Star Wars Battlefront 2 rolls out Droidekas and a new map next week
Three legs, will travel.
The rolling, shielded, three-legged Droidekas are headed to Star Wars Battlefront 2 on June 26th, in the next big free update for the once-maligned online shooter. While of little narrative importance, their cool-as-heck design cemented them as one of the most memorable fighting machines in the prequels, and now we get to be them, if you can earn the points to buy in. Below, a video showing them off, along with a chunky new Clone Army hover-tank to drive plus a new Capital Supremacy map variant based on Naboo. The game of warring worlds is also under a fiver right now.
The Droidekas look genuinely fun to play, and extremely my style. I tend to favour slower, more heavy hitting ranged attackers, and seldom switch away from my usual Heavy class pick. The new robots look like they'll give me a nice upgrade option for when I luck out and manage to catch some bunny-hopping Jedi with an anti-tank shot. It should be a little easier to earn the points to upgrade, as they'll be playable on the new Capital Supremacy map, part of the still-expanding new play-mode that feels like a hybrid of Battlefronts past and Battlefield 2142.
Like so many others, I was ready to write Battlefront 2 off when it and its truckload of loot boxes up-ended, upsetting everyone involved. Credit where due, Dice have worked hard, and have almost entirely excised them from the game. They only exist now as random cosmetic and crafting resource bonuses earned through play, and real money can only buy costumes directly. It's still a stonking looking game and the new play-mode features NPC troopers giving even beginning players something to shoot at. It's a vastly improved game, and I expect it to keep growing until hype for the next big Star Wars film dies down.
The Droideka update, with the new map, tank and all those other gubbins launches on June 26th. Battlefront 2 is currently on sale for £3.74/€4.49/$4.49 on Origin. There's no DLC, no season pass and only trace levels of loot boxes. They're barely even surprising.