With Marvel’s Avengers just over a month from release, Crystal Dynamics is gearing up for a huge beta test to ensure the experience is ready for its big day on September 4. During today’s War Table presentation, the studio detailed the experience players can look forward to when the beta first rolls out on August 7.
The beta opens with the A-Day demo, the sequence that served as the first gameplay footage at E3 2019. The mission serves as a tutorial of sorts, giving you rotating control of Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, and Black Widow in a cinematic mission. The mission even gives you a chance to face off against Taskmaster in a boss battle.
After you complete the A-Day mission on the Golden Gate Bridge, the beta opens up to include a couple single-player hero missions featuring Ms. Marvel and Hulk. As Kamala and Bruce, you venture to the American northwest forests, then hop in the Quinjet to head to the Russian tundra to uncover deeply buried SHIELD secrets. Once you finish exploring an underground AIM facility, you have a chance to take part in a boss battle against Abomination.
Once you complete these missions, the beta further opens to include 4-player co-op missions in the form of previously announced Warzones, as well as HARM Rooms and Drop Zones. In these missions, you can play with up to four players online, or you can fill any vacant spots with A.I. companions. In the beta, you have access to Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, Black Widow, and Hulk.
While we already knew that Warzones are big, open areas with multiple objectives to up to four players to work, fight, and explore together, we now know more about HARM Rooms and Drop Zones. HARM Rooms serve as battle simulation rooms, not only delivering you tutorials for each hero, but also solo and co-op battle challenges. Drop Zones sound like smaller, more focused Warzones, with just a single objective for teams to get in and get out with. Crystal Dynamics says this is great for earning gear and leveling up.
Just like in the full game, players can level up their heroes in the beta, but you should only expect a taste of what’s coming. During the course of the beta, you can access the starting skill page for each hero. In the beta, you can reach up to hero level 15 and power level 45. There are also dozens of cosmetics to unlock in the beta. While beta progress and unlocks do not carry into the full game, any progress carries from beta weekend to beta weekend.
The beta will take place over three weekends in August. It will first be available to those who preorder the game on PlayStation 4 on August 7. One week later, on August 14, Xbox One and PC preroderers can join the party, while the beta goes open on PlayStation 4. Finally, on August 21, the beta will be open to all three platforms.
The developer also teased its first post-launch hero, Hawkeye. You can learn more about him here, or learn a ton about the game through our massive preview here. Marvel’s Avengers launches on September 4 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia, and PC, with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions coming at some point in the near future.
Marvel’s Avengers
Platform:
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia, PC
Release Date:
September 4, 2020 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia, PC), 2020 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X)
Source: Game Informer
