For the 2005 game, see Star Wars: Battlefront II.
Star Wars Battlefront II is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person and shooter game in the Star Wars: Battlefront series.
The game was released on November 17, 2017, and was heavily criticized by early adopters for its loot box system, calling it a "pay-to-win" system, due to its close tie to multiplayer progression.[2][3] Players who did not want to pay to unlock the game's lootboxes, which contained important items that was crucial to multiplayer progression, was forced to grind for hours to unlock their desired hero characters and multiplayer-specific items.[4] This issue was publicized and led to a government investigation revolving around the game and lootboxes as a whole,[5] forcing DICE to reduce hero costs[6] and disable microtransactions temporarily.[7][8] EA's response regarding the matter was also very controversial and led to more negative press about the game.[9] Lootboxes in Battlefront II would eventually be disabled in a March 2018 update,[10] tying game progression to experience points earned through playing online. In addition, the game's currencies were repurposed so they can only be used to buy in-game appearances.
The game's last major update was an update released on April 29, 2020[11] when DICE thought the current state of the game at the time was greatly improved compared to launch,[12] with a final minor update released on August 26, 2020, which fixed minor bugs.[13] While the game does not receive new updates anymore, it currently has a large and active modding community.
Key points
- Vast modding scene (see Mods below)
- Celebration Edition requires players to be constantly online with a valid EA account.[14][15]
Availability
- All versions require Origin and Denuvo Anti-Tamper DRM.[17]
Monetization
DLC and expansion packs
Name |
Notes |
|
Celebration Edition |
Unlocks all customization options in-game, including Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker-inspired skins for Rey, Finn and Kylo Ren, except the pre-order skins and certain customization options (BB-8 and BB-9E's customization options and certain Hero skins which are obtained through milestones). This is the default edition of the game that is provided through Steam and the Epic Games Store. |
|
Elite Trooper Deluxe Edition |
Unlocks the pre-order skins for Rey and Kylo Ren, weapon and star card upgrades for all four trooper classes and a Yoda star card.[18] No longer available. |
|
- Pre-order skins no longer available (outside of mods)[19] as the Elite Trooper Deluxe Edition was discontinued and the Celebration Edition does not provide the skins.
Essential improvements
Unlock Star Card loadouts
- Just put
GstGameplay.LoadoutPresetsEnabled 1
in your ProfileOptions_profile
.[20]
- Grants access to the unfinished Star Card Loadouts feature.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
System |
Native |
Notes |
Epic Games Launcher |
|
|
Origin |
|
All progress for both single- and multiplayer, including your rank and unlocked items, is saved through your Origin account. |
OneDrive |
|
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers. |
Steam Cloud |
|
|
Xbox Cloud |
|
|
Video
Graphics feature |
State |
Notes |
Widescreen resolution |
|
|
Multi-monitor |
|
HUD is not centered. |
Ultra-widescreen |
|
Hor+ gameplay and pillarboxed 16:9 cutscenes. |
4K Ultra HD |
|
|
Field of view (FOV) |
|
47-110° vertical FOV via slider scale. |
Windowed |
|
The game window always opens at 1280x720.
To change, create a file titled user.cfg on the game's installation directory and paste the following, modifying the numbers listed below to your desired resolution:
Window.Width 1920
Window.Height 1080
|
Borderless fullscreen windowed |
|
|
Anisotropic filtering (AF) |
|
Not selectable in-game, but setting exists in configuration file. |
Anti-aliasing (AA) |
|
TAA Low, High. Antialiasing cannot be disabled. |
High-fidelity upscaling |
|
No upscaling methods supported, only a simple Dynamic Resolution Scale toggle is available. Also SSAA for static resolution scale (35% to 200%, increments by 5%, you can force lower resolutions through PROFILEOPTIONS_profile ) |
Vertical sync (Vsync) |
|
In-game option caps it to monitor refresh rate |
60 FPS and 120+ FPS |
|
Instant Action may have issues at high frame rate. Cap in-game FPS to 30 to fix |
High dynamic range display (HDR) |
|
Auto or Off. |
Color blind mode |
|
UI only.
Deuteranopia, Protanopia, and Tritanopia options change the HUD and UI elements that would originally appear in yellow. It also changes the team score at the top of the screen.
Tritanopia is the closest to the original, only changing the yellow outlines to blue. |
UI as seen with the default colorblind settings.
UI as seen with the deuteranopia colorblind settings.
UI as seen with the protanopia colorblind settings.
UI as seen with the tritanopia colorblind settings.
