Relic Hands Out Free Company Of Heroes 2 Beta Keys

[Steven Bogos]

Relic Hands Out Free Company Of Heroes 2 Beta Keys

"Like" the official Company of Heroes 2 Facebook page to receive a free beta code for the currently underway public beta.

It looks like developer Relic is keen to get some stress testing done for its upcoming RTS Company of Heroes 2, offering up free beta codes for anyone who "likes" the official Company of Heroes 2 Facebook page. Clicking the giant "like" button right under the quote that claims the first Company of Heroes game was "the highest rated strategy game of all time," will reward you with a download code, which you can use to download the "beta stress test" client and join the already underway public beta.

Six maps are available to play on during the beta, which started earlier this month for pre-order customers, giving you a taste of 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 multiplayer. Comp-stomps (playing vs. the AI) are also working in the beta, as is the army customizer tool. The first 40 levels of progression have been unlocked for testing. The beta is currently only available on Steam, although the retail version of the game will also be available on EA's Origin platform.

Company of Heroes 2 is the sequel to the critically acclaimed (although probably not the "highest rated strategy game of all time," according to Metacritic that's Command and Conquer [http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/command-conquer]) Company of Heroes. While the first game focused on the "western front," of WW2, which was between mostly American and German troops, the sequel will focus on the "eastern front," the theater of war that involved Russian and German forces.

Relic previously detailed pre-order bonuses [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123120-Relic-Details-Company-of-Heroes-2-Pre-Order-Bonuses] for the game, offering a range of goodies depending on what version of the game you bought (standard or collector's) and where you bought it from. At the moment, it looks like the Steam version of the collector's edition has the biggest loot bag.

The game will be released on June 26th.

Source: Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/companyofheroes/app_351292091639277]

Permalink

 

[Mojo]

Hot damn. Downloading it now (6 Gig) and I'm super exited to try this out. Thanks Escapist!
In steam its called "Company of Heroes 2 - Beta Stress Test" so I hope this isn't a thing where we only get to play on select days. But even if, its pretty sweet.

 

[silverbullet1989]

Cheers escapist, even though i had them liked already on facebook, there was nothing indicating they were going to do this, cant wait to try it out =D

 

[Airon]

Here's one idea for a good beta strategy :

Price cut and free DLC incentives for X amount of time spent beta testing and reporting bugs. Probably still a lot cheaper than standard QC.

Playing a buggy game can be disheartning if it's too buggy, and it's not your job.

 

[ASnogarD]

I was interested ... then I noticed "$5.00 Premium Currency" , what the unholy shi...err crap streak is that about ? I see those offers in Free2Play titles all the time, but this title has a full price, a CE and everything not associated with a free2play title.

... think I'll wait until I see what exactly this Premium Currency is.

 

[Mojo]

I was interested ... then I noticed "$5.00 Premium Currency" , what the unholy shi...err crap streak is that about ? I see those offers in Free2Play titles all the time, but this title has a full price, a CE and everything not associated with a free2play title.

... think I'll wait until I see what exactly this Premium Currency is.

Spoiler: From the CoH2 forums:

Originally Posted by THQLynx:
GUYS, RELAX.

CoH2 is not Pay to Win. Take a look at what's being offered with the pre-order - tank skins. SKINS. They will NOT affect the game in any way shape or form. Don't want to buy them? Don't. Problem solved.

The fact of the matter is this - once the game is released, there will be DLC. Some maps will be free, some will not. Regardless, even if you buy the standard edition, you will still have the FULL game, as well as multiplayer and everything. You're not put at any sort of disadvantage if you don't buy the CE.

This is not Company of Heroes Online 2. Don't freak out until we give you guys more information on this stuff. Just know that the panic is unfounded and unecessary.

Originally Posted by THQLynx:
Pretty much. We can't dish out details yet, but before anyone panics, this is not a pay 2 win scenario. These kind of incentives and things will NOT give you better units or more powerful attacks. Tank skins don't change the gameplay, or give anyone a particular advantage. We're not building that kind of ecosystem with CoH2.

Originally Posted by THQLynx:
Guys, I can confirm that none of the ?player boosts? mentioned in the Steam tiered reward program will provide any competitive advantage in Player-vs-player combat.



AGAIN, WITH GUSTO:



I can confirm that none of the "player boosts" mentioned in the Steam tiered reward program will provide any competitive advantage in Player-vs-player combat.

Spoiler: And from the official FAQ:

Q: What is the Command Pass?
A: Company of Heroes 2 will be supported post launch with a number of free and premium content add-ons. The Command Pass entitles players to additional ongoing premium maps as well as allowing them to take part in member?s only events.

Q. Will the Command Pass be available for sale?
A. Yes, players who purchase the game from a retailer not offering the Command Pass as a pre-order incentive will be able to purchase it post release but will not receive a discounted rate

It seems the premium stuff is for skins, some DLC maps and maybe special tournament stuff. But I guess only time will tell how important these really are to have.

