a split second. In addition to this will be extended to a longer minimap spot. This hack spot will extend to the players centred around that hacked player. However. If the hacked player is killed their entire squad will be visible through the walls for a noticeably longer time. The hacked player will also experience EMP-like effects for 10 seconds. This does not extend to the spotted victims however.
Vehicles in addition to the regular hacks, experience a full vehicle shutdown. Unable to fire back, with all vehicle disable states activated and even Laser designated. Such vehicles can be very easily taken advantaged of by prying Engineers. However, vehicles can immune from hack by equipping Cyberwarfare Protection System. After 12.5 seconds, a hacked vehicle can be hack again.[1]
In Battlefield Portal, all 1942 vehicles lack the means to be hacked therefore any attempt to use Cyber Warfare Suite lock them will fail.
Trait[]

— In-game description
Rao features the Acquisition trait.[2] Spotting every enemies who damaged him.
Cosmetics[]
Headgear[]
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Veiled Threat Pre-Season Week 21 reward |
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Dustproof EA Play reward |
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Observant Zero Hour Free Battle Pass tier 14 |
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Black Hat Master of Arms Premium Battle Pass tier 96 |
Sets[]
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Specialist Rao Default |
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Mamba Default |
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Hexmesh Triweave Rao Mastery 1 (T5) |
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Night Operations 5 kills and assists as Rao |
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Navalized Level 58 |
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BF2042 Dev Exclusive to developers |
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Noobmaster Prime Gaming reward |
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Chameleon Zero Hour Premium Battle Pass tier 21 |
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Monsoon Escalation Premium Battle Pass tier 47 |
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Catastrophic 500 BFC (Set) 1,000 BFC (Fire Sector Bundle) |
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Operation Gemini Eleventh Hour Free Battle Pass tier 46 |
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Rising Storm Turning Point Premium Battle Pass tier 56 |
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Tempest Striker 500 BFC (Set) 2,250 BFC (The Oncoming Storm Bundle) |
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Balidan Rao Mastery 4 (T4) |
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Tier 1 Rao Mastery 40 (T1) |
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Dust Devil Gold Edition, Year 1 Pass or Ultimate Edition owner |
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Carbon Neutral Free ("Thank You for Playing Season 1: Zero Hour") 750 BFC (Set) 1,400 BFC (Endangered II Bundle) 5,000 BFC (Red Envelope Bundle) |
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Firewall 750 BFC (Set) 1,000 BFC (Tech Exploit Bundle) |
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Red Specter Master of Arms Free Battle Pass tier 62 |
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Volatile 750 BFC (Set) 1,400 BFC (Biohazard Bundle) |
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Forsaken Elite Edition owner |
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Ambushed New Dawn Premium Battle Pass tier 50 |
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Scylla 750 BFC (Set) 1,400 BFC (Tidal Fire Bundle) |
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Basilisk Turning Point Premium Battle Pass tier 88 |
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United Stand Earn 120 ribbons in Future Strike playlist 750 BFC (Set) 1,000 BFC (The Mandate Bundle) 3,500 BFC (Joint Task Force 7 Bundle) |
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Shipwreck 1,000 BFC (Set) 1,750 BFC (Hurricane Bundle) |
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Hazardous 1,000 BFC (Set) 1,750 BFC (Leave No Trace Bundle) 4,000 BFC (Liquidators Bundle) |
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Storm Ward 1,000 BFC (Set) 1,750 BFC (Crackdown Bundle) |
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Flint and Steel 1,000 BFC (Set) 1,750 BFC (Palladium Guard Bundle) |
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CENTRAL Unit Lima War Machine Premium Event Pass tier 10 |
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Calibrated 2,000 BFC (Scoped & Dropped Bundle) 3,000 BFC (Citadel Bundle) |
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Festive Fighter Exclusive to the "Attack of the Elves" Portal mode |
Quotes[]
Loading Screen Quotes[3] |
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Gallery[]
Player Cards[]
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Trivia[]
- Rao is the the character featured on the game's cover and other promotional material.
- He was first mentioned in the "Journey of the No-Pats" blog post[4], and briefly seen as a playable character in the Open Beta trailer. Rao was later revealed with four other specialists in between the Open Beta and launch.
- Until Update 4, Rao used the "Trojan Network" trait that allowed Rao to discover additional targets near any infantry hacked by the same player.
- Rao's current trait was originally known as "Threat Perception" and was used by Paik.
- This trait eventually found its way back into the gadget and no longer a requires a kill.