Do review copies of Star Wars Battlefront II receive special crates with better items?
In their review of the 2017 Star Wars: Battlefront II, Ars Technica noted that their review copy came with special crates with remarkably good items.
A few days later, I was greeted with this surprise collection of unlocks, as my review copy apparently came with a bunch of loot boxes [crates]. And these loot boxes were waaaay better than any I'd bought with credits.
This seems a bit suspicious to me, and I’m wondering if maybe EA is giving reviewers more powerful stuff in the hopes they will write a more positive review. Do review copies of Star Wars Battlefront II receive special crates with better items that normal copies of the game don’t receive? Or do all copies of the game receive these improved crates after playing for some time?
Solution 1:
All of these items were available under specific conditions available to all players.
Looking at the screenshots in the article you posted, those "special crates" that Ars Technica received in their review copy are simply the crate you receive from playing the Beta (Founder's crate), plus crates that contain the Pre-Order bonus Epic star cards from the Star Wars Battlefront II Elite Trooper Deluxe Edition.
These are (See on EA here):
- Exclusive The Last Jedi Theme Look for Kylo Ren
- Exclusive The Last Jedi Theme Look for Rey
- 2 Epic Ability Modifiers for Kylo Ren
- 2 Epic Ability Modifiers for Rey
- Millennium Falcon Epic Ability Modifier
- First Order Ship Epic Ability Modifier
- Officer Upgrade Pack
- Heavy Upgrade Pack
- Assault Upgrade Pack
- Specialist Upgrade Pack
The Epic Lightsaber Mastery Star Card for Yoda was an additional advertised Pre-Order bonus if you pre-ordered the game before a certain date.
Here's the info from EA:
Even better? Any fans who pre-order the game (or have already pre-ordered it) will be able to start playing the multiplayer Beta early*. In addition, anyone who pre-orders will get instant access to an upgraded Epic Lightsaber Mastery Star Card for Yoda, available while supplies last*.
Players who pre-order will also receive exclusive Star Wars™: The Last Jedi™ content
(the content posted above)
This content will be available for everyone who pre-orders, no matter which version you plan on playing. Additionally, pre-orders of the Star Wars Battlefront II: Elite Trooper Deluxe Edition Deluxe Edition come with three-day early access to Star Wars Battlefront II and upgraded versions of all four trooper classes.
These upgraded classes are, in fact, weapon unlocks and epic star cards, shown in those Upgrade Pack crates.
To actually address your question about the crates Ars Technica received
The crates shown by Ars Technica are:
- Light Side Pre-Order crate (Rey content, Millenium Falcon content, Yoda content)
- Kyle Ren Pre-Order crate (Kylo Ren content, "First Order Ship" content)
- Armored Assault Upgrade Pack Crate (Assault Upgrade Pack: 1 Weapon, 1 Mod, 1 Epic card)
- Heavy Metal Upgrade Pack Crate (Heavy Upgrade Pack: 1 Weapon, 1 Mod, 1 Epic card)
- Master Specialist Upgrade Pack Crate (Specialist Upgrade Pack: 1 Weapon, 1 Mod, 1 Epic card)
- Elite Officer Upgrade (Officer Upgrade Pack: 1 Weapon, 1 Mod, 1 Epic card)
Review copies or codes are typically sent to journalists by the publisher or studio, so it seems to be the case that EA unlocked those bonuses for the review copy regardless of the fact that Ars Technica may not have a) played the beta or especially b) pre-ordered the game.