Enlarge / This shot is from Star Wars: Battlefront II’s single-player mode. It’s not yet clear whether or how much loot boxes will figure into this mode, so let’s focus on what we DO know thanks to Tuesday’s announcement. (credit: EA/DICE)

Ahead of Star Wars: Battlefront II‘s launch in a few weeks, its publisher EA posted an announcement on Tuesday. “We’ve listened to your feedback,” the post begins, and the rest of the update about this online multiplayer game focuses on one issue revealed during the game’s October beta test: loot boxes.

“The beta gave us a welcome chance to test all of our systems in action and tune things up for better balance,” the post states. “A few weeks back, we mentioned we were going to take another look at how the progression system works.”

The resulting changes and tweaks, on their face, look like a positive step away from the most poisonous aspects of loot boxes, particularly in paid retail games. But what do the changes really mean for the game, and has EA undone enough loot-box damage with this announcement?