Star Wars Battlefront 2 Star Card guide: list of class cards, abilities and more

Following the mixed reception of the series' first entry under Electronic Arts, Star Wars Battlefront 2 delivers some significant changes upon its 2015 predecessor. Shifting towards a more balanced approach to gameplay under the hood, attempts have been made to rework the core multiplayer mechanics, while introducing a slew of new content.

As part of the revamp, the Star Cards system, one of the main forms of progression in the first Star Wars Battlefront, has seen some drastic changes. We've broken down all the Star Card improvements coming this fall, alongside a list of all cards currently available for the game's main four classes.

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What are 'Star Cards?'

Star Cards determine both your abilities and equipment in multiplayer matches.

In short, Star Cards determine both your abilities and equipment in multiplayer matches. A limited range of cards is available between each of the four in-game classes, special classes, vehicles, and heroes. Star Cards are also another aspect of progression in the Star Wars Battlefront series and act as abilities to upgrade throughout your multiplayer career.

Unlike the first game, they are also now a much more dynamic component of gameplay and swappable between multiplayer matches. The choice of cards you make can hugely affect your strengths as a player and should be built up around your current play style.

How have Star Cards changed in Battlefront 2?

While Star Cards have made a return for Battlefront 2, they're now a much more prominent component of the multiplayer sandbox. Following changes to multiplayer for a more competitive experience, this is also reflected in tweaks to the loadout system.

The introduction of four classes is one of the biggest changes to the flow of gameplay and now extends to the usage and balancing of abilities. How Star Cards are equipped is now dependent on both class and their placement in three Star Card slots. While this imposes restrictions on player abilities, roles on the battlefield are now more clearly defined.

Star Cards are grouped into two classes - Boost cards and Ability cards. Boost cards add various enhancements to your multiplayer character, while Ability cards add new equipment and tools to use on the field. Cards also come in four ranks of rarity, which impact their power on the field. As the rarity of a Star Card grows, a single attribute incrementally increases, making for a more effective ability or piece of equipment. This ultimately creates four variants of each Star Card – common, uncommon, rare and epic. These cards will be obtained via unlockable randomized crates, or via an in-game currency named "Crafting Parts."

Changes to the Star Card system aim to deliver further balancing, however, associated monetization routes and loot crates have been criticized over recent months. Make sure to read up on our thoughts on the fiasco and what this means for the game's multiplayer experience.

Complete list of class Star Cards (so far)

While Star Cards are available across various heroes and vehicles of Star Wars Battlefront 2, we've brought together the abilities and boosts available across the game's four main classes.

Assault Star Cards

Assault troopers are a traditional offensive class of Star Wars Battlefront 2, created with damage in mind. With their balanced agility and armor, these soldiers can quickly push into enemy fortifications, while still delivering heavy fire on frontline units. The class' Star Cards build on these traits, with equipment and abilities to effectively hunt down and kill hostile forces.

Assault Boost Cards

Assault Training – Gain a small amount of health for each defeated enemy.
Marksman – When you defeat an enemy with a headshot, your weapon heat will be reset and your weapon will produce less heat until you overheat next time.
Expert Weapons Handling – Your weapon cooling success states are longer.
Brawler – When you defeat an enemy in melee combat, your abilities refresh and you gain a small amount of health.
Bodyguard – Take reduced damage from explosions and toxins.
Survivalist – Your health regeneration delay is shorter than normal.
Bounty Hunter – You gain Battle Points at an increased rate.
Resourceful – All of your abilities have shorter recharge times.

Assault Ability Cards

Improved Thermal Detonator – An improved version of the Thermal Detonator with a larger blast radius and shorter recharge time.
Acid Launcher – A weapon that fires canisters which administer a powerful acid that deals damage over time.
Smart Ion Grenade – This Ion Grenade automatically detonates near enemy shield and vehicles, dealing heavy damage to them.
Slug Vanguard – An improved version of Vanguard with a single slug for improved accuracy and range.
Recharge Vanguard – An improved version of Vanguard that takes your abilities out of recharge when you defeat an enemy.
Killstreak Vanguard – An improved version of Vanguard that replenishes your active time when you defeat an enemy.
Improved Scan Dart – An Improved Scan Dart that stays active for longer, revealing enemy locations.
Toughen Up – Regenerate your health while this ability is active.
Flash Pistol – A light and versatile sidearm that can fire an alternate projectile that causes a blinding effect on the victim.

Officer Star Cards

Officers are a support-oriented class, with powers to heal and buff allies in the heat of battle. This class is best used when providing consistent support to the heavy-hitting "Assault" and "Heavy" troopers. While Officers have access to supporting equipment, their unique buffing abilities are an outstanding trait of the class.

Officer Boost Cards

Officer's Presence – Reduces the delay before nearby allies' health regeneration begins.
Marksman – When you defeat an enemy with a headshot, your weapon heat will be reset and your weapon will produce less heat until you overheat next time.
Expert Weapons Handling – Your weapon cooling success states are longer.
Brawler – When you defeat an enemy in melee combat, your abilities refresh and you gain a small amount of health.
Bodyguard – Take reduced damage from explosions and toxins.
Survivalist – Your health regeneration delay is shorter than normal.
Bounty Hunter – You gain Battle Points at an increased rate.
Resourceful – All of your abilities have shorter recharge times.

