Star Wars Battlefront: Everything You Need to Know About Chewbacca and Bossk

Ahead of the launch of Star Wars Battlefront's Death Star expansion this month, DICE has now published a blog post that dives deep into the content's two new heroes: Chewbacca and Bossk.

DICE said it was both "scary and exciting" to put Chewbacca into the game, considering he is such a well-known and beloved character. He'll have more health than most heroes, while he has enough armor to make him become a "much-needed Rebel tank." He's not as fast as other heroes, but his health and firepower should be enough to make up for that.

"Armed with his signature bowcaster, Chewbacca can deal out even more damage than he can take," DICE said. "You will find his bowcaster even more powerful than the troopers Star Card as it initially only shoots one explosive bolt and doesn't have a hold and release behavior…but it does have its own tricks."

One of the Chewbacca traits is called "Furious firing." For every trait level gained, he will shoot an extra bolt with a total of four possible bolts. If combined with the Multi-Bolt power, however, he can shoot eight bolts per shot, making him a deadly force, indeed.

Another Chewbacca ability is Mighty Roar. Using this sends a force of energy to nearby soldiers that gives them a level-three Berserker effect and high armor for a limited time. Chewbacca himself will also benefit from the roar with extra armor and damage.

Chewbacca's third special ability is called Ground Slam. As the name suggests, this sees Chewbacca smash the ground and damage all enemies in the area of effect.

"We wanted to show Chewbacca's strength but also compensate for his low speed," DICE said. "This ability will give him some extra reach and increase his area of effectiveness. We also didn't have any area of damage ability similar to this in the game yet, so it felt like a perfect fit to add this power to the game."

Switching over to Bossk, DICE said it took inspiration from the Clone Wars animated series. The goal was to make Bossk feel like a "destructive and nasty opponent who would also have the skills to escape dangerous situations."

Bossk is outfitted with a Relby-v10 weapon, though it's an improved version of the one available to all players. As for his traits, one of these is called Trandoshan Regeneration, which sees him regenerate some of his health with every kill or high damage to another hero character.

"We wanted Bossk to feel like the enemy you can't get rid of, the one you have to finish to make sure he is out of the picture for good otherwise he will come running back at you," DICE said.

Bossk's Relby-v10 can also switch to a micro-grenade mode that shoots a small explosive that detonates after a period of time. Also, the grenades will go off if they physically strike an enemy.

The coolddown for Bossk's Relby-v10 is "quite long," DICE said, but balancing this out is his Predatory Instincts trait. When this is activated, Bossk has heat vision and faster cooldowns, as well as increased damage and sprinting speed.

"We wanted Bossk to feel like a predator, a hunter," DICE said. "Giving him a snake-like heat vision was a lot of fun, but it also tends to blend Rebels and Imperials together as a downside. This is why we decided that while Chewbacca is enhancing his friends, Bossk will only enhance himself while his vision is active.

"Bossk chooses to enhance himself greatly while his vision is active at the expense of some team unity, in stark contrast to the noble Chewbacca's inspiring roar," it added. "This ability is our first ability with no cooldown, you decide when you want it on or off. We feel like this gives Bossk a lot more character and versatility."

Finally, Bossk's third trait is called Toxic Escape. When using this, Bossk leaps into the air in the direction he was moving and drops a deadly Dioxis grenade to the place he was moments earlier. This version of the Dioxis grenade is "much stronger and larger" than any other grenade in the game.

Overall, DICE said it sees both Chewbacca and Bossk as "mayhem" characters. You can read the full DICE blog post on Chewbacca and Bossk here.

Some of the hero and villain characters already available in Battlefront include Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Leia Organa, Han Solo, Emperor Palpatine, Boba Fett, Nien Nunb, and Greedo.

Chewbacca and Bossk come to Battlefront through the Death Star expansion, which comes out later this month on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. A new trailer for it will be released tomorrow, but you can see a teaser now.