Visceral Details Battlefield: Hardline’s Progression System Just In Time For Open Beta

With the Battlefield: Hardline open beta starting this week, Visceral has laid out details on how we'll be building our characters through the game's online multiplayer mode. Somebody call Shane McMahon, because here comes the money.

According to the Battlefield: Hardline blog, players will earn in-game money through positive actions that can then be used to purchase new weapons and hardware to use in battle. One thing we do like is that the entire lineup of weapons will be available from the jump. As the blog puts it: "You told us that you don't want to wait behind a long grind for your favorite gun, and we listened – you can now buy good ol' Betsy right away."

Ranking us doesn't end with a player's bankroll, however. Gold, Silver, and Bronze Service Stars will let other players know you're a master of the Hardline way, while Assignments are in-game challenges ranging from "fairly straight-forward to almost impossible." No matter what players decide to focus on, there are also 150 Rank levels that show next to Gamertags a la ranking systems we're used to. Incredibly all of these features are available in the Open Beta, and EA says there's a "free cookie" to the first Beta player to reach Rank 150.

Battlefield: Hardline launches March 17 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. You can check out the beta on all those platforms starting today, and through Feb. 8.