Ahead of the full release date on September 6, Bungie has detailed the contents of the highly-anticipated Destiny 2 beta.
We already knew the Destiny 2 beta would start on July 18 on PS4 and July 19 on Xbox One for pre-ordering players, while those who don’t want to risk a pre-order can join in on July 21. Then there’s a separate Destiny 2 PC beta that starts in late August, although specific times for that hasn’t been announced as yet.
But until now Bungie was keeping the contents of the Destiny 2 beta under wraps.
Included in the beta will be as follows:
- The opening mission for Destiny 2‘s campaign, Homecoming
- Cooperative three-player strike, The Inverted Spire, where you’ll be heading into the heart of a Vex stronghold
- Two competitive multiplayer modes – Countdown and Control
Countdown is a brand new mode where you Attack or Defend the base on a new map custom-built to support this new game type, whilst Control will be a familiar mode for original Destiny Crucible players, but with what Bungie is calling “impactful changes”. The latter is also based on a brand new map.
The Strike can be played by you and two friends, or you can utilise the Matchmaking to introduce you to a Fireteam of Guardians.
Most of you will probably be interested in the fact you’ll be able to mess around with the game’s new subclasses, including the Dawnblade Warlock, Arcstrider Hunter and Sentinel Titan.
If you’re really keen on seeing everything Destiny 2 has to offer, then you’ll want to log in on Sunday, July 23. For just one hour starting at 6pm BST/10am PT, Bungie is opening up the doors to the new social space replacing the Tower – The Farm.
You’ll be able to kick a ball about with your buddies or even befriend one of the local chickens, although Bungie has warned that most of the vendors and other social services will be offline at that time.
“Our goals are to see how many of you it can accommodate at once,” explained Bungie.
Interestingly, Bungie has also been very clear on what you should not expect from the Destiny 2 beta, and here’s what the studio had to say on that front in its own words:
Clan Support: It’s true that Clans will be supported in Destiny 2, but those features are not a part of this test.
Character Progression: You’ll receive rewards for defeating your enemies – be they Cabal, Vex, or other Guardians – but the Beta does not represent how your characters will evolve in Destiny 2.
Character Continuity: Destiny 2 is a fresh start. Nothing we do in the Beta will carry over to the final version of the game on September 6.
What you will get for playing the beta is a special Emblem as a sign of Bungie’s thanks for being part of the development team.