Battlefront II is fundamentally similar to its predecessor, albeit with the addition of new gameplay mechanics, such as the ability to sprint and roll forward.[7] The general objective in most missions is to eliminate the enemy faction, although there are game modes with a different objective, such as a capture the flag mode. Like its predecessor Star Wars Battlefront, the game is split into two eras: the Clone Wars, with battles taking place between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and the Galactic Civil War, where battles between the Rebel Alliance and Galactic Empire take place. Players have the ability to choose between six classes during gameplay. Four class types are common to all factions: Infantry, Heavy, Sniper and Engineer.[8] In addition to the four standard classes, every faction has two special classes, which are exclusive to each faction and are unlocked by scoring a predetermined number of points; there is a limited number of special classes that can be on the battlefield at the same time. The special classes are the Commander and the Jet Trooper for the Republic; the MagnaGuard and the Droideka for the CIS; the Bothan Spy and the Wookiee for the Rebels; and the Officer and the Dark Trooper for the Empire.
Battlefront II introduces a new special class—Heroes—that allows players to control iconic characters from the Star Wars universe; heroes were featured in the original Battlefront, but only as NPCs that spawned randomly during battles. Heroes are also unlocked by scoring a predetermined number of points, and are unique for every faction. Heroes serve as the most powerful class in the game and, as such, there can be a maximum of one hero for each faction on the battlefield at the same time. Each hero is available only on certain maps, although there is a team deathmatch mode, exclusive to the Mos Eisley map, that allows all heroes from all factions to compete against each other to earn points by performing kills.