Officer Ability Cards

Improved Flash Grenade – An improved version of the Flash Grenade, with increased blast radius and damage output. RETRIGGER ACTION: Split into fragments.
Homing Shot – A weapon that locks on to enemy soldiers and fires a guided missile to track them down.
Defuser – A device that creates an electrically charged field in a large area around its user for a limited time that automatically defuses any incoming explosives
Blast Command – An improved version of Battle Command that gives unlimited blaster cooling to yourself and nearby allies for a limited time.
Recharge Command – Boost yourself and friendly soldiers in your vicinity by taking your abilities out of recharge and increasing your recharge speed for a limited time.
Improved Battle Command – An improved version of Battle Command that has a shorter recharge time, bigger effective radius, and also buffs yourself.
Improved Blaster Turret – An improved version of the Blaster Turret with increased health and shorter recharge time. RETRIGGER ACTION: Self-destruct.
Squad Shield – A portable energy shield that protects users from blasters and other energy weapons. RETRIGGER ACTION: Undeploy shield.
Disruption – A modified defusion device which creates a burst of ionized energy that overheats enemy weapons, defuses explosives and temporarily disables turrets.

Heavy Star Cards

Heavy troopers wield pure firepower and strength, holding the line against incoming enemy units. Although the heavy weapons at the class's disposal are great for picking off aggressive soldiers, their high fire rates deliver unrivaled suppressive fire. With access to Star Cards created with brute power in mind, the Heavy trooper toolset can repel any incoming attacks.

Heavy Boost Cards

Defender – You gain a small amount of score for each hit you take.
Marksman – When you defeat an enemy with a headshot, your weapon heat will be reset and your weapon will produce less heat until you overheat next time.
Expert Weapons Handling – Your weapon cooling success states are longer.
Brawler – When you defeat an enemy in melee combat, your abilities refresh and you gain a small amount of health.
Bodyguard – Take reduced damage from explosions and toxins.
Survivalist – Your health regeneration delay is shorter than normal.
Bounty Hunter – You gain Battle Points at an increased rate.
Resourceful – All of your abilities have shorter recharge times.

Heavy Ability Cards

Improved Impact Grenade – A more powerful version of the Impact Grenade, featuring a larger blast radius and shorter recharge time.
Ion Torpedo – Weapon that fires a missile that tracks the locked vehicle and deals high damage.
Detonite Charge – A powerful manually detonated explosive device. RETRIGGER ACTION: Detonate
Mobile Sentry – A lightweight version of the Sentry with increased mobility at the cost of damage output. In this version, besides the explosive damage reduction, your health generation starts as you deploy Sentry mode.
Supercharged Sentry – A supercharged version of Sentry with a small explosive blast added to each shot. In this version, besides taking reduced explosive damage, your health regeneration starts as you deploy into Sentry mode.
Explosive Sentry – A heavily modified version of the Sentry weapon, featuring a high explosive fire mode with a slow rate of fire. The increased weight of the weapon makes it impossible to fire on the move.
Improved Combat Shield – An improved version of the Combat Shield featuring additional health and quicker recharge. RETRIGGER ACTION: Undeploy shield.
Barrage – In the Barrage configuration, this MPL (Multi-Purpose Launcher) fires multiple small grenades.

Specialist Star Cards

Specialists take an agile approach to combat, hiding in the shadows and supporting teammates from a distance. While their spotting capabilities exceed any other class, their long-distance weapons can also pick off foes from afar. Specialists also have access to a range of traps to trick the opposition, as shown by their Star Card lineup.

Specialist Boost Cards

Stealth – You remain hidden from enemy scanners when firing your weapon, and you deal increased melee damage.
Marksman – When you defeat an enemy with a headshot, your weapon heat will be reset and your weapon will produce less heat until you overheat next time.
Expert Weapons Handling – Your weapon cooling success states are longer.
Brawler – When you defeat an enemy in melee combat, your abilities refresh and you gain a small amount of health.
Bodyguard – Take reduced damage from explosions and toxins.
Survivalist – Your health regeneration delay is shorter than normal.
Bounty Hunter – You gain Battle Points at an increased rate.
Resourceful – All of your abilities have shorter recharge times.

Specialist Ability Cards

Improved Shock Grenade – An improved Shock Grenade that has a longer duration and radius.
Stinger Pistol – A pistol firing stinger projectiles that deal damage over time, preventing the victims from regenerating health. Deals additional damage to heroes and villains.
Repulsor Cannon – A modified version of the CA-87 weapon that fires a powerful short-range shockwave, capable of knocking enemies off their feet.
Hardened Infiltration – An improved version of Infiltration where you gain incoming damage reduction to increase your survivability on the battlefront.
Scramble Infiltration – An improved version of Infiltration that marks enemies for your allies and scrambles all enemy scanners in range.
Killstreak Infiltration – An improved version of Infiltration that replenishes your active time when you defeat an enemy.
Improved Thermal Binoculars – An improved version of the Thermal Binoculars that allows you to tag enemies and relay their locations to your teammates.
Personal Shield – Creates a shield bubble surround you and blocking damage from all direction. You cannot fire your weapon while the shield is active.
Trip Mine – A mine with laser tripwire. Detonates when an enemy soldier crosses the tripwire.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 is set to release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on November 17, 2017.