Star Wars Battlefront's heroes are accessed via a power up

So far all we know for certain is that Boba Fett and Darth Vadar will be playable characters in Star Wars Battlefront . Who else gets a cameo is still a mystery, but at least now design director Niklas Fegraeus has explained a little about how you get to be them.

If you want to play a star character you'll have to find some sort of power up to activate the ability. It suggests a move away from the old game's system of fulfilling specific requirements, or killing a hero character. Although it's not clear how the power up is triggered yet so it could still tie into the original game's concepts. (Here's everything we know about Star Wars Battlefront multiplayer so far.)

The info comes from this month's Official Xbox Mag where Fegraeus explains the hero-triggering system: "it has variations to it that depend on game modes and so on. But you can get it through a power-up system... when you find the hero power-up, that is when you can make your choice". As with the previous games it's a fleeting moment of glory, using your new-found but temporary hero abilities to try and turn the tide of the fight. "You basically have one life to use all that power," explains Niklas, "you get to try to turn the tide and win for your team and become a beacon of hope for everyone".

Obviously, giving the ability to win the fight to a single hero means a character with skills far above the basic grunt but not completely undefeatable, and executive producer Patrick Bach has spoken about the difficulty of getting that right: "it’s up to us to find the balance. [They] need to be super-powerful, but not overwhelming. That’s the holy Grail of making fun games – how do you balance things out?"

Elsewhere in the issue OXM mention that, from what it saw, Darth Vadar seems impenetrable to blaster fire from the front, simplydeflectingbolts with his lightsaber, and using his signature Force throttle on enemies.You can read more about Star Wars Battlefront in OXM's cover story, which is out Friday the 8th of May. Download ithereorsubscribefor future issues.

Leon Hurley
Managing editor for guides

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for guides, which means I run GamesRadar's guides and tips content. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website. 

Latest in Action
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Dark Souls 2 fans remind Death Stranding 2 director Hideo Kojima that he won’t be taking the DS2 acronym that easily
Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima says Death Stranding's themes of connection came about because "I thought I lost everything when I became alone nine years ago"
Beyond the Ice Palace 2
After 37 years, this Commodore 64 classic returns with a new Metroidvania sequel that gives serious old-school Castlevania vibes
Fortnite's Lara croft skin in front of a building
Fortnite has had Tomb Raider's Lara Croft locked away in battle pass exclusivity jail for almost 4 years, but she's reportedly getting a new skin very soon
The Last of Us 2
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann sounds like he's contemplating the end of his career: "When is it time to stop?"
Screenshot of Neil in Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima says he chose Death Stranding 2's Solid Snake lookalike because he needed an actor who "would surpass" Mads Mikkelsen
Latest in News
inZOI Character Studio screenshot showing a young woman with short black/pink hair, black cat-like ears, and a black blouse with a bowtie
The creator of upcoming life sim Inzoi says he was "recklessly brave to even think about creating a game of this scale"
Rise of the Ronin
A year after its PS5 launch, Rise of the Ronin debuts on PC to "Mixed" reviews and performance complaints: "Stuttering on a 4090 is just... no"
Rise of the Ronin's photo mode offers some wonderful shots
On the heels of Rise of the Ronin's PC launch, its director says there's a "significant" amount of Japanese Switch gamers: "I am closely watching how this will change with the release of Switch 2"
Stardew Valley Castle Village mod
Stardew Valley Expanded creator is building an "even more ambitious" mod with a whole new city and "dungeons inspired by The Legend of Zelda"
Dino Crisis 2 art showing a young woman and man back-to-back amid tall green grass, both with their weapons drawn
Dino Crisis gets a fresh trademark filing by Capcom, but it might not mean the 26-year-old survival horror franchise will get a new installment like fans expect
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog