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EA explain how Star Wars Battlefront’s Hero system works – you get five minutes as Skywalker if you’re good

Star Wars Battlefront Hero System

Star Wars Battlefront’s senior producer Jamie Keen has shed some light on what happens when players take control of iconic heroes and villains from the Lucasverse. 

To occupy the dainty little space boots of Luke Skywalker, decked out in his Return of the Jedi attire, you’ll need to locate his pickup on the map. Neither EA nor DICE have specified whether that pickup’s location will be randomised on each of the game’s 12 maps , but it seems safe to assume it will be. Nobody likes a Skywalker camper, after all.

Once you’ve bagged the pickup, you’ll gain not just Mark Hamill’s formidable haircut, but also his force powers. For one, there’s that sprightly leap of his.

“His jump is based on a normal biomechanical jump,” says Keen on the game’s official site. “But it’s augmented by the Force. You see this in the films as well, such as when he’s jumping out of the carbonite pit or when he’s training on Dagobah.”

As you’d expect from Luke, he’s also handy with a lightsaber, dishing out a heavy attack with a large area of effect and using his saber rush attack to charge enemies. His force push ability is also present and correct, of course.

However, players start losing health immediately upon taking control of hero/villain characters. Killing enemies buys you a bit more time, but Keen says youre unlikely to last more than a few minutes.

“Our goal was to give an average player around two minutes as a Hero or Villain. But if you’re good enough, you might stretch that to around five minutes. In theory, you could play as Luke Skywalker for a whole match, but that is extremely unlikely. That said, the gauntlet is thrown!”

Whoever finally manages to best that challenge and spend an entire round leaping and swishing around as Skywalker, know this: I hate you. I don’t know who you are, but I hate you.

Earlier this month we learned that Star Wars Battlefront won’t have any dedicated servers or Battlefield features. Crikey.