Input
Controller layout for soldiers
Controller layout for vehicles
Controller layout for starfighters
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
Sound effects cannot be disabled. |
Surround sound |
|
Enhanced Stereo, 5.1 and 7.1 options |
Subtitles |
|
Campaign only. |
Closed captions |
|
|
Mute on focus lost |
|
No way to turn this option off, as is with most games running on Frostbite 3 |
EAX support |
|
In ProfileOptions_profile in the Battlefront II settings folder, there is an option for GstAudio.IsAtmos , but if it works and enables Dolby Atmos over HDMI and a compatible receiver is currently unknown. |
Royalty free audio |
|
A majority of in-game music directly lifts from the soundtracks of, or uses cues from, John Williams' Star Wars music with some new original pieces. |
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
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Traditional Chinese |
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French |
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|
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German |
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|
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Italian |
|
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|
Japanese |
|
|
|
|
Polish |
|
|
|
Copies bought in Poland are region locked to Polish alone. Choosing any other languages is impossible.[22] |
Brazilian Portuguese |
|
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Russian |
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Spanish |
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Latin American Spanish |
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Network
Multiplayer types
Connection types
Type |
Native |
Notes |
Matchmaking |
|
Much like 2015's Battlefront, the game does not use Battlelog's server browser and opts for its own matchmaking system. |
Dedicated |
|
Hosted by developers |
Self-hosting |
|
Fan-made at kyber.gg. |
Issues fixed
Freezing and stuttering on Windows 10
Disable Game mode[citation needed]
|
- Open the Settings menu by clicking the cogwheel icon in the start menu.
- Click on game settings
- Select the Gaming section of the settings menu.
- Navigate to the Game Mode section in the side bar.
- Click to toggle Game Mode on or off.
|
Use DirectX 11[citation needed]
|
Stuttering issues
Instruction[23]
|
While this fix is intended for Battlefield 1 and V, this fix may work for Battlefront II as it also uses heavy caching to load maps and characters[citation needed].
Once the free memory is exhausted, performance takes a big hit - games with heavy caching like BF1 suffer horribly. The only way to fix it previously was restarting the computer (thus clearing the memory), which explains why it was only happening after a while and not on a fresh boot.
- Download EmptyStandbyList and put it somewhere where you won't move it
- Right click > Properties and select Run as Admin under compatibility.
- Open Task Scheduler > Create Task on the far right
- General Tab (give it a name). Under security options > Change user or group > Advanced > Find Now > go down and choose SYSTEM (important to make it run silently in the background). Tick 'Run with highest privileges' and 'Hidden' at the bottom. Pictures here
- Triggers tab > New > On a schedule > One Time. Tick repeat task every 5 minutes (possibly excessive but it causes no issues). Also choose 'for the duration of: indefinitely'
- Actions tab > Start A program > Point to the EmptyStandbyList.exe file.
- Done! Standby memory is automatically cleared every 5mins.
|
Unable to move mouse in Main Menu
Disable Discord Overlay[citation needed]
|
- Open Discord user settings by clicking the cog next to your Discord username, on the bottom left.
- Click on "Game Activity."
- Find "STAR WARS Battlefront II."
- Click on the monitor icon to the right of the game entry to toggle the overlay.
- Restart the game if it is running.
|
White artifacting on shiny surfaces with AMD Graphics Cards
Set Post Process Quality to Low[citation needed]
|
- Open up "Options" from either the Escape Menu or from the Main Menu.
- Click on "Video."
- Scroll to "Advanced Settings" and find "Post Process Quality."
- Change setting to "Low."
|
Long loading times
Limit FPS[citation needed]
|
- Open up Notepad.
- Copy and paste "gametime.maxvariablefps 60" with your monitor refresh rate.
- Save as user.cfg in game folder.
- This caps the FPS and limits excessive CPU usage in loading screens
|
Excessive Bloom/HDR brightness issues
Disable full-screen optimisation[citation needed]
|
- Open local game files.
- Right-click "starwarsbattlefrontii.exe" (game executable).
- Go to "Compatability" tab and tick box "Disable full-screen optimisations."
- Test in a level which had the issue (such as Yavin 4 temple, transitioning between indoor hanger and outdoors) and you should be able to see more details between high and low light areas without contrast issues.
|
Lost connection to the EA servers (error 721) on launch
Reconnect to the servers (click "CONNECT" next to social bar, denoted with your Origin profile picture) until you are able to connect. This is a known issue on PC and this fix should take multiple tries until it lets you in.[24]
If you have the Celebration Edition, do not go to Collections as it will reset the chosen skin (tied to the issue where Celebration Edition content is only available when connected to the servers).[14]
|
VR support
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
11, 12 |
Change API in video settings |
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
|
|
|
- DirectX 11 is required for the Nvidia 3D Vision mod (see above).
- Since an August 2019 update, DirectX 12 implementation in the game is broken and can actually lead to worse performance than on DX11.[25]
Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
Physics |
Havok |
[26] |
Interface |
Qt |
|
Anti-cheat |
FairFight |
[27] |
- Nvidia Ansel is supported by this title.
- Ansel is supported only in Arcade.
Console commands
- Launch console with ~.
