1. Grinding Loot Boxes (the dark side of a game still fresh in the memory of gamers but now a Sith dynasty of the past)

I think it’s best to just lay out a tip concerning Battlefront 2’s progression system first and expound upon the good shit after addressing the unforgiving progression loop. Battlefront 2’s infamous loot box progression system is the main detriment to the game but with some patience players can learn to live with such limitations imposed by EA. A measly “daily loot box” is available every 24 hours, so be sure to pick that up in case of a prolonged interest in Battlefront 2.

A mathematical process governs distribution of rare Star Cards. Hero Crates are the best way to obtain the best/rarest of cards plus a fair amount of crafting points at a relatively low Credit Cost (2200 Credits). Players have the chance of obtaining Hero Cards, Starfighter Cards, Trooper Cards, Credits, Weapons, and Crafting Points from Hero Crates. In other words, players have the possibility of obtaining every kind of Star Card from the Crate costing the lowest amount of points. Luckily, this system was abandoned by EA at the behest of Disney, which was the right move because it really sucks.

2. Edit: No More Loot Boxes!

Great news: the aforementioned horrible loot grind has been replaced by a fully competent upgrade system that should have been in place at launch. The new system should definitely have been implemental at the start of Battlefront 2’s cycle. The backlash would never have been violent and much of the bad press would have been avoided.

Is this a too little, too late scenario? For some, undoubtedly yes. Battlefront 2 received a ton of bad press and became the most downvoted topic on Reddit. On the flip side, there has never been a better time to join the rebellion or crush the rebels since the system is finally not broken.

What are we left with? Four tiers of stat advancement for each star card still exist. The added feature is tied to experience points for every kill or objective completed by the four classes, the vehicles, and the plethora of Heroes. The player levels up and collects skill points and can finally spend these however they wish. Certain upgrades are only accessible once the player reaches a set level for the respective characters and vehicles.

Random loot boxes no longer determine the unlocked stat boost or ability star card. Overall, it’s a much better system. Hopefully EA learns from this one: do not piss off the overlords of Disney when it seems one of its business properties are compromised by children who are essentially gambling and paying to have unfair stat advantages tied to spending actual money.

3. An approach for every map

Every map will feel unfamiliar at first unless someone has an idea of the territorial layout on the iconic movie planets. The game hews closely to the movies in this regard and fans can use movie knowledge to their advantage, like knowing the location of Echo base on Hoth, or the side streets of Theed, Naboo, or even bounding in the treetop scaffoldings and walkways in the company of Ewoks that are still tempting to shoot, but beware! Ewoks can be mistaken for enemies from a mid to long-range distance. I have been guilty off firing my weapon, which led to my discovery and death at the hands of an enemy trooper.

If any Star Wars newbies join the fight a solid strategy for them and any other player focusing on survivability is to stick to map side boundaries and borders. Do not rush out and cross open, empty and unoccupied stretches of ground with no visible cover. These areas include places like sand dunes in Jakku or many white stretches of Hoth and Crait. The more open city squares of Naboo and Moss Eiesly junkyards aren’t worth booking it because of the probability of enemy presence.

A little sneaking into “desertion territory” beyond marked game borders is an unconventional approach but the short venture can have the benefit of upping the kill count. Players can get the drop on enemies not accessible in normal game map boundaries with a 10 second countdown. This allows gamers to run around the greyed areas beyond the borders before the player dies a death of desertion. A savvy player can sneak in a few kills here and there this way.

4. Avoiding the Lone Wolf Approach

Two heads are always better than one in the overall context of Star Wars: Battlefront 2. I know it’s tempting to ditch an underwhelming group of stupid blue dots hunting in the wrong areas of a map or firing weapons that give away your position and behaving like a crowd of dumbasses in general. These are the realities of a casual shooter. Ditching inept teammates can run the risk of a player’s quick discovery at the hands of an Infiltration or Scan Dart ability. Better to stick with the idiots because like it or not their presence will attract enemy attention and if worse comes to worse placing yourself behind a blue dot will increase survivability by using their stupidity as human /robotic/beastly meat shields.

Continued...