Dust 514

**6souls** · 2012-11-04 17:51

CCP chief marketing man David Reid has said that Dust 514 is likely to go into its open beta phase soon after the New Year.

"We'll be in closed beta for the rest of the year," Reid told Joystiq recently.

"While determining the precise date for commencing open beta definitely will depend on player feedback, we're feeling confident that it won't be much longer after year end," he said.

Reid also held off disclosing numbers of participants in the closed beta, but said that that the ambitious Eve tie-in has attracted "hundreds of thousands of people".

CCP is currently offering participants double XP until November 8.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...in-early-2013/
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/02/du...in-closed-bet/
http://www.dust514.com/

**Cantih** · 2012-11-05 12:55

I'm not particularly surprised by this.
The game is solid enough, but all the features it needs to launch with, it was clear that it would be a little longer than their original window for launch.

The good news is, I can confirm they ARE paying attention to tester feedback, this will not be a FFXIV fuckup.

**Ziero** · 2012-11-05 14:28

Didn't even know there was a topic on this game, good to see it getting some attention though. I'm not much for FPS games, but Dust certainly has me hooked with it's promises of actual consequences to battles and reliance on community and team based combat. It is reassuring to know there's still over a half of year of Beta work left though. While the game has some solid basics, it's still clearly bugged to hell and back and needs a lot of balancing.

So anyone in here have a corp yet? I know all the forum smack talk and clan epeen wagging is already in full effect on the forums, and honestly that stuff can be just as entertaining as the game itself sometimes.

**6souls** · 2012-11-05 19:32

I haven't joined a corp, yet, but most of those menu's in-game still have the "Soon" page on them. It will be interesting to see how in-depth the interaction will be.

also,

Sony's investment in free-to-play console games could be key to the PlayStation maker becoming the dominant player in the home console market once again.

That's according to Cevat Yerli, the boss of Crysis studio Crytek, and David Reid, marketing boss at Dust 514 studio CCP.

Sony recently launched a free version of SingStar for PS3, with users required to pay for individual tracks, while PS3 exclusive Dust 514 will also be free-to-play with a microtransactions model.

Yerli told MCV: "Sony making that game is a great step forward, and they should be applauded. If Sony embraces free-to-play as a major way for PlayStation, that could be the key console."

Reid also said: "It's natural that the console challenger is going to be more ambitious and take more risks than the leader. Last generation I was at Xbox and we were having our arses handed to us. And Xbox was the one that was trying to do crazy things with Xbox Live and so on.

"Five years later, things have changed and now Sony is being more aggressive. It is a cyclical business and it feels like we're coming around to another big turn again."

It's certainly true that Sony was quicker than Microsoft to embrace the free-to-play model on consoles, having released the likes of Free Realms and DC Universe Online on PS3 last year.

John Smedley, CEO of Sony Online Entertainment, which developed both titles, said in July: "Free-to-play on PS3 is huge. In fact, right now, it's us with DCUO and Free Realms and our friends at CCP with Dust 514 that are going to prove that this market really works."

In August Microsoft detailed its plans for free-to-play games on Xbox 360, beginning with October's release of Happy Wars.

Last month Ubisoft CFO Alain Martinez said full price retail titles can learn from free-to-play models, and that he expects the next generation of consoles to "offer more and more item-based content".

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...ion-no1-again/
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/free-...-again/0105792

**Ziero** · 2012-11-12 21:40

Just a small bit of news, it seems CCP said that they won't be resetting characters for a while, most likely not until the build changes to open beta. So we'll have plenty of time to work with more advanced gear and even get characters specced and built for multiple roles. So as long as they keep adding small changes over the next few months, we'll be able to actually keep our builds for a good long while and keep the game interesting.

I know so far one of the changes they've made I liked for this beta was having Supply Depots and turrets randomly drop on specific ambush matches. I know this won't be in the full release (stuff that like will be completely player controlled iirc) but for now it helps spice up the otherwise boring Ambush games.

**6souls** · 2012-11-22 18:43

Even CCP is doing a Black Friday deal.

**Cantih** · 2012-11-22 22:22

GW2 seems to be doing black friday stuff in game(ish) as well.
I wonder how EVE players would react to something like this messing with the economy.

I can see why they need to try this in addition to just altering the cost/income sliders for testing the game. Damn near every other online shooter has xp or whatever weekends, but it kind of goes against how EVE and New Eden works, they probably have to find a balance.

**Cantih** · 2012-12-17 21:55

I wish you guys could see the patch notes, these dudes are doing work.
Also

Pay close attention starting at 3:25 for new weapons.

And on the traditional EVE side of things, there is already corp drama!

