Star Wars: Squadrons progression details include seasons, cosmetic unlocks, and no cash shop

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Fly for Glory

(Image credit: EA)

Star Wars: Squadrons will keep you flying with Daily Challenges, long-term competitive seasons, and a bunch of cosmetic rewards to unlock.

EA has made it clear from the start that Star Wars: Squadrons will feature no microtransactions or paid DLC, and what's in the game at launch is meant to be the majority of the experience. That doesn't mean it will be one-and-done; a new post on the game's official site lays out the details for how you'll progress and the stuff you'll unlock.

The two fundamental systems that will keep you playing - aside from enjoyment of the fly-and-shoot parts, hopefully - are Experience and Glory. Experience is earned from just about any kind of online play, and if you reach level 40 you'll have accrued enough in-game currency to unlock every gameplay-altering ship component.

Glory is spent on cosmetic unlocks like new paint jobs or a dangling stormtrooper helmet. You'll earn some based on your performance in each match, but the fastest way to bask in Glory is by completing Daily Challenges and Operation Challenges. Both provide rotating objectives that will encourage you to vary your playstyle and which ships you use, and the latter provide longer-term goals to match Squadrons' eight-week competitive seasons.

On top of unlocking cosmetic items with Glory, you'll also be able to earn them directly by completing the single-player campaign, doing the tutorial for the competitive Fleet Battles mode, and by finishing certain Challenges.

It feels like it's been a hot minute since a big multiplayer game didn't enter and exit through the cash shop. I'm eager to see how Star Wars: Squadrons' approach fares once it launches on October 2.

If you pick up Star Wars: Squadrons on the Epic Game Store, you'll also get an X-wing glider to use in Fortnite. 

Connor Sheridan
Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and was formerly a staff writer at GamesRadar.