'Ghost Recon: Wildlands' PVP Beta Arrives Next Week

In July, Ubisoft announced that Ghost Recon: Wildlands would receive a future update that would allow player-versus-player matches in a mode called “Ghost War.” A beta for the new feature is planned for next week, and Ubisoft published a brief primer on what’s available during the short preview event.

Ghost War consists of two teams of four players each playing the traditional team deathmatch mode. However, there are no respawns if you fall in combat, so you need to rely on your teammates to revive you. The winning team in each match is determined in a best-of-three rounds format. In the beta, you’ll play matches in five of the eight planned maps, and you can try six of the 12 player classes.

Classes are split between three categories—Assault, Marksman, and Support—and the beta will feature two characters from each category. If you want to attack the enemy head-on, you can try out the two Assault options. The Tank class is perfect as a frontline unit because it can suppress enemies with its light machine gun. It can also withstand heavy damage due to its heavy armor. If you prefer to sneak around, you can try the Pointman, who can flank an opponent’s position to get the quick kill. You can also choose to help your allies with the Support characters. The Scout can easily find foes with its surveillance drone, and the Artillery class can call in a mortar strike at specific locations on the map. If you want to take out enemies from afar, you can play as one of two Marksman classes. The Enforcer is similar to the Tank in that it also uses a light machine gun, but it doesn’t have durable armor. However, it can still suppress other players from a distance. There’s also the traditional Sniper class, which can take out enemies with one shot, but it can also mark the location of enemies for other players to see.

Each class will feature a different loadout of weapons, but you can also attach some perks to gain a slight advantage in combat. For instance, you can give the Pointman an increase in sprint speed, or your Sniper can automatically mark the enemy that spotted it.

During combat, you can also find different ways to cripple the opposing team’s offense. You can shoot down a hostile surveillance drone before it finds your squad, or claim the Recon Tower in the middle of the map to reveal enemy positions. A healthy mix of classes from the categories is crucial to success in the match. For example, one player can use the Scout class to find the location of enemies while the Enforcer keeps them trapped in one spot. Meanwhile, the Pointman can flank opponents while the Sniper kills them from a distance.

The open beta is available on all platforms and starts next week on September 21, and it goes through September 25. Ubisoft has yet to provide a specific date for official launch of Ghost War, but it said that it's coming later this fall.