Star Wars Battlefront’s Blast Mode is hot-and-heavy, Rebel-on-Empire action, distilled

By Will Fulton July 31, 2015

star wars battlefront blast mode — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Star Wars Battlefront has already revealed the massive scale of Walker Assault battles, and the intense cooperative camaraderie of its wave-based survival mode, but it wouldn’t be much of a shooter without some classic arena-based team battles. Enter Blast Mode, Battlefront’s answer to team deathmatch that developer DICE revealed in a recent post.

Two teams of up to 10 soldiers square off in intense, rebel-versus-empire skirmishes. The first team to reach either 100 kills, or whoever has the most at the end of 10 minutes, wins. As with other modes, players will be able to select a hand of three cards that comprise a starting loadout of weapons and special abilities. Additional weapons and power-ups, such as a droid that scans for enemy locations or a turret that can be placed, can be found scattered around the map. Unlike other gameplay modes, there will be no vehicles or heroes and villains in Blast Mode, making these pick-ups very strategically valuable.

In order to keep the tension and the pace of Blast Mode battles high, maps for the mode have been specially designed. Blast Mode maps are smaller and more constrained than the expansive maps of other modes, forcing teams into close quarters to continually confront one another and keep engagements dynamic. Lead level designer Dennis Brännvall describes some of the mode’s locales:

“One battle you’ll be fighting within interior levels on Endor or Sullust. In the next battle, you might find yourselves among Tatooine’s dusty canyons, or inside the undeniably cool Ice Caves on Hoth. My favorite is the verticality of Tatooine, fighting by the Sandcrawler.”

More than just smaller versions of the other maps, the Blast Mode arenas are being crafted to feel distinct from the other modes in other was, as Brännvall elaborates: “Say you’ve just played Walker Assault mode on Hoth and then switched to Blast, still on Hoth. Thanks to variations in lighting and time of day, you’ll definitely see a difference.”

Star Wars Battlefront is set to premiere on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on November 17, 2015

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Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

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Jedi Cal Kestis.

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