Let’s dig into all the cool Battlefront II bits I missed last week
Ever since EA’s Battlefront II reveal on April 15, there has been a lot of information shared about the upcoming game.
As I am just a single person, I can’t always catch everything, especially some of the more “Easter egg”-type stuff. I’ve also been pretty busy writing and just haven’t had time to cover every little detail.
So that’s what this post is for. It covers the little details that can be dug up in concept art and various other things. Note that as some of what’s below is concept art, it may not represent the final product when Battlefront II launches on November 17.
The Last Jedi stormtroopers
Stormtroopers from The Last Jedi. Image by Rian Johnson.
The First Order stormtrooper trooper shown off in the example classes line-up appears to be modeled after the kind we’ll see in The Last Jedi.
As you can tell in the image comparison below, the rendered stomtrooper more closely matches the stormtroopers from The Last Jedi that director Rian Johnson showed off in February (embedded above). The stormtrooper from Battlefront II has a sharper-angled mask like the ones in Johnson’s photo and its mouthpiece features “teeth” similar to the original trilogy stormtroopers. The First Order stormtrooper from The Last Jedi has a mesh mouthpiece instead of the grilled teeth.
You can also see the redesigned stormtrooper helmet image with the troopers at the top of the page.
Comparison between a The Force Awakens stormtrooper (left) and a Battlefront II First Order stormtrooper (right).
This change also matches a rumor shared by Making Star Wars last October:
The Stormtroopers in [The Last Jedi] are pretty much the same as the troopers we saw in The Force Awakens to the average filmgoer. […] While the helmets are pretty much the same, one notable difference is that the mouthpiece is said to have become more like the mouth piece on the Original Trilogy Stormtrooper helmet.
Personally, I like this change. The angular design creates a more intimidating look. It’s also cool to see the design reference back to the original trilogy look.
(H/T zynlen101 on Reddit)
Transitional armor
Continuing on with stormtroopers, the concept art of Jakku above features some interesting design choices.
Note the stormtrooper in the bottom right corner. Their helmet has tubes that wrap around like the original trilogy stormtroopers. However, the face panel of the trooper on the left more closely resembles the sequel trilogy stormtroopers (save for the breathing tubes).
Close-ups of the stormtroopers in the Jakku concept art.
There are couple of possibilities:
- This is merely a concept artist’s take on stormtroopers. As such, we shouldn’t read too much into it.
- This could be “transitional” stormtroopers. It makes sense that there would be iterations on stormtrooper armor between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. The break between the movies spans roughly 30 years! So perhaps the above concept art gives us our first glimpse of troopers we’ll see during the game’s campaign. I know I’d certainly be keen to for these guys to make an appearance!
(H/T JonnyDarkLord on Reddit)
Leia’s transport ship
In the concept art above, you can make out a TIE Fighter firing on a ship on the group. Based on the two flaps sticking up on either side of the explosion, it appears to be a Resistance Transport, which General Leia used in The Force Awakens.
Those transports were built from repurposed B-wing cockpits and were usually escorted by starfighters. As they are transport vehicles, perhaps they could act similarly to how a U-wing might function for Rebels or an LAAT Gunship for the Republic.
Interestingly, the TIE Fighter is of the Imperial variety, which could indicate this concept piece is for the campaign. It’s also not the first time we’ve seen a cross-trilogy moment in regards to Battlefront II. There are Imperial TIEs chasing the Millennium Falcon on Takodana during the trailer.
(H/T BattlefrontUpdates)
The Force Awakens Easter egg
The Inferno Squad in the Battlefront II campaign will be flying in an Imperial Raider-class corvette called the Corvus.
Curiously enough, there’s a crashed Raider in The Force Awakens as the above image shows. The Raider made its first-ever appearance just before the movie via an expansion pack for the X-wing Miniatures Games in August 2015. However, the corvette’s appearance in that game is non-canon.
Of course, we don’t know if the downed Raider above is the Corvus. The game’s reveal trailer does show the Corvus engaging in the battle of Jakku. However, it’s not clear if the ship makes it out in one piece.
The Corvus fighting in the battle of Jakku.
As it looks like the campaign will take us to Jakku, perhaps we’ll learn if the crashed remains in The Force Awakens is indeed the Corvus. Still, I assume there are plenty of Raider-class corvettes throughout the Imperial fleet, so there’s a good chance the wrecked ship is simply a different vessel.
For those wondering where this ship can be spotted in the movie, it shows up right around the 34-minute, 40-second mark immediately after Rey and Finn escape the pair of First Order TIE Fighters via the Millennium Falcon.
(H/T HTH52 on Reddit)
Clues on Hoth
The above concept art of Hoth has a few neat little details.
First, the Rebel riding the tauntaun on the left is dropping some sort of mine. It looks very reminiscent of the Proximity Bomb from EA’s first Battlefront. Perhaps we’ll get some type of explosive that can attach to larger vehicles like the AT-AT? It would definitely provide a new and interesting tactic.
Next, you might notice a wampa in between the legs of the tauntaun on the right. There is already a wampa Easter egg in Battlefront and it’s not very interactive. However, I’m hopeful that we may see interactive indigenous species in the upcoming Battlefront. Running from a wampa or getting sniped by a Tusken Raider would certainly make the maps feel more alive.
ZOOM and ENHANCE the possible wampa. It always works 🙂
There is also a reasonable chance for these type of interactive environments in Battlefront II.
“There’s going be a lot of cool dynamic things happening on the planets that you visit,” said the game’s lead designer Dennis Brannvall at a question-and-answer session I attended directly after the Battlefront II reveal panel. “I think DICE are known for having cool interactivity and things that happen to the battle as you play, whether that’s how it impacts you as a soldier or how it impacts the thing you’re playing around. We’ll continue that tradition with Battlefront II.”
We’ve already seen a ronto in Mos Eisley during the reveal trailer, so fingers crossed we might see wampas on Hoth!
(H/T BattlefrontUpdates / @Meebur_Gaston on Twitter)
Phase I clone troopers
Battlefront II concept art featuring clone troopers on Kamino.
This one is a bit more obvious and I may have mentioned it previously, but I figured it was worth bringing up in this post.
The above concept art of Kamino features Phase I armored clone troopers. Interestingly, clones wore this type of armor during the Invasion of Kamino, which was shown in season three of The Clone Wars (you actually see a mesh of Phase I and II during that episode).
There’s also an LAAT Gunship in the background, possibly indicating bigger transport-type ships will be included in Battlefront II. However—as this is concept art—I wouldn’t say they’re confirmed just yet.
I’ll certainly be very curious to see what type of armor the clones wear in Battlefront II. Perhaps it’ll depend on the location. For instance, Kamino could be Phase I armor, while Utapau maps could be Phase II (note, Utapau isn’t confirmed as a location, I’m just tossing that out as an example).
Clones on Kamino during The Clone Wars season 3, episode 2, “ARC Troopers”.
Oh, and once last thing! The Twitter account for The Star Wars Game Outpost just cracked 1,000 followers over the weekend. I just want to say thanks to everyone who reads, follows and shares. It’s really amazing how much this site has grown since I started it last August!
If you’re wanting to stay up to date via Twitter, SWGO’s account is just a click away. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, head on over there.
Are there any more details hidden in promotional materials for Battlefront II? Be sure to let me know, I’d love to hear what you can find!
