Battleborn gets free trial mode, flair, and founders bonus

The team at Gearbox Software has announced today that Battleborn will get a “Free Trial” mode — a completely free download that lets prospective players try out all of the gameplay modes and maps free of charge, without any level cap. The game will shift to a rotation roster of 30 heroes (and likely climbing), with players allowed to save their progress for when the next time that character comes around. PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold memberships are still required to play the Free Trial, but this gives players a chance to dabble before the take the plunge on the full product. Let’s dig in a little deeper:

NEW PLAYER EXPERIENCE
New players won’t have to worry about matchmaking against a team with Command Rank 100 and legendary gear out of the gate. With the launch of the Free Trial, we’re also introducing a queue specifically for new players. This queue was created just for new and lower rank players to learn the ropes without being matched with more experienced players. Even if you’re a quick learner or an experienced MOBA player, we wanted to give you enough time to find your Battleborn play style and favorite heroes. Once a player masters Battleborn’s mechanics and reaches Command Rank 20, the Novice Queue will disappear and they be able to join other Battleborn players in the regular queues.

If you’re new to Battleborn, or just feeling a little rusty, take advantage of the new Training Modes, including an Incursion Tutorial to build up competitive multiplayer skills, and The Dojo, where players can test drive all 30 Battleborn heroes against waves of minions, regardless of whether they’re unlocked outside of The Dojo.

UNLOCK MORE CONTENT
Played it, loved it, want more? We got you. Players can unlock heroes, customizations for your favorite hero, experience boosters, or even the Story Mode Operations in the Marketplace individually. In the Marketplace, you’ll find a number of items that can be purchased with Credits earned in-game or Platinum premium currency including:
Battleborn Heroes
Cosmetics skins and taunts
Gear packs
XP and Loot Boosters
Additional Loadouts and Bank pages
Story Operations, individually or as part of the Season Pass bundle
Battle Passes to access private matches

If you are hooked by the game, you can pay a one time fee to unlock the entire game, including the 25 base characters, all eight Story Mode missions, the Prologue, and private matches. Better yet, if you’ve made any investments, you’ll get that back in the form of in-game credits that you can spend on other goodies. You’l also get retroactive achievements and trophies, if those are your thing.

The new mode is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC today, so try it out for yourself. But wait…what if you are a dedicated Battleborn player and have been playing since the beginning? Well, Gearbox wants to recognize your commitment as well with a Founder’s Bonus:

FOUNDER’S BONUS CONTENT
1,000 Platinum
50,000 Credits
Exclusive “Founder” player title
Gold skins for Mellka and Deande
5 Core Loot Packs
1 of each Command Faction Pack (5 total)
1 Exclusive “Founder Loot Pack” that includes…

1 guaranteed piece of legendary gear
1 guaranteed piece of legendary boss gear
2 guaranteed pieces of common (or better) gear
Guaranteed exclusive legendary “Shard of Solus” gear item (a 0 activation cost LLC Shard Generator)
4 guaranteed Flair items including exclusive “Founder’s Crown” Flair item

if you purchased and played the retail game prior to June 6th, 2017, you are consider a Founder and are entitled to the bonus. Enjoy!

Beyond these two bonuses, there is also a new Flair mechanic. Characters can now pick up silly hats (WHOHOO! HATS!), goofy cat ears, and horns. If you are a Battleborn fan, there’s a lot to be excited about. While you download the game, check out Eric’s review from the launch of the game and let us know in the comments what you think!