DICE has detailed the next major update coming to Star Wars: Battlefront II. The Age of Rebellion update, which launches on February 26 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, includes new co-op locations, the Ewok Hunter and ISB Agent 4 characters, four new weapons, improvements for Hero characters, and two new Heroes vs. Villains maps, among other notable changes
The Age of Rebellion update arrives tomorrow, February 26 and with it, a great selection of new content.
We’ve got Age of Rebellion Co-Op locations (7 in total!), two new Reinforcements in the form of the Ewok Hunter and ISB Agent, 4 new Blasters, 4 Capital Ships for Co-Op, Hero improvements, AI upgrades and two new Heroes Vs. Villains maps.
It’s a packed month for Star Wars™ Battlefront II, let’s dive straight in.
February begins our focus on the Age of Rebellion. We know this has been a greatly requested update for our community and it’s going to be a big one.
Now that we’re heading back into the original trilogy, we thought it was time to bring a couple of new Reinforcements to the roster, both of which will be classed as Infiltrators.
Joining the Rebellion will be the Ewok Hunter, a Reinforcement option we know that many of you have been talking about since we first released Ewok Hunt back in 2018. The Ewok Hunter is a cunning bundle of fur that hunts its prey with bow, spear, and Wisties.
The Ewok Hunter’s primary weapon will be its Hunter’s Bow which has dual firing modes. When the bow uses its default zoom (i.e. no zoom), it will pick out targets for you to fire at, similar to Lando’s Dead Eye ability. When zoomed, you’ll have manual aim control for far greater control and the ability to hold your draw longer to increase maximum speed and damage. When firing the bow, the Ewok Hunter does not appear on scanners.
Should the Ewok Hunter find themselves in a situation that requires more damage and resistance, the ability Valiant Horn comes into play. Blowing the horn will not only improve their attacks, but will also grant them additional damage resistance. Be warned, though, while Valiant Horn is active, the Ewok Hunter will constantly appear on enemy scanners.
Also at their disposal will be their trusty Wisties Pouch. Bring a little bit of Endor with you, no matter which battlefront you’re on and throw these fierce fire sprites towards a nearby enemy to disrupt and inflict burn damage to them.
Activate Hunter’s Instinct and the Ewok Hunter will draw upon their natural instincts, allowing them to uncover and single out weakened opponents.
For the Galactic Empire, the ISB Agent will be joining the ranks, providing the Empire with their first opportunity of a dual wielding character.
Armed with two RK-3 blasters, the ISB Agent is skilled in intelligence gathering and close combat, working tirelessly to rout the enemies of the Empire.
The ISB Agent excels at getting in and out of combat zones, especially when her Assault Training ability is activated. While under the effects of Assault Training, the ISB Agent will benefit from increased sprint speed, during which she gains an overall damage reduction.
Locating enemies of the Empire is made easier thanks to the Imperial Intel ability. Once activated, the ISB Agent will scan the nearby area to reveal the 4 closest enemies. The number of enemies revealed will be increased by defeating more while it’s active, up to a total of 10.
Double Your Effort is her final ability and empowers nearby allies by regenerating their base health. It can only be used if there’s an ally in range.
The Age of Rebellion will be coming to Co-Op with a total of 7 locations. We’re particularly excited about bringing both Kessel and Jabba’s Palace to Co-Op, but equally so as to be returning to the likes of Tatooine, Death Star II, and other favourites.
The full list of Age of Rebellion planets coming to Co-Op is as follows:
- Yavin
- Death Star II
- Endor
- Hoth
- Tatooine
- Kessel
- Jabba’s Palace
With Supremacy, we have created a number of Capital Ships; the Venator, Dreadnaught, MC85 Star Cruiser, and the First Order Resurgent-class Star Destroyer. In February, we start the process of bringing these ships into Co-Op, meaning they will be standalone maps for you to attack and defend, starting with the Republic Venator and Separatist Dreadnaught.
We’re expanding the selection of trooper weapons as each of the four classes will receive a new blaster (cross-era compatible) to equip and modify.
E-11D
This medium-range blaster rifle was manufactured for precision and reliability, and will be available for the Assault class.
Available Mods
- Reduced Recoil – Light stock allowing sustained fire with less recoil
- Flashlight – Barrel mounted light source that reveals enemies while zooming
- Single Fire Mode – Enables controlled single fire mode with each pull of the trigger
Unlocked: Defeat 50 enemies as the Assault class in Co-Op
Mods Unlock: Get 25/75/100 kills using the E-11D
DL-18
The short-range DL-18 is a popular blaster pistol in the Outer Rim. While slightly less powerful than its heavier counterparts, it makes up for that with a faster rate of fire.
Available Mods
- Improved Cooling – Barrel extension that disperses heat, allowing more bolts to be fired before overheating
- Reduced Spread – Rangefinder that calculates distance during sustained fire to compensate weapon spread
- Repeating Mode – Enables the blaster to continuously fire by keeping the trigger pulled
Unlocked: Defeat 50 enemies as the Officer class in Co-Op
Mods Unlock: Get 25/75/100 kills using the DL-18
T-21
A robust short-range heavy blaster manufactured for continuously discharging powerful bolts at the expense of low rate of fire.
