Clankers and tankers in Battlefront II's beta battles written by Tom Midgley The ultimate Star Wars™ battleground. Experience a multiplayer universe unmatched in variety and breadth. Up to forty players fight as iconic heroes and authentic-to-era troopers, and in a massive array of vehicles as battle rages through the galaxy. *dropping in from above* Hello there. This is Episode II of my analysis for Battlefront II's open beta. For the first part covering the beta's maps and new modes click here: Maps'N'Modes But in this post I'll be focusing on the lads and lasses that you can play as in the various conflicts in the game. In addition I'll be briefly going over the phantom menace of a loot box system. But first off, let's get classy. ClassesA massive change to DICE's 2015 game Battlefront is the return to the aforementioned class system. Long ago in the mists of time when controllers were wired and memory cards external, the original Battlefront series was released in 2004. Developed by Pandemic Studios, the game featured a heavy focus on classes of soldier with unique sets of weapons and a handful of abilities. The recent remake in 2015 did away with that and allowed for more freedom in one's loadout. However, a pattern soon emerged with players quickly figuring out the most effective configurations of gear. Soon the game was flooded with jetpacks, toxic grenades and forcefields that left everything feeling rather gimmicky and samey, detracting from the feel of Star Wars cinematic battles. Buts that's all changed. No longer are jetpacks, thermal detonators and shields a winning combo for every player on the map. A new level of diversity with weapon and ability sets allows players to adopt the play style they prefer without getting too reliant on the same gear for every occasion. Introducing the Assault, Heavy, Officer and Specialist classes. Available to each faction with a few different starting weapons, the focus that each class provides creates a far more interesting game to play. I found myself switching classes on the fly to suit the needs of the mission, not that I didn’t have my favourites. But who are they? And what do they do? 'Assault' ClassThe bread and butter of the shooter genre. Assault-class players enjoyed the most well-rounded soldier with strong offensive abilities and later ones affording better chances of survival. This class served as the easiest class to get to grips with, also offering the quickest way to satisfy the need for a killstreak as they combine mobility and firepower better than other classes. For better or worse, the Assault class’ thermal detonator has been heavily nerfed (herded?) in terms of both radius and damage. I think if Boushh had been holding the latest one of these puppies she’d have barely singed Jabba’s frog bowl let alone take his throne room out. This may have been a reactionary change to the reliance on explosives that the previous game saw where the tactic of ‘chuck a grenade at it’ became a staple. Though it feels a little out of place in the science-fantasy of Star Wars (despite Republic Commando’s great use of it, pictured above), the low-tech shotgun really comes into its own with the Assault’s playstyle. This brutal boomstick stole the show in the tight alleys of Theed and corridors of Maz’s Castle. The scatter gun could reliably clear choke points with its hefty stopping power. You didnt need much more than quick reflexes to start emptying rooms with its spread and spelling doom even for the heroes in your crosshairs. There’s not much to write home about with the Assault but it’s a necessary foundation for players to work from or for if you want to simply lay into the enemy with straight up offense. 'Heavy' ClassWhat Heavies lack in an imaginative name, they make up for in how bad-ass they look. You can spot them a mile off with their underslung cannons and bright blue shields but the heavy can understandably take a beating. An observation I quickly learned as a plucky Assault-class trying to poke a shotgun around that shield. Not always as easy you’d hope. Playing the Heavy seems simple. Rev up your cannon, mow people down, fire up a shield if they’re alive long enough to fire back. But knowing the limits of your defenses is key, especially as Heavies don’t have the same agility to help them duck and weave out of danger’s way. But also knowing when to go all in with the sentry ability can help rack up those eliminations and clear the way for your team. The loadout for the Heavy doesn’t leave room for a lot of flexibility, but then again that’s not really the point with the Heavy. Maps like Theed are well-suited to the devastating firepower they can offer both in defense of the palace or in taking it, with corridors and alleyways forming natural choke points that Heavy’s can secure with cannon and shield. Their slower speed is an important downside in order to stop them being overly powerful and it’s a commendable bit of balancing on DICE’s part. A little variety in the way each faction’s Heavy defended would have been a nice detail. Something like a different shaped shield for each faction or alternate firing modes for the cannon. I can’t help think that First Order Heavies would be a little more devastating than a simple battle droid. 'Officer' ClassAh, the Officer. Never have I felt so guilty about being rewarded for someone else’s success. But I suppose that’s part and parcel of any leadership role. It’s what I like to call the ‘I’m-behind-you-all-the-way’ class. With it you get a versatile support character with a very fluid role to play on the battlefront. A passive reduction of allies’ health regeneration lets you get your team back in the fight quickly (without doing a sodding thing), coupled with an additional boost to maximum health, you can make a lot of friends. But there’s bite to the Officer’s bark too. A sentry turret can provide a way of taking yourself out of the crosshairs as well as earn points for any eliminations it makes. A meagre flashbang rounds out the default loadout, but with the ability to delay or spread the detonation it can really help you get out of a tight spot. The Officer’s armaments are nothing to shout about but the intention isn’t for this class to be gunslinging with the Heavies, better to be taking shots from over their shoulders. Two highlights with this class have to be the unbearably snooty First Order officer who seems like exactly the right person for an evil space dictatorship. But by far the best soldier on the battlefront has to be the campy, yet affectionate battle droid Officer who utters, “Good luck turret!” when deploying his automated friend. That right there? That made me smile. 