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Maybe someone at EA felt like Battlefront needed a pep up after three weeks. Maybe they’re looking for a bump alongside the new film coming out. We may never know. Whatever the case is, you’ve got a bit of vaguely-linked-to-the-film DLC chucked at you for free, just as you might have been getting bored. This includes two new maps (a small one called the Goazan Badlands and the large Graveyard of Giants) which will be in rotation alongside the rest of your maps for other games, and a brand new way to play Battlefront called Turning Point.
Anyone who preordered the game can already download the Battle of Jakku, but for the rest of you it arrives on December 8. We’ve been tirelessly making embarrassing mistakes with it in order to give you a breakdown of the new game mode and a basic strategy for either side to give you a head start.
How does Turning Point work in Star Wars Battlefront?
You know in the trailers for The Force Awakens, where there’s a big desert with all crashed spaceships in ruins? That’s the aftermath of the Battle of Jakku, and you help to make those ruins in Turning Point. The Graveyard of Giants is just a sea of sand strewn with wreckage – Imperial Walkers, TIE Fighters, X-Wings – and if you watch behind the rebel lines you can see a Star Destroyer crash in real time until you get shot in the head for not paying attention to the actual fight.
Turning Point is a 40 player game to go with the existing Supremacy and Walker Assault modes, but you can only play it in the Graveyard of Giants. Each round, over four rounds, opens up control points for the rebels to capture and the troopers to protect. It’s an against-the-clock game that the troopers have to wait out, but every time a control point falls to the rebels more time is added and the Alliance pushes their line further forward, with the ultimate goal of taking down the Empire’s makeshift base at a singular control point. At the start of each round the battlefield gets pummeled by a massive orbital strike to force everyone back to their lines again, ready for the next push.
How to play The Empire in Turning Point – Star Wars Battlefront
The Empire are initially at a disadvantage so you need to play an aggressive kind of defence. Try and get an even spread on each of the control points with some players spare to move between them as necessary, and keep a sharp eye on the minimap in case the opposing team go for an all out assault on one, or try and distract you and pull a sneaky flanking manoeuvre. At the same time, don’t crowd close enough with other players that you can all be taken out with one explosive, because then all of you have to haul ass to the front lines again and by that time the control point may already be gone.
It’s almost inevitable that you’re going to lose the first couple of rounds, so the key is to make it as hard as possible. The more time you can run out the less the rebels have in the later stages of the game. When the fight gets down to the final control point you’re in a much stronger position, since you’re not spreading your forces between three different areas. Rebels will most likely end up attacking from one direction so try flanking the enemy and hitting them from all sides. As the timer runs down they’ll start playing desperately, and at that point you know you’ve already won.
What weapons to use as the Empire in Turning Point – Star Wars Battlefront
Longer range weapons are much more effective for the Empire here, and there are some ideal spots for snipers along the sides of the map. If you have good aim the Impact Grenade is good for clearing out small pockets of rebels in control points, and the scan pulse is good for showing up any of them hiding under all the cover out there. Consider other, more aggressive Star Cars as well: the Homing Shot, Pulse Cannon, and Explosive Shot.
How to play The Rebel Alliance in Turning Point – Star Wars Battlefront
You only get six minutes to start with and another three added with every round, so you have to push hard on this one. Make sure you play aggressively, especially in the early stages when it’s much easier to take the control points, but don’t lose your cool. It’s extremely rare for the Empire to lose their last point so you really need to bank time for later when you need it.
Once you start getting further into Empire controlled ground it helps to be more tactical. If the Empire troops get panicked and all start rushing to defend one control point at once you can exploit that to sneak up to another one and capture it relatively easily, but when you get down to the final round they can mass a much stronger defence. If the enemy are smart they’ll be using snipers and long range weapons, so use all the cover you can and don’t get pinned down.
Don’t panic. Keep pressing forwards and hammer those explosives at them – consider using smoke grenades to give yourself some cover as you move up, and watch your sides for sneaky troopers hiding in the dunes.
What weapons to use as the Rebels in Turning Point – Star Wars Battlefront
Use a powerful shorter ranged blaster for the early stages and switch to longer range the further you go. It’s essential to have an explosive grenade in your Star Card hand, and the Empire have will have some walkers stalking around so consider taking an ion weapon. The Jump Pack can be useful for getting behind enemy lines, but to capture the control points you need to stay in them so a Personal Shield could also be useful in your second hand. There’s a lot going on, and it’s helpful to co-ordinate with what other members of your squad are doing if you can.
