Here’s what’s included in the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 multiplayer beta next week

By Stephany Nunneley

The Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 multiplayer beta kicks off first on PlayStation 4 next week, and Activision has provided a few more details on what to expect in the tester.

Along with new weapons and the Specialists system, players will be able to try out the new weapon customization with the Weapon Paint Shop.

Access to three maps will be made available to try out the new momentum-based chained-movement system. The maps are detailed below:

• Hunted: This big game hunting lodge is situated beneath a waterfall in the lush mountains of Ethiopia, where rugged terrain opens up to long sightlines and a stealthy underwater pathway.
• Combine: Set in the remote Egyptian Sahara, this vertical farming and sustainability research facility plays fast and frenetic with tight interiors, an open middle and a dangerous flank path.
• Evac: An abandoned emergency evacuation zone atop an overgrown rooftop in the middle of Singapore’s flooded quarantine zone.

Game modes included in the test are: Team Deathmatch, Domination, Demolition, Kill Confirmed, Hardpoint, Capture the Flag and Search & Destroy. Arena won’t be available in the beta.

Specialists will include their “own look, personality, voice, battle-hardened weapons and abilities.” They can be ranked-up as part of the progression system. During the beta, the following Specialists will be made available: Ruin, Outrider, Prophet and Battery. Those who rank up to levels 22 and 28 can try out Seraph, Nomad, Reaper and Spectre.

Specific information on each Specialist can be found over on the Treyarch Blog.

The Weapon Paintshop allows players to create custom graphics on their guns, which Treyarch said has “64 layers applied to three sides of the weapon.” This will provide players with signature variants with an “infinite number of possible combinations.”

Due to be being a beta, the developer said it will be stress testing the game in particular ways, which means there will be gated progression caps during the test phase.

The beta will begin on August 19 for PlayStation 4 owners and on August 26 for Xbox One and PC owners.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 releases on November 6 for PC, PlayStation 3, PS4 Xbox 360 and Xbox One.