After beta controversy, DICE has better clarified the ‘loot crate’ and progression systems in Star Wars Battlefront 2

The beta for Star Wars Battlefront 2 wrapped up earlier this week, and DICE has had to face some backlash for the game’s ‘crate’ system.

Players have not responded well to the loot crate system in the Battlefront 2 beta, which grants users various perks based on what they collect from them. Unlike most ‘crate’ systems in full-priced games, in the beta these crates actually affected your ability to perform. In the full game, you will be able to purchase crystals with real money and use them to buy more crates.

Our own Sherif called it a ‘pay to win’ system, and a lot of people agree.

Today DICE has released a ‘Thank You For Playing‘ post on the game’s website, stating: “we’re humbled that so many of you took time to not only try the Star Wars Battlefront II Beta, but to share your thoughts with us too”.

Further on in the post, they addressed the controversies around the game’s loot crate systems, stating that “the complete system was not in the beta” and that some things are, perhaps, not as clear as they could be. They provided a list of clarifications so that players could better understand the game’s progression system:

• There are many things you can earn in the game, including weapons, attachments, credits, Star Cards, Emotes, Outfits and Victory Poses.
• As a balance goal, we’re working towards having the most powerful items in the game only earnable via in-game achievements.
• Crates will include a mix of of Star Cards, Outfits, Emotes or Victory Poses.
• Players earn crates by completing challenges and other gameplay milestones, or by purchasing them with in-game credits or Crystals, our premium currency.
• If you get a duplicate Star Card in a crate, you will get crafting parts which you can then use to help upgrade the Star Card of your choice.
• And lastly, you have to earn the right to be able to upgrade Star Cards and unlock most Weapons. You can only upgrade or unlock them if you have reached a high enough rank, which is determined by playing the game.

It still kind of sounds like a player could spend a heap of Crystals and suddenly find themselves with a much better win rate, but I guess we’ll know for sure if the game has balance issues once it releases for PC, PS4, and Xbox One on November 17.