Available Mods
- Improved Zoom – Scope with increased magnification
- Improved Handling – Modified barrel that allows the blaster to be fired with less recoil and dispersion at the expense of reduced damage output
- Burst Mode – Enables a three-blast burst mode with each pull of the trigger
Unlocked: Defeat 50 enemies as the Heavy class in Co-Op
Mods Unlock: Get 25/75/100 kills using the T21
Cycler Rifle
While appearing crude when compared to more sophisticated blasters, the long-range Cycler Rifle was a versatile and durable weapon, popular among the Tusken Raiders native to Tatooine.
Available Mods
- Dual Zoom – Macroscope that can toggle between two magnification levels while zooming.
- Reduced Recoil – Reinforced barrel extension that absorbs much of the recoil with each blast.
- Improved Cooling – Improved valve system that greatly reduces the time before the blaster begins cooling down.
Unlocked: Defeat 50 enemies as the Specialist class in Co-Op
Mods Unlock: Get 25/75/100 kills using the Cycler Rifle
During the February update we will also be making some changes to a number of heroes, including the anticipated improvements to Leia.
Leia Ability Improvements
We’re making a number of changes to Leia, and it starts with modifications to her E11 blaster.
- Start Damage increased from 32 to 36
- End damage increased from 17 to 19
- Increased damage fall off start distance from 5 to 20
- Increased damage fall off end distance from 10 to 40
- Reduced the recoil
- Reduced spread of blaster fire
In addition to the above modifications we are also implementing changes to her shield, which now also heals friendly forces within it for 5 health every second.
Rounding out the changes to Leia is a change to her Flash Grenade, which is being replaced by Thermal Detonators. Leia will have the ability to throw 3 Thermal Detonators which explode after 0.85 seconds. This ability will then enter cooldown once all three detonators have been thrown.
Due to the above changes, some tweaks are being made to her Star Cards
Old Card: Blinded
New Card: Fearless
Description: The blast radius of THERMAL DETONATORS is increased.
Old Card: Blinding Reveal
New Card: Handy Device
Description: The cooldown of THERMAL DETONATORS is reduced.
One modification to Leia’s milestones will also be implemented in this update, which sees Blinding Flash Grenade changed to Plenty of Explosions. To complete this milestone you will need to defeat 30 opponents with Leia’s Thermal Detonators. If you’ve already completed the milestone, it will be unlocked, so there is no requirement to unlock it again.
Chewbacca Bowcaster Improvements
Chewie’s Bowcaster will be receiving a set of tweaks and improvements with the aim of making everyone’s favourite Wookiee more efficient against Troopers while also missing fewer shots.
- Scoped: One powerful shot that would allow Chewbacca to be more efficient at long distance.
- Non-Scoped: The three bolts are grouped in a triangle formation.
While using Furious Bowcaster
- Scoped: 5 bolts, in a cross, tighter than not scoped
- Non-Scoped: 5 bolts, in a larger circle
In January, we made an update to our Auto Players to allow them to play as Droidekas in both Co-Op and Instant Action. In February, the Auto Players will be updated further, as they will now be able to use vehicles.
Furthermore, Auto Players in Instant Action will now be able to play as friendly heroes. This means that you’ll be able to run into the battle side-by-side with some of your favourite heroes. We’re also implementing Auto Player squads within Instant Action, allowing you to squad up with the AI. This brings with it the ability to spawn on them, allowing you to get back into the action even quicker.
Fans of the Heroes Vs. Villains game mode will be pleased to hear that both the MC85 Star Cruiser and the Resurgent-Class Star Destroyer are coming as playable maps. We have also made map layout changes to both Geonosis and Yavin 4 for this mode and we’re keen to hear your feedback on both.
WIthin this update, we will be making some improvements to a number of Age of Rebellion Reinforcements. The Wookiee Warrior, Imperial Rocket Trooper, and Rocket Jumper will all be receiving updated appearances.
These new appearances will become the default look for each of them with the previous default available as an unlocked option to choose from.
Troopers are also getting updated accordingly. The Imperial Death Trooper will receive the E-11D Blaster Rifle, the Rocket Trooper will be equipped with the E-11 for improved combat efficiency, and the Jump Trooper will use an A280C for automatic fire.
We have also tweaked the Dual Wielding functionality which will improve both the ARC Trooper and the ISB Agent. Both Reinforcements will now play more consistently when firing the pistols. They will now be automatic and moved onto a single button, while power blast will become an alternate fire ability.
The Age of Rebellion Update will also include a number of new User Interface options, allowing you greater freedom over how your UI will look.
These include:
- Weapon Heatbar Vertical Position (Default / Below Crosshair)
- Radar (Default / No Outline / Off)
- Squad List (Default / Only Icons / Off)
- Player Bar (Default / No Outline / Off)
- Abilities (Default / No Outline / Off)
- Name Tags (Default / No Outline / Off)
- Game Mode Progress (Default / Off)
- Challenge Progress (Default / Off)
- Rank Up Celebration (Default / Left Side / Right Side / Off)
- Added additional option to the Kill Message setting (Default / Medium / Small / Legacy / Off)
There have also been improvements to the PC Chat window, which is now positioned at the top right corner of the screen, and is included within a vertical stack of three widgets: Network status, PC Chat, Kill and Event Log.
Various visual updates on the Scoreboard have been made, too, with character levels now on display.
The Age of Rebellion Update is shaping up to be a great addition to the game, and it all arrives tomorrow, Wednesday 26th February. We’ll see you on the battlefront.
Punch It
