DICE Makes Changes To 'Star Wars Battlefront II' Crate System

After the end of the Star Wars Battlefront II beta, DICE provided a primer on the mechanics of the crate system. However, after more feedback from beta participants, the studio is changing the feature so that you’ll have to invest more time in gampelay to gain the best rewards.

In addition to weapons, each of your characters uses Star Cards, or abilities, to gain the upper hand in combat. Abilities include the deployment of a powerful shield, throwing a high-damage grenade, or utilizing a rocket launcher. There are multiple tiers of Star Cards in the game, and the Epic tier offers the best abilities. However, these Epic Star Cards are obtainable only through the crafting feature, some pre-order bundles, the Deluxe Edition variant, and a few starter packs.

The crafting mechanic also comes into play when you're upgrading the cards in your collection. However, you won’t be able to craft better cards when you begin the game. You’ll need to reach a specific rank, which you can earn only by playing matches, before you can use materials to get better abilities.

You also have to earn new weapons, gear, and other items by competing online. For instance, you’ll need to complete general and class-specific milestones if you want access to better firearms (although DICE said that a “select few” are found in crates). Completing the milestones will also give you crates, which will include more cards and crafting materials.

The bottom line here is that DICE wants everyone to be on the same playing field regardless whether or not you use real or in-game money to buy crates. If you paid real-world dollars to get crates, you’ll have quicker access to some cards and weapons, but you’ll still need to play a few rounds, like everyone else, in order to get better items. We’ll see how it works when the game launches in a few weeks, but at the moment, these changes make Star Wars Battlefront II less of a “pay-to-win” title.

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NameStar Wars Battlefront II
TypeShooter
DeveloperDICE, Motive Studios, Criterion Games
PublisherElectronic Arts
PlatformsPC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Where To BuyOriginPlayStation StoreXbox StoreAmazonBest BuyTargetWalmartGameStop
Release DateNovember 17, 2017
  • dextermat
    Sounds like DICE has found a way to puke on a pile of sh*t and think they fix something. No pukecrates in my games please.
    Reply
  • Giroro
    That sounds complicated and not very fun.
    Reply
  • dstarr3
    Does anybody even want loot crates and crafting in their multiplayer shooter? Why can't they just tear out all the stupid stuff and just make a good game? Oh, right, because microtransactions are God now.
    Reply
  • Somasonic
    We don't need this excrement in PC games. It make sense in the free-to-play market but not when you've already paid full price for a game.
    Reply
  • poochiepiano
    Meh. DICE hasn't made a good game since probably Battlefield Heroes. And EA ruins things as usual.
    Reply
  • kuhndj67
    As long as they can be successful selling microtransaction games they'll do it... it means I won't play it but unless there's a few million others like me it won't make a difference.
    Reply
  • Phillip Wager
    I want to believe that it is mostly kids buying these with their parents money. But i know deep down it is probably not the case.
    Reply
  • McWhiskey
    Does this apply to single player in any way? Imagine having to grind multiplayer content just to finish the story.
    Reply
  • bigdragon
    So how do these changes make the multiplayer more fair? My experience with the Battlefront 2 beta was that it was wonderful at first, but became wildly unfair and unbalanced towards the end of the beta. Some people had ridiculous star cards that gave them invulnerability or near invulnerability. You had no idea what cards your opponents were using until they killed you. Matchmaking made no attempt to place people in games based on their cards -- just their account levels.

    I'd buy Battlefront 2 if it were fair. Unfortunately, it carries the dubious distinction of being the most unfair game I've ever played.
    Reply
  • ubercake
    I'm naturally inclined to buy anything Star Wars, but the lack of fun Battlefront presented followed by its obvious influence on the Battlefield series (i.e. Battlefield 1) has made anything EA starting with "Battle..." seem unappealing. These games are terrible, but they sure do look and sound purdy! Lipstick on a pig comes to mind.
    Reply