Destiny 2: Preload and PC Beta Start Times, redeem your Beta Code

Bungie opens up the Destiny 2 PC Beta Preload on Battle Net, ahead of the Early Access Launch on Monday. Pre-order to get your Early Access key and start playing on August 28th.

It's been a busy few weeks, not only have we had the Summer Sale and Gamescom, but now we're about to start by playing one of this year's most anicipated titles as the PC Beta for Destiny 2 starts on Monday. This is a game that many gamers (including myself) have been waiting to make the jump to PC, and Bungie has finally opened up preloads for the game while they wait for the servers to open up on Monday 28th August. As an Official Partner of Activision / Bungie we're pleased to be able to offer Early Access Beta Keys to anyone that pre-orders (or has done so already) a PC copy of Destiny 2 by getting either the Standard or the Digital Deluxe.

We recently gave you a handy guide on how to redeem your Beta codes so gamers would be ready for the preload. Last night they opened up the preload for the game, so players can prepare and be ready to play at launch!

The Preload has started!

If you have already activated your Bungie Net code, then you can start by preloading the game via Blizzard's Battle Net Launcher.

The Preload for the PC Beta is already up, which went live at 6pm last night.

As already mentioned in our Guide after you have redeem your Beta Code, you will need to hit the "Install" button within the Blizzard app to start your preload (make sure you've redeemed your code first)!

Destiny 2 PC Beta Start and End Times

28th August - 6pm BST / 7pm CEST: Start of the PC Beta Early Access
29th August - 6pm BST / 7pm CEST: Open Beta Begins
31st August - 6pm BST / 7pm CEST: End of the PC Beta

Destiny 2 PC Beta System Requirements

Bungie have also released the PC Beta System Requirements for PC Gamers looking to try out the game for themselves, are you able to run the game?

Minimum:

• Processor: Intel - Core i3-3250 or AMD FX-4350
• Memory: 6GB of RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia - GeForce GTX 660 2GB or AMD Radeon HD 7850 2GB

Recommended:

• Processor: Intel - Core i5-2400 or AMD Ryzen R5 1600X
• Memory: 8 GB of RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia - GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 390

As always we suggest making sure you have the latest drivers before playing! AMD / NVIDIA

Note: System Requirements may change during the PC Beta test and may not reflect the final release build when it launches on October 24th.

Destiny 2 PC Beta Content

Like with the recent console beta, we're given a number of things to do during the length of the Beta (though it appears The Farm Social hub glance may be missing - or added later?).

Campaign: Homecoming
When you first start Destiny 2 on PC, you will start by picking your Class/Character. After this you will start the Homecoming Story Mission, which has you defending The Tower that has been invaded by Dominus Ghaul and his Red Legion Army. This will be where you can get used to your character abilities.

Crucible: Countdown and Control
The Crucible will be the PVP / Multiplayer portion of the Beta and it features two game types, each featuring a specific map.

• Countdown: Attack and Defend objective gametype with Elimination rules. First team to 6 round score limit wins the match. This will take place on the Endless Vale map.
• Control: Teams compete to control objective zones which grant additional points when defeating opponents. Reaching the score limit or having the highest score by time limit wins the match. While console players could play on the Midtown map, PC players will be able to enjoy the Javelin-4 map.

Strike: The Inverted Spire
As well as the above, players will also be able to jump into one of the Strike missions coming to Destiny 2. The Inverted Spire takes place on Nessus and you must work with your Fireteam to complete objectives and destroy anything that stands in your way.

Mouse and Keyboard Controls

With Destiny 2 making the jump to PC, many gamers are looking forward to being able to use both Mouse and Keyboard for the first time. Additionally, players on PC can also enjoy fully rebindable keys. Below you'll see an example of the Destiny 2 Default Keybinds on PC.

Destiny 2 PC Beta Known Issues

As is the case with being a Beta, some things may not work for everyone. This is why Bungie has listed a set of Known Issues that might happen to some players jumping in to the PC Beta.

Networking

• Players may experience a variety of networking error codes when attempting to play the Beta
• Bungie will be testing server stability throughout the Beta, which may cause error codes to appear periodically

Crucible

• Location names sometimes do not appear during Crucible gameplay
• Players sometimes are Kicked to Orbit after witnessing a black screen when entering a Countdown match

Strike

• Players may sometimes be placed at the beginning of the Inverted Spire Strike Activity when joining in progress

General

• Sandbox balancing is still taking place: Some weapons or abilities may have higher or lower damage than intended
• Not all content has been localized in all languages

PC Specific Issues

• Players may encounter issues when playing the Destiny 2 Beta with drivers that are out of date. Updating drivers to the latest version grants the best experience when playing Destiny 2 on PC.
• The Destiny 2 Beta may not run when installed to a folder with some localized character types in its name (e.g. Greek, Cyrillic, Kanji, etc.). Players should ensure that they install the Beta to a path that does not include these character types, or use the default install location.
• Players may encounter issues when joining the Fireteam of another player on their same local area network. Players who encounter this issue should ensure that they have UPnP enabled in their network settings.
• MSAA is still under development. As such, players may encounter various issues including visual artifacts and performance degradation when using MSAA.
• Multi-GPU support is still in development. Players may encounter issues including visual artifacts and performance impacts when using NVIDIA SLI. AMD Crossfire support is not available in the Destiny 2 PC Beta.
• The Destiny 2 Beta must be launched from Blizzard’s Battle.net app. If players launch the Beta client directly from the executable, they may receive an error message or the Destiny 2 Beta client may become unresponsive. Players who encounter this issue should close the Beta client through the user interface or by pressing Alt+F4, and proceed to launch the Destiny 2 Beta using the “Play” button in the Destiny 2 tab of the Blizzard app.