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Star Wars: Battlefront Death Star Expansion -- Everything You Need to Know

Battlefront's third expansion is nearly here.

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Star Wars Battlefront's Death Star expansion begins its rollout tomorrow, September 20, and we know a lot more about it today thanks to a lengthy video and blog post from EA.

EA worked with YouTube channel BattlefrontUpdates for a livestream event today in which developers watched a fan play while providing context and information about what was going on. The almost-two-hour stream has now ended, but you can watch a replay of the show below.

Among other things, the video shows off a complete match of the new Battle Station mode, which is a multi-phase mode that ends with basically a recreation of the scene from A New Hope when Luke Skywalker destroys the Death Star.

Developers also confirmed during the livestream that a Battlefront patch for all players will come out tomorrow, September 20, alongside Death Star. As with all Battlefront expansions, people who own the $50 season pass get to play two weeks early. Everyone else can buy Death Star on October 3.

In other news about Death Star, DICE today published an overview post that covers everything that comes with the expansion. The five new maps are called Imperial Blockade, Defense Sector, Power Sector, Command Sector, and Death Star Surface, while Chewbacca and Bossk are added to the Hero/Villain lineup.

Also new to Battlefront with the Death Star expansion are two weapons, the K-16 Bryar pistol and the TL-50 heavy repeater. There are two new Star Cards, including the laser trip mine that kills an enemy that crosses it and also jams the scanners of nearby foes. The other new Star Card is the medical droid, which can be dispatched to provide healing and to boost Star Card recharges for nearby players.

There are two new hero vehicles, including Darth Vader's iconic TIE Advanced X1 and Luke Skywalker's Red Five X-wing. Wingman characters are also featured, including rebel pilots Wedge Antilles (Red Two) and Biggs Darklighter (Red Three). On the dark side, Victor Two and Victor Three fight alongside Darth Vader. These wingman characters act like honor guards for Princess Leia and Palpatine; you can spawn as one of them when the Red Five or TIE Advanced are on the map. DICE also clarified that those two ships will be playable in the Battle Station and Fighter Squadron modes.

Although the maps, weapons, ships, and Star Cards will only be available to people who buy the Death Star expansion, everyone will be able to unlock four new player outfits. New rebel outfits include the X-wing pilot and officer, while Empire outfits will be the Death Star trooper and Imperial officer.

Additionally, the customization system has been changed so that players can choose body and head styles individually instead of together as a package. This will allow for "hundreds" of new outfit combinations, DICE said.

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Other Battlefront content coming to all players tomorrow are four new vehicle power-ups, available on all Fighter Squadron maps and the Battle Station mode if you own Death Star. The power-ups call in friendly AI vehicles that fly near you and help shoot down enemies. These include the B-wing, Y-wing, TIE Bomber, and TIE Defender. Lastly, the level cap for all players is going up from 70 to 90.

Death Star is Battlefront's third paid expansion, following Outer Rim and Bespin. A fourth, Rogue One: Scarif, is coming out this holiday as a tie-in for the upcoming movie. They sell for $15 each or can be purchased together through the $50 season pass. If you're sure you want all four, the season pass saves you $10.

We'll report back tomorrow with the full patch notes when they're released.

Are you planning to return to Battlefront to play the Death Star DLC? Let us know in the comments below.

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