 

[Dr.Awkward]

Why is it Facebook likes with a lot of these deals? Wouldn't it be better to give free beta keys to current owners of CoH and with a purchase of CoH instead?

 

[awesomeClaw]

Uh...this is weird.

I´m clicking on the link provided, but all that happens is that I´m redirected to the facebook front page. I´ve tried just searching on it, but I get the same result there.

Anyone have the same problem?

I live in Sweden, btw.

 

[anian]

They were handing out betas before and since I have a rather old pc (CoH1 works fine though)...well let's put it this way: my menu lags. So consider me stressed.

 

[ASnogarD]

I was interested ... then I noticed "$5.00 Premium Currency" , what the unholy shi...err crap streak is that about ? I see those offers in Free2Play titles all the time, but this title has a full price, a CE and everything not associated with a free2play title.

... think I'll wait until I see what exactly this Premium Currency is.

Spoiler: From the CoH2 forums:

Originally Posted by THQLynx:
GUYS, RELAX.

CoH2 is not Pay to Win. Take a look at what's being offered with the pre-order - tank skins. SKINS. They will NOT affect the game in any way shape or form. Don't want to buy them? Don't. Problem solved.

The fact of the matter is this - once the game is released, there will be DLC. Some maps will be free, some will not. Regardless, even if you buy the standard edition, you will still have the FULL game, as well as multiplayer and everything. You're not put at any sort of disadvantage if you don't buy the CE.

This is not Company of Heroes Online 2. Don't freak out until we give you guys more information on this stuff. Just know that the panic is unfounded and unecessary.

Originally Posted by THQLynx:
Pretty much. We can't dish out details yet, but before anyone panics, this is not a pay 2 win scenario. These kind of incentives and things will NOT give you better units or more powerful attacks. Tank skins don't change the gameplay, or give anyone a particular advantage. We're not building that kind of ecosystem with CoH2.

Originally Posted by THQLynx:
Guys, I can confirm that none of the ?player boosts? mentioned in the Steam tiered reward program will provide any competitive advantage in Player-vs-player combat.



AGAIN, WITH GUSTO:



I can confirm that none of the "player boosts" mentioned in the Steam tiered reward program will provide any competitive advantage in Player-vs-player combat.

Spoiler: And from the official FAQ:

Q: What is the Command Pass?
A: Company of Heroes 2 will be supported post launch with a number of free and premium content add-ons. The Command Pass entitles players to additional ongoing premium maps as well as allowing them to take part in member?s only events.

Q. Will the Command Pass be available for sale?
A. Yes, players who purchase the game from a retailer not offering the Command Pass as a pre-order incentive will be able to purchase it post release but will not receive a discounted rate

It seems the premium stuff is for skins, some DLC maps and maybe special tournament stuff. But I guess only time will tell how important these really are to have.

Thanks for the info, but... Why didnt he just say the Premium Currency is $5 off later DLC, why the round-a-bout method of saying no pay to win.
I am more than convinced its a way to sell skins and none game impacting cosmetic items as micro transactions, which is a F2P titles way of getting cash... it may not effect your gameplay but it is still greedy to try micro transaction your customers after selling them the game at full price.
Oh sure no power is sold but only the wallets can get to look cool / unique in the MP arena.
To me it sounds like a cash shop in a full priced store, 1 step below EA Dead Space 3 attempts to micro transaction you (least no cheat/power)... if so I hope these guys get burnt the same way EA does.

Oh, I am a Relic fan since HW 1, but one cannot burn one company for doing something...and letting another get away.

 

[Mojo]

--snip--
Thanks for the info, but... Why didnt he just say the Premium Currency is $5 off later DLC, why the round-a-bout method of saying no pay to win.
I am more than convinced its a way to sell skins and none game impacting cosmetic items as micro transactions, which is a F2P titles way of getting cash... it may not effect your gameplay but it is still greedy to try micro transaction your customers after selling them the game at full price.
Oh sure no power is sold but only the wallets can get to look cool / unique in the MP arena.
To me it sounds like a cash shop in a full priced store, 1 step below EA Dead Space 3 attempts to micro transaction you (least no cheat/power)... if so I hope these guys get burnt the same way EA does.

Oh, I am a Relic fan since HW 1, but one cannot burn one company for doing something...and letting another get away.

Yeah, I guess we'll have to wait and see. I do agree that it would be quite greedy if they would indeed offer such extras only for people who pay even more then 60$. I'm not sure on this but I think there will be some sort of in-game currency that is unlocked during normal play which you can use to get stuff too. Maybe the premium currency is just to speed up the process so you don't have to grind so much as it is with most games who use premium in-game money and are not free to play, but we shall see.