Mechwarrior Online Community Warfare open beta begins

The long-awaited Mechwarrior Online Community Warfare beta has finally begun.

beta has finally begun. The new multiplayer mode pits the Great Houses of the Inner Sphere against the tremendous power of the Clans, with new maps, DropShip reinforcements, and an attack-and-defend "Invasion" game mode.

The Community Warfare beta actually began a little earlier than most players expected, but Piranha Games President Russ Bullock said in the announcement that the team pushed to get it out as quickly as possible so there would be time to fix any game-breaking problems before everyone took off for the holidays.

"This phase 2 release of CW is certainly not the absolute end game product that fulfills every desire of the hard core Battletech player, but I don't want to minimize it either, it's truly a game changer," he wrote. "Within Community Warfare I anticipate we will see hundreds if not thousands of matches played every day within this concept of fighting for the great factions of the inner sphere with planets changing possession and the map reflecting that."

Community Warfare has undergone significant testing, but Bullock acknowledged that that there will still be problems with balance between attacking and defending forces. "We need the live populations to show us the untold number of strategies that will present themselves," he continued. "We will be watching and listening to adjust the levels and game systems within CW to make it as competitive and fun as possible."

Details about the Community Warfare beta, including a proper breakdown of the Invasion mode and DropShip mechanic, are up now at mwomercs.com.