In a recent blog post, Star Wars Battlefront Weapon Designers Christian Johannesén and Tommy Rydling re-iterated that the game wouldn’t include micro-transactions – even when it comes to the Charged Star Cards.
First up, Johannesén and Rydling explained exactly what Star Cards are:
Star Cards are abilities and equipment tailored around various battle situations to complement the blasters you use in regular firefights. They can be anything from functional items like the Jump Pack to a top tier weapon like the Bowcaster, Chewbacca’s signature weapon. Depending on how long you charge it, the Bowcaster fires up to five explosive projectiles in a horizontal arc.
Star Cards give you the freedom to play the way you want. Since there are no fixed classes in Star Wars Battlefront, Star Cards take their place as you pick and match them in three-card hands. In one situation you may want to go long-range – then you’d craft a Star Card hand for that. Or, switch to your second hand of Star Cards if you find yourself needing to take out a vehicle at long range.
To unlock new and more powerful Star Cards, all you need to do is level up and spend in-game credits. Starting off with an empty hand with room for three cards, the first few hours will see you unlocking new Impact Grenades and the short-range Scout Pistol. Then, at level 10, a second hand is unlocked, allowing you to setup and choose between your primary and secondary hand before battle.
Along with the ability to copy a hand from someone else when partnered up, Star Cards can also be upgraded in the Unlocks menu, making the weapon or item tied to it more powerful.
As for Charged Star Cards, they are placed in the middle slot of your hand and give you a benefit while active, but they require a charge in order to be activated. You always start with 10 charges and examples of Charged Star Cards include Scan Pulse, Ion Shot, or Personal Shield.
They add, “When you’re out you can refill them by scavenging them on the battlefront or by purchasing new ones. Don’t worry about micro-transactions – you only use in-game credits.”
A fourth slot below your three Star Cards is reserved for Powerups, which are blue icons on the map that can be a hero, vehicle, or something like the Thermal Imploder.
Star Wars Battlefront launches on November 17 in North America and November 19 in Europe for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
[Source: EA Star Wars]
