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NEW Star Wars Battlefront DLC Information!

Electronic Arts’ Star Wars Battlefront has given players the chance to do battle in the shadow of some of the most iconic backdrops in cinematic history. The icy, windswept Hoth and the verdant forest moon of Endor are always welcome sights for any Star Wars devotee. With the release of downloadable content starting last December, however, hardcore fans have gotten a real treat – the opportunity to dig a bit deeper into the expansive Star Wars universe.

While the first piece of downloadable content, Battle of Jakku, allowed players to explore the desert world at the heart of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the upcoming Outer Rim will deliver a couple of familiar places from from the original trilogy – including a famous palace that most fans will recognize as the home of a certain confrontation between a gluttonous space gangster and an enslaved princess. And don’t forget that if you have a Star Wars Battlefront Season Pass, you’ll be able to access Outer Rim before anyone else – and if you’ve got an Xbox Live Gold subscription, that means $5 off the Season Pass… which means there’s no better time to jump on this deal.

But first, a primer. What is the Outer Rim, exactly? Remember that “wretched hive of scum and villainy” that Obi-Wan Kenobi mentioned when discussing Mos Eisley spaceport with Luke Skywalker? Well, that was on Tatooine, an Outer Rim world. While not every planet in the Outer Rim fits that description, it’s not altogether unwarranted in looking at the region as a whole, considering that it’s filled with harsh, savage worlds. Think of it along the lines of the Old West – an outpost full of frontier living… and frontier justice.

But that remoteness and ruggedness also means that the Outer Rim serves as an excellent hiding place. After all, Obi-Wan himself managed to avoid detection on Tatooine while watching over young Luke, while Yoda made his home on another Outer Rim planet – the swamp world of Dagobah. The Outer Rim isn’t unknown to Empire-Rebel conflicts, though. The Battle of Yavin, seen at the end of “Star Wars: A New Hope,” was clearly one of the most important conflicts of the original trilogy.

The first area you’ll find in the Outer Rim DLC also has a connection to the original movies: Jabba the Hutt’s palace on Tatooine, which includes his sail barge garage. And if you don’t recognize his sail barge by name, you’ll certainly know it as the vehicle on which Jabba, Luke, and Boba Fett had an infamous clash above the sarlacc pit in “Return of the Jedi.” And it’s appropriate that Jabba’s at the center of the Outer Rim DLC, because Hutt Contracts – special missions that will earn you some sweet new gear – are now a part of the game.

Jabba may get the opulence and glory (not exactly out of the ordinary for him), but Sullust brings some intrigue of its own to the Outer Rim DLC. This volcanic planet has already been featured in Battlefront – dogfights above the planet’s flowing lava are truly a sight to behold – but Outer Rim expands the options, with the chance to explore Sullust’s factories. Heavy with smoke and ash, Sullust is hardly a comfortable stroll in the park… but it’s actually more hospitable than you might think.

The new areas on Tatooine and Sullust aren’t the only reason to get excited about Outer Rim, however. First of all, this DLC raises the level cap all the way from 50 to 60. There’s even a new mode, Extraction, which tasks Rebel forces with recovering valuable resources… and the Empire with making sure that doesn’t happen, by any means necessary.

You’ll also have two new hero characters to take control of in the Outer Rim DLC, and they certainly fit the setting. With Greedo, you can shoot first – and second, and third, and fourth, and fifth! No need for controversy, witty T-shirts, or frame-by-frame analysis here. Greedo may have met his end on Tatooine in the movies, but he can make the desert world the place of his greatest victory in Battlefront. Or, if you’d prefer someone who fights alongside the Jedi, you can choose Lando Calrissian’s co-pilot, Nien Nunb – appropriate, since he’s a native of Sullust.

Finally, the Outer Rim DLC offers some potent new weapons, including the Relby V-10 rifle (seen in “The Empire Strikes Back”) and the DT-12 blaster pistol – wielded by Greedo in “A New Hope” before Han Solo famously blew the green-skinned Rodian away.

Jabba’s palace and the factories of Sullust – along with the copious amount of other new content available in the Outer Rim DLC – should keep players busy for quite some time. The best news, however, is that Star Wars Battlefront players still have plenty to look forward to later this year, including a trip to Cloud City, home of the caped charmer Lando Calrissian. After that, the mighty Death Star looms as DLC this fall… which should bring plenty of intrigue and intensity to Battlefront.