Later this year, there will be an unprecedented level of combat in gaming raging across the entire EVE Universe, from the mighty capsuleers far above in Eve Online, to the relentless onslaught you and your squad will bring to bear against your enemies on countless planets in DUST 514.

The first, harrowing drumbeats of war started not long ago and have been increasing ever since during our beta tests. Until today, this has been of very limited scope while we’ve introduced some of the EVE Universe’s most faithful players to planetary warfare and trickled in some of the earliest of adopters who have picked up their rifles and laid low the opposition.

But that all changes this weekend when we’ll be opening the doors to thousands of new combatants through our beta events. There’s still time to sign up over at our official beta website to participate in this important, and early, testing period for the game.

Signing up for the beta and playing DUST 514 is completely free! But for those who want to try an assortment of the pay-for items, get guaranteed access to beta weekends, and score a discount we’ve created the Mercenary Pack. The Mercenary Pack offers a $50 value for a price of $19.99 and will be available later today on PlayStation Store.

The Mercenary Pack contains an all-access beta pass, which will guarantee entry into every beta event — starting this Thursday, June 28th and then repeating every other weekend. Not only that, but Mercenary Pack owners will get exclusive access to DUST 514 during off weekends in-between beta events as well.

The Mercenary Pack also contains a bundle of goods and items designed to help both rookies and veterans alike, including a customized ‘Dragonfly’ Scout dropsuit that has a unique stealthy look and lowered skill requirements for usage. This dropsuit is a good all-around infantry armor that is versatile in most combat situations and is only available with the Mercenary Pack.

Another useful item included the package is the 30-day Active Skill Booster, also only available in the Mercenary Pack, which will grant the user a 50% boost in skill points earned during in-game matches so you can quickly progress your character to be on par with veteran players.

But what good is a mercenary soldier without weapons to ply his chosen trade? To remedy that, we have also included a spread of armaments to add teeth to any mercenary about to start his career on the battlefields of New Eden.

For starters, there’s the ‘Toxin’ ICD-9 Submachine Gun, which is a multipurpose weapon good for close and medium range fire fights. And for those who like to fight up close, you’ll find the HK4M Shotgun, designed to sweep a room clear of enemy combatants. For those times when you absolutely, positively must blow a group of enemies to bits, there’s the Fused Locus Grenade. Finally, the 1.5dn Myofibril Stimulant module gives damage bonuses for knife attacks.

It is said that endless money funds the sinews of war, and throughout history this has remained so. In DUST 514 there are two types of currencies: ISK (which is earned in-game) and Aurum (which is purchased). To help fund your plans for planetary conquest, the Mercenary Pack also comes with 4,000 Aurum so that you can finance your military campaigns and furnish your band of warriors with modern war gear.

Good luck to all our future Mercenaries! May your victories be sweet, and the spoils of war be bountiful.