Anybody who played the original EA Battlefront will tell you how often they wanted to be a hero but couldn’t, or how there was little to no chance to take down a hero or villain character given how powerful they were. While I personally didn’t find it an issue when I played Battlefront, I understand it was quite frustrating especially in non-dedicated modes where the power-ups were few and far between.
Battlefront II changes everything.
At Star Wars Celebration the designers discussed how they wanted to design a metagame where it was possible to be a hero or a villain as characters like Luke or Vader but also as a someone less revered like a soldier or a sniper. While details are scarce right now, heroes and villains will work different in Battlefront II to fit in better with this design philosophy.
First off, they’re designed with much more depth to them. No longer are they temporary power-ups stolen from the battle field after randomly spawning. Instead, they’ll work as a consumable resource of sorts. Completing objectives will allow you to earn resources that will let you become a hero or a villain. But it doesn’t end there!
There will be a much more tanigble sense of progression with your characters. They’ll learn new abilities to become better and have their own sense of “career”.
Generic units and soldiers will have their own abiltiies too, and it’s been hinted that they’ll share progression too. Which is great, as each of these units will be location and context specific.
Heroes & Villains was one of my favourite modes in the original Battlefront. Battlefront II thus far will include: Darth Maul, Yoda, Kylo Ren and Rey as well as two yet-to-be confirmed characters from the upcoming film, The Last Jedi.
Star Wars Battlefront II releases worldwide on November 17th. Press Start flew to Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, Florida as a guest of EA to cover the game.
