[b]My Beta experience - PvE[/b] I didn't feel like I had a had a grate deal of time to play the beta. I played for one whole day and two half days before it ended. In that time I levelled a Hunter to Lv 8 and a Warlock to Lv 8. I did not play as a Titan. [b]Pulling on my FPS boots[/b] While playing as a hunter I chose to pick up the Hand Cannon early. It was a fun headshot weapon and I enjoyed running around blasting enemies with it. The look and sound give emphasis to every shot. There is a sense of satisfaction when you see that headshot connect and a fallen soul exits the body. Good job Bungie. I found the sniper rifle to be a useful tool for picking off the medium and light enemies or damaging a heavy enemy before closing in with the hand cannon. This combination got me through most of the story missions in the Beta. [b]It only gets harder[/b] As I progressed to The Last Array (the fifth and final story mission in the beta) I got stuck. My hand cannon was not a suitable weapon choice for the swarming Hive enemies. I opened my inventory and perused my collection of available tools. I ended up choosing an assault rifle and shotgun combination. The closed off indoor environment at the end of the level forced me to adopt a more up close play style. I used the assault rifle to whittle down the charging Hive and whipped out my shotgun in a panic if things got out of control. This mow ’em down, guns blazing play style is one I prefer to avoid. I prefer to use precision and timing to excite efficient kills. However I see that creating a variety of challenges and problems to solve is an important part of well rounded game design. I was forced to leave my comfort zone to be able to adapt and survive just as any Guardian should. Again I credit Bungie for being good at what they do. [i]“You should not have a favorite weapon. To become overfamiliar with one weapon is as much a fault as not knowing it sufficiently well...It is bad for commanders...to have likes and dislikes.” —Miyamoto Musashi, 17th century Japanese warrior, Book of Five Rings[/i] [b]The Devils Lair[/b] Before embarking on what I assumed would be a tough drawn out skirmish I took a moment to assess my load out. I had acquired a few uncommon peaces of amor and a new Scout Rifle that looked powerful. I equipped these items along with my trusty sniper rifle and machine gun before heading out on my first strike mission. I arrived late to the party. Two Guardians had already cleared out the Fallen and Hive. They were about to move inside the complex. I jumped on my sparrow and sped over to them catching up as they made their inside. My fellow Guardians were a Hunter and Titan both wheedling Assault rifles as primary weapons. This played welling to my strategy of long range focused weapons. While battling the Fallen and Hive inside I found opportunities to maintain distance and pick of enemies that were engaged with my comrades. At other times My scout rifle proved to be an effective weapon at dealing with packs of weaker enemies that managed to close in on me. After clearing the waves of attacking enemies I made my way outside. Once outside we encountered a large force of Fallen accompanied by a Devil Walker. The expansive outdoor environment was ideal for sniping. My two Guardian friends charged into the fray while I picked off Fallen from a distance. When we had cleared out all the Fallen there was only the Devil Walker left. This enemy soaked up a lot of bullets. I would occasionally get caught out of cover for too long and suffer a quick and embracing death. Luckily there was always someone there to get me back on my feet. The strategy that seemed to work the best was where we would coordinate ourselves to attack the Devil Walker from cover and two directions at the same time. One player world draw fire from the main gun while another player have an opportunity to attack from relative safety. This pincer attack also meant that we were spread out far enough so that if the main gun fired we wouldn't all get caught in the blast and killed. Eventual the Devil Walker fell and we moved inside to face our final enemy. The giant eye of doom. This fight felt unimaginative and boring. I spent all my time ducking in and out of cover shooting everything I had into this silly sphere. It didn't seem to take much skill to score critical hits on this enemy. I just shot it in the middle of the eyeball. This seemed like the logical thing to aim for in any situation. Hitting the middle of the eye meant positioning myself face to face in front of the enemy and directly in the path of fire. This removed any opportunity for “smart positioning” on the flanks or behind the enemy. The problem with designing a floating enemy like this is that it no matter how I position myself we will always engage each other face to face. (assuming nobody else is with me.) The fight quickly divulged into a rinse and repeat cycle of pop out, shoot, hide, repeat. The most effective place to engage from, I found, was the small tunnel to the left after entering the room. It provided sufficient cover while fighting and If I ever took damage I could stay hidden until it was safe. I spent 90% of my time there. I only left that spot if the Sphere telepoted somewhere I couldn't shoot it or I just got board of staying where I was and needed a change of scenery. There were times of extreme danger when other enemies arrived. Tis forced me to move and fight differently. However me and my team quickly whittled them down to a manageable size. The giant eye had all of the tedious in and out of cover I did while engaging the Devil Walker without any of the strategy or variety of attacks. I didn’t enjoy this engagement and I felt it was a disappointing end to my first strike mission. I know Bungie can do much better than this. After completing the story and the strike mission I felt my time in PvE was done. I dabbled in the free roaming for a little while but the calling for PvP was too strong. I think I’ll leave my analysis of PvP for another post. What do other people think of the Beta? Did you experiment with a variety of weapons and skills? and what did you think of the final Boss (the giant eye of doom)?