The new action RPG Magic: Legends has entered open beta and is already free for all testers. There will also be no wipe. Everything you achieve in the game will remain. Specifically, this means: the game is essentially already here, just not quite finished yet.
What is Magic: Legends? The new free-to-play ARPG from Cryptic Studios and Perfect World takes place in the vast fantasy world of the well-known collectible card game Magic: The Gathering. You embody a so-called Planeswalker, one of the most powerful beings in the world.
The gameplay is oriented towards classic hack-and-slash titles like Diablo, but brings its own elements into play with rotating abilities and a system of card decks, classes, equipment, and artifacts. In our preview, you can read more about how Magic: Legends differs from Diablo.
The start of the open beta is essentially the soft launch
This is the beta: Since March 23, 2021, you can play the open beta of the new ARPG on PC via the Arc Launcher and the Epic Games Store. Anyone can participate; there are no restrictions.
You can test all classes of the game as well as the story and various missions, which you can repeat and play on up to four difficulty levels. A cash shop and endgame grind are also already available for testing, through which you can obtain additional cards. Cards, or “spells”, are capabilities in Legends that equip your character.
However, this label of “beta” is one reason why many players do not yet fully realize that they can play most of the content. Magic: Legends is not just in testing, but already in a pre-release version that players can play earlier – and that the developers are simply still refining.
This is why “beta” seems discouraging to many: A beta in most full-price games is an unfinished version in which players are supposed to test certain areas. Often, only very specific content is opened, or fully equipped characters are available to testers so they can thoroughly test that content.
For this reason, what players achieve in a beta is often deleted after the beta ends (a so-called “wipe”). This ensures that all players start from the same level at release – testers receive at most a small thank you in the form of cosmetics for their help. And finally, the game is still supposed to be purchased, which is why not everything was shown from the start.
In Magic: Legends – and in many other free-to-play games – this is not the case. Although the beta is still incomplete, it is already the early release of the actual game.
Not just beta, but pre-release
Why is Legends starting now? The progress you make in the beta will be transferred to the finished game (no “wipe”). This means: if you play now, you can essentially start with Magic: Legends earlier, even before it celebrates its official release.
This approach is commonly called a “soft launch” in gaming, and particularly free-to-play games often employ it. Players can already start with a not-quite-finished beta and incur no loss when the game is officially released.
This is an advantage for everyone looking forward to Magic: Legends and simply wanting to play early. After all, they don’t have to wait anymore; they can jump right in. However, such a launch also has a downside.
This is the downside: Magic: Legends is not yet finished. Despite the “soft launch” and the fact that it is already playable in nearly full capacity, it is still in an unfinished beta state.
Players will still encounter unpolished gameplay, bugs, and incomplete features. With their feedback, they will help signal to the developers where improvements are still needed.
And as it currently looks, there is still plenty of room for improvement. The first reviews of the beta are quite negative. Players are particularly bothered that the content does not feel complete.
What will change before the release? The developers will use the beta phase to fix bugs or even implement new features. Until the game is officially released, there will likely be many updates. Even after the release, there will still be new content.
What exactly is included in these updates largely depends on the players who are already testing. Depending on the feedback they provide and what they consider important, they can influence which areas the developers focus on.
No exact date for the official release of Magic: Legends has been announced yet. However, it is expected to happen sometime in 2021. The final version will then be available for PC, as well as on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, along with backward compatibility on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
By the way, did you know that the card game Magic and the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons come from the same publisher? D&D will also soon receive a new ARPG: We played the new ARPG Dark Alliance – seems perfect for a cozy co-op evening.
