Its been a while since I last played Paladins. When I first bought into Early Access I loved the game but changes from Hi-Rez were happening so rapidly I wanted to step back and look in. From all that I've been seeing, it's looking better and better. With open beta now here, there's a new trailer and if you want to dive in you can simply head to Steam. 

PALADINS ENTERS OPEN BETA, AVAILABLE ON STEAM NOW

September 16, 2016 - Alpharetta, GA - Paladins, the new team based shooter from Hi-Rez Studios, officially transitions to open beta today. Initially unveiled in August of last year Paladins combines FPS gameplay with unique character customization through collectible cards. Over the past few months Hi-Rez Studios has been working closely with the Paladins community to create something special and now invites everyone to experience Paladins’ blend of fast paced shooter action, a diverse cast of champions, and deep character customization.

“Since the start of closed beta late last year we’ve been refining the core gameplay and the overall user experience.”, said Todd Harris, COO and co-founder of Hi-Rez Studios. “Paladins is a team shooter with a fantasy setting, a sense of humor, and a high degree of customization and strategy. Paladins is now and always will be free-to-play and with our move to Open Beta anyone can download the game from the Paladins website or Steam. We look forward to continuing to shape and improve the game with an even larger community”

Some of the newest features of the Paladins Open Beta include a new user interface, new match lobby, 17 Champions, a third map (“Enchanted Forest”), a more robust in-match Item system, the ability to mix head, body, and weapon skins on each champion, and a new ranked Competitive queue with leaderboards. Paladins has been built from the ground up to support esports and features a robust spectator client. Hi-Rez Studios has plans to support the growing Paladins player base with servers in key locations across the Americas, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

The Paladins open beta on Steam is launching with Steam achievements, and Hi-Rez Studios also teamed up with Valve to offer players a special Team Fortress 2 Engineer skin for the Paladins character Barik. This skin can be unlocked by winning as the champion Barik 5 times through Steam.

Players interested in joining the Paladins open beta can download and play for free by visiting www.paladins.com or http://store.steampowered.com/app/444090/.

About Paladins

Paladins is a team-based shooter with strategy elements and deep character customization through it’s unique use of collectible cards. These cards amplify and augment a character’s core set of abilities in many interesting ways. Paladins will be free-to-play for PC and current-generation consoles and is currently in beta. www.paladins.com

About Hi-Rez Studios

Atlanta-based Hi-Rez Studios was established in 2005 to create exceptional online interactive entertainment, and is now one of the largest video game studios in the Southeast United States. Its games include the squad-based shooter Global Agenda, the critically acclaimed Tribes: Ascend and SMITE, the Battleground of the Gods. Hi-Rez Studios recently launched its first mobile game Jetpack Fighter, a swipe-to-attack high speed platformer with gear progression and is currently developing Paladins, a fantasy FPS with progression using collectible cards. www.HiRezStudios.com.