**Cantih** · 2013-01-08 11:49

http://community.eveonline.com/devbl...log&nbid=74180

On Thursday the 10th of January, following a slightly longer than usual scheduled downtime, we will be migrating over players currently participating in the DUST 514 closed beta from Singularity to Tranquility. This is a particularly special day here at CCP as this brings to life an ambitious and incredibly exciting vision of a single cross platform universe, the likes of which have never been undertaken before.

...

This migration comes with a reset of character skills and corporations for the DUST players. If you are already in the beta, and especially if you are a CEO or Director of a DUST corporation, I strongly recommend you head over to the DUST forums to read this thread on some of the specifics of the migration:

For now we are remaining in closed beta from the DUST side of things but short of anything catastrophic occurring as we head towards open beta (knock on wood) this will be the last reset for DUST characters. So enjoy those skill points mercenaries, you earned them.

So, while beta isn't open yet (and I'm still under NDA, thus the EVE link), starting on Thursday will be the beginning of permanent character skill gains.
If you are in the beta but have been ignoring it, you should stop ignoring it nowish.
If you aren't in the beta, but want to get a head start on accumulating SP and really staying in the lead, you may want to get that $20 merc pack that has beta access.

**6souls** · 2013-01-14 10:25

DUST 514 will enter open beta, free to download and play for anyone with a PlayStation 3, on January 22, CCP Games has announced.

Last Thursday, the developer achieved the milestone of merging the PlayStation 3 MMO first-person shooter with EVE Online on the Tranquility server hosting the EVE universe. By uniting both games on a single server, CCP Games has created a persisten online universe that allows PC gamers playing EVE Online to interact with PlayStation 3 gamers playing DUST 514.

“The launch of the DUST 514 Open Beta is another step towards our long-term vision for CCP and EVE,” said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP. “But this is just the beginning. As we have done with EVE Online, in the coming weeks, and for years to come, we will continually improve upon and add to the DUST 514 experience, as well as add deeper integration between the two games and their communities.”

A note to gamers playing the DUST 514 closed beta: after the open beta begins, therer will be no further character resets. “Every shot, every battle, and every contract” in the open beta will now count.

http://gematsu.com/2013/01/dust-514-...ins-january-22
http://community.eveonline.com/devbl...&utm_campaign=

**Cantih** · 2013-01-14 10:38

Argh, beat me by minutes.

Still no NDA release sadly, I'm still gagged.

**Cantih** · 2013-01-21 22:36

A reminder if you have a PS3, this goes into open beta tomorrow.
You should at least create a character, so it collects passive SP in case you ever choose to play, even if you aren't going to just right now. Time is a resource you can't get back. (And if you come back later, having months/years of SP built up is going to be like fucking christmas.)

The NDA also lifts sometime tomorrow, and I have a guide ready for BG when the clock ticks over. (Why my blog was a bit late, my time got taken up more than usual.)

**Kaisha** · 2013-01-22 08:36

How big of a download are we talking here? I got some bandwidth to burn this time around, and for some reason I never bothered adding the closed beta to my download list when PS+ subscribers had access.

**Cantih** · 2013-01-22 17:52

Hmm, my size on HD for the game says about 3 GB.

Also

All have my guide up a little later, was having trouble getting on to BG earlier, and gotta run atm.

**Lonely** · 2013-01-22 20:31

Well its up now on PSN, 2678 MB.

**Trocian** · 2013-01-22 20:56

It takes fucking longer to install than to actually download it. Super.

**Cantih** · 2013-01-22 22:16

DUST 514 Day 1, what you need to know.

The key part of this guide will walk you from character creation to your first battle. There will also be a few deeper digressions on some important points.

Note that you have three character slots. (If they'll let more be added, I don't know. But if for some reason you need more, creating a alternate PSN handle seems to be your workaround.) Only ONE of your characters may have passive SP gain at a time. You can change who it is whenever you like, but really only your main character should ever have it.

There's only one mechanical choice in all of the character creation options, which determines some skills you start off with unlocked. (And a small stock of some equipment.) All the others are just flavor, so read the text and pick what you like. These are the 4 archetypes that you can choose from. None of them lock you in to anything, and militia modules mean there isn't any significant delay/lockout in what you can do.

