Star Wars Battlefront 2's massive progression overhaul is here, adds new Bespin map

DICE's long-awaited multiplayer progression overhaul update for Star Wars Battlefront 2 is now live on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

As DICE explained in its update announcement last week, the new progression system sees Star Cards and other gameplay affecting items entirely removed from loot crates. Instead, ability granting Star Cards can be unlocked and upgraded using Skill Points earned by levelling up classes, heroes, and ships.

Loot crates will now only contain cosmetic items - such as emotes - and are no longer available to purchase with real money. Instead, crates are acquired through daily log-ins and by completing challenges and other milestones. Monetisation is still present in Battlefront 2, but only in the form of "appearances". The first of these will appear in April, and can be purchased using store-bought Crystals or Battlefront 2's in-game Credit currency.

DICE notes that players will be able to keep any Star Cards, heroes, and weapons earned prior to today's update. Furthermore, all heroes and ships that were previously available in-game have now been unlocked for use by everyone.

Alongside the multiplayer progression changes, today's update also introduces a new location in the form of Bespin - which also appeared in DICE's previous Battlefront game. Bespin is available in Blast, Heroes vs. Villains, Arcade modes, as well as Jetpack Cargo for a limited time. And on the subject of Arcade mode, it now includes all Star Cards and Weapons unlocked at Epic card level so that it "can be more freely used as a sandbox to try out new combination".

Rounding off today's update are an extensive number of balance tweaks and changes. The full patch notes are available on the Battlefront 2 website.