It isn’t exactly a surprise that Star Wars: Battlefront is an incredibly popular game. That’s one of the reasons Sony, EA and DICE have struck a deal that forces any advertisement for the game to officially advertise the PS4 version. In the UK at least, Microsoft has found a rather creative way to get around this particular deal. In the Metro newspaper, a Neogaf user has spotted how Microsoft is making it clear the game is also on the Xbox One console.

In the paper, right next to a review of the game, there is a full page ad on the next page which simply says “available now on the Xbox One.” This makes it appear as though the review itself is an advertisement that is tied into the Microsoft Xbox One. This kind of advertisement allows Microsoft to get the word out there, without breaking any kind of exclusivity deal the game has with Sony. The company has made this kind of move before.

The company used this kind of “trickery” last year when it came to advertising Destiny, as that game too has a deal with Sony. In that case, Microsoft was even more imaginative but advertising the game as though it was a fragrance. This particular move seems even smarter, as the review says the game is available for the Xbox One, PC and PS4, it says it in small print people have to look for, while the full page ad hints people will only be able to get Star Wars: Battlefront on the Xbox One.

COLLECTIBLES

There’s a whole lot to collect in Star Wars: Battlefront, and it can be hard to find, especially since all of it is scattered across the various maps and game modes that you will be playing. Use the videos below to ensure that you find everything, across all maps and modes. And if there is anything that we have missed, let us know in the comments section below, and we’ll add it here (with full credit to you, of course)!

There are multiple unlockables in Star Wars: Battlefront to gain access to as you gain more experience by playing and winning games. Generally, unlockables come in three forms in Star Wars: Battlefront.

• Star Cards
• Alien Heads
• Emotes

Star Cards

Star Cards basically represent weapons, abilities, or gadgets- you can equip one Star Card in one ‘hand,’ so to speak, and equipped Star Cards can be used on the field in battles. Essentially, think of it this way: if you have equipped a Thermal Detonator card, then and only then, can you use a Thermal Detonator in battle.

Star Card weapons and equipments have unlimited uses in the game, although they are bound to a cooldown timer. Once a Star Card is unlocked, you must purchase it using in game credits (no microtransactions, don’t worry- only in game credits, which are earned by completing and winning games, can be used).

The full list of Star Cards is:

• Thermal Detonator: Unlocked at Level 2, costs 7000 credits
• Scout Pistol: Unlocked at Level 3, costs 7000 credits
• Ion Torpedo: Unlocked at Level 4, costs 7,000 credits
• Pulse Cannon: Unlocked at Level 5, costs 7,000 credits
• Impact Grenade: Unlocked at Level 6, costs 7,000 credits
• Ion Grenade: Unlocked at Level 9, costs 2,300 credits
• Homing Shot: Unlocked at Level 11, costs 3,100 credits
• Jump Pact: Unlocked at Level 13, costs 3,100 credits
• Smoke Grenade: Unlocked at Level 16, costs 3,100 credits
• Flash Grenade: Unlocked at Level 20, costs 3,100 credits
• Barrage: Unlocked at Level 24, costs 3,100 credits
• Cycler Rifle: Unlocked at Level 28, costs 3,100 credits
• Bowcaster: Unlocked at Level 32, costs 3,100 credits

In addition, there are also Charged Star Cards. These are buffs that are activated using Charges. Charges are one time use, and are necessary to power these buffs. You need to pick them up either in the battlefield, or use your in game credits (again, no microtransactions) to buy more.

The Charged Star Cards you can get include:

• Cooling Cell: Unlocked at Level 7, costs 1,700 credits. Prevents overheating of your weapon for a short while
• Ion Shot: Causes your primary weapon to shoot charged ion shots
• Explosive Shot: Causes your primary weapon to shot explosive bolts
• Focus Fire: Unlocked at Level 22, costs 1,700 credits. Enhances accuracy
• Personal Shield: Unlocked at Level 22, costs 1,700 credits. Gives you a personal shield to absorb some of the damage aimed your way
• Scan Pulse: Unlocked at Level 13, costs 1,700 credits. Reveals nearby enemies

Alien Heads

Alien heads are essentially unlockable player skins. More of these are available for the Rebel Alliance than for the Empire, and all of them cost a hefty amount of in game credits (40,000 to be precise). They also require you to be at least Level 40 before you can purchase them.

