The Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta was a milestone during the development of Halo 5: Guardians. It took place from December 29, 2014 to January 18, 2015, and was downloadable through Halo: The Master Chief Collection.[1][2]
The beta consisted only of a sampling of Arena gameplay, which itself is said to only be a portion of the full Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer experience. Arena focuses on close teamwork in 4 vs. 4 gameplay, featuring playlist ranks, map spawns for weapons, and equal starts (meaning no loadouts[2]). The beta allowed players to try out the all-new Spartan Abilities for the first time. These abilities are base player mechanics akin to boarding or melee, and include Sprint, Clamber, Charge, Thruster Pack, Ground Pound, Smart Scope, and Slide.[3][4][5] Players that participated in the beta were given a profile picture, a downloadable banner, a Mark-VI [Gen 1] and a Helioskrill poster with the player's username as a "thank you" from 343 Industries.[citation needed]
Content
Maps
Players in the beta could fight on seven maps, each optimized for eight player Arena battle.[2]
- Truth
- Regret[6] (crashed Truth remix)
- Empire
- Eden[7] (nighttime Empire remix)
- Breakout Arena (Forge canvas)
- Alpine
Gametypes
Three different gametypes appeared in the beta. One is returning while the other two are new.[2]
Weapons
The beta included eleven usable weapons.[2]
Armor Sets
The beta included several sets of wearable Spartan armor.[2]
![Mark VI [GEN1]](/wiki/File:H5GMB_Armor_Mark_VI_GEN1.png "H5GMB Armor Mark VI GEN1.png (2.44 MB)")
![Mark VI [GEN1] Scarred](/wiki/File:H5GMB_Armor_Mark_VI_GEN1_Scarred.png "H5GMB Armor Mark VI GEN1 Scarred.png (2.68 MB)")
Trivia
- 343 Industries has placed the beta long before the game's release to allow for legitimate concerns to be addressed, such as weapon tuning and movement speed, and also to gauge player reaction to newly-introduced game mechanics.[11]
- Some content unlocked in the multiplayer beta will carry over into the final game.[2]
Video
E3 2014 Announcement
- Main article: Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta Trailer
First Look
MP Beta Trailer
Gallery
Multiplayer Beta Trailer
Misc.
Sources
- ↑ Halo Waypoint - Halo 5: Guardians
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 YouTube - Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta First Look
- ↑ NeoGAF - Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta Trailer
- ↑ Twitter - Brad Welch
- ↑ Twitter - Brad Welch
- ↑ Halo Channel - The Sprint, Episode 3
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Team Beyond - HALO 5: GUARDIANS BETA SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Twitter - Josh Holmes
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Twitter - Josh Holmes - Tweet
- ↑ Youtube: Halo 5: Guardians Beta Gameplay - "Empire" (Slayer)
- ↑ YouTube - New Halo: Master Chief Collection Info and Gameplay - E3 2014