'Specialist' ClassThe sneaky sniper support class might be the toughest to really excel with. It’s not about offense, it’s not about defense. This class is about thinking smarter and exploiting the enemy. It requires a sharper shot to offset limited survivability and the gear the specialist gets to use is useless if not used correctly. But when they are they can really sing. One of my favourite abilities the new game introduces lets the specialist hybridize their playstyle and go from a sniper sat on the sidelines to a predator stalking their prey. That ability is ‘Interceptor Mode’ and when activated, switches the long-range rifle for a burst-fire blaster and scrambles the scanners for nearby enemies. It also reveals said enemies letting you get a major advantage when playing a map with plenty of cover and obstructions. This means you can stalk into Maz’s Castle, not only knowing when to turn a corner but letting your team mates approach without walking into an ambush. When combined with the specialist’s other tricks like ion grenades (which have an agonizingly long fuse) and trip mines, the specialist can really become a problem for the enemy in ways a distant sniper wouldn’t be. This was all a breath of fresh air for someone who can’t aim for Sith using a console controller. But this class was so much fun to play around with without having to be a marksman prodigy. There aren’t many times playing as other classes that feel as cool as spotting an enemy and slipping into interceptor mode. 'Jumptrooper' & 'Enforcer' ClassesHere’s where we finally got a bit of faction-specific variety. With the Rebel/Resistance team’s getting Wookies and Jet Troopers, First Order getting Flame Troopers and Jet Troopers, Clones getting… Jet Troopers and the Droids getting Super Battle Droids… and, you guessed it, Jet Troopers. So maybe we got a half attempt at giving up those damned jetpacks. Either way these classes serve the most advanced roles in combat with abilities and gear that takes a little getting used to in order to make effective use of them. The difference here is that, for these lads and ladies with their special skills, you’ll need to fork over vital battle points for them. This resource is a major change to the game and once you’ve earned a big fearsome wookie the temptation is to jump right into his furry boots and fire up your bowcaster. But over time I learned that it was worth saving those points for a pivotal moment. Having Rey turn up to run around Theed while the MTT floats along is a far less effective use for her crowd control abilities than in the packed corridors and throne room later on. It’s forethought and planning that can easily become lost in the heat of battle so it remains to be seen how well players can adapt to using battle points effectively. Loot CratesThe last thing that Battlefront II brings to the franchise is something that is largely receiving a negative reaction. LOOT CRATES Yup. They're essentially boxes of randomly-generated rewards, bought with your hard earned credits unlocking new gear, abilities, outfits, emotes and MVP poses. That last one being a resource I sadly have no need for, as someone who plays the game in the 'Middling' bracket of the 'Just-About-Surviving-League'. The fury surrounding this model of progression derives from the fact that one can use real money outside of the game to buy a premium currency IN the game which you can use to acquire box after box of new content. This gives a substantial advantage to wealthy players whose skills don't need to match those of the average gamer that pays upfront for the game and decides to play to win, not pay to win. What's worse is that due to the loot crate's randomized nature of doling out what your working for, there's a very real chance you'll receive useless or duplicated prizes that get you no closer to playing the game on an even level with others. Understandably, this has been a contentious issue for developers, publishers and players who all have different stakes in a game's financial, critical and creative success. In a competitive game such as Battlefront II it raises issues of fairness against the freedom for players to play the game whatever way they like. Often, the hard-working folks who code and animate and design the game won't get a huge say in the economy of a game. A department that's become so important to the business side of game development. How important? Well in a recent video, Gamespot discussed how detrimental the loot crate system was to the beta's reception. But they also talked about how much revenue other in-game transactions generate for game publishers and the results were alarmingly lucrative. So we just have to accept the sad fact that this method pays billions in profit to publishers and it is here for the foreseeable future. But fans aren't happy about this. And when fans aren't happy, they rebel. And what are rebellions built on? Thank you, Space Hermione. And in a statement to fans, thanking them for their participation in the beta, EA and DICE announced a number of changes to the loot crate progression, limiting how much of an edge they'll grant. Instead, top performances and achieving goals will be needed to get the game's best goodies and the right to use them must be earned through good old-fashioned game playing. It's genuinely worrying that we've got to a point where to encourage people to play a game, they must be told... to just play the game. Only time will tell, how the promised slew of free DLC will counter the micro-transactions that plagued the beta. The olive branch statement in the beta's wake is a step in the right direction but with billions of dollars on the menu it's going to be hard to tempt massive corporate entities like Electronic Arts to take the high ground. After all, then it's over. Overall this beta was a success. Record numbers of people played and the developers have gained some vital insight into the game and the expectations of their fans. Personally, a few predictable designs and a hopefully short-lived reliance on random rewards didn't too heavily bog down what was an incredibly fun return to Star Wars’ epic action series. The classes are fresh, the levels are mostly fun and I can’t wait to get stuck into denying my failings as a sniper and binging the story mode in one night. If you've enjoyed my coverage of the beta's ins and outs then please take a look at the preview of Assassin's Creed: Origins I played at this year's EGX. Or if you fancy something a bit less stabby, there's my interview with ZRZ Studio on their upcoming platfomer Inops.
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Tom MidgleyI play, design and write about games when I'm not hoping for someone to pay me to do these things. Archives
October 2017
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