Welcome back to my series “Battlefront II Revisited”. When Star Wars Battlefront II was released in November 2017, a large part of my excitement was directed towards the inclusion of a single player story mode, which would be telling a new story in the canon and following a new set of characters: Inferno Squad. Having completed the story mode rather quickly, I have only really played the game in patches since as online multiplayer shooters are not really my thing, but all the recent improvements and new content have had me playing a bit more recently and I decided it would be fun to return to the story mode and give my thoughts on each level. Today looks at the 12th mission Until Ashes
Please be aware there will be spoilers for the story
Previous missions:
- The Cleaner
- The Battle of Endor
- The Dauntless
- The Observatory
- The Storm
- Outcasts
- Royalty
- General Distress
- Under Covered Skies
- Cache Grab
- The Battle of Jakku
Following on directly from the end of the last mission, as we approach the Corvus, we enter a cutscene where we see the Corvus coming under fire as a Star Destroyer approaches – Admiral Versio’s ship, the Eviscerator. As we approach, bombers fly out of the Eviscerator‘s hangar and go towards the Corvus, leading to our first objective: taking out all the bombers to protect the Corvus. There will be 3 waves to deal with, but they are in manageable numbers and are pretty easy for us to take out.
“What was that?”
“Your father. He’s found us.”
A 4th wave emerges but as Del notes, this one is different: they are targeting Iden rather than the Corvus and have a TIE Interceptor with them. As the fighter gets close, they make contact with us and it’s no real surprise to find that it’s Hask piloting it. We enter into a dogfight with him, which is easily the hardest dogfight to this point, as he uses his Concussion Missiles and flies smarter than regular pilots. However, he is still just an AI so there are opportunities to lock on with our Proton Torpedoes or get behind him and hit him with the Weapon Overcharge.
Eventually, we take Hask down and Iden makes a big decision with a New Republic victory looking likely. She orders Del to retreat in the Corvus while she flies on alone to the Eviscerator, feeling that she needs to get her father. As Iden approaches the Star Destroyer, the turbolasers shoot her down, but she and the ID-10 are both able to jump out just in time to stay on top of the hull. At this point we take back control and begin to make our way over the top of the hull. Del keeps trying to convince us to change our mind, so we order the ID-10 to shut off communications. As we make our way over the hull, we will be attacked by groups of stormtroopers, including some Imperial Rocket Troopers. This can be a little overwhelming, but if you position yourself well, it’s possible to limit where they come from, making it easier to snipe them from cover.
“Go. Survive. Live.”
Eventually, we find our way to a hole in the hull and make our way inside. The Star Destroyer is in a bad state and Imperials all ignore us as we make our way through the corridors to the bridge, where we find our father. Admiral Versio is looking out at the Empire’s defeat, and we hear him name-check Gallius Rax (from the Aftermath Trilogy). A New Republic frigate crashes into the Eviscerator and it is clear that the ship is going down. Iden tries to get her father to come with her. He refuses, but convinces her to leave without him and live her life. We control Iden as we rush through the corridors to the nearest escape pods as everything is exploding around us. We get the ID-10 to re-establish communications with Del, but can’t get through to him. Finally, we make it into a single-person escape pod and launch just in time, crashing into the sands of Jakku.
Del finds the pod and opens it, releasing Iden. He tells them that they have won and the pair finally kiss, eventually being interrupted by Shriv, who the ID-10 has brought over to them. The group make their way to the top of a nearby dune and look out over the battleground, victorious.
Thanks for reading. May the Force be with you…
The Canon Padawan 