[2020] Star Wars Battlefront II - The BB Update & Age of Rebellion (OT) on the way

The BB Update Community Transmission

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.

Age of Rebellion (Original Trilogy)

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.

New Hero BB-8

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™.

"You’re a true friend." – Rey to BB-8

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

BB-8 Passive Abilities

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 Movement Type

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

BB-8 Star Cards

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.

BB-8 Victory Poses

• Sided
• Thumbs Up
• Wired Parade
• Cables Out

BB-8 Emotes

• Excited
• Thumbs Up
• Twist
• Angry Beeps

New Hero BB-9E

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.

BB-9E

BB-9E Passive Abilities

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.

BB-9E Star Cards

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.

BB-9E Victory Poses

• Shocking Victory
• Incognito
• Vigilant
• Bow

BB-9E Emotes

• Suspicious
• Alarm
• Backfire
• Spiral

Age of Resistance comes to Supremacy and Instant Action

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.

Era Select

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.

Auto Player Improvements

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.

Quality of Life Changes

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.

Release Notes

FEATURES

• Two new Heroes, BB-8 for the Resistance and BB-9E for the First Order, are now available.
• Supremacy and Instant Action are now available on new Planets (Takodana, Jakku, Ajan Kloss).
• Added new Capital Ship interior maps, the MC85 Star Cruiser and the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer, as part of the Supremacy game mode on the new planets.
• Hero Showdown is now available on Ajan Kloss.
• New emotes have been added for Finn (Thumbs Up) and Kylo Ren (Showdown), unlockable via milestones.

QUALITY OF LIFE

• Added era selection to Supremacy, including the option for matchmaking into any game.
• Droideka units are added as AI players on Co-Op and Instant Action.

Hit Markers
We created unique hit markers from the attacker´s point of view for explosive damage and for melee damage/other. 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. This change allowed us to fix an issue where explosive bullet headshots did not show the yellow headshot indicator.

Finally, we 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 of these effects.

Incoming Explosive Damage Origin
Some explosives that detonate immediately on impact have been changed to point at the attacker instead of at the center of the explosion, making it easier for victims to know where the danger is coming from.

Changed explosives include: Impact Grenade, Boba's Rocket Barrage, AT-ST Barrage, Rocket Launcher, AT-ST Anti-Vehicle Rocket, Leia´s alt fire, ARC Trooper Power Shot, Bermuda Cop Quarrel Bolts, B2 Rocket Launcher.

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.

HERO CHANGES

• Added ability crosshair for Kylo Ren's Frenzy and Emperor Palpatine's Chain Lighting.
• Fixed an issue that would not allow Darth Maul and Darth Vader to throw their lightsaber during a voice line action.
• Fixed an issue that could cause some of the abilities of Luke Skywalker, Darth Maul and Yoda to affect enemies through objects.
• Fixed an issue that would prevent players from getting Kill Assists for multiple buff abilities that helped allies killing an enemy.
• UI range for various abilities is now white when it affects enemies, and yellow when it affects friendly players.
• Intro animations for Heroes in the Spawn and Frontend Screen have been improved.

GENERAL GRIEVOUS

• Fixed an issue that would cause General Grievous to drain too much stamina from an opposing player when using Unrelenting Advance.

REY

• Fixed an issue where Rey's Mind Trick would not apply VFX vignette around the screen of the affected player.

DARTH VADER

• Darth Vader is now able to attack and block while choking.
• Fixed an issue where Darth Vader would remain stuck in the choke animation if he used Choke and dash immediately after.

EMPEROR PALPATINE

• Removed slow movement on Dark Aura.
• Reduced single-hand damage from 15 to 14.
• Reduced double-hand damage from 32 to 28.
• Reduced Chain Lightning radius from 26.25 meters to 18 meters.
• Various visual improvements to the Dark Aura VFX, including fixing an issue where the ability would affect visibility for teammates.
• Reduced Emperor Palpatine's damage against the TX-130.
• Fixed an issue where Chain Lightning could occasionally go through blocking.

ANAKIN SKYWALKER

• Pressure star card – reduced value from 10-20-30-40 to 10-15-20-25.
• Reduced Passionate Strike first strike damage on troopers and reinforcements from 130 to 70.
• Reduced Passionate Strike damage on troopers and reinforcements from 250 to 180.
• Reduced the base damage of Heroic Impact to troopers and reinforcements from 120 to 100.
• Massive Strikes Star card – Anakin Skywalker deals more damage with his lightsaber attack but his stamina costs are increased.