Arbiter : Dropsuit Command 1, Weaponry 1, Combat Engineering 2, Sniper Rifle 1, Shield Boost Systems 3, Shield Enhancements 1
Enforcer : Dropsuit Command 1, Weaponry 1, Circuitry 3, Assault Rifle 1, Scrambler Pistol 1, Nanocircuitry 1, Grenade 1,
Sentinel : Dropsuit Command 1, Weaponry 3, Field Mechanics 2, Swarm Launcher 1, Armor Upgrades 1, Armor Repair 1
Artificer : Dropsuit Command 1, Weaponry 1, Circuitry 3, Field Mechanics 2, SMG 1, Nanocircuitry 1

It should be noted, the skills you get from each archetype do not add up the same. Arbiter gives you 198k SP worth of skills, Artificer only gives you 130k SP. Ultimately, the difference is only a little more than a day's worth of SP gain, but it matters to some. Also, the Sentinel archetype should give you a starter fit with a heavy suit BPO (I'm not sure though, test it with a throwaway character name first), the only way to get one without paying AUR.

Regardless, no matter what you choose, you get 300k of unallocated SP to use once you hit your quarters.

DON'T USE IT JUST YET THOUGH. You can't respec. Nothing gets locked or lost, so all you really lose is the time it takes you to get the SP. But it's better to be smart with your SP than just blowing it on whatever strikes you. You can only get so much SP a day, time is a resource too.

For the studious of you, here's some important info on the SP system.

The SP System

Spoiler: show

You're currently limited on how much SP you can get each day.

There's passive SP like EVE online, which you gain at the rate of 1k an hour (24,000 a day). Then there's active SP, which you get from fighting in battles. Currently, there is a 27,200 daily cap on active SP, with no rollover system, so if you want to keep up with the skill cap rat race, you'll need to play daily for now. The devs are looking to change this, and the current proposal is no cap but very nerfed active SP, but the change isn't implemented yet and they're still taking feedback. In any case, you should still aim to hit the current active cap for now, in case getting Active SP becomes harder.
It takes about 6 skirmish matches or about nine ambush matches to hit the cap, depending on how good you are, and and matches go up to 15 minutes (ambush tends to end sooner), so you can get about an hour and a half of high value play a day. Once you hit the cap, no matter what, you can only get 50 SP a match. That's 200 an hour, or 5 hours to get 1k. Don't grind for post cap SP, it's not worth it (unless you want ISK, but that's another matter).

There is one (well, two) ways to increase the daily SP you get, spend real cash to get an SP booster. Eventually, you should be able to buy them from other players for ISK on the open market, once they get the player market up and running, but it's not yet, still beta. (This is how CCP fights 3rd party RMT. If you want to spend cash for ISK, you buy a PLEX (or boosters for DUST) from them [30 days of subscription time], then sell it to other players for whatever the market will bear.) There is a passive booster, and an active booster. Each raises the cap and gain rate by 50%. You can have both at the same time. The only ones you can get at the moment are 1, 3, and 7 day amounts (7 being the best value). Now the bad news, 7 day boosters cost $3.50, so if you want max SP for a month, you're looking at $28 a month. Hopefully CCP will introduce 30 days at a much lower pricepoint (and indications have been made), but go bitch at them to do so sooner. On the other hand, the price may be a discouragement to go that far, and keep the gap between paid and free players smaller.

I would note they said it would take seven years to unlock all the skills in DUST 514, and at the current normal SP cap this is true [well, it's 6 years now, adjustments in beta went in our favor]. If you max on boosters however, it'll only take you four. They always add more skills, so you'll never cap out, but if you got cash to burn, and you need that edge over other players, go for it. Once the SP system changes are known, I'll break down what's optimal to get.

If you do nothing else, you should download the game, create a character and make sure they're gaining passive SP. That way if you ever do feel like playing, you'll have a big bank of SP to use and not be completely behind everyone else (though you'll still miss out on potential active SP you won't get back).

-----

Anyways, now you should be in your Mercenary quarters.

You can walk around and look at stuff, but all the selectables are the same thing as what's in your neocom (main menu). Press Start or L1 to go to that now. (The other main panel is the chat options, you get to that by pressing Select, or through the main menu, but it isn't important right now.)
The game should actually be giving you tutorials, including active ones for skills, fitting, and market. In case it isn't, they're all down in Help, and you should review them when needed.

You can hit that shiny Battle selection, and I won't stop you, but you should take a moment to head to the Fitting > Dropsuit Fitting to familiarize yourself with your starter fits. You'll have five, four assault suits, and a fifth that's based on your archetype choice. These starter fits are BPOs [though not the normal type], and as such don't cost you any ISK to use. You can even edit them to a degree. You can't remove the yellow items, but you can place your own selections over them. I can't say what all four archetype suits include, since I only have the one for my archetype [and I cba to create 3 more characters to find out], but I will cover the four assault fits.

