Star Wars Battlefront II's progression system might seem incredibly complicated at first. With two different currencies to spend and a wealth of star cards to parse through, it can be difficult to make sense of what everything does and how it all contributes to your overall progression. In light of the recent news about the removal of its microtransactions, we've compiled details on its major concepts and unlocks to help get you up to speed on the game's systems.
Battlefront II officially releases on November 17, but it's currently playable for EA and Origin Access members on Xbox One and PC. That trial provides the full multiplayer component and the first three single-player missions, though you're limited to a total of 10 hours of gameplay. Pre-ordering the Deluxe edition gets you complete access on November 14, including on PS4. For more about the game, read our Star Wars Battlefront II review in progress.
Currencies
There are two major currencies to manage in multiplayer, which you use to open loot crates and upgrade your Star Cards. Below you can find details on each of the three currencies, what they do, and how you earn them.
- Credits are earned from playing matches, completing Milestone challenges, or receiving Star Card duplicates. You use them to open loot crates.
- Crafting Parts are earned from playing matches, opening loot crates, or completing Milestone challenges. You use them to either craft new Star Cards or upgrade the strength of Star Cards you already own.
Star Cards
The main way to increase your strength in battle is by equipping Star Cards, which are class-specific upgrades you acquire from opening loot crates. You can apply up to three cards to a trooper, hero, or vehicle. troopers, heroes, and vehicles have two major Star Card types: Boost and Ability.
- Boost Cards apply general improvements, like faster health regeneration or improved energy replenishment on ship lasers.
- Ability Cards improve or change abilities specific to troopers, heroes, or vehicles. For example, Killstreak Infiltration replenishes active time when you defeat an enemy.
Your trooper, hero, or vehicle initially starts with one open slot to equip a Star Card, but additional slots are unlocked as you increase your class rank. This is determined by the number and quality of Star Cards you have equipped--the better your Star Cards, the more slots you'll unlock.
There are four values of Star Card: Common (20%), Uncommon (25%), Rare (30%), and Epic (40%). Each value represents the percentage that a card's buff contributes towards a class, hero, or vehicle. For example, a Common Survivalist card reduces trooper health regen delay by 20%.
If you're looking to increase the value of a Star Card, you can do so by spending Crafting Parts. However, Star Cards can only be upgraded once you've reached a particular class level and player rank. For example, an Uncommon Assault Training card requires you to be at assault level 22 and rank 15 overall. You can find this info in the text window that appears when you highlight a card.
Loot Crates
As you play the game, you'll steadily earn Loot Crates, which contain a combination of items and valuables, including Star Cards, weapons, Credits, Crafting Parts, and victory poses/emotes. There are three crate types in total, and each supplies you with items and valuables for the specific category they're associated with. Below you can find details on each crate type's price point across the two main currencies.
- Trooper Crate: 4,000 Credits
- Starfighter Crate: 2,400 Credits
- Hero Crate: 2,200 Credits
If you receive any duplicate items or valuables, you'll earn Credits in exchange for your troubles. This also occurs when you earn a higher value version of a Star Card you already own (and the lower level card is turned into Credits).
Unlocking Weapons
In general, weapons are unlocked for each trooper class by hitting killcount Milestones (50 skills, 200 skills, 500 kills). It's also possible to acquire weapons via loot crates.
Unlocking Heroes
Across the various multiplayer modes, you'll notice that your choice of Heroes and Heroic Vehicles to control is limited. However, it's possible to purchase more using Credits. For example, you can purchase the ability to use Darth Vader for 60,000 Credits. As of writing, there's no other way to buy Heroes or Heroic Vehicles, so if you're looking to play with these iconic representations of Star Wars lore, you'd better start saving up.
