When EA and DICE first launched Star Wars Battlefront II, it came with a promise of free content updates for the life of the game, including new modes, characters, levels, and more. All of the noise surrounding the loot box issue was enough to drown that out, and the studio focused largely on fixing the problems with progression and microtransactions. Last month’s update did just that, completely overhauling how progression works in Battlefront II, and adding cosmetics so that loot boxes could still find their place.
Now back on track, DICE can return their focus to the free updates that will entice people to continue playing. The next big Star Wars Battlefront II update is coming on Tuesday, April 18, and is titled Night on Endor. The headliner for the content drop is Ewok Hunt, a new game mode that seems like it will play like an infection-style game. As the Ewoks kill the stormtroopers, they multiply until the Empire’s armies have been wiped out.
A host of new cosmetics are headed to the game, including iconic outfits from pivotal scenes in the Star Wars films. Night on Endor will also feature a balancing update and bug fixes.
While these aren’t yet the patch notes, here’s how DICE teased out next week’s Battlefront II update:
Ewok Hunt
For the first time in Star Wars Battlefront II, you will be able to play as Ewoks. Take to the forest moon of Endor in this new game mode, Ewok Hunt.The ambush begins as the Ewok attacks the unsuspecting stormtroopers, using spears, Wisties, and whatever abilities they can muster to take down the intruders. Each defeated stormtrooper spawns as another Ewok, multiplying until the Empire’s forces have been completely eliminated, and the Ewok celebration can begin. Imperial forces will need all their training to survive until their evacuation arrives. Do so, and they’ll make it off of Endor and claim the win.
New Appearances
The addition of new appearances are some of the most requested items to date amongst the Battlefront II Community and we’re pleased to confirm that more are on the way, starting this month.So here’s what’s arriving in this update for heroes:
- Wounded Chewbacca, with Arm Patch
- Scarred Kylo Ren, Patch over Scar
- Administrator Lando, Bespin
- Commander Iden, no Helmet
- Hooded Yoda, pulled up Hood
- Endor Leia
- Endor Han
- Ahch-To Rey
Trooper Appearances
Heroes aren’t the only ones getting some new Appearances, as Troopers are also going to be receiving some brand-new looks. We know this is something that many of you have been asking for, so we can’t wait to see them in action across the galaxy.In total there are forty new Trooper Appearances, including new Officer Appearances for both the First Order and The Empire.
Rebels will be receiving Appearances across all Trooper classes, including the Heavy Quarren Rebel and the Twi’lek Specialist.
Heavy Zabrak and a Duros Officer are just two of the appearances that you’ll have available when playing as the Resistance.
Game Improvements
In the next update you will be able to convert Crafting Parts to Skill Points. Simply head into the Collection menu, select the Hero, Class or Vehicle of your choosing and you’ll be able to purchase skill Points, using your already existing Crafting Parts. One Skill Point will cost you 40 Crafting Parts.Winning a round will now provide you a small bonus to the Credits you earn, making those wins that little bit extra valuable. A great way to earn some additional Credits towards the Appearance you have your eyes set on.
Upcoming Challenges
We’ve got some great Challenges coming up, and fans of Emotes are going to enjoy the two below:
- Name: Coatee-cha tu yub nub
- Date: April 19 – 22
- Objective: Defeat 25 Enemies in Night on Endor
- Reward: Peekabo Emote
- Name: Fastest Hunt of Junk
- Date: April 26 – 29
- Objective: Defeat 10 Enemies as a Starfighter
- Reward: Chosen One Emote
Remember that there’s a new Challenge every day and a bonus one over each weekend.
Balancing, Bugs and Tweaks
We’ve heard a lot about the Iden the last couple of weeks and the consensus amongst the Community has been that she was a little overpowered. We agree, and as a result of this we’ve removed the double stun from her Stun Droid. We’ve also increased the stun duration from 0.5 to 0.9 seconds.The intent was to give players a chance to roll away from the second stun and provide some skill reward. This became confusing and rarely did it play out as we originally intended. What we saw was players being stunned for a total of 2.3 seconds, which usually resulted in defeat.
We’ve also made some tweaks to the core combat system. We have improved the melee combat responsiveness for all melee attacks including things like lightsabers and Phasma’s staff attack. Timing for effects, audio, camera shake, and the application of damage has been aligned to the expected moment of the impact to make the melee combat experience tighter and to reduce the feeling of latency.
Going forward, DICE implied that they want to keep up a monthly cadence of smaller content releases, while also providing larger multiple-month Seasons that will pair with big events like Star Wars film releases an anniversaries in the Star Wars universe. Season 2 is coming in May, and though they didn’t provide details, it’s likely it will center on Solo, the Han Solo solo film. A Q&A near the end of the community update teases Clone Wars content coming to Battlefront II eventually, but whether that will be part of one of the monthly content drops or larger seasons remains to be seen.
Does the latest Star Wars Battlefront II update get you excited to hop back into the game? If you didn’t pick it up at release, is it something that is drawing your interest now?
[Source: DICE]
