Star Wars Battlefront: 10 essential beginner's tips

Beginner's tips for Star Wars Battlefront

There are many different ways that differentiate Star Wars Battlefront from your typical shooter. The game rarely follows systems found in modern multiplayer games such as player classes, loadouts, and few other features we've come to expect in those games.

But, it does so mostly to its benefit. And because of that, you may feel a bit lost when you first pick it up. Thankfully, we're here to give a few key tips that'll make things a lot clearer, not to mention give you an early edge.

Read on for the top early-game tips in Star Wars Battlefront.

Up is not always the way

Most games now offer you some sort of mobility and movement options. In Destiny, Black Ops 3, Advanced Warfare and others, you're always trained to get the drop on someone, and gain an elevation advantage.

While this can be true in Star Wars Battlefront, it's not nearly as crucial. You don't get access to the Jump Pack right away (it's a level 13 unlock), and depending on what you choose to unlock first, you may not have it for a while.

Star Wars Battlefront's Jump Pack has got a single charge you can use to propel you out of a fight or into one. It takes a while to recharge, so you can't spam it. For these reasons, it's best used defensively to throw your opponent's aim or get out of trouble, rather than into trouble.

Often times, when you get behind a group of enemies or above them, you will be lucky to get a double kill, before they wise up and take you out. This is also a side effect of the game's damage model and the resultant time-to-kill.

Fire-fights last longer than Call of Duty, closer to Halo or Battlefield

Continuing on from the previous point, the time it takes you to down an opponent in Star Wars Battlefront is noticeably longer than that of Call of Duty games. It's actually a bit reminiscent of Battlefield, and Halo to a lesser extent. This means that if you get shot, you always have a chance to retaliate, and, if you have the better aim, even win the engagement.

On the flip side, it's much harder to get double and triple kills without dying in the game. A two-on-one fight will probably end in your death.

A good way to soften enemies up if you have a good flank, is to wait for your grenade cool-down to finish, throw an Impact Grenade or Thermal Detonator in there, then start shooting. This also works great if you used your Jump Pack to get behind a group of enemies and don't want to end up losing the fight.

Play the training missions for Credits

Yes, I know. You've been playing shooters your whole life and you don't need no stinkin' training wheels. However, as we've illustrated before, Star Wars Battlefront is a lot different than the shooters you've been playing.

The game's main currency is Credits. You get these by winning matches, playing training, Battles, Survival, and even the siege game on the companion app. Early on, you start with zero Credits. A good way to earn them is to play all of the training missions.

There are five in total, and each of them teaches one of the game's key mechanics. The first is an X-Wing tutorial, then into a Speeder Bike chase on Endor, an AT-ST tutorial on Sullust, a Hero tutorial letting you play as Vader or Palpatine, and finally a Snowspeeder mission where you get to learn how to bring down an AT-AT.

Aside from the fact that these are all things you need to learn how to do efficiently, the missions themselves also give out Credits. There's a maximum of three starts you can get in each one. Their point values are 50C, 150C, and 250C respectively. These stars represent challenges. Depending on the mission, some of these could be earned on your first run, while others take longer. Plus, they can be played in co-op or split-screen.

Assuming you earn an average of two per attempt, that's 200C points. Times that by the five training missions and that's 1000C - nearly enough to unlock your first Star Card or get you close to a weapon.

Play Survival and Battle missions

Just like training, Survival missions and Battles are generally easy to solo (with the option of co-op), and give out a tonne of points. There are four Survival ones in total, with five stars each.

The point values for these stars, however, are much higher than those found in training. One play-through of each should net you 2500+ Credits, a decent amount for relatively easy tasks.

Do note that you only get the point values once for each star, so shoot for the ones you couldn't attain on your latter play-throughs.

Only go first-person if you're engaging long-range targets

This somewhat leans into the personal preference camp, but the tactical advantage from playing in third-person is undeniable. Yes, first-person allows for more precision, but by its very nature, your peripheral vision is most of the time confined to what's in front of you.

There's a healthy chunk of verticality in Star Wars Battlefront, and sometimes you need to know if you can climb this rock or get over this hill. Doing that in first-person is very challenging and time-consuming. It's better if you stay in third-person and only switch to first-person if, say, you're camping a spot, or shooting at faraway targets in the large gamemodes such as Walker Assault or Supremacy.

This is doubly true for air vehicles if you're engaging ground targets. This being a DICE game, you have to be really close to the ground to see what's happening. The cockpit view is great for lining up shots from a distance and allows for perfect Booming and Zooming.

You can switch between both perspectives in an instant by hitting down on the D-pad, and of course, you pick one for the game to default to.

You unlock a second Hand at level 10

Your Hand is the closest thing to a loadout we have in Star Wars Battlefront. A Hand is a combination of three Star Cards; two utility and one ability card.

Early in multiplayer progression, you get access to one Hand; meaning a single loadout slot. It's not a huge issue for the first few levels, but as you unlock more Cards and get enough Credits to buy said Cards, you'll want to have two Hands you can alternate between. We recommend an anti-vehicle setup, and another to boost your damage against human opponents.

The game unlocks a second Hand for you on level 10. Save up some Credits so that when you unlock the other Hand, you hit the ground running and populate it with cards different from the ones in your first hand.

Soon, we'll be bringing you the best card combinations. For now, it's largely based on preference. You always need a grenade, however, so always leave room for a Thermal Detonator or Impact Grenade.

The ability card - the one at the top - needs recharging. Make sure you pick those up when you see them on the map, or buy them using Credits from the menu. It's also a good strategy not to overuse them, as you could end up with a few out-of-charge cards, creating redundant slots in your Hands.

Get the Scout Pistol, Ion Torpedo, and Impact Grenade

It's a good idea to prioritise your Card unlocks based on your play-style. But because you start with zero of them unlocked, there are three crucial ones you need to ASAP.

The first of which is the Impact Grenade. It's simple, really, you need a grenade and this one, while doing less damage than the Thermal Detonator, catches people off guard and they can't escape its blast, great for clearing out rooms or corridors or softening up a cluster of enemies.

Then, if you're going to be playing modes where vehicles will be rolling in, you need a way to defend yourself against them, or attack them if need be. The Ion Torpedo is the answer, it's an early unlock and does decent damage to vehicles, so make sure you have it before starting a Walker Assault or Supremacy round.

Finally, the Scout Pistol. This weapon is perfect for close-range engagements. It has a three round burst and kills in one burst in the right range. Use it to open up or finish an enemy. Being a Card, you can only fire it once before it has to recharge, so make certain you don't miss.

Hero and vehicle pick-ups need to be used ASAP

Hero and vehicle tokens that you pick up land in thee fourth slot on your Hand, the bottom one.

You activate them by hitting both right and left bumper (similar to a super in Destiny or Black Ops 3), but beware, these pick-ups last no more than 12 seconds before being lost. That means, you must use them as soon as you pick them up. Otherwise, your trek across enemy-laden parts of the map to grab them will be in vain.

Hero and vehicle pick-ups are the only ones with a timer on them. All other pick-ups don't have a timer, so use them whenever you think they'll be most effective.

Your starting weapon is fine

The Imperials and Rebels each get a starting primary that, initially, is only unlocked for one faction. Both of the starting ones offer middle-of-the-pack properties and will serve you well up until you reach, say, level 10.

Spending money early on weapon unlocks is generally a bad investment. It's much better to spend your money on the cards you want, or save up for when the one you want gets unlocked.

You will have plenty of time later to pick and choose your weapon. Prioritise Star Cards.