Destiny 2 Beta Has Been "Amazingly Helpful," Bungie Says

The Destiny 2 beta is going on right now for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It wraps up on July 23, and now Bungie has discussed the purpose and importance of the testing period. In Bungie's latest weekly blog post, producer Jared Berbach said the beta has already been "amazingly helpful" for the development team.

"The analogy I always give is that the beta is the plow on the front of the train that blasts all the snow off the tracks to clear our path," Berbach explained. "We had many updates to the original, but Destiny 2 is a brand-new game using brand new technology in order to deliver an awesome experience. This new technology needs a lot of testing."

Berbach added: "This testing ultimately helps us validate that our new server model is working as we thought it would, and at the quality and scale we had hoped. It helps us evaluate our new tech advancements, including enhancements you'll understand more fully when you play the full game. Ultimately, it paves the way for us to have a much smoother launch."

Also in the blog post, beta design lead Rob Engeln said another major purpose of the Destiny 2 beta is to, of course, gather feedback about gameplay and balance. He clarified that the version of Destiny 2 that this beta is based on is actually "months old," so the feedback players send in is more about validating choices that were already made.

One example of this is the scarcity of ammo, particularly power ammo, in PvE.

"In addition to retuning the drop rates, we built a system that guarantees power ammo drops for you and your Fireteam from certain enemies, giving power weapons a more reliable and predictable role in your arsenal," Engeln said. "Other areas where we've made significant tuning changes include grenade effectiveness in PvE, Boss vitality, and weapon damage against non-player combatants."

Since the Destiny 2 beta is still going on, Bungie isn't ready just yet to talk about the "full suite of statistics," but it sounds like those details will come later.

"This grand experiment is ongoing, and we're tracking every data-point and forum thread," Bungie said.

The Destiny 2 beta opens to everyone on PS4 and Xbox One on July 21. For everyone, the beta wraps up on July 23, so play now while you still can!

How are you finding the Destiny 2 beta? Let us know in the comments below!