COUNT DOOKU

• Added a yellow circle around the crosshair to show when Dooku has a critical hit available with his Initiative Star Card.

YODA

• Fixed an issue where Yoda's Presence would not display the right amount of friendly characters who will be affected.
• Fixed an issue where the intended effects from Yoda's Presence ability would not apply, if the ability was used in mid-air.
• Fixed an issue where users could receive a jumping advantage while using abilities in mid-air.

LUKE SKYWALKER

• Fixed an issue where users could receive a jumping advantage while using the Push ability in mid-air.

IDEN VERSIO

• Fixed an issue where Iden's Droid Shield could not be manually deactivated.

FINN

• Fixed an issue with Finn's "A Fight You Can Win" milestone not tracking progress in Co-Op when eliminating First Order troopers.

HAN SOLO

• Increased damage to troopers for the Shoulder Charge ability from 150 to 200.

BOSSK

• We timed the UI elements of Bossk´s Proximity Mines to reflect the moment when they actually become armed, i.e. the moment when they can start to detect enemies in its vicinity. Now, when you see the yellow radius circles appear around the mines, you know that they have become armed. This will also make it easier to experience the improvement to their arming speed that the Star Card Trap Arming Speed brings.
• Fixed an issue where Bossk would throw only three functional proximity mines, while having the Multi-Traps Star Card equipped.
• Fixed an issue where the Active Time of Bossk´s ability Predator Instincts was ending before intended.

GAME MODE AND MAP CHANGES

• Removed requirement for new matchmaking after each round in Blast, Strike, Extraction, HVV, Hero Showdown.

SUPREMACY

• Two random Command Posts are assigned to each team every time players return to the Ground phase during Supremacy.
• Added visible information to better connect the additional time granted in the Ship phase, based on the number of players who boarded during the Boarding phase.
• Fixed an issue where spawning on several command posts while they were being contested in Kamino – Supremacy would spawn the characters out-of-bounds.
• Fixed an issue that would prevent AI players in Kamino – Supremacy from reaching Command Post E.
• Fixed a visual UI where the widget showing which Command Post is being captured or contested is misplaced.

CO-OP

• Fixed an issue that could occasionally cause Co-Op players to matchmake on the wrong side or not be able to spawn into the game.
• Fixed an issue that could cause certain AI enemies to suddenly disappear on Co-Op during phase transitions.
• Fixed an issue where the minimap on Co-Op would not indicate squadmates that are spawned on the map and far away from the player.
• Fixed an issue where the timer between phases on Co-Op would disappear if the character went Out-Of-Bounds and returned to the combat area.
• Fixed a visual issue with the mark objective UI overlapping with the Command Post capture progress bar on Co-Op.
• Fixed an issue that would not clear AI players during outros on Co-Op.

INSTANT ACTION

• Fixed visual UI issues with the capturing area of Command Posts being displayed off-center on Instant Action across various maps.

EWOK HUNT

• Fixed an issue that could cause players to join an existing game of Ewok Hunt too late.

STRIKE

• Disallowed the First Order Jet Trooper to pick up the Strike objective, as that could lead to that character winning the game too quickly.
• Fixed an issue on Naboo, where the capture shows would show up as red, rather than blue on the mini-map.

HEROES VS. VILLAINS

• Fixed an issue that could cause a game of Heroes Versus Villains to immediately end after the intro cinematic.
• Fixed a visual UI issue where the squad interface would be present on Heroes Vs. Villains.
• Fixed an issue that could cause Anakin's Passionate Strike to hit in the last place it was used.

FELUCIA

• Fixed an issue where the living world snails on Felucia would have no collision against bullets.

MAP CHANGES

• Fixed various collision and visual issues on Ajan Kloss, Jakku, Crait, Felucia, Kashyyyk, Yavin, Starkiller Base, Geonosis, and Takodana.
• Fixed areas that could be exploited by jetpack-wearing characters on Hoth, Jakku, and the Republic Attack Cruiser.
• Made various adjustments on the Co-Op map on Jakku.

CHANGES TO CLASSES AND SPECIAL UNITS

• Fixed an issue where crosshairs would not dim when using Flame Grenade or Sonic Imploder.

OVISSIAN GUNNER

• Implemented spool up functionality for the Ovissian Gunner: Hold Zoom to spool up the weapon so that it’s ready to fire immediately when you find a target. We also updated the crosshairs to visually show that you need to spool up before you can fire and added a tutorial pop-up to remind you about the new spool up functionality as you equip your weapon.

