Hone Your Piloting Skills in Starfighter Custom Arcade

Attention, aspiring pilots of the galaxy! Starfighter Custom Arcade is now operational as part of the Han Solo Season. “Sounds cool, but what exactly is it?” you might ask. It’s a grand opportunity for up-and-coming space aces in Star Wars™ Battlefront™ II to hone their skills against enemy starfighter AI.

Because if there’s one thing legendary pilots in the Star Wars™ universe have in common – whether it’s Luke Skywalker spinning the heads of enemy pilots while blasting their TIE fighters to bits, or Boba Fett making some of the most well-renowned heroes of the galaxy shatter with his alluring tactics – it’s that their mastery didn’t come without practice.

This is why we’ve put together a five-step beginner’s guide to piloting in Starfighter Custom Arcade, to help players raise the bar, improve their high-flying dexterity, and keep experimenting with the mode.

So, let’s jump into this hot-off-the-presses mode:

Step One: Readying for Take-Off

To get started, navigate the Main Menu through PLAY, ARCADE, and then CUSTOM ARCADE. Choose STARFIGHTER ONSLAUGHT as the GAME MODE and pick a LOCATION of your own choice.

With that taken care of, let’s have a look at the game modifiers. There’s a lot of fun to be had here, but if this is your Starfighter Custom Arcade on-boarding session, consider the below as a good starting point:

• Set START TIME to 10:00
• Adjust ELIMINATIONS REQUIRED to 25
• Switch PLAY AS to FREE FOR ALL
• Bring ENEMY DIFFICULTY to ROOKIE
• Pick LOW for ONSLAUGHT INTENSITY
• Put ELIMINATION BONUS to 5 SECONDS
• LAST STAND should be left as OFF
• Crank the ABILITY RECHARGE up to FAST.

Given that PLAY AS is set to FREE FOR ALL, you’re free to choose from the more powerful Hero Starfighters at the get-go without having to spend battle points. In that way, you allow yourself to adjust the difficulty mid-game.

Now, go ahead and give it a spin. We’ll meet on the other side.

Step Two: Flying Casual

Smooth sailing, wasn’t it? Don’t get cocky though – the enemy have alerted reinforcements and won’t go so soft on you in the next round. Change ONSLAUGHT INTENSITY to MEDIUM and ABILITY RECHARGE to DEFAULT. This means more enemies, and more time for your starfighter’s special capabilities to recharge. As for the rest of the game modifiers, keep them the same as in step one for now.

And hey, don’t forget to explore different locations and factions to mix it up!

Step Three: Spreading Your Wings

Still a breeze? Well, ready yourself to get heated. Start from what you’ve already set up in step two, but bump ELIMINATIONS REQUIRED up to 50, set PLAY AS to DEFAULT, and ENEMY DIFFICULTY to NORMAL. This way you’ll need to stack up those eliminations at a faster pace to not run out of time, earn battle points to play as Hero Starfighters, and be more aware of your surroundings as the AI will be more skilled.

Come back in one piece, will you?

Step Four: Getting Serious

So you’ve made it this far. Most impressive. For the next round, keep most of the game modifiers from step three intact, but crank ENEMY DIFFICULTY up to EXPERT and ELIMINATIONS to 75.

Now, trust your instincts.

Step Five: Finding Your Place Among the Stars

We aren’t telling you the odds on this one.

We’re telling you this though: just like a true legendary flyer, you might be able to turn the tide of battle by yourself after passing this trial. From step four, increase ELIMINATIONS REQUIRED to 100, set ONSLAUGHT INTENSITY to EXTREME, and ABILITY RECHARGE to SLOW.

Good luck, pilot. You’ll need it.

What’s Next?

Congratulations! By completing the five-step beginner’s guide to Starfighter Custom Arcade, you’ve readied yourself to take on even bigger adventures from the cockpit.

Keep experimenting with the game modifiers in Starfighter Custom Arcade. Jump online and go head-to-head against other pilots around the world in Starfighter Assault, or lead your team to victory from the skies in Galactic Assault.

The sky is certainly not the limit here.

–Daniel Steinholtz (Follow Daniel on Twitter @dsteinholtz)

For more on Star Wars Battlefront II, watch this space and keep your eyes on EA Star Wars™ on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram or join the discussion on the official forums.