A flurry of lasers. The scream of a TIE Fighter. The obscure sound of weekend plans being cancelled across the nation. Star Wars: Battlefront has finally arrived.
To ensure you're more effective than a hapless Stormtroopers, we spoke to YouTuber gamer JackFrags for his essential tips on dominating DICE's new multiplayer shooter in a galaxy far, far away.
Don't get cocky.
You can follow JackFrags on Twitter: @jackfrags and YouTube: youtube.com/jackfrags
Keep mobile
One of the biggest tips I could give for Battlefront is to always be on the move and to stay alert. If you're moving around the level a lot, you're a harder target to hit and also to keep track of.
Stay alert
Pay attention to your scanner in the bottom left hand corner... It will alert you to the direction and location of enemy units that are sprinting or firing their weapons. This is vital information and will help you prepare for a fight!
Use the Force...
When playing as the Jedi heroes Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader don't forget that you can block with your lightsabre. Hold right click on PC or left trigger on your console and you will deflect most of the blaster shots coming your way... Be careful though because it has a recharge and won't last forever.
Don't leave your man behind
If you are playing with a partner or in a party try and stick together as much as possible. Strength in numbers people! Also, don't forget that you can use your partner to spawn on to get right back into the action!
Keep a card up your sleeve
Before you go into any match, make sure you have two hands of cards available that offer you a versatile playstyle. I normally roll with one hand for anti infantry, and one for anti vehicle. The last thing you want is to come up against an AT-ST and have no weapons to deal with it.
Go (Han) Solo
The single player missions and survival modes are a fantastic way to learn how to play the game. See if you can complete them all with three stars before you hop into multiplayer and you'll have a big head start on the competition.
Play the field
If the Emperor or Princess Leia are on the Battlefront, you may be lucky and get a chance to spawn in next to them as a powerful support unit. The Emperor has the Shock Troopers and Leia has the Honour Guard. They have more health and extra weapons at their disposable, very cool indeed.
There's no I in team
When playing as a Rebel on Walker Assault, it is important that you play the objective and attempt to arm as many uplink stations as possible. The more you have, the more Y-Wing bombers will be called in to hit the AT-AT, giving you more time to damage it before its shield recharges.
Don't play chicken
The AT-ST is a very powerful Imperial Unit that can destroy the rebels with a powerful grenade launcher barrage. However, don't get complacent and stride into battle without any assistance - you'll be quickly outnumbered by rebels.
Also, watch your rear; there's a weak spot there where you take more damage so always try and face the enemy to minimise their attacks on you.
Here's looking at you
Always remember that you have the option to switch to third person view. On PC you can press C to do this and on console, hold down on the D-Pad.
Third person view offers several advantages over first person; you have a wider field of view, can see around some corners and generally have a better sense of awareness. Try it out and I guarantee your gameplay will improve!
