DICE TeamStar Wars Battlefront II - The BB Update & Age of Rebellion on the way
INCOMING TRANSMISSION
We’re back with more news and information on the next update for Star Wars™ Battlefront™ II.
Back in December, we mentioned that both BB-8 and BB-9E would be coming to the game, and you also got a sneak-peek at them in the trailer we released.
Known for his courage, BB-8 will play his part as an offensive hero. This will help balance out the light side, which currently has a support-oriented roster.
With an Astromech joining the light side, it seems only fitting that the dark side should also get one. That’s where BB-9E comes into play.
While BB-8’s bravery helps him charge into the battlefront, BB-9E is cold, calculating, and will play more of a support role, fitting in nicely with the dark side Hero roster.
As January comes to a close, our attention turns to February and, with it, the confirmation that we will return to the Original Trilogy and the Age of Rebellion. This includes bringing specific planets to both Co-Op and, later on, Supremacy. We know that many of you have been requesting this and we’re incredibly excited at the prospect of playing as Luke, Leia, Darth Vader and more, through both Co-Op and Supremacy.
With the arrival of the Original Trilogy we will make a name change: Capital Supremacy will simply be known as Supremacy. We’re renaming this game mode to encompass all eras as the upcoming Original Trilogy variant will be fought exclusively on the ground.
During development, we looked at the experiences that both Death Star II and Scarif would offer, deciding that the Age of Rebellion would be focused on ground-based combat, which is a better fit for some of the more iconic locations we have available. It’s hard to imagine leaving the Death Star to go to a capital ship, let alone having to deal with the shield that surrounds Scarif. But, don’t worry – it’s still the same great Supremacy experience, just focused on ground-based gameplay.
And, yes – you heard that right – we’re bringing Scarif back from 2015’s Star Wars Battlefront! This is one of the most highly requested planets and we’re incredibly excited to see it return to the battlefront.
More details on the specifics of our Age of Rebellion content will come in February, but before that arrives, we’re just days away from the next update. Let’s take a look at what’s coming on Monday Feb 3rd.
A familiar droid within the Resistance, BB-8 has become a fan favorite within the Star Wars™ universe since his debut in Star Wars: The Force Awakens™.
If there’s one thing BB-8 can do, it’s move fast. We’ve seen him rolling at great speed through multiple environments in the films and he’ll act the same way in Star Wars Battlefront II. He will feel fast, able to move in and out of harm's way at speed, while also being able to capture a Command Post at a quicker rate than others.
Along with his ability to capture Command Posts, BB-8 comes with another advantage, his Rolling Charge ability. Activate it and BB-8 will roll much faster than normal, headfirst. When he bumps into an enemy, he extends his head, damaging and pushing them back.
And if BB-8 finds himself in a position he can’t zip out of, he can use his Shock Prod on enemies in front of him, which deals electrical damage to them over time.
Always one to have a few tricks ready to go, BB-8 can also call upon his Resistance Backing ability, which unveils enemies around him. Not only will they be revealed, they will also be more vulnerable to attacks, taking slightly increased damage. Any enemies revealed by Resistance Backing will also have their radar corrupted.
Rounding off his abilities is Cable Spin, where BB-8 will begin to rotate, extending three tow cables, hitting all enemies around him and causing high damage.
BB-8 will have three passive abilities, which means they’ll always be present and won’t require input in order to activate. Simply meet the requirements and the passive abilities will be carried out.
Technical Support
- BB-8 will count as two units when capturing a Command Post, and activating an objective device is much faster.
Swift Reaction
- BB-8 increases the cooldown speed of nearby friendly character’s abilities.
Health on Kill
- Upon defeating an opponent, BB-8 will receive some health back.
BB-8 is faster than most and can traverse the battlefront at great speeds.
Dodge
- Quick Dodge to the side
Jump
- A quick impulse jump that is slightly higher than blaster heroes
Speed
- Similar to a Force user in terms of sprinting speed
Flashlight
- Ability to turn on and off a flashlight
Self Repairs
- BB-8’s maximum health regeneration is increased.
Spared Batteries
- Every trooper defeated or 200 damage to villains increases Shock Prod damage.
Shielded Roll
- BB-8 takes less damage while using Rolling Charge.
Headfirst
- BB-8 deals more damage when hitting an enemy with Rolling Charge.
Spinner
- When hitting multiple enemies with Cable Spin, the next cooldown of the ability is reduced.
Whirlwind
- Both the damage and area of effect of Cable Spin is increased.
Uncover
- Enemies revealed by Resistance Backing will take extra damage from attacks.
Trusty Droid
- When BB-8 defeats an opponent that was revealed by Resistance Backing, he will heal nearby friendly characters.
Roll Together
- The increased cooldown speed of BB-8 is improved.
- Sided
- Thumbs Up
- Wired Parade
- Cables Out
- Excited
- Thumbs Up
- Twist
- Angry Beeps
Similar to BB-8, BB-9E will have a primary weapon that is centered around his Shock Prod, which stuns enemies periodically and deals damage over time.
BB-9E has a number of abilities based on utility. The first of which is Smoke Screen. Upon activation, dense smoke will be emitted from BB-9E through the grids on his body, revealing enemies around him for the duration of the active time.
His second utility-based ability is Charge Up, which emits a pulse that places his Shock Prod and all nearby friendly blasters into super success mode. This will cause friendly units to no longer generate heat on their blasters and will also reduce their ability recharge time.
