Source: EA / Motive Studios
We’re just days away from the launch of Motive Studios’ Star Wars: Squadrons. In the latest pilot briefing, we learn about how the game’s ranking and reward system will work.
Thursday (Sept.24), the focus was on Star Wars: Squadrons ranks, rewards, and progression system. In the blog post, developers explain that the “core pillars” of the upcoming game’s multiplayer will be the Challenges, Operations, and your Level.
Challenges will be presented in two variations, daily and operational, timed, and rotating objectives that will help the player get rewards for completing them.
Source: EA / Star Wars: Squadrons
In the blog post, it is explained that players should make it their business to complete the daily challenges to keep earning rewards while you continuously play the game. The Daily Challenges are described as “simple,” and once completed, you will be rewarded with Glory, the currency used to unlock cosmetics for starfighters and pilots. Glory can also be earned by how well you performed during matches. Challenges will also encourage players to use different ships and components to help complete the challenges.
Operation Challenges differ from Daily Challenges being that they reward you with unique cosmetics and are tied to the game’s ongoing Operations.
Operations are described as 8-week cycles that happen in Squadrons and offer players a set of unique cosmetic rewards that can only be earned by completing its Challenges. Particular Challenges offer unique rewards, and if you don’t act fast on them, you could miss out on them and have to wait until the Operation Challenges return one day.
Your Fleet Battles rank will also be tied into Operations 8-week cycles. Following the conclusion of every Operation, your competitive Rank tied to Fleet Battles will reset, allowing for a regular reassessment of your skills. The blog post reveals that to obtain your first Rank, you will need to participate in ten placement matches. The ranks are broken down from lowest to highest: Maverick – Hotshot – Hero – Valiant – Legend – Galactic Ace.
Source: EA / Star Wars: Squadrons
Star Wars: Squadrons producer Thomas Mir further broke down how the Ranks system will work and what rewards players could look forward to reaching certain Ranks.
“Operations are our take on competitive play through a ranked ladder system that resets every 8 weeks—a way for our players to test their skills and teamwork capabilities in our more strategic mode: Fleet Battles.”
The system is built to encourage players to improve their skills without being overly punishing if you run into some bad luck:
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- Players are protected from demotion into lower divisions for the length of an active Operation. (Editor’s note: This means you cannot drop from Legend to Valiant, but you can drop from Legend III to Legend II.)
- At the end of the Operation, players receive Glory based on the maximum Rank achieved rather than their current Rank. This is to push pilots to go as far as they can!
“Players also get exclusive helmets upon reaching the Valiant, Legend, and Galactic Ace Ranks for the first time. These are the same across all Operations, so if you didn’t manage to get the ones you wanted during your first Operation, you can still get them in the upcoming ones.”
Last but not least, Levels. Unlike Ranks, Levels remains a linear progression system and will not reset. For the first 40 levels, you will be rewarded with Requisition points that can be used to unlock ship components. According to the blog post, the more dedicated pilots who reach level 40 will have enough points to unlock all of the ship components giving you the ability to try out every type of starfighter build in the game. Motive explains the reasoning behind its approach to the level system is to give players more options when choosing fighters rather than focusing on making them feel more powerful.
Source: EA / Star Wars: Squadrons
Motive also announced that players will earn cosmetic items by completing other parts of the game, single-player story mode, and Fleet Battles tutorial. We can also look forward to some updates to the game over time despite everything being ready at launch. Should anything need to be fixed, developers will be prepared to hear the player’s concerns and issue patches when necessary.
Star Wars: Squadrons launches on consoles on October 2.
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Photo: EA / Motive Studios
