Well, EA has certainly developed a mess with Battlefront 2. What has been anticipated as one of the biggest games of the Fall, is yet again facing large criticism over how the progression as been designed. If you recall, we reported several weeks ago after the beta on how players were unhappy with the loot crate design. EA responded then by saying changes would be made. While changes have been made, there are still large concerns which EA seems to have made worse over the past few days.
As reviewers and early access groups now have access to the final game, some disturbing design decisions have been found. First, a reviewer noted that on average it will take about 40 hours of playtime to unlock a single hero. Of course, this can be sped up and chances increased should you purchase loot crates with real money. EA’s response to this revelation, was less than popular.
The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes.
As for cost, we selected initial values based upon data from the Open Beta and other adjustments made to milestone rewards before launch. Among other things, we’re looking at average per-player credit earn rates on a daily basis, and we’ll be making constant adjustments to ensure that players have challenges that are compelling, rewarding, and of course attainable via gameplay.
We appreciate the candid feedback, and the passion the community has put forth around the current topics here on Reddit, our forums and across numerous social media outlets.
Our team will continue to make changes and monitor community feedback and update everyone as soon and as often as we can.
Just how unpopular was this response? It is now the most downvoted post in Reddit history. You can find it directly here: EA Development Response
One of EA’s Community Managers, Mat Everett, made matters worse by complaining about fans on Twitter – a post that was rather quickly deleted (but of course saved by people). You can find that here: Deleted Tweet
Our Take
EA is making an absolute mess of what should be one of the largest game launches of the year. It’s sad to see that they are being so anti-fan but with the level of publicity and outrage occurring right now, we bet the responses and changes continue. We would continue to urge players to make their voices heard as in the end, we all want the game to succeed.
