Following Beta, DICE Discusses Star Wars Battlefront II's Loot Box System

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The video game community has been embroiled in a weeks- or perhaps years-long debate about loot boxes. The discussion has been coming to head this week all while the Star Wars Battlefront II beta went on in the background. In a post following the beta’s conclusion, developer DICE has addressed the community’s concerns over the shooter’s loot boxes, called crates.

In a series of bullet points, they’ve clarified how the crates system — which they say was not fully represented in the Battlefront II beta — will work:

  • 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.

Much of the concern comes over the last few points about Star Cards, upgraded versions of which will give a player more beefed-up stats than a player using a non-upgraded version. While DICE does say the ability to upgrade a card is based on rank, and therefore earned by playing the game, it creates a divide in upgrades nonetheless. The parts are also contained in crates. The developers say they have heard players’ suggestions about implementing a mode that would “flatten” the Star Card values so everyone is on a level playing field, though they don’t confirm this will be added:

We also have heard some players are looking for a way to play where all players will have the same set of Star Cards with flattened values. Like everything else, we will be continually making necessary changes to ensure the game is fun for everyone. We will work to make sure the system is balanced both for players who want to earn everything, as well as for players who are short on time and would like to move faster in their progress towards various rewards.

Without being able to toy with the full system, it’s hard to tell if players will deem it acceptable. We’ll be able to see the full implementation of the crates system when Star Wars Battlefront II launches on November 17th.