Tonight begins the weekend of salt
Update: The open beta period for Guilty Gear Strive is now available to all players on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Download requires approximately 11 GB of space on PS4.
Humanity knew it couldn’t wait any longer to try Guilty Gear Strive’s rollback netcode, so instead of hiding it from the world, Arc System Works is about to open the floodgates for just about everyone who wants to play.
The public open beta for Guilty Gear Strive is scheduled to go live in just a few hours, so we’ve compiled everything you need to know to get started before jumping into online matches when servers will be available for character guides and how to gameplay will flow.
First, it is probably important to find out when / where the beta will be available, so this test will be available only to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners.
The beta client can be downloaded from PlayStation Store starting tonight, February 18, 7 pm PT / 10 pm ET, and the servers are scheduled to go online at the same time.
If you I can’t find the beta listed on the PS Store on consoles, you can add them to your library from the market website version and then download them from that library on the system of your choice.
No downtime for maintenance should occur, but the servers were unexpectedly offline early Thursday for those who took action early and stayed that way for about five hours.
This open beta test period is scheduled to last until Sunday, February 21st, at 6:59 am PT where the application is unlikely to be able to play without a server connection.
There are 13 playable characters to choose from, which is the vast majority of fighters that will be available at launch – leaving out only Anji Mito and the 15th unannounced participant.
ArcSys has released specific beginner guide videos for each of them, which you can check by clicking on the following links: Giovanna, Nagoriyuki, Leo, Ramlethal, Zato-1, Millia, Ky Kiske, Potemkin, May, Sol, Axl, Chipp, and Faust.
They also took the system overview video below to show the various mechanics available in Strive, such as the changed / improved Roman Cancel ability.
Newer / not-so-familiar players with the Guilty Gear series may also want to take a look at some supplemental guides for beginners, and luckily content creators like Rooflemonger and LordKnight have addressed it there, as the game’s beta tutorial doesn’t teach much of anything .
Even veterans will have a lot to learn, as Strive is a very different beast on the field, where battles are much more grounded than the usual high-flying combos and the removal of most Gatling options. The damage output is also very high, so blocking, bursting and using Roman Cancels are more important than ever.
Unlike last year’s first beta, there are several ways to spend your time outside online matches, including a robust training mode and offline versus mode if you just want to face the computer or a friend on the couch.
Also different from what we played before is that Strive is now running on netcode rollback instead of delay based, which fans have demanded since its initial reveal.
Professionals and others who have had a chance to play have stated that it may be the most relaxed online game they have ever experienced in a fighting game.
While these brilliant reviews are promising, we should keep in mind that these players generally invest in the best internet available to them and play over wired connections, so the general public may see a slightly different result.
Although there is no connection filter present in the beta, Strive does display ping and rollback frames occurring in matches with game reports over 200ms still available. The higher the number, the worse the correspondence will perform.
Many are also testing matches between continents, joining lobbies in other countries, so don’t be afraid to jump on the Japanese tower to see how it performs for you.
A PlayStation Plus subscription is not required to play online, so anyone with Sony consoles and an Internet connection can play Strive.
The almost universal lobbying system is back, as is its unique ranking system, although standard mail search is also available. Some reported that the feature was not working properly when the beta started, but we hope it is fixed for the main event.
Those wishing to take full action will have to wait about two months, as Guilty Gear Strive is scheduled for release on PS4, PS5 and PC on April 9th.