The recent Star Wars Battlefront II beta stirred up a fair bit of ire for the shooter’s loot box system, not helped by the recent discovery that the loot boxes can be acquired through a currency purchased with real money. With the final conclusion of the beta, publisher Electronic Arts made an effort to save face by explaining why the loot box system isn’t as bad as it seems.

A blog post on the official Battlefront II website covers much of what the publisher took away from the beta’s data and player feedback. Among this feedback was presumably a hefty amount of complaints about the game’s loot boxes, considering the publisher included a multipoint breakdown of the system and the rewards you get from it, answering fan questions and responding to concerns on the topic:

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.

Unfortunately, the post doesn’t get into the concerns surrounding the aforementioned Crystal premium currency. Recently discovered through an Amazon listing, Crystals are purchased with real money and can be used to buy loot boxes (aka Crates), just like the in-game Credit currency. The problem this poses is that any player willing to spend the money can collect weapons and Star Cards faster than their peers, giving them a clear edge in the multiplayer. Even if the “complete [Crate] system was not in the beta,” the explanations above still don’t address the potential pay-to-win issue. And just because the “most powerful” items in the game might only be available through gameplay doesn’t mean someone who spends a ton of money won’t have an advantage over someone who doesn’t right out of the gate.

On a brighter side of Battlefront II, campaign protagonist Iden Versio was recently confirmed as one of the multiplayer’s hero characters.

Star Wars Battlefront II is slated to launch November 17th on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Posted: Oct 16, 2017 8:40 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: http://www.egmnow.com/articles/news/ea-attempts-to-calm-our-battlefront-ii-pay-to-win-concerns/