The third ability of BB-9E’s is Shock Spin. When used, BB-9E will spin and release an electric pulse that pushes, and damages enemies that are nearby. Any enemies that are further away will have their blasters overheated.
Technical Support
- BB-9E will count as two units when capturing a Command Post and activating an objective device is much faster.
Bacta Support
- BB-9E periodically regenerates the main health of friendly characters around him.
Health on Kill
- Upon defeating an opponent, BB-9E will receive some health back.
BB-9E MOVEMENT TYPE
BB-9E is faster than most and can traverse the battlefront at great speeds.
Dodge
- Quick Dodge to the side.
Jump
- A quick impulse jump that is slightly higher than blaster heroes.
Speed
- Similar to a Force user in terms of sprinting speed.
Flashlight
- Ability to turn on and off a flashlight.
Full Reconstruction
- BB-9E’s maximum health regeneration is increased.
Linked Systems
- Every 200 health healed to friendly characters reduces the shock prod stun cooldown.
Hearty Exhaust
- The radius of smoke screen is increased.
I See You
- Enemies revealed by Smoke Screen will be revealed for longer.
Faster, Faster!
- If shock spin hits enough targets, its damage will be doubled for the remaining time.
Spin me Round
- Enemies hit by Shock Spin will be pushed further away, but its cooldown is increased.
Swift Power
- The cooldown of Charge Up is reduced.
Supercharged
- The radius of Charge Up is increased.
Potent Bacta
- The radius of Bacta Support is bigger, but the cooldown between heals is also increased.
- Shocking Victory
- Incognito
- Vigilant
- Bow
- Suspicious
- Alarm
- Backfire
- Spiral
The release of the Age of Resistance into Co-Op last month was met with a lot of positivity, and it was great watching you take on our Auto Players. This month, we’re bringing the Age of Resistance to Supremacy, where you’ll be able to take on players from all around the world in tug-of-war style gameplay.
With the inclusion of Age of Resistance into Supremacy, we’ll also be bringing two new Capital Ships to the game. Once the update arrives, you’ll be boarding both the MC85 Star Cruiser and Resurgent-class Star Destroyer.
There will be three planets available in Age of Resistance Supremacy: Ajan Kloss, Jakku, and Takodana. Each of these planets will also be available in Instant Action, allowing you to play the Supremacy experience offline.
Back in December of last year, we implemented the Era Select menu, allowing you to choose between the available eras for Co-Op. With the arrival of Supremacy to the Age of Resistance, we’re expanding the Era select menu to also include Supremacy.
As a result, when it comes to playing Supremacy, you’ll have the option to choose between both the Age of Republic and Age of Resistance.
When the Age of Rebellion content arrives in February, the Era Select menu will also be updated to include it.
Since their addition to the game, Auto Players have become some of the most feared opponents across the galaxy. They are receiving some updates this month and it starts with a new Auto Player Reinforcement.
Within the next update Auto Players will be able to play as Droidekas on all planets and across all game modes that support them.
It wasn’t always the best idea to get up close and personal to an Auto Player, and you’ll want to be even more careful in the future as Auto Player Troopers and Reinforcements will now be able to perform melee attacks.
Hit Markers
We created unique hit markers from the attacker´s point of view for explosive and melee damage. This will allow you to more clearly see if you are dealing splash damage or if you are hitting your target directly.
In the case where you hit a target with an explosive bullet, you will see both the normal hit indicator plus the new explosive damage hit indicator.
We have also removed an obsolete feature where each hit indicator would turn grey if your absolute amount of damage was below a certain hard threshold.
Explosive Damage Reduction
Some game effects can cause you to take less explosive damage from grenades, explosive bullets, and other explosive damage sources - this includes the Bodyguard Star Card and the protective area when in Sentry mode. We have now added the same in-game messaging for this that we use for normal damage reduction.
This means that when you deal explosive damage to an enemy that takes reduced explosion damage, you will see a red animated shield icon emanate from that hit. To distinguish between explosion damage reduction and normal damage reduction, we have created a unique icon for explosion damage reduction that looks like four small dots and can be superimposed onto the already existing shield icon that we display above enemies' heads.
We are also using these two icons near your own health bar to show you that you have been buffed by one or both effects.
Flame Trooper Range UI
It is difficult to know the range of the Flame Trooper´s flamethrower. We are alleviating this by adding a UI element that shows the flamethrower range briefly when you start firing it.
Ovissian Gunner Spool-Up Functionality
We’ve implemented spool-up functionality for the Ovissian Gunners weapon. Hold Zoom to spool up the weapon, ensuring that it is ready to fire immediately when you find a target.
The crosshairs have also been updated to visually show that you need to spool up before you can fire.
Heavy Sentry Ability Updates
We’ve tweaked the Heavy Troopers Sentry abilities to be more in-line with the Ovissian Gunner. The spool-up functionality has been applied to all sentry weapons and can be activated by holding the zoom button.
To complement this change, the spool up time required on all versions of Sentry have been increased. This means that the initial time cost to go into Sentry and fire your first shot is increased, but once spooled up, you’ll have a better tactical situation than previously.
The passive timer in Sentry has been removed, ensuring that you have more control over the number of shots you can fire. While fully spooled up, you will drain a small amount of time from the ability´s total, but this drain will only deplete up to 80% of your total available time.
As with the Ovissian Gunner, we have also updated the crosshairs to visually show that you need to spool up before you can fire.
