Surprise! Despite announcing that no DLC was planned for Star Wars: Squadrons, EA Motiv announced today a brand new map, two new ships, and custom match settings are coming soon!
In a blog post on the official website, EA Motive revealed that two free content updates are scheduled to hit this year. Frazier explains that the free content is a “nice, final thank you gift.”
At the end of the blog post, Creative Director Ian Frazier writes:
“Ever since the launch of the game, it’s been an incredible joy to see players around the world climbing into the cockpits of their favorite starfighters, immersing themselves in fleet battles, building squadrons of their own throughout the community, and generally just sharing in the sheer love of Star Wars space combat that has fueled this project since its inception.
Your enthusiastic support for Squadrons has enabled us to expand upon it further in all the ways outlined above, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I’m particularly excited about the Custom Matches feature because it will allow you, the community, to take more ownership of the game and create your own experiences for a long time to come.
Thank you for putting your faith in us, thank you for joining the Squadrons community, and thank you for helping us to make the game even better through all your feedback.”
Check out the blog post for the full update details and Frazier’s full letter. We’ve got the highlights down below!
Star Wars: Squadrons November Update
The first of the two updates releases next week on November 25th as Update 3.0. Additional fixes and balancing changes will happen, as usual, but the more exciting news is that it’s going to include a brand new map that will be added to both Fleet Battles and Dogfight modes, as well as brand new components for ship loadouts.
As pictured above, the new map is Fostar Haven. This is a popular location from the single-player campaign that was left out of the multiplayer rotation, so now it’s getting added in. It’s from the first prologue mission in which the player must scan various vessels in search for refugees at a trading station that’s known for harboring smugglers.
This update will also include four new components, including the Boost Extension Kit for Fighters and Bombers, Ion Rockets for Interceptors and Fighters, Prototype Piercing Torpedoes for Bombers and Fighters, and Anti-Material Rocket Turrets for Support ships.
Star Wars: Squadrons December Update
There is no date on the December update yet, but this will bring the game to 4.0 status. As great as a new map and new components are, the more exciting half of the DLC announcement is the reveal that they’ll be adding two new ships into the game: the B-Wing and the TIE Defender. The B-Wing is getting categorized as a Bomber and the TIE Defender will be categorized as a Fighter, which will be interesting because it slightly throws off the previous balance of 1 ship per class for both sides.
Apparently, these ships will also include “unique aspects in line with what you’d expect from them” beyond their class components. For example, the B-Wing has a gyro-cockpit and swiveling wings and the TIE Defender actually has shields.
“These functions and a couple unique components will help them differentiate themselves from the other starfighters in their classes and factions, but we’ve also made sure they aren’t outright better by default,” writes Frazier. “There’s still going to be good reasons to pick a Y-wing over a B-wing or a TIE fighter over a TIE defender and vice versa. It’ll depend on your playstyle and what the situation calls for.”
Finally, the December update will also introduce Custom Matches. This will allow 1-5 players per side to queue any of the maps in the game in either Dogfight or Fleet Battle mode. You’ll be able to modify settings for things like your ship’s hull, shield, and damage output, capital ship health, and more. You’ll also be able to browse for match types in a custom match server browser to find public or private games.
Given the previous announcement of there being no DLC planned, this is pretty huge news. Two new ships, a new map, new weapons, and custom matches is a lot for a game that’s only a little over a month old. Maybe this means more DLC plans in the future?
You can get all of this content for free starting next week and then next month for the second update. Star Wars: Squadrons is available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One with optional VR support on both PSVR and PC VR. For HOTAS recommendations, we’ve got you covered.
Let us know what you think down in the comments below!
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