EA and DICE have released the official fan kit, with a set of Bad Company 2 graphics and media which can be used to make fan sites etc. There are wallpapers as well, from desktop to iPhones. You can download the kit at battlefieldbadcompany2.com/downloads

According to the official stats of Bad Company 2, a new weapon has come up, the M1 Bayonette, which is listed as a “gadget”, with a description as “Special Unlock: WWII Weapon”. This might indicate a new gadget unlock to be released in the future, perhaps as a part of a DLC with new WW2 maps.

According to game blog Joystiq, it takes an average of 282 hours to reach rank 50 in Bad Company 2, citing data from game analytics company Orbus Gameworks. Here’s how much time player spent on the individual ranks:

• Rank 1-10 players spent 3-24 hours in game
• Rank 11-20 players spent 25-44 hours in game
• Rank 21-30 players spent 48-100 hours in game
• Rank 31-40 players spent 111-221 hours in game
• Rank 41-50 players spent 228-295 hours in game

Check out the full post on Joystiq here.

A day after releasing the client update, DICE is rolling out the server balance update for Bad Company 2 PC servers. The new update brings a wide set of fixes, including, but not limited to:

• Increased the base range of all Automatic and Semiautomatic weapons for more consistent close range combat.
• Slightly increased the damage of Semiautomatic rifles over long range for more consistent damage output.
• Increased the zoomed burst accuracy of LMGs and decreased LMG accuracy when moving to reduce LMG run and gun.
• Reduced the lethal blast range of the 40mm grenade and M2CG to highlight their role as a secondary weapon against infantry.
• Increased the repair and overheat speeds of the Power Tool. Now overheats sooner but repairs the same amount before overheating.
• Decreased the range of Bolt Action Sniper and Pump Shotgun Slug rounds when using Magnum Ammo for better Kit Balance, especially in Hardcore.
• Slightly increased the Health of soldiers in Hardcore for better Kit Balance.
• Decreased the benefit from Vehicle Reload Speed to balance it against other Vehicle Specializations

You can see the full list of changes here. DICE expects to release this update on the Xbox 360 and PS3 after the patch has been certified by Microsoft and Sony, respectively.

DICE has revealed that the kit upgrade DLC is coming to Xbox 360 tomorrow. The codes for the DLC can be found on certain Dr. Pepper products in the US, while Europeans will have to buy the DLC. PC and PS3 versions of the DLC are expected to be released next month.

The new kits include new uniforms for each class, which feature more camouflage and camouflage for guns as well, including the M95 sniper. The DLC also includes 4 new achievements and 12 new awards.

We know this kinda sounds like a mess — there has been very little official info of the DLC from DICE’s side, and it’s even more difficult to figure out how to get it. But we’ll try and simplify it here:

If you’re in the US, you can only get the DLC through codes on Dr. Pepper products. If you’re in Europe, you’ll have to pay $5 for the DLC for all kits, or $2 for each kit upgrade.

DICE has released the changelog of the upcoming client patch which will (hopefully) be released later this week. Here ar ethe changes which affect the multiplayer portion of the game:

• New Server browser
• Added 15 second spawn timer for Conquest/Rush gamemodes at the start of round to prevent high end machines getting the upper hand before other machines load in.
• Crash fixes relating to ALT+TAB at different times throughout the game
• Hang fix when trying to connect to a full server multiple times
• Deletion of soldiers now possible through the account pages in game
• Removed screen flash during loading
• Added support for colour blind players
• Fixed crashes relating to faulty server banners
• Servers closing during connection no longer cause the client to hang
• Auto team swap reflects correctly in the scoreboard
• Fixed scoreboards when switching teams before spawning
• Rush scoreboards fixed
• Veteran ranks no longer display as “12”
• Isla Innocentes MCOM building fixed where knifing the fence would destroy the building
• Logout/Login button correctly reflects the player status
• Added minimum number of players needed to start a round (you can play and take objectives but you will get no score until 4 or more players join the server)
• Isla Inocentes welcome message on the loading screen now fits the text box area
• Reduced the brightness in Russian vehicles
• Medic gadgets now display correctly if the defib is not unlocked
• Server filter options are remembered
• Punkbuster filter now works as intended
• Scroll bar no longer overlays the Join Server button in the friends list panel
• CANCEL server refresh is implemented
• Zooming in on a friendly using the SAIGA no longer causes the crosshair to disappear
• The chat no longer displays the incorrect player name when appearing
• FoV switches to the default value of 55 when entering vehicles to prevent graphical glitches caused by wider FoV settings. The custom FoV returns when exiting vehicles.
• FoV no longer causes the UAV station to rotate
• Fix to correctly display the unlock progression at the end of round
• Chat functionality will no longer freeze after writing a partial message at the end of round
• One account can no longer connect to the same server multiple times
• Squad Death Match is correctly named during loading
• Server browser no longer gets a bad FPS when filtering Conquest
• Server info banners correctly clear between displays
• Setting display settings which the system hardware can not handle no longer makes the game unusable
• Correct camera collision for vehicles’ heavy machine gun
• Game no longer crashes if the player sends a message in the loading screen
• Trying to join a full server no longer causes the game to hang on Please Wait message
• Most server filter options are remembered it doesn’t remember the setting in dropdowns
• Kit/gadget loadout saved between sessions
• Window on static guns is now transparent on DirectX 9 systems

In addition, several changes for the single-player have also been revealed:

• Fixed crashes when patching and trying to resume a campaign (there is now a message that you need to re-play the latest mission from the beginning)
• Fixed a crash after the “Upriver” mission end cinematic
• Supply create at “Resupply at Flynn’s create” objective now supplies weapon ammo
• Hang fix when reaching the objective “Destroy Enemy Zu23”
• Fixed hang after “Storm Cockpit” objective
• Changed melee attack raycast to be detailed
• Game no longer crashes when transitioning between SP_03B to SP_04A when installed in Polish
• Game no longer crashes when killed by the first two enemies in the trenches on SP_01 when installed in Italian

A videogame industry analyst from Janco Partners has stated that not only does Bad Company 2 chip off at Modern Warfare 2’s lead in the online FPS scene, but he also sees the possibility of the Battlefield franchise to surpass Modern Warfare completely.

Currently Bad Company 2, alongside Battlefield 1942, are the only Battlefield games taking on Modern Warfare 2, however, the rumored and much anticipated Battlefield 3 has been confirmed in development, and will most likely see release mid-2011.

Modern Warfare 3’s status is uncertain, while there most certainly will be a third MW game, the developers at Infinity Ward and publisher Activision are in a heavy legal battle at the moment, and it’s quite possible that the other Call of Duty developer, Treyarch, will be doing Modern Warfare 3.

Game show X-Play features here an interview with outgoing DICE producer Gordon Van Dyke, about the reception of Bad Company 2 and the usual chit chat about DLC — pretty much stuff we’ve heard a lot of.

DICE was supposed to release new client (R7) and server (R10) updates this week, however, a new forum post on the EA UK forums reveals that the patches shave been moved to next week in order to “allow more bug fixes into both client and server before release which we caught before releasing another version”, according to DICE.

A change-log for the new updates will be posted shortly — we’ll keep you updated.

The UAV is one of the exciting new toys to play with in Bad Company 2, and unlike Battlefield 2, the UAV can be manually controlled, and now features weapons you can use as well. Check out the above guide on how to effectively use the UAV in combat.