With all eyes on Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order getting the reveal of its first gameplay footage tomorrow, you may have forgotten that EA is still continuing to support its other Star Wars game from 2017, Star Wars Battlefront 2. The online shooter continues to get new content from EA DICE, such as Anakin Skywalker and the new Capital Supremacy game mode. Now, just hours in advance of its own E3 event, EA has revealed two of the most requested new features from the community: Star Wars Battlefront 2 Droidekas, and a whole new planet map to play on.
Droidekas, a.k.a. Destroyer droids, are the rolling shielded tank-like droids who were memorably introduced in The Phantom Menace as being a match for strong Jedi like Obi-Wan Kenobi and his master Qui-Gon Jinn. They were playable in the original Star Wars Battlefront II from 2005, and they’ve been one of the most requested additions for the new game, especially after DICE accidentally released a screenshot with a Droideka in the background.
Star Wars Battlefront 2 Droidekas release date and details
The Droideka reinforcement will be added to the game on June 26. It will feature its signature twin-blasters, energy shield, and ability to roll. The Droideka can move quickly around the battlefield in rolling form, but it can’t fight back and doesn’t have its shield. When unfolded it moves slowly but is a walking tank, although its shield is on a cooldown. Players can activate the shield to immediately come out of ball form. It’s also the only combatant in Battlefront 2 that can shoot out from behind an energy shield. Droidekas will also get another ability called Overload, which allows the droid to temporarily fire its blaster cannons with increased rate of fire.
To counter it, the Republic Clone Army is getting a literal tank: The less-cool but no less impressive TX-130 Saber-class fighting tank. DICE describes the tank as “quick and defensive. The speed allows the TX-130 to enter into battle, deal damage, and then make its escape; a great balance between agility and power.” It has a pair of laser cannons, is highly maneuverable, and its special abilities include a laser barrage, rockets which don’t track but can be charged up, and a powerful (but slow moving) charge bolt. This will be available on June 26 alongside the Droideka, new trooper appearances, and a skin for Anakin Skywalker based on his “General Skywalker” appearance in The Clone Wars animated series.
Star Wars Battlefront 2 Felucia map release date and details
There will be a new map added to the Capital Supremacy mode later this month, one that will be based on one of the existing locations, in this case Naboo. The battle is set at dusk, and entirely takes place in the streets of the city of Theed, unlike the Galactic Assault Naboo battle which moves from the streets into the royal palace. While no specific date was given for the Capital Supremacy Naboo map other than June, we expect it to land around June 26 alongside the reinforcements.
However, DICE has revealed that there will also be a brand new planet added to the game later in the year, Felucia, and the first map set on it will be a Capital Supremacy map. Like the Droidekas, Felucia was also playable in the original Star Wars Battlefront II in 2005. It’s a lush, colorful world that only made a brief appearance in the movies during the Order 66 Purge montage in Revenge of the Sith, mainly to show the rather-overkill death of Jedi Aayla Secura. Several battles were fought there in the Clone Wars cartoon series, some of which will presumably be the basis for the map when it arrives. As DICE describes it, “the colorful jungle world of Felucia will be arriving later in 2019 and is being built for Capital Supremacy. We can’t wait to take one of the most iconic planets of the Clone Wars era and bring it into the game.”
On the updated Star Wars Battlefront 2 roadmap, Felucia is due to be added to the game in the fall of 2019. DICE will also drop another big update in August to go into the new ways to play Battlefront 2, including the first details on the new planet. Despite being almost two years old and being vilified when it came out, there’s clearly still life left in Battlefront 2.
