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Star Wars: Battlefront Star Cards and Powerups - Everything you need to know

Star Wars: Battlefront Star Cards and Powerups - Everything you need to know

Published: Monday, November 09, 2015Tagged: Gaming, Xbox One

EA and DICE have released more detailed information on the Cycler Rifles, Jump Packs, Themal Imploders, Star Cards, Heroes and more in Star Wars: Battlefront.

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If you’ve done your Star Wars Battlefront homework or even tried out the Beta, you’ll know that one key aspect of battle is the Star Card system. Apart from your main blaster there’s a lot of other gear that will aid your galactic fights. Impact Grenades, Personal Shields, Jump Packs, and more – Star Cards like these will make up the hand you take into battle.

We gave you a taste of the Star Card system in the Beta, and are excited to show you a whole lot more in the full game next month. In this post, we’re going to deep-dive into the topic and give you some insider tips on how to best utilize Star Cards in battle. Here to tell you all about Star Cards are Weapon Designers Christian Johannesén and Tommy Rydling.

What are Star Cards?

Star Cards are abilities and equipment tailored around various battle situations to complement the blasters you use in regular firefights. They can be anything from functional items like the Jump Pack to a top tier weapon like the Bowcaster, Chewbacca’s signature weapon. Depending on how long you charge it, the Bowcaster fires up to five explosive projectiles in a horizontal arc.

Star Cards give you the freedom to play the way you want. Since there are no fixed classes in Star WarsBattlefront, Star Cards take their place as you pick and match them in three-card hands. In one situation you may want to go long-range – then you’d craft a Star Card hand for that. Or, switch to your second hand of Star Cards if you find yourself needing to take out a vehicle at long range.

Star Wars Battlefront Star Card

How do I get new and more powerful Star Cards?

As you level up in Star Wars Battlefront, you can spend in-game credits on unlocking new Star Cards. You start off with an empty hand with room for three cards, and then the game is your oyster as you rank up. Within your first hours of Star Wars Battlefront, you’ll unlock things like new Impact Grenades and the short-range Scout Pistol. At level 10, a second hand is unlocked, allowing you to setup and choose between your primary and secondary hand before going into battle.

Also, when you partner up with someone you’ll gain the ability to copy a hand from your partner. So if your rank is low but your partner has unlocked more Star Cards, you can try them out for the duration of that game.

All Star Cards can be upgraded in the Unlocks menu by spending credits earned in game. Once the Star Card is upgraded, the weapon or item tied to it will be more powerful, signified by a black background color.

What are Charged Star Cards?

Placed in the middle slot of your hand, the Charged Star Cards will grant you a benefit for the duration of the card’s active time but in turn they require a charge in order to be activated. Scan Pulse, Ion Shot, or Personal Shield are all examples of Charged Star Cards. Use your charges wisely as the active time for the charge is limited.

You always start with 10 charges. When you’re out you can refill them by scavenging them on the battlefront or by purchasing new ones. Don’t worry about micro transactions - you only use in-game credits.

There’s a fourth slot below my 3 Star Cards. What’s that for?

That slot is reserved for something called Powerups. Look for blue icons on the map to find these Powerups which can be a hero, a vehicle, or something like the Thermal Imploder. The Powerups are by far the most powerful assets in the game. Even if you’re on rank 1 you can use them to deal tons of damage and create truly epic moments.

The motherlode of the powerups is the Hero token which will let you play as Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and other iconic Star Wars Heroes and Villains. Jump into the modes that support Heroes and you’ll be the most feared presence on the battlefront for the duration of the powerup.

What should I think about when preparing my Star Card hand?

This depends on the game mode, planet, and in some cases whether you’re on the Rebel or Imperial side. The Rebels need anti-vehicle skills to a larger extent while stormtroopers can focus on explosives or things that will reveal enemies - like the Scan Pulse. Rebels tend to be quite elusive in the woods of Endor for instance, where their uniforms don’t stick out as much as those of the Empire.

Bring something that complements your blaster. If you have the CA-87 shotgun with very limited effective range equipped, maybe you want to bring a Cycler Rifle or Bowcaster into your hand for more variety. And vice versa, if you bring a long-range rifle like the T-21B, maybe you want to grab along the quick and nimble Scout Pistol or something like the Impact Grenade.

What are your personal favorite Star Cards?

My favorite move is to use the Jump Pack offensively to get into combat and to attack from the air.

Tactically, I like the Personal Shield. After I’ve deployed it, I equip the Cycler Rifle which can penetrate the shield and shoot out since it penetrates the shield. You can cause a lot of surprises with this attack.

Are there any powerful Star Card hand layouts you can recommend?

It depends on the mode, but in Walker Assault I tend to go for one general hand with a Jump Pack, Scan Pulse, and Thermal Detonator. Then depending on faction, I’d go with a full-on Ion hand with Ion torpedoes and Ion Grenade to dish out on an AT-AT.

On Hoth I think it’s cool to equip an all-out long-range hand with both the Cycler Rifle and the Pulse Cannon, and complement that with the Explosive Shot Charged Star Card. Then you’ve got two long-range possibilities and can do a lot of damage from a distance. If this should fail you can always switch to your blaster.

Star Wars Battlefront is out on November 17 in North America, November 19 in Australia and New Zealand, and November 20 in Europe on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Until then, check out some of our own exclusive Star Wars Battlefront Xbox One Gameplay:



For more information on the game, check out all of our Xbox One coverage via the Xbox One Games database right here on XBOXONEHQ, and don't forget to follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and Facebook for all of the latest Xbox One news, upcoming Xbox One games, game trailers, screenshots & wallpapers, release dates, and much more.

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