It’s no secret that the launch of Star Wars Battlefront 2 was riddled with microtransactions and a disappointing lack of content. Though through a committed effort, the game has come a long way to add plenty of content and overhauls to the negatively received mechanics and features. In total, Star Wars Battlefront 2 has seen over 20 updates that eventually became free to all players, and it's a much more beloved game now than it was then.
For dismissed players and especially for fans of the movies, Star Wars: Battlefront 2’s finalized state of the game is still worth getting into. Though some have come close, this Star Wars game preserving the likeness of the movie characters is like no other, also featuring prominent locations throughout the timeline of the films. With all the improvements and ongoing player support that keeps the servers populated, the game has something for every era of Star Wars fans, including timeless single-player content.
S-Tier
Last Jedi Season: The Resurgence epilogue carries this update as one of the best, especially for players who enjoyed the original campaign. This campaign extension concludes Iden Versio’s legacy with a story on par with the Rogue One film. Resurgence takes all the best moments from the vanilla campaign and packs them into a smaller ride that's just as fun, along with the extra sentiment of involving characters from the newest trilogy of movies. The update also added the hero characters Captain Phasma and Finn, with Finn being one of the best Star Wars Battlefront 2 Heroes to support the team.
Progress Update: The old system of progression was both randomized and monetized, incentivizing loot boxes instead of authentic progress. The chance to get character skins and vital Star Cards changed with this update to a completely linear means of acquisition. Shortly after this update, the ability to purchase loot boxes was removed entirely, relocating the rewards to in-game challenges. This early commitment to delivering a favorable player experience shouldn't go without recognition, especially given the context of such a major overhaul to its' horrendous launch of microtransactions comparable to Diablo Immortal.
Night on Endor Update: Ewok Hunt is a fan-favorite that eventually made a permanent return in a later update to the game after it initially featured for a limited time. It really can't be overstated how openly this game mode was welcomed by the player community. This update also added 8 Endor-themed skins to hero characters and 40 skins to various weapon-based trooper characters.
Han Solo Season: In the new Hero Showdown, players could jump right into using hero characters without having to earn them through the Battle Points system within a regular match. Also introduced is Starship Arcade, and this space arena filled a niche for Star Wars game fans before it was fully realized later in the separate title Star Wars Squadrons. The Hunt/Extraction game mode was another feature of this update, though there’s nothing particularly thematic there, considering the other major features of this update.
Capital Supremacy Update: The Capital Supremacy mode introduced here isn’t afraid to show off the influence of developer Dice’s past games by adding a themed variant of Battlefield’s Conquest mode. The update also changed lightsaber combat via the current stamina system, added new Reinforcement characters between heroes and troopers, and maps for the new game mode including massive ship interiors. The traditional Battlefield experience fits well in this Star Wars iteration, especially on such spectacular maps.
Cooperation Update: This update notably added Co-op and Instant Action PvE game modes, new maps on the planet Felucia, and the powerful Clone Commander Reinforcement unit. The 4-player Co-op and the single-player Instant Action mode pit players up against waves of tough enemy AI across the various maps and eras of Star Wars. As a worthwhile alternative to competing against other players, both of these game modes allow players to progress and complete challenges identical to the flow of the PvP game modes. Even though the servers are currently populated, these PvE modes allow the multiplayer experience to outlive games that shut their servers down.
A-Tier
Another Night on Endor: This update adds a second Endor map to the cherished Star Wars “infection” game mode, Ewok Hunt. The borderline-horror game mode, Ewok Hunt, still remains unavailable in single-player and cooperative game modes outside of multiplayer. 5 existing maps were added to Co-op, the Felucia map was added to Heroes vs Villains, and Han Solo and Luke got new skins from the Yavin 4 Ceremony in the A New Hope film.
Age Of Rebellion Update: Co-op mode gets plenty of the older maps added in this update, including new ship interior maps in this mode and for Heroes vs. Villains. The Ewok Hunter and ISB agent arrive as Reinforcement units. Also, each of the 4 trooper classes gets a new primary weapon, with some adding to the best blaster weapons in Star Wars Battlefront 2.
Battle Of Geonosis Update: It introduced the first Geonosis map with new and exclusive land vehicles. This update also added more Clone Trooper skins, and most importantly, the hero character: General Obi-Wan Kenobi. This update is a treat for fans of Star Wars’ Clone Wars era in video games, given its larger relevance in other media.
Battle On Scarif Update: The final update for Star Wars Battlefront 2 adds maps from the planet Scarif and adds an offline PvE game mode with customizable match settings. With Scarif as a universal map for every game mode, the other remaining game modes at this point are also updated to relevant versions of every existing map available in the game. Ships from the newest trilogy of movies join the Starfighter modes and both new and old characters get inspired skins.
General Grievous Update: This update added Separatist Commander, General Grievous, and a Naboo cruiser ship. It also reinforced the Squad Systems Update and granted new Hero Star Cards, Star Wars Battlefront 2’s perks, to heroes whose existing perks were infrequently used.
