Starting June 12, deploy a squad of some of the most powerful female characters in Star Wars™ against the droids and help us celebrate one of our Play to Give charities: the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT). Learn more about how this organization is getting involved in the challenge here.

We’re dedicated to creating an inclusive environment for all our players and employees and fostering the development future game-makers. The NCWIT equips change leaders with resources and platforms for taking action in recruiting, retaining, and advancing women from K–12 and higher education through industry and entrepreneurial careers.

Completing the quest for the first time will get you 50,000 credits, 1 Rey shard, 1 Princess Leia shard, and 25 shards needed to unlock a 2-star Jedi Knight Guardian. Subsequent completions will award more shards of Princess Leia, Rey, Barriss Offee or Ahsoka Tano.

To help you complete the challenge, we sat down with the Star Wars™ Galaxy of Heroes team to get some tips:

• If you have characters in your Play to Give squad who you don’t normally use, remember that you can train their levels and upgrade their abilities and equipment to bring them up to par with your regularly used characters.
• Your Play to Give Squad will likely consist of characters with different factions (Jedi, Rebel, Sith, etc.) make sure to consider your options when choosing your squad and leader to maximize the effect of your chosen Leader Ability. Ex. Ashoka Tano’s Leader Ability, Quick Steps, affects both Jedi and Nightsister allies, while Asajj Ventress’ Leader Ability, Nightsister Swiftness, only applies to Nightsister allies.
• Remember as you complete the Play to Give battles (5 per day) you are also earn character shards for select female characters, don’t forget to upgrade those characters when you have obtained enough shards!
• While we recommend having a full squad for the event, you only need a single female character to be able to initiate a battle.
• Your squad will be fighting against droids, prepare your strategies accordingly.

We’re committed to supporting organizations that give back to player communities and foster a more inclusive environment in videogames while emboldening future game-makers.

EA will be donating a total of $1 million to charity through our Play to Give program during EA PLAY to support these organizations: Code.org, HeForShe, Code2040, SpecialEffect and the National Center for Women & Information Technology.

Celebrate Play to Give by completing any of the five in-game challenges.

Learn more about the National Center for Women & Information Technology here.

Stay in the conversation of all things EA PLAY: Visit our site, follow us on Twitter and Instagram and Like us on Facebook.