Arguably the most memorable part about the Star Wars Battlefront series is how both the older 2000s games and DICE’s modern adaptations have created iconic maps for players to fight on in massive conflicts. With rumors pointing toward DICE and Respawn Entertainment working together to make Star Wars Battlefront 3, one question in players’ minds is what planets from the legendary sci-fi franchise will return, and how will they be re-imagined for a new title. Considering the Battlefront series’ history, some returning favorites and never-before-seen worlds could be part of fresh intergalactic warzones.
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The involvement of Respawn in Star Wars Battlefront 3 came as a surprise to some players, even though the studio is part of the same umbrella as DICE under Electronic Arts (EA) to make licensed Star Wars games. The Star Wars Jedi action RPG series Respawn has made include many action-adventure elements, where players can explore large settings on unique planets, not all of which are even from the movies. That alone gives Respawn enough credit to work alongside DICE to re-create several known Star Wars locations for Battlefront 3, including some that the large-scale shooter franchise hasn’t seen in decades.
5. Geonosis
One of the biggest updates to DICE’s Star Wars Battlefront 2 was called “The Battle of Geonosis,” giving you a clue as to how important this location is to fans of the franchise. The original Battlefront games used Geonosis as the quintessential battleground representing the prequel era of Star Wars, where the Clone Wars began between the Republic and Separatists. Droids and clones fight in often rocky, ridged environments here, in clouds of orange smoke that represent a hostile battlefield more than almost any other setting in Star Wars.
The Trippa Hive map in DICE’s Star Wars Battlefront 2 added characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi and General Grievous, two fan-favorites to the game series from the older titles. These two characters may be included by default in Battlefront 3‘s hero roster, but Geonosis itself has the same fan-favorite status as the characters that came with it. Whether you remember the huge AT-RT tank at the Republic’s disposal in the 2005 game or the cramped corners of orange stone from the 2017 reboot, Geonosis’ strange insect-like creatures and importance in the history of Star Wars makes it an easy map to bring back.
4. Death Star
The first of DICE’s Star Wars Battlefront games was criticized in a number of ways, but its Death Star update late in its life cycle alleviated a lot of fans’ fears about the new studio moving the franchise forward. One of the DICE series’ biggest strengths is how it has woven space battles and grounded conflicts together, with Star Wars Squadrons being a spin-off largely inspired by the new Battlefront‘s space combat gameplay. As such, the iconic trench run from the first Star Wars movie could make a return in Battlefront 3, with refined spacecraft gameplay to make it more exciting than ever.
Either Death Star from Star Wars‘ fourth or sixth episodes of the original trilogy could also come back as more traditional battle maps for Battlefront 3. The first Death Star from 2005’s Battlefront 2 was notorious for its cramped hallways with lasers flying in every direction, with hidden shortcuts like the trash compactor below broken grates. A large hanger space opened up that map in some places, but it was most known for the reactor room, a huge space with narrow walkways players could easily fall off. Navigating explosives by platforming between reactor pylons was always the most exciting part of any Death Star map encounter.
The unorthodox structure of the Death Star could make it the perfect “indoor” map of Battlefront 3, with more restrictions to mobility than other “outdoor” environments allow. Having an almost claustrophobic map is essential to the variety of Star Wars Battlefront, with the Death Star being well suited for the game due to its importance in the first movie trilogy. The dark black and white construction of the Death Star’s interior mixes with sinister green lighting as it powers up and fires, and with new context to the structure’s creation with Star Wars Rogue One and Andor since Battlefront 2 released, a map for the location could be more inspired than ever.
3. Kashyyyk
One unfortunate misstep of Star Wars Battlefront 2 (besides its terrible monetization at launch) was how it handled Kashyyyk, the notable home world of the Wookie species in Star Wars. This area was only seen briefly in Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, but it easily made itself known by being a tropical jungle where the battle between the CIS and Republic took place in overgrown forests and watery beaches. Almost like the Star Wars version of storming Normandy in other shooters, DICE didn’t really have a unique take on Kasyyyk initially, but this could easily change with another attempt at the planet in Battlefront 3.
