10 things to look forward to when Battlefront’s Rogue One DLC drops
Scarif key art (full resolution). Credit to u/NightPr0wler for removing text.
With Battlefront’s Rogue One expansion arriving two weeks from today on December 6, here’s a look at some of things I’m most intrigued about.
Of course, this is just my personal list, so I’d be interested in hearing what you’re looking forward to!
Note that below contains spoilers for both the movie and the expansion, so tread carefully if you want to remain spoiler-free!
Curious what we ranked last week? Check out 10 of the biggest changes to Battlefront since launch.
I’ll be discussing the key art for Battlefront’s Rogue One: Scarif, which is shown up top, and then also the Ultimate Edition trailer, which is embedded directly below.
10. U-Wings
These troop-carrying transports will make some sort of appearance in the expansion. Shown off in both the Ultimate Edition trailer and the key art for the Rogue One DLC, this ship could act as a method of carrying numerous Rebels across the battlefront quickly. Alternatively, it could also be non-interactive, like how the GR-75 medium transport is featured in modes like Walker Assault and Extraction. However, fingers crossed we will actually get to pilot the technically-named UT-60D!
Interestingly, the U-Wing also participated in another tussle featured in Battlefront—the Battle of Jakku—although it’s unknown whether or not this ship will make its way outside of the expansion. There is precedent for DLC ships being available outside of DLC and for them being not. For instance, the Cloud Car is restricted t0 the Bespin playlist, while Luke’s Red Five X-Wing and Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced X1 can be flown in vanilla Fighter Squadron as long as you own the Death Star expansion.
9. TIE Strikers
These guys are featured in the upper half of the key art, but miss out on the trailer. As with the U-Wing, we don’t yet know the extent of their interactivity. We also don’t know if they’ll be playable outside of the DLC. Hopefully, they’ll be fully pilotable and won’t be some sort of AI pick-up, like how the B-Wing or TIE Defender are currently.
TIE Strikers are specialized for in-atmosphere missions, according to Wookiepedia. This leads me to believe that they’re the Empire’s answer to the Rebellion’s T-47 airspeeder, which is seen on Hoth in the movies and is already in Battlefront. Of course, even though TIE Strikers are meant for in-atmospheric flight, they can also be flown in space. Perhaps this means we’ll also get them in the battle above Scarif, but that’s far from confirmed right now.
8. A new multi-stage game mode
After former lead designer Dennis Brannvall teased a multi-stage game mode back in September, a new multi-stage game mode was officially confirmed in a blog post on Thursday. No word yet on how this game mode will function (or its name, for that matter), although Brannvall promised that’ll play like the Death Star DLC’s Battle Station, “but more focused on ground this time around.”
Space combat has been confirmed for this mode (in the same blog post linked above). Reading into Branvall’s statements leads me to this we’ll get one space-centric stage and then two (or perhaps one longer) ground-based stages. There’s also a good chance that the space map will revolve around Scarif’s Shield gate, which has been shown off in a few trailers. New info on that space structure arrived yesterday.
7. Director Orson Krennic
The director of Advanced Weapons Research for the Imperial military, Orson Krennic will be the Empire’s villain for this expansion. We don’t know yet what his weaponry will be, but he’s seen in various trailers weilding a pistol.
In the key art for the pack, he can be seen holding a pistol as well, though it’s difficult to make out what it is. Also, trying to determine weapons/specifics from the key art can be dubious at best. The key art for the Outer Rim showed Nien Nunb with an A280C (he carries a DH-17 in-game) and concept art for the Death Star showed off a weapon that wasn’t actually released.
Regardless, Krennic will add his cool demeanor to the Empire’s roster. It’s also nice to get a new villain who actually works for the Imperials. The previous three DLCs villains (Greedo, Dengar and Bossk) are all bounty hunters.
6. Jyn Erso
The main character of the movie, Jyn Erso will feature as the Rebellion’s hero for the Rogue One DLC. Armed with her A180 blaster pistol, hopefully Jyn will add a fresh appearance to the Rebel’s roster in Battlefront.
Nothing is currently known about her abilities, but she’s seen with some sort of cylindrical device in the Ultimate Edition trailer. Right now, it’s presumed to be a baton that she uses on the planet Jedha. If that’s the case, it could give her a unique ability not seen before in Battlefront.