The full list of unlockable heads for the Rebel Alliance includes:

• Sullustan
• Duros
• Rodian
• Zabrak
• Ishi Tib
• Quarren
• Twi’lek

The full list of unlockable heads for the Empire includes:

• Scout Trooper
• Shadow Trooper (you must be Level 50 to unlock this)

Emotes:

Emotes let you communicate with other players in the middle of a battle. Since there is no in game voice chat, these are actually fairly essential to achieve any semblance of coordination or teamwork. The emotes that you can unlock in the game include:

WEAPONS

Again, there is not a dizzying array of weapons for you to find in Star Wars Battlefront- it’s a pretty basic shooting gallery. But it does have some different weapons, which reflect the wide variety and range present in the Star Wars universe. In this section of the guide, we list some of the weapons that you can unlock in the game. Note that each weapon that has been unlocked must be purchased using in game credits before you can use it.

DLT-19: Available at Level 3, costs 550 credits. Medium range blaster with high rate of fire

DH-17: Available at Level 3, costs 550 credits. Medium-range Blaster which suffers from decreased rate-of-fire, but a high damage output

RT-97C: Available at Level 5, costs 1,250 credits. Lower damage output, but overheats very rarely

A-280C: Available at Level 8, costs 1,550 credits. This medium-ranged Blaster has a fairly low damage output and decent rate-of-fire. It also has an increased overheat threshold, making it a good, all round weapon that you can probably use even at higher ranks

E-11: Available at Level 8, costs 1,550 credits. High range and damage output, but slow rate of fire

CA-87: Available at Level 8, costs 1,550 credits. Extremely high damage output, but very low range

T-21: Available at Level 10, costs 2,500 credits. Single shot blaster with incredible range and damage output, but a very low overheat threshold

SE-14C: Available at Level 14, costs 2,500 credits. High rate of fire and overheat threshold, but stunted damage and range

EE-3: Available at Level 17, costs 2,500 credits. Like the SE-14C, but with increased range and damage output. This, however, makes it easier for the weapon to overheat

T-21B: Available at Level 21, costs 2,500 credits. Great range and damage output; that said, it overheats very easily, and has an awful rate of fire

DL-44: Available at Level 25, costs 2,500 credits. Great damage output, effective at mid range distances, single shot rate of fire, with a fairly low overheat threshold, meaning it overheats pretty fast

GAME MODES

There’s a full range of multiplayer modes in Star Wars Battlefront- instead of it having one primary single player and one primary multiplayer mode, it’s like a theme park of sorts, with multiple Star Wars themed modes that you can play.

This section of the guide briefly explains all of them. Basically, think of this as window shopping for game modes, so you can decide which ones you want to spend your time in.

Single Player

Training: Pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Serves as a nice introduction to the game’s core mechanics

Survival: A horde mode that lets you fight against waves of enemies. Can be played cooperatively

Battles: Take part in multiplayer battles, except offline, and against CPU bots

Hero Battles: Participate in Hero Battles, except offline, and against CPU bots

Multi Player

Supremacy: A 20v20 mode. Five control points are generated on the map randomly, one after the other. Gain control of all five, or the majority, before the time is up.

Cargo: A 6v6 mode. Rebels and Imperials both have a base on the map where valuable cargo is stored. Each side has 5 pieces of cargo at the beginning of the match. Your objective is to run in to the enemy base, pick up the cargo, and return it to your home base.

Droid Run: A 6v6 mode. Capture and hold all the three GNK Droids that wander the map before the 10-minute time limit is up. There are no heroes or vehicles.

Walker Assault: A 20v20 mode. A re-enactment of the Battle of Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back. The Rebels need to stop the Walkers, while the Empire fights towards the Rebel Base. If Rebels reach uplinks on the map, they can call in Y Wing bombers to assist their efforts.

Blast: A 10v10 mode. It’s your standard Team Deathmatch.

Drop Zone: An 8v8 mode. Plays a lot like Supremacy. Multiple objectives show up on the map, and you must claim and hold them before the next one spawns.

