How To Report Players in Star Wars Battlefront 2 ...(Or Any EA Games) [Tutorial via Screenshots, Short and Long Versions]

Recently, I've been seeing a lot of people asking how to report players in the Official Star Wars Battlefront II Forums (via Electronic Arts). To summarize, for those who may not know, there is an issue with players in the newly-released game, "exploiting" how the in-game currency is given out. It seems that many players realized that they could end up with 'Credits' at the end of a match/round, by not doing anything at all and/or jumping in one spot (known as "AFK'ing", which comes from the acronym 'Away From Keyboard'). Deeming these actions unfair and having a negative effect on the game experience of other players, many having been wanting to know how to 'report' these people who are doing this, to EA Game Administrators.


In response to seeing this asked so much [not just in EA Forums], I wanted to make a 'Quick Tip style' post on how to do just that. There was mention of a system in-game (ie. within SWBF2 itself), where you can click on a players' name in the Scoreboard - but I have not been able to get this working, personally - therefore, I wanted to share a more 'universal' way of reporting players that may be going against the conduct/terms of [any EA] games.

As a Reminder, a Community Manager recently re-posted information about Rules in SWBF2 on the Star Wars Battlefront II Forum:  

The steps to Report A Player (In Any EA Game) will be presented in two versions, Short and Long:

Short Version:

1. Search for the player's name in the Origin Client or at the Origin Website.
2. Click on the arrow next to Send Friend Request and submit a Report 
3. Don't forget to mention the reason for the Report and include Evidence if possible

• Xbox Live: Find the player name in the Recent Players list, click File Complaint, then Cheating, then Submit.
• PlayStation Network: Use the PlayStation Network's "Report Inappropriate Content" form

Long Version:

For any EA game at all, if you wish to report a player for doing something negative in a game (Cheating, Hacking, not contributing at all to the game (aka. "going AFK"), making RealLife™ threats, etc): you can go to the Search for Players, via the Origin Website [Note: These steps look the same in the Origin Client as well]. The area to Search for other Players looks like this, below:

In the Search Field (where you type, usually indicated with a Magnifying Glass), simply type the players' name or portion of it and hit ENTER (or click on the Magnifying Glass) to begin a Search for the name/ID. Soon, a set of results should come up for the player(s) found. An example of what a Result looks like, is below:

Clicking on the player will open up their Player Profile, which shows their Avatar (image they chose) and some information about them (Achievements and other Details may possibly be Hidden by the Player). Next to the large orange button in the upper-right corner/area, there should be a small circle with a downward-facing chevron in it (looking like a "<"). Where this is located and how it looks can be seen, below:

Clicking on the small icon will open a pull-down menu with the choice "Report User" within it. What this small menu looks like, when opened, can be seen below:

Some details should be filled in, such as what exactly happened and when; to assist EA Administrators in isolating/tracking the occurrence. Give as much information as you can. Include any Links to Videos or Media that you can, even if it is just a Screenshot. The fields to fill in, can be seen below:

Even a Screenshot alone, will give a lot of weight to the complaint you are submitting. Without it, it is more work for EA Admins to track down what happened and what occurred and the overall process will take much longer. It really helps if you can submit anything at all to assist with your case.

If you are unsure of how to share Links to your media you'd like to share... Here is a small list of a few places you can Upload your Screenshots (copying the Link/Address/URL to the image, to paste into the Report):

https://imgur.com/
http://tinypic.com/
https://imgbb.com/
http://www.imagebam.com/
https://prntscr.com/gallery.html (requires free account to upload images to share)

[Note that the above list is not a complete list, there are many places that allow you to Upload your images, to share/link to others]

Lastly, you can also Report Cheaters/Hackers/etc through Customer Support service via the EA main website:

https://help.ea.com/en/contact-us/?product=star-wars-battlefront-ii&category=game-information

[Note that the above Link will forward you to the Contact Page for EA related to Star Wars Battlefront 2 - but the reference can be easily changed, if you are Reporting a Player from a different game (simply click on "Change Game")]


Although the stimulus for this posting was originally 'Reporting AFK Players in Star Wars Battlefront II' - the steps above can be followed to Report a Player for any EA game. I hope this helps make things easier for others to help 'clean up the community'!



Update - 2017.12.14:

In the latest Patch for SWBFII  (Patch 1.0, Dec.13/17) there is a line in the Patch Notes that states:

• " Made improvements to the idle-kick logic that detects players who aren’t participating in the match"

So it is nice to see that they are making efforts towards alleviating this issue. Way to go, EA/Dice!

See You In The Game!

And More: A Simple Explanation Why 'Loot Boxes' May Be Considered "Gambling", In Games Like Star Wars Battlefront II, Et Al... [Editorial]

((Portions of this article
may or may not have
information obtained
from this unidentified
Imperial Officer))

Recently, in the game Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (EA, Dice), there was the introduction of "Loot Boxes". These are purchasable 'crates' that can contain multiple items. These items are generated randomly (RNG, Random Number Generation) and are obtainable by using "RealLife™" Money [my superscript as pun] - and therein lies the problem being discussed.

In an attempt to explain it simply on a Steam Forum Thread a few days ago, I posted the comment below. I replicate it here, to share with others, so that this whole 'issue' may be understood more fully:

"If I may pop in, to explain the reason why "loot boxes could be considered gambling"; it is due to a few factors:

- There is an RNG factor in the potential items from the Loot Boxes (the items are random, and some items are worth more than others)

- The inclusion of the possibility of utilizing RealLife™ Currency to obtain them.
[Because of this element, more than anything, it could possibly be construed as "gambling"...]

- Because the items (1) can be exchanged in the game for other items that 'cost RealLife™ Money (2), they are 'gambling on the possibility' that they will 'save money' if there are better/higher items in the Box purchased (i.e. they will 'save money' if the RNG produces higher/better items in the Box; they will not have to buy much more)

Together, all three points mean the game essentially has "gambling" within it...
I assume the reason why some parents are getting upset about it, is that there is a possibility of a Minor using their RealLife™ Money to obtain the Loot Boxes (in any game).

The solution is simple however; remove the possibility of utilizing RealLife™ money to obtain the Chests/Boxes/etc OR the possibility of getting 'better items' that will 'deconstruct into elements that can accrue to get better items' ("saving money" if the better items appear via RNG) and there is no longer the possibility of it being "gambling", as it were."

The above points, along with the fact that the 'items' can actually affect a players' performance (i.e. a person with more items or better items can actually live longer or do more damage than someone without the items), is the sum of the whole problem that is upsetting many gamers, the entire issue becoming aflame in the recent release (Nov.17th) of "Star Wars: Battlefront II".

Other games (eg. "Team Fortress 2"), handle this concern for the most part by making sure that the items contained in their 'loot crates' are only 'cosmetic items' (hats, skins, costumes, etc) that do not affect player performance against other human players. It remains to be seen whether the "RNG Factor" involved in such 'Crates of Loot' in these other games, like TF2, are going to still become a 'gambling' issue, or not.



Hopefully this helps you dear reader, in understanding the issue at hand and why some people are getting 'up in arms' about it at this time. 

~Troy from The Game Tips And More Blog