- You can have these commands run automatically whenever you start the game by entering them in
user.cfg
in the Battlefront II installation folder (the file won't exist by default, you can create it through a Notepad and save as a .cfg file).[28]
Command |
Description
|
PerfOverlay.DrawFPS 1 |
Show FPS counter
|
PerfOverlay.DrawGraph 1 |
Show performance graph
|
GameTime.MaxVariableFPS # |
Limit frame rate (where # is a positive number) / '0' unlocks framerate beyond 200FPS
|
RenderDevice.TripleBufferingEnable 1 |
Enable Triple-Buffering (only recommended if Vsync is on)
|
RenderDevice.ForceRenderAheadLimit 1 |
Force rendering only 1 frame ahead (can remove stutter, default value is 3)
|
Screenshot.Render |
Take a screenshot (into %USERPROFILE%\Documents\STAR WARS Battlefront II\Screenshots\ )
|
Mods
- Battlefront II continues to have a relatively large modding community with a wide variety of mods ranging from character swaps and cosmetic improvements, both for characters and environments, to granting access to the pre-order skins (should you not have them), bringing new modes to the offline Instant Action mode, and even adding brand-new heroes.
- While considered to be safe, playing online with mods of any kind, even cosmetic mods, poses a risk of being banned. Mods that are not multiplayer-safe will be listed in the mod's page; do not use these mods online as they will definitely get you banned. Also, beware of outdated mods that change things like visual effects. It is best to obtain updated mods that are guaranteed working with the newest version of the game.
- Modding with Frosty does not natively support the EA app (See #Fixing compatibility with the EA app).
- All mods are available from NexusMods and require Frosty Mod Manager, Gameplay Handler and Merger (1.0.6 doesn't require it), this mesh fix, or the Mod Limit Fixer
Battlefront II has multiple mods that improve, change and add to the game experience.
Fixing compatibility with the EA app
- The EA app doesn't support Frosty. To fix this, the Platform Launch on Frosty Mod Manager/Frosty Editor must be set to EADesktop.
- Other solutions include FrostyFix and DatapathFixPlugin, or simply downgrading to an earlier version of Origin.
- Be sure to disable FrostyFix before running any other Frostbite game! It also doesn't support games like Need for Speed Heat, which is where DatapathFixPlugin comes in.
Private servers
- Private servers are possible with the kyber.gg fan project, which adds a Battlelog-esque server browser. A guide on how to set it up is located here
- First, launch the Kyber client, go to the server browser, then click the server you want to join. Then launch the game. If need be, install any required mods (requires Frosty mod manager alpha 5 or later) then launch game
- Playing on private servers with Instant Online Improvements is a necessity for some servers (install with Frosty mod manager).
- Anti-cheat and mod support.
- Unlocks the pre-order skins if you don't have them, replacing Rey's Scavenger and Kylo Ren's Scarred.
- Last tested just after the Scarif patch (May 2020 patch) and it is not known if it is safe with the August patch or not.
UI improvements
- Adds a smaller UI, options to scale the UI and turn off more HUD features.
- Overhauls the spawn screens.
- In addition to showing more info on the spawn screen, it improves on and unlocks the unfinished Star Card Loadouts feature.
Gameplay improvements
- Replaces the default in-game music with a collection of music taken from all kinds of Star Wars media, including ancillary media like Rogue One, Solo, Rebels, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian.
- Many variations exist, all of which replace the game's music.
Related to Instant Action
- Expands the Instant Action mode in many ways.
- Do not play online with them enabled as they will get you banned.
- To prevent access to multiplayer, the options to match into a game are hidden.
- Instant Action Overhaul and IA Battlefront Gameplay Rework requires Frosty 1.0.6, Localisation String Merger and Gameplay Handler and Merger (the latter two are included with 1.0.6 stable).
- Brand-new reinforcements, appearances and general improvements.
- AI overhaul, cross-era heroes and more general improvements.
- Excludes the new reinforcements, though they can be downloaded separately.
- An overhaul to the Instant Action mode, including new game modes, cross-era heroes and an overhaul to the game's implementation of AI.
- Excludes the new reinforcements, though they can be downloaded separately.
- Requires Frosty 1.0.6.
- Overhaul to trooper loadouts and weapons, including brand-new weapons and abilities for each trooper.
- Requires Frosty 1.0.6 and can stack with Instant Action Overhaul.
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
7 SP1 |
8.1, 10 |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Core i5-6600K AMD FX-6350 |
Intel Core i7-6700 AMD FX-8350 |
System memory (RAM) |
8 GB |
16 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
60 GB |
90 GB[Note 2] |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 AMD Radeon HD 7850 2 GB of VRAM DirectX 11 compatible
| Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 AMD Radeon RX 480 4 GB of VRAM DirectX 11.1 compatible |
- A 64-bit operating system is required.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
- ↑ Current size as of August 2021, may increase if using mods
References