CAPHEX SPY

• Fixed an issue where the Stalker Star Card would not give the correct value for the Caphex Spy.
• Fixed an issue where the Caphex Spy milestone "Death from above" would not track eliminations done with the Scanner Beacon.
• Increased the length of the Rapid Fire ability.

ASSAULT

• Made the Vanguard ability quicker to un-deploy the weapon when the ability is out of time.

SPECIALIST

• Made the Infiltration ability quicker to un-deploy the weapon when the ability is out of time.

OFFICER

• Made the Officer´s Battle Command ability 360 degrees instead of a forward-facing cone to allow for more effortless team play. With this change, we also reduced the radius of the ability, since you can now easily buff friends all around you.
• Officer Scoring
• Reduced the amount of score you get for kill assists when you have buffed a friend with your Battle Command ability who later kills an enemy.
• Adjusted VFX on target weapons during the Officer's disruption.

HEAVY

• Tweaked the Heavy Trooper´s Sentry abilities to be more in line with the Ovissian Gunner, in some respects.

We implemented the Ovissian Gunner´s spool up functionality (also introduced in this update) on all Sentry versions as well: Hold Zoom to spool up the weapon so that it is ready to fire immediately when you find a target.

To complement this change, we increased the spool up time required on all versions of Sentry to match that of the Ovissian Gunner. This means that the initial cost in time to go into Sentry and fire your first shot is increased, but once spooled up, you have a better tactical situation than previously.

We also removed the passive timer while in Sentry, so that you have more control over the number of shots you can fire while in each version of Sentry.

Note that 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.

Finally, we updated the crosshairs to visually show that you need to spool up before you can fire and added a tutorial popup to remind you about the new spool-up functionality as you equip any of these weapons.

BODYGUARD IMPROVEMENT

• We further increased the effectiveness of the Bodyguard Star Card. This Star Card will now protect all Trooper classes from a Thermal Detonator starting already at the Common level.

FIRST ORDER JET TROOPER

• Implemented a feature where the First Order Jet Trooper automatically gets spotted on scanners while flying with the jetpack.

DEATH TROOPER

• Reduced normal max health from 350 to 320 to bring it closer to other Enforcers and to help bring its high K/D ratio closer to the other Enforcers.

COMMANDO DROID

• The Commando Droid AI is now evading by dashing, instead of combat rolling.

DROIDEKA

• Increased Shield Health from 550 to 600.
• Gave Droideka 50% damage reduction while in Wheel Form.

B2-RP

• Spot self when activating jetpack (same as for other Aerials).

SITH TROOPER

• Increased the fire rate of the Sith Trooper's weapon.

AT-ST

• Corrected damage scaling for the Improved Weapon Systems Star Card (the numbers were slightly off)
• Slightly reduced damage of the Anti-Vehicle Missile – total damage for the impact plus the splash damage should now start at 300 (without Star Card) and end at 420 (with the above Star Card at Epic)

AI PLAYERS

• Fixed an issue that would allow the AI to fire and use their abilities when they should not, such as when evading or being stunned.
• AI Troopers and Reinforcements can now perform melee attacks.

GENERAL CHANGES/MISC

• Characters are now getting into movement faster when getting up after a push effect.
• Fixed an issue that would cause the Armor class Star Cards to occasionally shuffle while browsing the Front End menu.
• VO announcers will now mention the era-appropriate heroes that spawn in maps.
• Added information to show what faction a player is matchmaking into in Supremacy and Co-Op.
• Fixed a visual issue where choosing a specific era tile on Co-Op, would show all tiles as searching for a game.
• Fixed an issue where users could not access the social hub from the Co-Op matchmaking menu.
• Fixed an issue where the Play Any button would stop working if a user would first try to matchmake through a tile and then cancel matchmaking.
• Raised limit for collection of in-game Credits and Crystals to one billion.
• Fixed an issue that would claim certain milestone rewards to be delivered by a crate, over being unlocked automatically.
• Fixed a visual UI issue with the defeat message overlapping with the gun cooldown UI.
• Fixed a visual issue with the Searching animation on the Frontend tiles.
• Fixed a typo in one of the loading screen hint messages.

KNOWN ISSUES

• Visual streaming issues can be noticed when first transporting to the capital ships on Jakku, Takodana and Ajan Kloss.
• An issue is preventing audio from being played when previewing the BB-8 and BB-9E emotes in the Frontend menu.

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