‘Star Wars: Battlefront 2’: EA DICE To Boost Intensity On Theed, But Not By Increasing Player Count

If there is one thing that EA DICE does not plan on doing in Star Wars: Battlefront 2, it is increasing the player count at the Assault on Theed portion of the game.

During the EA Play 2017 where Star Wars: Battlefront 2 gameplay was shown, EA DICE showcased the 20 vs. 20 battles set in the world of the Star Wars prequels. Many gamers felt like the action was not consistent and that it just not as intense on the streets of the region compared to other areas of the map.

EA DICE associate design director Dennis Brannvall stated on Reddit that the action in that section of Theed in Star Wars: Battlefront 2 indeed felt “a little too spread out” and promised that they will make the necessary adjustments to “bring up the intensity.”

However, it looks like the studio does not plan on doing that by increasing the player count from the current 40 to a whopping 64. Brannvall stated that “player count is just a number” and that increasing it in Star Wars: Battlefront 2 will not solve the intensity issue and will end up bringing about a bigger consequence.

“Both the first game and now the second game, we’ve had players try out Battlefield Conquest followed by Galactic Assault in Battlefront 2, but we turned off the scoreboard preventing you from the seeing the number of active players on the server.”

Brannvall wrote that every single time, Star Wars: Battlefront is somehow always deemed “more intense” when there are more players on the screen. He also pointed out how the time between the death and spawning back in and finding combat is significantly shorter in the first game.

However, for Star Wars: Battlefront 2, they “backed up a little bit” so that players will be forced to be “more tactical” when it comes to what they spawn in as. Not only will it help them make sure they spawn in with a squad, but it will also allow defenders to recover.

Brannvall admits that the action on the streets of Theed in Star Wars: Battlefront 2 is not as extreme as gamers expected, but it was intended to be that way.

“Theed is supposed to be far more intense in the Throne Room than at the very start of the streets, but it should never feel dull. The solution is not up to player count though, as the direct result of that is that we’ll be able to have less elite troopers and heroes/villains on the field due to performance and memory with more troopers on the field.”

This, in turn, will strip Star Wars: Battlefront 2 players of the chance to “become something awesome” during gameplay seeing that the rest of their crew end up fighting for fewer hero, elites, and vehicle slots.

While increasing the player count appears to be no longer on the table, Brannvall promises that the studio will figure out ways to improve the street action and make it “appropriately intense.”

Star Wars watcher and YouTuber Star Wars HQ suggests that this could be done by tweaking the design of the Theed map in Star Wars: Battlefront 2.

He pointed out how this was achieved in Battlefield: Bad Company 2, which had a smaller player count than the current games in the franchise, but did not feel like it and was even so action-packed that the leakster hailed it one of the best in the video game series in that aspect.

Star Wars HQ added that using different player counts on each map in Star Wars: Battlefront 2 is also not an option unless EA DICE wants to divide the player base. What the studio plans to do to resolve this issue, gamers will just have to wait and see.

Star Wars: Battlefront 2 releases November 17 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

[Featured Image by Electronic Arts]