While EA and DICE were kind enough to extend the public multiplayer beta for Star Wars: Battlefront II, players did not respond very well to the loot crates featured in the game. We weren’t big on them, either. Loot boxes, to many, represent bad economics in the videogame industry, and enable unhealthy gambling tendencies (something that the ESRB is dubious about). With the beta now over, EA took some time to respond to concerns about the game.
EA stated on their official blog that the multiplayer beta “was just a small piece of what we’re making,” and that they were looking to take player feedback to heart in order to improve the game. The publisher offered a clarification about the loot boxes, as “the complete system was not in the Beta and will continue to be tuned over time”:
*There are many things you can earn in the game, including weapons, attachments, credits, Star Cards, Emotes, Outfits and Victory Poses.
*As a balance goal, we’re working towards having the most powerful items in the game only earnable via in-game achievements.
*Crates will include a mix of of Star Cards, Outfits, Emotes or Victory Poses.
*Players earn crates by completing challenges and other gameplay milestones, or by purchasing them with in-game credits or Crystals, our premium currency.
*If you get a duplicate Star Card in a crate, you will get crafting parts which you can then use to help upgrade the Star Card of your choice.
*And lastly, you have to earn the right to be able to upgrade Star Cards and unlock most Weapons. You can only upgrade or unlock them if you have reached a high enough rank, which is determined by playing the game.
The second bullet point has the keyword “balance,” something that players feared would be lost under a presumably “pay-to-win” system driven by microtransactions. After laying out these points, EA promises that the game will be “fun for everyone.”
Let’s hope that EA and DICE make good on their promises by the time Star Wars: Battlefront II comes to Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC on Nov. 17.