The Anti-Armor fit equips you with a Swarm Launcher and Scrambler Pistol. The Swarm only locks on to hard targets, so using it on infantry is difficult. It has a weak damage boosting mod, and an armor HP boosting mod.

The Frontline fit equips you with an Assault Rifle and a Scrambler Pistol. It also has modules that increase your sprint stamina, raise your shield HP, and increases the amount your shield recharges.

The Medic fit equips you with an Assault Rifle, SMG, and a Nanite Injector. The injector can be used to revive a fallen teammate, with a limited amount of armor HP. It also has a weak damage mod, and a useless to the fit PG (power grid) module. Despite being named Medic, this is actually a decent frontline fit, if the other modules were different.

The Sniper fit equips you with a Sniper Rifle and a Scrambler Pistol. The mods increase your sprint speed, and the amount your shield recharges (which is fairly useless for a sniper.)

Now you have enough knowledge to go hop into battle. You could go head for a fight, though you should probably read through this section first, as you're gonna be too busy in in the game to do both at the same time, but regardless. Open up your neocom and hit the battle finder. You have two battle choices at the moment. Ambush is just team death match. You win by depleting the enemy's clone count to zero, or keeping it lower than your team's when time runs out. In Skirmish, the MCCs will take damage, and the more Null Cannons (lettered capture points) your team controls the more damage the enemy MCC will take. Whoever's blows up first loses (or you can deplete their clone count). Pick whichever you like. If you want a single second to think and take stock however, I recommend skirmish, as ambush will throw you into the meatgrinder.

The Battle Finder Menu

Spoiler: show

Currently there are two game modes in three sections.

The modes are Ambush and Skirmish, which I've described above, so far they're the only ones in the game, more will be added eventually.

The first section is instant battle, and this is your jump in and play mode (and where most of the action is happening at the moment.)

The second section is the mercenary tab, and isn't really used at the moment. So far it's only been when there's stuff the devs want to specifically test.

The third section is corp battles. So far they're only skirmish mode, and the only way to get them is if you're in a player corp, and you (or your CEO/Director, if that isn't you) is setting them up (I'm not one, so can't help you there). Currently they do have an effect the EVE universe (they tip the balance in Faction Warfare, depending on which side wins), but the system is still very much in beta and the whole thing isn't very polished yet. But if you want to play with something on the line, this is where you get it. However, at the moment only the "corp" gets the spoils from the battle, and there's no way to disburse the corp assets to members (at least as far as I know). So as a participating member all you get is the fight, no ISK (and no active SP either). However, at the moment it's also the only way to fight against a specific group of people, instant battle is only going to give you randoms. (Yes, there is a skill matching system, and it's not simply SP based.)

Oh, regarding orbital bombardments, there are two kinds one stronger than the other, though you don't really wand to be on the business end of either. The first is a precision strike, which can happen in any match, if your squad leader calls for it when you have enough WP earned (it's technically from the War Barge, from a lore perspective). The second is an actual orbital bombardment, that requires cooperation from somebody in EVE to fire the guns. I believe there's a WP threshold to unlock it's use (to call in the order), and it's a bit stronger, but the only place they can happen is in corp matches. And even then, only if the corp has an ally ready in orbit. (And this is EVE, some pirate may come shoot up your orbital support just for the fun of it.)

-----

So, now you're in the battle (you may have spent a bit of time in orbit, that's not important right now). The first thing you'll see is the map. Things that are blue are your team, things in red are your enemy. (Green are your squadmates, don't shoot them, it's annoying. Oh and friendly fire is off at the moment.) Things in yellow, if there are any, are unclaimed installations. Generally, you'll want to run and claim them for your team if you can. Red zones (more easily visible in your minimap), are out of bounds. Stay in them and you get suicided. Both teams base spawn points are generally red zones to the opposing team.

If you're in an Ambush battle, generally you'll have to spawn in a random location unless someone has placed a drop uplink, and there will be none to few installations. Skirmish will give you the option to spawn in a base or the MCC (mobile Command Center, big floaty thing), in addition to CRUs (clone resurrection units) and the Null Cannons. There will also be some Supply Depots (which supply you with ammo, and allow you to change your suit without dying) and turrets here and there.

So pick a spawn point, and a menu with your dropsuit fits should come up. Select the one you want and confirm, and you'll spawn on the map shortly. Don't dawdle around, hanging out on the spawn screen too long boots you out of a match.