DICE should take lessons from the original Kashyyyk Docks map from 2005’s Battlefront 2, which is a personal favorite of mine and many players who remember that game fondly. That map had all the elements that made Kashyyyk special, such as the inclusion of the watery beaches for players to wade through in large, open battles. Invaders on the side of the Separatists got an arsenal of special tanks that were hardly used on any other map in the game, with the Republic getting similar vehicles to help their side. Hijacking another faction’s garage of vehicles was part of the fun of this map, as you could hide in the water trying to do so.
Large sniper posts around the map also made it interesting, but perhaps the best part of Kashyyyk in the older Battlefront games was how it was made to feel like a siege. The Republic had one of their command posts behind a huge wall, which itself was a secondary last line of defense behind a series of wooden logs and barricades the droids had to punch through. This was an early iteration of match progression in the warfare of the Battlefront games, a feature that DICE has refined with its match types over the years. As such, returning to Kashyyyk’s original design could fit with what DICE has learned since Battlefront 2‘s launch.
2. Hoth
There is no Star Wars Battlefront series without a Hoth map, plain and simple. Not only is Hoth the location of the greatest war sequence from the Star Wars series, but it is the template used to judge all other maps in the Battlefront games as a whole. A Battlefront game with a bad Hoth map might as well be something to throw into the Sarlacc pit, as it has everything you’d want in a large-scale sandbox with two Star Wars factions fighting each other. Here are just a few of the reasons why Hoth is so iconic to the Battlefront series old and new:
- Merging of ground and air battles, with Rebellion Snowspeeders vs Empire AT-AT vehicles
- Trench warfare in icy snow for claustrophobic encounters with enemies
- Large open fields of snow for classic sandbox battle gameplay
- Hoth map is usually the largest in any Battlefront game, no matter which one
- Secret locations like Rebel vehicle hangers or tunnel systems
- Tundra hills and bases carved into the snow for sniper locations
- Scattered array of huge defense turrets to combat AT-AT super vehicles
Older iterations of Hoth have basically included everything from the world’s depiction in The Empire Strikes Back, like Snowspeeders being able to destroy AT-AT vehicles by wrapping cords around their legs. Tauntaun creatures acting as mounts have also appeared, as well as players on the Empire faction being able to destroy the Rebel shield generator for extra points during a match. There are so many layers to a good Hoth map, with hidden objectives to turn the tide besides just mindless eliminating every foe you see. That philosophy is what builds a good Star Wars Battlefront map, so Hoth should appear again soon.
1. Mustafar
The one map from the original Battlefront games that DICE has not made is Mustafar, the lava planet where Obi-Wan and Anakin had their deadly battle in Revenge of the Sith. This world of fire and brimstone has always represented the climax of the prequel era, featuring arguably the most important battle of that trilogy. When adopted for Star Wars Battlefront 2 in 2005, developers did not disappoint, creating a map that was just as lethal as the battle between two Jedi. This secret rendezvous of Separatist leaders is full of exploitable traps, shortcuts, and choke points that made it one of the best places to wage war in the original Battlefront games.
No matter what factions were being played on Mustafar, players can remember the delicate walkways near one of the map’s most crucial battlegrounds, where enemy command posts were practically next to each other. Players on one side could lower the walkways into lava, instantly killing one faction’s troops if they weren’t careful. However, that other faction could use separate paths from that post to flank around enemies to their post from behind, meaning that the first faction needed to guard narrow hallways too. This constant back-and-forth was present on the rest of the map too, with a combination of large open rooms and hardly any space outside to reach them.
DICE doesn’t have to make a Mustafar map exactly like the one that came before, but any interpretation of the lava planet is so distinct from what Star Wars usually offers. Much like the planet of Scarif from Star Wars Rogue One was an independent aesthetic through its wetlands and beaches, Mustafar’s almost hellish environment is instantly one players will want to battle in. Star Wars Battlefront 3 could be a triumphant third entry in DICE’s sandbox series, so going the extra mile to include such a different map like Mustafar could help solidify that game as the best one in the franchise yet.
What planet or map from Star Wars Battlefront‘s past do you want to see in a new game? Let us know in the comments below!
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