Now in its third year, Star Wars Battlefront 2 is at last going back to the original trilogy. DICE has been steadily updating the game with lots of maps, modes, characters and more stuff drawn from the prequels and sequels, but starting this month it's the Age of Rebellion's turn.
First off, both the Rebels and Empire are getting new reinforcements in the form of the scrappy Ewok Hunter and the duel-wielding ISB Agent.
The ewok in particular is a nice treat, as the guerrilla teddy bears are usually restricted to the Ewok Hunt mode. This little guy uses a bow, which functions like Lando's Dead Eye ability normally, picking targets for you to shoot at, but when zoomed in you get manual control, greater range and more damage. The hunter can also buff himself by using his horn, burn enemies by throwing little fire sprites at them, and detect their weaknesses.
The ISB Agent is the first reinforcement in the Empire's roster capable of duel-wielding. She's also good at getting into and out of fights thanks to Assault Training ability, which grants her increased sprint speed and damage reduction, and she can find enemies by using her Imperial Intel ability. Her final ability, meanwhile, supports her allies by healing them.
If you want a break from the massive fights where you're lucky to survive for a few minutes, the Age of Rebellion is also beefing up co-op with seven additional locations drawn from the original trilogy, including Jabba's Palace, Kessel Run and Death Star II. With the launch of the update, DICE is also going to start adding capital ships to the list of co-op maps, starting with the Republic Venator and Separatist Dreadnaught. The MC85 Star Cruiser and the Resurgent-Class Star Destroyer, meanwhile, are coming to Heroes Vs. Villains.
Each of the four classes will get a new blaster that's compatible across eras, while some heroes and reinforcements will receive an update. Leia's getting a couple of ability improvements, card tweaks and blaster modifications, while Chewbacca's bowcaster should be more effective against Troopers and miss fewer shots. The Wookiee Warrior, Imperial Rocket Trooper and Rocket Jumper won't be getting any gameplay changes, but they are getting new appearances.
The update will also tweak the UI and bots, as well as a long list of smaller changes. You can see them all in the patch notes.
I've only had a chance to play a couple of times since the BB update, so I've got a great deal to catch up on. I'm trying to cut down on the live service games I play, but DICE has done such a great job of fixing up and expanding Battlefront 2 since its launch was mired in microtransaction controversy that I can't help but keep popping my head in the door and shooting up some stormtroopers.
Star Wars Battlefront 2's Age of Rebellion update kicks off tomorrow, February 26.