Your HUD has three important areas
Top left is your mini map. What shows up depends on your suit sensors (a topic for later), but know that some stuff that is there doesn't always show up. Depending on your match mode, it also shows the clone count and clock, or the MCC's HP

Bottom Left is your shield, armor, and stamina. Shields regenerate after a delay, armor has to be repaired by nanohive, repair tools, or regen modules. Stamina is consumed by jumping or running, and lighter suits have more of it than heavy suits. (Also, a suits movement speed and turning speed is based on it's type, lighter is faster)

We don't have sure figures yet, but like EVE, there are 4 damage types, weapons have multiple values, an each has a different effectiveness against armor or shields, eventually you'll be wanting to run exacting fits depending on what you're facing.

Bottom right is ammo/grenades. It'll also show overheating if your weapon does that. R1 Fires, L1 zooms/ADS (Triangle crouches), L2 throws a grenade. (Square reloads) R2 swaps your weapon, or brings up a wheel menu if you hold it. You use the right stick to select the weapon or equipment you want. This is the only way to swap to any equipment you have.

Pressing the left stick makes you sprint (X jumps, both consume stamina), pressing the right stick makes you do a panic melee. Circle is what you use to hack installations, climb ladders, and get in and out of vehicles.

The D-pad is what you use to bring up menus, you don't want to press these randomly. Up gets you the match player list, down gets you the the overview map (this is also where a squad leader handles orders). Right is what you use to get your vehicles deployed to you, and if you have it set that way in your options. Left is your Push To Talk button.

Also note, the game supports controller, PS Move (including the Sharp Shooter accessory, but it's not required), AND Keyboard and mouse. Yes, you can use KBM on a console game, just get a USB or bluetooth set.

Were you trying to read this in the battle? Then now you're probably dead. You have two options, call for help (only useful if the hud says a triage unit is nearby, someone with a nanite injector), or let go and respawn. Repeat until the match ends.

You might find you're the squad leader. This will allow you to set orders, and if your guys are good, unleash a tactical bombardment. It's very easy to forget about these functions if you aren't paying attention, and I often do, so I can't really speak much on them. But if you form your own squads (with other BGers) you should make sure whoever is leader can handle doing this stuff. Hint: don't open up the menus while standing out in the open, unless you like to make snipers happy. Fighting in the vicinity of your squad order gives you bonus War Points, so having your leader set them benefits you in more ways than just giving direction. (And the squad leader gains commission WP for what the squad does if they follow orders, so it benefits you to set orders as well.)

Oh, right, I should cover WP. Currently, you get one active SP for every one WP you earn in a match (until you hit the daily cap). It's also a decent measure of non-combat support you're providing. There are a handful of things that don't give SP, but for the most part as long as you're doing something useful you'll get WP.

-----

Well, that should cover all the critical, need to know right now stuff, and hopefully take a bit of the edge off any confusion and complexity. It's by no means EVERYTHING in the game, but it should get you started.

Lastly, here's a small intro to the skill system. I'll have a guide on suits, modules, equipment, weapons, vehicles and the fitting system up in a day or two. You can try messing with it for yourself, or just play with the starter fit for a while to build up your ISK.

Oh, and a brief who's who of player corps.

There are three names you need to know in DUST player corps. [Though any corp in the top 10 to 30 of the kill or war point leaderboards is one to be wary of.]
ZionTCD, Seraphim Initiative., and Imperfects.
The last is particularly notable, as it's full of 20/0 killstreak monsters, some of the best players through the closed beta. (In fact, they won the closed beta corporate tournament.) They also do PsyOps on the forums, so if you can't hack BG's spam, probably best to avoid falling under their notice.

Generally if you are up against these people, do your best, because that's all you can do. And there's no guarantee it'll do you any good.

If you want a learning corp, EVE's EVE University corp has branched to doing DUST University, and they aren't bad people, though you generally won't be playing with top tier.

Subdreddit is the Reddit/TEST DUST corp, you might try them if you're a redditor. I don't know Something Awful/Goonswarm's Dust Corp though.

The Skill System

Spoiler: show

**6souls** · 2013-01-22 22:51

Spoiler: show

**Cantih** · 2013-01-22 23:14

That guide is from about six months ago, so some things have changed a little.

Also, for a read in on some of the design squabbling in the community, here's a quick run through.
http://evenews24.com/2013/01/22/revi...lay-fixes-1-0/

**Kaisha** · 2013-01-23 13:28

My first impression is that this feels like a really ghetto version of MAG, and I loved the shit out of MAG.

Game managed to get my PS3 Slim fans to kick into high gear though, and that kinda worries me about the life expectancy of this model given how my last PS3 died.

Thread: Dust 514

Thread Tools

Similar Threads

EvE Online: Dust 514 - Console MMO

Bunch of awesome RPGs collecting dust :(

Latest Threads

Up & Coming Threads

Hottest Threads