Burn Cards
The collectible cards in Titanfall, called Burn Cards, unlock as players level up. They'll grant players special, limited-use abilities, like the option to shave off 40 seconds from your titan's build time, to inflict extra damage in a titan or an experience multiplier. Players can also play Burn Cards for effects like faster running speed or an amped version of a weapon. Play with a particular weapon frequently, for example, and you might unlock an amplifier card that makes that weapon perform better.
Fukuda said Burn Cards were inspired by the desire to add some randomness to the game and partly the idea of Respawn's "Mackey" McCandlish, who he described as a big Magic the Gathering fan.
Burn Cards are also a measure that helps to level the playing field for all players, according to Emslie, not just seasoned Titanfall players.
"They really came out of trying to find a way to do power-ups in the game," Emslie said, "but not do it in a way where pro gamers could come in and dominated the environment, by knowing the exact way start a match, wreck everybody as fast as possible, get all the power-ups and griefing everyone."
Players will earn Burn Cards through gameplay, through successfully evacuating a level during Titanfall match epilogues, "rodeoing" a titan or hacking enemy AI units, among other challenges, Emslie said. They're collectible rewards earned through play, not purchasable through microtransactions.
"The goal is to make them feel collectible," Emslie said, likening them to "favors" from the upper echelons of factions in which players do battle in Titanfall.