DICE has discussed Star Wars Battlefront's hero system, and the developer has confirmed to Official Xbox Magazine that the mode will be unlocked using power-ups.
If you want to crush a few rebels as Boba Fett or Darth Vadar you'll get to choose when you discover the hero power-up.
“It has variations to it that depend on game modes and so on. But you can get it through a power-up system… when you find the hero power-up, that is when you can make your choice,” design director Niklas Fegraeus explained.
While you're a hero, you're not invincible and DICE has been careful to make sure players won't be too powerful. "You basically have one life to use all that power, you get to try to turn the tide and win for your team and become a beacon of hope for everyone," Fegraeus continued.
Executive producer Patrick Bach discussed the difficulty in getting the balance right, "it’s up to us to find the balance. [They] need to be super-powerful, but not overwhelming. That’s the Holy Grail of making fun games – how do you balance things out?"
Star Wars Battlefront will be released on November 17th for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.