EAEA has given us some fresh information about the ‘Drop Zone’ mode that will feature in the upcoming beta, as well as the full retail release of Star Wars: Battlefront.
EA have had a bit of a mare with Battlefront the past couple of weeks. Since stating the game would not utilise dedicated servers, would-be players turned to social media to vent their frustration towards the ne’er-do-well developer. They’ll be hoping that giving new info about the game mode can help pacify some of that unrest.
Speaking through the Star Wars: Battlefront blog, EA describe ‘Drop Zone’ as being a “King of the Hill” style experience where 8-man teams will battle it out for supremacy by controlling three pods. Once you see a pod dropping from the sky, you must find the landing zone, make your way over to it, and trigger a short claiming scene in which you will presumably come under heavy fire as the opposition tries to stop you.
Lead Level Designer Dennis Brännvall explains:
This goes hand in hand with our design philosophy behind many of the game modes in Star Wars Battlefront. We’re promoting the idea of a fast, action-packed game where you need to be mobile and think on your feet. Camping doesn’t really pay off.
Once the pod has been claimed, you can either hang around and get a power up or head for the next crash site, which becomes available for capture as soon as the previous one is taken. Confirmed maps for ‘Drop Zone’ are Endor, Hoth, Tatooine and Sullust.
Brännvall goes on to talk about the Endor map:
The map has a couple of nice choke points but is overall very free-flowing and hectic, as enemies can attack from anywhere on that level… there’s one section with a waterfall overlooked by an Ewok village, where you have to jump down into the pool below in order to claim the pod, hoping no one’s hiding in the trees above waiting to pick you off.
Star Wars: Battlefront will release 17 November on Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC, while the open beta will be coming at some point in early October.
Mark is the Gaming Editor for UNILAD. Having grown up a gaming addict, he’s been deeply entrenched in culture and spends time away from work playing as much as possible. Mark studied music at University and found a love for journalism through going to local gigs and writing about them for local and national publications.