EA Responds to Player Concerns about ‘Star Wars: Battlefront II’ Beta

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“Star Wars: Battlefront II” was released in beta form two weeks ago; now, Electronic Arts (EA) is responding to fan concerns about the final version of the game.

Two weeks ago, the beta for the new “Star Wars: Battlefront II” Electronic Arts game (coming out Nov. 17) was released to the public.

Followers of the game were glad because they could get a glimpse at what is to come. After playing the beta, like many other players, I had some concerns about a few things. The most talked about problem with the beta was the progression and loot crate systems. Put your minds at ease — I am now going to cast some light onto your “Battlefront”-fevered minds.

In many games nowadays, progression with experience points is a common way to level up a character.

Experience points can be used to show how long you have been playing a game, what equipment your character or characters may have or, in some cases, using experience points as an actual currency like in the “World of Tanks/Warships/Warplanes” games.

Whatever the case may be, experience point progression is a very important feature in the modern video game community.

That is why after the “Battlefront II” open-beta players (myself included) were a little upset, with good reason, thinking the beta was a set-in-stone showing of what the released game would look like.

In the beta, the only progression that meant anything was obtaining items and crafting parts from loot crates. The items contained in these crates were random and acted like a slot machine in a casino. Before the beta ended, I earned three of the exact same card. Getting three of the same card meant to me that no matter how long I played the game, there was still a chance I was going to get something I already was given, and I couldn’t do anything with the extras.

Another reason players were in a bit of an uproar was because you can buy more loot crates with real money. Buying crates with real money defeats the purpose of playing a game. Instead of progressing through a game by playing it, you can skip ahead and just buy your way to the top.

Here comes the light in which I promised to put your minds at ease: last week, EA published a newsletter addressing the concerns that participants of the beta were having. The most prominent issues they addressed were the progression and loot crate systems.

“As a balance goal, we’re working towards having the most powerful items in the game only earnable via in-game achievements,” the newsletter said.

“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.” What this means is that “Star Wars: Battlefront II” will have proper loot and progression systems where completion of challenges will give players the rewards they deserve and if they get more than one of the same item, they can cash it in for something they did not have before.

These are just a few of the issues that were covered in the newsletter. The good news is that EA is listening to its player base about what they need to change for opening night. They responded in a timely and efficient manner that shows they care about what people think and that they want to improve their game.

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