When Infinity Ward announced Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare's beta schedule last month they weren't ready to talk about what the beta actually will include. Now they are ready to do just that.
When the Beta kicks off next Friday, we'll be able to get our hands on three of the six different Combat Rigs that will be in the game at launch:
Warfighter: Designed for mid-range assault-style players, equip the Warfighter rig to support the team by getting fast kills, quickly getting to an objective, and always being on the offensive.
• Payloads
Claw: a powerful spread-shot weapon. Fires bullets that can ricochet around corners.
Combat Focus: allows us to get double points for a limited time.
Overdrive: Gives a speed boost.
• Traits
Ping: Kills and assists send a ping that highlights nearby enemies.
Persistence: Scorestreak counts don't reset after death, but cost more.
Resupply: Lethals and tacticals can be resupplied by scavenging supplies from downed foes.
MERC This imposing suit is equipped with payload options designed to clear enemy threats quickly and with authority. Its focus is heavy defence and suppressive fire.
• Payloads
Steel Dragon Heavy beam weapon that can target multiple enemies.
Bull Charge: Armoured riot shield that destroys enemies as you charge.
Reactive Armor: Electromagnetically charged armour that shields us from enemy fire.
• Traits
Infusion: When triggered, regenerates health quickly after taking damage.
Man-At-Arms: Heavy weapons won't slow us down, and we start with maximum ammo.
Shock Wave: Slam into the ground and enemies with this devastating jump.
Synaptic: A C6 Class remote-operated droid optimised for speed and close quarters combat.
• Payloads
Equalizer: Dual under-arm machine guns with built-in suppressors for close quarters combat.
Rewind: Rewinds ourr position and replenishes health and ammo.
Reaper: Switches us into four-legged, rapid melee combat mode.
• Traits
Combat Burst: gain a movement speed boost after a kill.
Propulsion: Jump pack that recharges quickly and allows us to damage enemies underneath us with the blast from the jump pack.
Rushdown: Allows us to dash in any horizontal direction.
Apparently we'll get to try a wide variety of maps during the beta, but Infinity Ward just want to tell about three of them.
Frontier: is a circular, two-lane, fast-paced map.
Here we're fighting in a small section of a giant space station that is in orbit around the planet Neptune. The action is funnelled down a long, central corridor with side paths offering an element of strategy and a constricted lower lane for players craving chaos.
Frost: is a linear, three-lane, medium-paced map.
A research facility set atop the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. Ample opportunities for vertical combat and rapid encounters around sleek modular elements highlight this frozen battleground.
Throwback: is a bent, three-lane, medium-paced map.
This throwback 1950's 'Main Street USA' locale sits on a giant, rotating, torus-shaped space station. A large circular lane rings the perimeter, while a large centre square with multiple avenues of approach and two opposing windows offers a wide range of engagement opportunities.
The beta will also rotate many different modes, including Team Deathmatch, Domination and Kill Confirmed. They're also including a few surprises, one of which is the new Defender mode. Here our team must grab a drone and defend it, gaining points while holding on and keeping it out of enemy hands. Teamwork is essential here in order to make sure our points add up until the drone resets and the cycle starts again.
We'll get try out Mission Teams as well. This is Infinite Warfare's metagame where we have to complete special missions for our selected faction to earn unique rewards. In the Beta, players will get to experience two of the four Mission Teams, and will be able to enlist in the JTF Wolverines when they start the game. Their motto is "First in the Fight," and this team and their commander favour aggressive combat. As we progress through the ranks, we'll be able to join the Orion Initiative, who go by the creed "Vigilance to Victory," and bring their organized strategy to objective based missions.
Top all of this with different weapons, scorestreaks, lethals, tacticals, customisation options and a few surprises. It seems like we'll get a lot of content, at least on paper. Are you looking forward to the beta, or are your eyes set on other games those weekends?