Ewoks invade Battlefront 2 in the next update, premium currency returns

Remember when the Galactic Emperor sent an entire legion of his best troops—his best—to Endor and they got their asses kicked by a gang of ambulatory teddy bears with sharp sticks? Soon you will be able to relive that astonishing incident in Ewok Hunt, a new limited-time mode coming to Star Wars: Battlefront 2 on April 18 in the Night on Endor update.


The new mode begins with an Ewok ambush of Imperial Stormtroopers. The Imperials are obviously better trained and equipped, but the Ewoks are plentiful and, I don't know, too cute to die en masse or something. The Ewoks win if they wipe out the Stormtroopers, while the troopers claim victory if they can hold out until an extraction team arrives to save them from the marauding, three-foot-tall floof-beasts.


The catch is that the Imperials, much like the real-world force they're modeled after, cannot survive an extended war of attrition: Players start the mode as either an Ewok or a Stormtrooper, but every Stormtrooper felled respawns as an Ewok.


It sounds like Ewok Hunt could be a lot of fun, although I won't be at all surprised if EA has to do some on-the-fly balance tuning after it goes live. Finding the sweet spot in an asymmetric mode like this is always a tricky proposition, and especially so when numbers and balance of power shift over the course of a match. It won't be any fun for anyone if the Emperor's best troops rage-quit every time they start to fall behind.

The April update will also see the return of Crystals, the premium currency that EA removed from the game just ahead of release in the face of anger over Battlefront 2's loot boxes. Crystals must be purchased with real money, but EA emphasized that they can only be used to directly acquire "Appearances" for playable characters, which are also accessible via credits earned through gameplay. More than 50 new Appearances are coming in the update, including Wounded Chewbacca, Scarred Kylo Ren, Administrator Lando, and 40 new Trooper Appearances.


EA also confirmed that another "season" of Star Wars: Battlefront 2 is on the way. "As we move forward with Star Wars Battlefront 2, there are two types of content update that we will be releasing. The first is in the same style as the Night on Endor Update that we’re releasing on April 18th, and the second is Seasons," the latest Community Transmission says.


"Seasons will focus around a specific theme (such as a new Star Wars film, or an anniversary in the Star Wars Universe) and will usually span multiple months. In March we launched the Progression Update, April is Night on Endor and moving forward we’re committed to keeping up this cadence of content updates."


Details about the second season will be released when it's closer to launch, currently scheduled for sometime in May.