B-Tier
BB Update: All the maps from the newest film trilogy locations came to Capital Supremacy and Instant Action, with 2 new additional ship interiors added to Capital Supremacy. Also introduced are the first Droid Heroes, BB-8, and the dark side equivalent, BB-9E. By adding Droid Hero characters, this update addresses just how powerful Droids in the Star Wars Universe can be.
The Chosen One Update: This one added Anakin Skywalker and modified clone trooper appearances with new armor skins among other visual changes. Anakin is among the top-tier Heroes in Star Wars Battlefront 2 and still remains so, even after several nerfs to the character following his debut in the game.
The Rise of Skywalker Update: This update added the Ajan Kloss planet and brought the existing maps from the newest film trilogy to the Co-op game mode. Skins for Finn, Rey, and Kylo Ren were added based on their updated appearances in the films. Additionally, new Reinforcement units joined the First Order: the Sith Trooper and Jet Trooper, and on the Resistance team: the Gunner and Spy units. These two factions in Star Wars Battlefront 2 have a new total of 3 Reinforcements units, helping to fill the gap between Troops and Hero characters.
Where Are The Droidekas Update: This update added a Capital Supremacy variant of an existing map, character skins, and 2 Reinforcements for the Separatist Alliance Faction. The Droideka Reinforcement was added as a ground unit and the TX-130 Tank Reinforcement as a vehicle unit. The recognizable sound from their powerful blasters and the bubble shield of the Droideka is among the most infamous character features throughout Star Wars.
C-Tier
Celebration Update: The newest purchasable version of the game includes every cosmetic skin from the initial launch until this point. This update also added skins for Clone Wars era Reinforcement units. While getting every skin in one fell swoop may entice new fans to join the fight, existing players welcomed the skins for Reinforcements, which are categorically few in total. Exclusively including cosmetics, this purchasable version of the game demonstrates that Star Wars Battlefront 2’s pay-to-win launch was learned from.
Darth Tyranus Update: This update Compliments the Geonosis Update by adding Geonosis maps to the remaining game modes beyond Capital Supremacy. Specifically, the map was added to Heroes vs Villains, Blast, and the Custom Arcade game modes. Also featured was the hero character, Count Dooku.
Hero Starfighters Update: This mode replicates the Starship Battles mode allowing players to exclusively use heroes’ starship vehicles. As a consequence, this version of Starship Fighters comes with a significantly smaller player/team size. With the standard Starship Fighters mode including more action per the increased total of players and the existence of Hero vehicles there too, Hero Starfighters mode offers little other than emulating the success of Heroes vs Villains with nostalgic vehicles.
Heroes Vs Villains Rework: Another smaller expansion, this update modifies the scoring system in Heroes vs Villains, along with the achievements and challenges tied to that system. The old Heroes vs. Villains granted score upon defeating a targeted character on the opposing team and in this update, the targeting system was removed in favor of every kill generating score instead. This update also added a map variant for Capital Supremacy.
Roger Roger Update: This one brought ship interior maps to the Heroes vs. Villains mode, skins for Droid characters, and improvements to the Squad System Update. The Galactic Republic’s Venerator and the First Order’s Dreadnought are the newly added ship interior locations. This final addition to the Squad Systems quality of life updates allows players to respawn on captured command posts.
D-Tier
Capital Supremacy On Kashyyyk: Debates aside, this update pales in comparison to other updates in terms of size. The main and only feature of this update is a new playable map variant. Kashyyyk was an existing playable map, though until this update it wasn’t available for Capital Supremacy.
Elite Corps Update: This one Added Clone Trooper skins and 2 maps, while this was also the update that finalized Ewok Hunt as a permanent mode. The return of Ewok Hunt was inevitable, although this update didn’t provide anything beyond availability, such as no major improvements being made to the game mode. A later update would instead add to Ewok Hunt with a second playable map.
February Update: This update is among the smaller expansions to the game, especially since its major feature wasn’t a permanent addition. The Jetpack Cargo mode debuted in this update for a limited time; playing out exclusively with jetpack characters, the game mode wasn’t supported enough by fans to stick around. The features of this update that did stay indefinitely are the Hoth-themed skins for Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and Han Solo.
Squad System Update: It introduced "Spawn on Squadmate" quality of life change, while adding additional Clone Trooper skins. The respawn on squadmate feature, even after later improvements, isn’t quite as unrestricted as it is in the Battlefield series of games. At most, the squad feature saves travel distance, though as mentioned it's rather limited in use, especially in online multiplayer.
At least in the meantime of other upcoming Star Wars games and media, the current state of Star Wars Battlefront 2 is worth any fan's time of day. The game has always been visually appealing, though after adding several recognizable vehicles, characters, and locations, there's enough content to experience any era of Star Wars history. It's hard to imagine that the game could have made such a turnaround from its widely criticized launch to eventually set a high standard for future Star Wars games and movie adaptations alike.
Star Wars Battlefront 2 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.