Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes Guide

Like an arcade with a bit too much electricity pumping through it, there are so many flashing lights and buttons calling for your attention within Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, that knowing what you need to do and why outside of the battles themselves is especially difficult. Both the upgrade process (there are multiple systems measuring your fighter’s abilities, not including his or her gear) and the methods behind unlocking new characters are so diverse that it’s hard to know just what is going on much of the time: for a game that puts character management supposedly at the heart of its proposition, it’s especially hard to manage anything at all when stumbling around in the mire of this set up. This is a fault that is by no means limited to Galaxy of Heroes – EA’s take on free-to-play has, in the past, been accused of being both too greedy and more recently too generous, but what it always manages to be is overly complex in its delivery. It’s impossible to know whether this is simply bad UI on EA’s part, or whether the publisher is actively trying to confuse players in order to coax them into spending money, flooding them with free upgrades and trinkets early on – almost at every single stage – so they get hooked on them and can’t play without them. There’s something especially comical about seeing Stormtroopers and Sith alike simply standing motionless, waiting for you to take them out, especially when compared to the CGI orgasm that was splashed all over the most recent movies.

What’s more, there’s nothing concrete linking the battles together beyond any vague feelings of loyalty to the Star Wars brand. If you want a more consummate introduction to the world of turn-based RPG battlers, then the App Store is full of them. What it arguably remains devoid of, however, is a decent Star Wars tie-in, and EA’s Galaxy of Heroes regrettably isn’t the game to change that. You will be given experience pods where you will have to decide, between battles, which units will get priority in leveling. Another way to improve your character is to complete the collection of shards even after you already unlock the unit. Not only does this increase the unit’s rarity, but also significantly increases the unit’s overall stats.You can strategize on which characters complement each other most, then make your custom teams more powerful with new gear and loot you win from battles, on all the planets and epic locations that you love, anytime, anywhere. You get all of these characters by collecting data cards which you can purchase with in-game currency, collect for free by simply checking into the game throughout the day, or by using in-app purchases. Each data card contains a randomly generated item, so you might get a playable character in one, shards used towards earning a character in another, or an item to equip a character with. The character selection is pretty impressive, featuring characters from the two trilogies, as well as the Clone Wars television series, characters from the upcoming trilogy, and more.

You can also improve your unit’s stats by equipping them with accessories and weapons. Galaxy of Heroes also includes an equipment tiering system in character development by doing so. As you fill all the equipment slots, you can then upgrade to a higher tier (and color) set of equipment. This way, you can also unlock new skills both passive and active as you go along. You can strategize on which characters complement each other most, then make your custom teams more powerful with new gear and loot you win from battles, on all the planets and epic locations that you love, anytime, anywhere.Typical to a lot of unit-based games available, you will be able to level up your crew overtime, improving the stats of your characters and increasing their passive and active skills. However, unlike the recent trend in mobile titles where you can just upgrade unit level by consistently use them, your units won’t earn experience as you finish a stage.

Galaxy of Heroes uses the active battle time system where each character has its own timer to determine if it’s their time to attack. You have a max cap of five units for your team. You have access to a targeting system, and, depending on the hero and their level, to the various attack types they can do. The single player PvE system consists of segregating your roster to light or dark side battles. As I mentioned earlier, you will be facing against units from either the light side (if you are going through the dark side battles) or from the dark side (if you are going through the light side battles).The stages differ depending on the battle you choose from. But expect imperial bases like, Death Star, Endor and the like as your maps for dark side battles. On the other hand light side battles are rebel themed areas like the base in Hoth and Tatooine. Players unlock characters which act like game pieces that each have their own special abilities, and all of which can be upgraded to utilize increased offensive and defensive capabilities. Every character starts with one special ability and a basic attack, and Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes wisely keeps characters’ special abilities relevant to the character using them. In my experience, players can have Chewbacca roar to taunt enemies to focus fire on him (he’s tanky so it’s okay), a Jawa can deal a little bit of damage to all enemy characters at once with a bonus chance to disable robotic enemies, and Mace Windu can dish out a strong lightsaber attack that can remove buffs from a particular enemy character.

Fan favorites like, Vader, Boba Fett, Chewie, Leia, and Obi-Wan are included, and there are a bunch of lesser-known Star Wars characters I thought it was cool that they included like Old Daka, Savage Opress, Barriss Offee, and Eeth Koth. Oddly missing though are Padme, General Grievous, and Yoda. Yoda is even featured in the logo art (see the trailer below), yet isn’t available in the roster. The stages differ depending on the battle you choose from. But expect imperial bases like, Death Star, Endor and the like as your maps for dark side battles. On the other hand light side battles are rebel themed areas like the base in Hoth and Tatooine. There is no central narrative or story for the game. The UI is presented as stations in a cantina, thus the battles you engage in are essentially games within the game. The characters do not have personalities or dialog, they are simply a collection of stats and abilities along with an avatar. Some characters have multiple versions.I like tactical and strategic gameplay and the JRPG combat system and setting attracted me enough to try this game out. I’ve played a few progress oriented games now and my issue with most, this one included, is the central leveling mechanics means only rarely are you placed in challenges where skill is the primary factor in determining a win. Typically you are either wholly dominating your enemy, or being hopelessly crushed. Only on the rare occasions, you are perfectly matched with a challenge can you feel like the choices you make in combat are meaningful to the outcome.