Overview
This guide is focused on one of the efficient ways to finish the Galactic Conquest mode in Star Wars: Battlefront II while having fun. While perhaps not “The” most efficient method there is, this one was fun for me.Version: 2013-02-13Todo: More screenshots, tips for specific planets, better organization…ETA: Soon™
Basics
In the Galactic Conquest mode for Star Wars: Battlefront II, your goal is to capture all of the available planets in the “galaxy far, far away”, playing as one of the four factions (CIS, Republic, Empire, Rebels). The gameplay is separated into two parts: strategical overview of the galaxy, where you buy bonuses, enlist new unit types and command the movement of fleets, and the tactical part, which can either be a land or air battle.
Strategy
The first screen you see when you hop into a new Conquest game looks something like this:
Many will be tempted to just press “Move” here and attack the first planet, but I suggest moving onto the “Bonus” tab at the top instead.
There are several bonuses to choose from here, but arguably the most efficient one is the “Bonus reinforcements”, represented by two Clone troopers. That bonus offers additional troops should you run low on them. I usually have two of the “Bonus reinforcements” ready at all times because there is always the possibility that you will be attacked by an AI without having it ready, and run out of troops. If you like to have fun playing as some of the available heroes, you will also want to save some credits for the “Hero” bonus, represented by a lightsaber. Otherwise, save for a backup fleet or a new unit type.
Personally I don’t like being attacked by AI on Hoth as Rebels or Endor as the Empire. Since you won’t be attacked on ground if you have a fleet in orbit, buying a fleet and leaving it on planets you don’t like the ground mode of can make your life that much easier. Therefore, the first thing I am saving credits for is a backup fleet built on one of these worlds, for the sole purpose of staying stationary and avoiding the ground battles.
To do this, first choose “Deselect” button on the “Move” tab, select a planet you own with no fleet in its orbit, and then press “Build”.
The order in which you buy new unit types depends on your playstyle. All of the battles can be won with regular soldiers, but it is more fun to try a different class, such as a sniper or an engineer, or boost your troops with an “officer”-type unit.
Tactics
In ground battles, your goal is to capture all control points or wither away the AI’s reinforcements. Both of these are fun, but capturing all control points may prove more challenging in some cases. “Bonus reinforcements” is handy in both cases, but more so if you decide to drain the opponent’s reinforcements, in other words, kill them faster than they kill you and your comrades.
Of course, with a fresh account, battles may prove more of a challenge, because you don’t have all the nifty bonuses such as health regen or award blasters. When you achieve certain number of points in the respective area of the statistics page, you automatically unlock those bonuses for all subsequent sessions, and they help immensely.
Heroes are extremely fun in ground battles, but some more than others. I found Jedi and Sith to be the most effective (which is expected), minus the Darth Vader (which is less expected), who has poor mobility, and the Emperor, whose AoE attack didn’t strike me as efficient enough compared to other Jedi’s attacks. Saber Throw is the name of the game here. That attack does a decent amount of damage, striking all opponents in a wide line away from you, and then also on the way back.
Like many players, I also felt helpless when first thrown into a space battle in Battlefront II. You need to develop a certain feel for driving the air vehicles, and the adjusting may include reversing the controls for air vehicles in the options. You also need to pay attention on the energy meter, because you can only dodge attacks and escape enemy crafts when it is not empty.
Your goal here is a little different than the ground mode. You need to destroy critical points on the enemy capital ship, and to do that you can either infiltrate it with a squad of troops, or surgically bomb those critical points, Luke Skywalker style, with a bomber.
First, you want to destroy their frigates, as that will significantly cut their reinforcements. There will be either one or two of them, and those are the stationary middle-sized ships flying next to the opponent’s capital ship. Avoid enemy fighters and stay away from the frigates. Dive in, bomb it, get back up above it.
When those are destroyed, you need to get rid of the shields on the enemy ship, and for some reason it is faster if you attack critical points on a ship through the shields.
Finally, you destroy the control points themselves. Do all of that before the AI destroys your capital ship’s critical points and you win.
This method can prove to be more advanced, depending on your playstyle. You need to drive a transport craft into the loading bay of the enemy capital ship without it being shot down by their defenses or fighters.
When you are on the enemy ship, head for the main room, shooting down enemy pilots that get in your way. Once there, eliminate the turrets and head to the shield generator room. After destroying the shield generator, destroy the life support systems and the engines in other rooms. When you have destroyed all control points in this way, proceed to kill more pilots until victory.