Hoth Frontline

There are two conflicting sources for this article: Hunters: Battle for the Arena and A New Battlefield on Arena News (original site is defunct).

Lucasfilm has not established a cohesive timeline regarding this subject. Editor discretion is advised.

"We've got a malfunctioning platform here, so I'm going to head down to make sure it's fixed."

―Daq Dragus, to Balada^[2]

Hoth Frontline, also simply known as Frontline, was a battlefield within the Grand Arena on the planet Vespaara where Hunters battled for the competitive sporting show Hunters of the Outer Rim. The battlefield was designed after the Battle of Hoth, complete with various Imperial and Rebellion set pieces. As part of the Grand Arena, the Frontline battlefield was connected to other battlefields through underground tunnels and aboveground paths.

In 9 ABY, a flashing red light at the Frontline battlefield alerted the human recruiter Daq Dragus from his office of a malfunctioning platform in it.

Description

Hoth Frontline,^[1] also simply known as Frontline, was one of the battlefields within^[2] the Grand Arena^[3] on the planet Vespaara. It was used by Hunters to compete for the competitive sporting show Hunters of the Outer Rim. The battlefield was designed after^[1] the frigid planet^[4] Hoth, specifically during the battle between the Rebellion and Empire.^[2] Recreating the Battle of Hoth, the Frontline battlefield featured a snow-covered rocky terrain, trenches, impromptu barricades, as well as a massive v-150 Planet Defender ion cannon as its center piece surrounded by three Imperial AT-ATs and another one already collapsed. Aside from the snowy outdoors, the battlefield also featured an indoor section within the ion cannon inspired by the rebel's Echo Base, as well as a wampa's underground lair.^[5] Being part of a larger complex within the Grand Arena, the Frontline battlefield was connected to other battlefields through underground tunnels and aboveground paths.^[2]

History

Rieve faces off J-3DI at the Frontline battlefield during her debut match.

In 9 ABY,^[6] a flashing red light was set off at the Frontline battlefield, alerting the human recruiter Daq Dragus—who monitored the battlefield from his office—of a malfunctioning platform. Around the same time, a Control match was set at the battlefield. It was a match between Team Gundark—consisted of Hunters Zaina, Imara Vex, Slingshot and a newcomer Rieve—and Team Mudhorn—consisted of Hunters Utooni, J-3DI, Sentinel, and Grozz—which the latter won.^[2]

Behind the scenes

Frontline first appeared in Hunters: Battle for the Arena, a tie-in novel to the video game Star Wars: Hunters authored by Mark Oshiro and published by Disney–Lucasfilm Press^[2] on March 7, 2023.^[7] The battlefield was later given the name Hoth Frontline and added to Star Wars: Hunters as one of its playable maps on September 24, 2024.^[8]

Contradictions

In Hunters: Battle for the Arena, it was established that the Frontline battlefield was already in operation as Rieve—a new Hunter at the time—was shown debuting in the battlefield.^[2] However, an Arena News article titled "A New Battlefield" stated that the battlefield was still under construction,^[9] despite Rieve already being a well established Hunter by that point, even getting featured in prior Arena News issues multiple times.^[10]^[11] As the novel provides a more cohesive in-universe narrative structure, this article assumes Hunters: Battle for the Arena to be the correct version of events.