5. New weapons and Star Cards
Like with the previous three expansions, Rogue One: Scarif will almost certainly bring with it new weapons and Star Cards. While Jyn’s A180 pistol definitely looks like it’ll make it into the game, we don’t know if normal infantry will gain access to the weapon.
We also don’t know what else will make it in. However, the shoretroopers’ double-barreled E-22 (name source; third bullet point under “Features”) could potentially be interesting, as could the death troopers’ currently-unnamed carbine blaster (shown above).
A Rebel soldier on the far left of the key art can also be seen holding a new pistol that isn’t Jyn’s (his pistol looks similar to the gun with the red background in this collage; his version is missing the magazine, though). However, as mentioned before, the key art can be misleading.
As for Star Cards, things are also up in the air. Regardless, the crossbow-like weapon wielded by Chirrut Imwe might be fun.
4. Death troopers
Director Krennic’s personal bodyguards, these troopers would give an imposing presence on the battlefront. In trailers, they’re equipped with a SE-14C variant, a DLT-19 variant and the unnamed carbine blaster. In the key art for Rogue One: Scarif, they’re shown off with an A280C and an indiscernible blaster pistol, although—as mentioned above—the key art isn’t the best for predicting fine details.
Right now, we don’t know if they’ll be a purchasable skin or a spawnable guard for Krennic (like how Leia’s and Palpatine’s guards work now). Personally, I’d like to see them as their own unique skin. While there might be some worry that they’d be too similar to the shiny-black shadow troopers, I think they’d stand out differently enough. Level 100 reward, anyone?
3. Shoretroopers
I’m more excited at the prospect of shoretroopers than death troopers simply because they add an entirely new aesthetic to the stormtrooper line-up. While reminiscent of other stormtroopers, shoretroopers have a distinctly different helmet. Their generally beige and brown exterior also gives a different vibe than the Emprie’s traditional black and white color pallette.
While the Ultimate Edition only showed shoretroopers with red markings, hopefully the blue-marked version will be available, too (both can be seen in the key art; again, though, that doesn’t necessarily confirm anything). Branching out from shoretroopers, the similar-looking tank troopers would be cool to see as well. Alas, there unfortunately hasn’t been any evidence yet for their appearance in Battlefront.
2. A patch for bugs/balancing
Battlefront sorely needs some patching. With the last update all the way back in September, numerous bugs have plagued the game for over two months. For some users, I’m sure a patch fixes will actually be more welcomed than the DLC content.
Devs have already indicated the Rogue One update will fix issues such as Lando’s Power Blast, one-hit speeder bikes, Extraction hero bugs, infinite hero abilities and plenty more. However, hopefully the Rogue One update won’t break the game any further, like how Outer Rim caused game-breaking errors when players reached level 60 or the server woes brought about by the Death Star.
Battlefront is seriously fun, but the recent bugs can drag the experience down. I’ll definitely be hoping that we get to experience Scarif in a (mostly) bug-free environment come December.
1. Brand new maps
Finally, we come to my favorite part of Battlefront: its maps. I’ve been really impressed with the maps in the game—especially the DLC ones—so I’m very excited to see what Rogue One: Scarif brings to the table.
Dennis Brannvall has also previously hinted that big maps may be on their way with this DLC. Considering that walkers are confirmed for this pack, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the case. Bigger maps would certainly be welcomed; especially considering that the past expansions have only introduced one truly large map to Battlefront (Cloud City on Bespin).
Additionally, Level artist Daniel Cambrand has already stated that his Rogue One map is the prettiest map he’s ever-designed and, with the short snippets we’ve seen of Scarif in the Ultimate Edition trailer, I don’t doubt him. The overall color pallette of Scarif looks pleasing and the water should be rendered beautifully in the Frostbite engine.
Rogue One: Scarif will introduce a total of four maps to Battlefront. Presumably, this count will include three ground maps and one space map, although that’s just speculation for now. All told, Battlefront will have a grand total 36 maps by December 6!
What things make you excited for the Rogue One expansion? Share your thoughts down in the comments below, or give SWGO a shout on Twitter or Facebook.
