A couple of months ago, due to some uncovered audio files, it was reported that characters like Han Solo, Princess Leia, Emperor Palpatine and Boba Fett will be playable on Star Wars: Battlefront, a shooting game based on the "Star Wars" motion pictures that were made by George Lucas. A couple of weeks later, Boba Fett came out.
On Oct. 20, exactly two months after Mandalorian bounty hunter became playable, Leia Amidala Skywalker, better known as Princess Leia, her future husband Han Solo and the evil emperor Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious, have been officially added to the game. Each of the playable characters were granted three active skills.
Princess Leia
Electronic Arts, the game's developer and publisher, aims to capture each Hero character's "essence and spirit," as they were presented in the movies, and base the gameplay off it. Although it was straightforward for the combat-oriented heroes, EA notes that it was quite tricky for Princess Leia who uses her "strategic mind" to fight.
"Leia was trickier in that regard since she doesn't have a specific, favorite weapon, so we had to represent her in another way," writes EA.
Capitalizing on the princess' leadership skills, EA bestowed her with abilities that patterns her gameplay for supporting, holding positions and buffing team members. Two of her abilities include the Enhanced Squad Shield, which is an enhanced version of Squad Shield Power Card that blocks some Force abilities and Supply Drop, which can drop power ups and health boosts when activated.
Princess Leia was also given an offensive ability called Trooper Bane, which is a powerful blaster shot that will insta-kill a trooper when it connects and can even shoot out of the Enhanced Squad Shield. It will also deal massive damage to villains and leave them stunned if they don't die from the hit. She also has a passive that will turn players that spawn next to her into Alderaan Honor Guards.
Han Solo
Han Solo is designed for mobility, offense and damage.
"Han Solo is a gunslinger mainly designed for lone wolves and, echoing the beginning of the original "Star Wars" trilogy, he's not very dependent on others," EA elaborates.
Just like his future wife, all of these qualities are reflected in the abilities that he was given. His first ability, Rapid Fire, will have him fire his blaster rapidly for a few seconds. The second ability, Lucky Shot, capitalizes on Han Solo's luck when firing a blast that can break Darth Vader's block, do massive damage to vehicles and stop Boba Fett's flight.
Shoulder Charge is his third ability and while it sounds simple, it can be used for both offense and defense. Han Solo can either dash in or out of battle — a powerful mobility spell.
Emperor Palpatine
Nothing much can be said about this guy except for his two-faced personality and how ugly his wrinkled face is.
Just like his portrayal in the films, Palpatine's main offensive ability is Force Lightning, which deals tons of damage to those within the AOE. His second ability, Imperial Resources, is for supporting. Just like Leia, Palpatine will be able to give his teammates power ups using Imperial resources. Moreover, if Leia can turn those who spawn near her into Alderaan Honor Guards, Palpatine will turn those who spawn near him into Shock Troopers.
The schemer in him was warranted the hit and run ability, Force Dash. Just like Han Solo's shoulder charge, this can be used offensively or defensively by dashing in and out.
Needless to say, Han Solo is more of a soloist while Leia and Palpatine will play core roles during multiplayer mode for their respective teams.