Heroes vs Villains: A 6v6 mode. The matches are divided into rounds, where three players from each team randomly spawn as the Heroes and Villains. When a Hero or Villain is defeated, that player will respawn as a regular trooper.

Hero Hunt: A 1v7 mode. 8 player mode with one player starting as either a Hero or Villain character depending on the planet you’re playing on. The other seven players spawn as troopers of the opposing side.

TIPS AND TRICKS

Star Wars Battlefront is not a hard game. It is a fairly basic shooting gallery, with not much nuance to its mechanics. With that said, the game can be fast paced and frenetic, and it can have multiple dynamic objectives in a single game, all of which can be overwhelming to the newcomer. This section of the guide lists various tips and tricks that you can use to stay abreast of the game.

Leveling up faster: Leveling is very slow in the popular game modes, especially if you are past the first few levels. The smart thing to do is to play Fighter Squadron, and take out as many human players as possible. Each human kill nets you 3 points versus 1 for the CPU.

Achievements and Trophy Guide:

Star Wars: Battlefront is not a hard game to get all Achievements/Trophies for. Just follow the Achievement/Trophy guide descriptions below, and you should be good to go. We have also included video guides for some of the achievements and trophies below.

A New Hope

Play every Multiplayer game mode

Do… or do not. There is no try

Complete the Tutorial

On the ball

Complete any Survival mission on Master difficulty within 35 minutes

“Gonk? Gonk!”

Capture three droids in a match of Droid Run (1)

A cunning warrior

Reach level 3 once with any Trait (Multiplayer)

Your journey has only started

Complete all missions

Don’t get cocky

Defeat both the Millennium Falcon and Slave I

Safety ain’t the point of a joyride

Take no damage in the Endor Chase mission.

Walker defender

Destroy a Y-wing in Walker Assault

Don’t underestimate the Force

Earn a total of 100 kills while playing as a hero (Multiplayer)

Great shot, kid!

Kill an enemy who is using a Jump Pack (Multiplayer)

Off to a good start

Win any Battle mission on Normal difficulty against the AI

Never tell me the odds!

Successfully perform Cooling Flush 10 times (Multiplayer)

That got him!

Use a tow cable to destroy an enemy AT-AT in Walker Assault

When 900 years old you reach…

Reach Rank

The Force is strong with this one

Earn 10 kills in a match as any hero on Hero Hunt

All right, I’ll give it a try

Earn a star on all training missions

In a galaxy far, far away….

Win one match in each Multiplayer game mode

I suggest a new strategy

Use a partner’s Star Card hand 10 times (Multiplayer)

Survivor

Earn a total of 5 stars from Survival missions

Playing the objective

Have the most kills in a match of Blast

The power of the Force

Defeat a hero while playing as any hero on Heroes vs Villains

Determined

Complete 25 Challenges

Crush them with one swift stroke

Trample 25 soldiers with an AT-ST

New Recruit

Complete any mission

Scrap collector

Earn any collectible Star.

Together we can rule the galaxy

Complete any mission with a friend

Distinguished

Earn 100 Accomplishments

Not bad for a little furball

Get hit in the head by a rock from an Ewok on Endor.

Judge me by my size, do you? 

Reach Rank

Stay on target

Kill 10 enemies in a match of Fighter Squadron

A tremor in the Force

Play once as all of the different heroes (Multiplayer)

Shoot first

Be the first in a match to earn a kill (Multiplayer)

Hold the line!

Kill 10 enemies while attacking or defending a control point in Supremacy

Precision shot

Get 10 headshots with the Cycler Rifle (Multiplayer)

Tell Jabba that I’ve got his money

Earn a total of 25 000 credits (Multiplayer)

Master

Earn all mission stars on Master difficulty

Best star pilot in the galaxy

Destroy 10 TIE fighters within 2 minutes on the Beggar’s Canyon mission.

Collector

Earn any diorama figurine in the game

I’ve been waiting for you

Kill 10 enemies trying to claim your team’s pod in Drop Zone

What’s the cargo?

Kill 10 enemies carrying the cargo in Cargo

Impressive. Most impressive.

Earn a total of 5 stars from Battle mission