[i]“The Ancient Gods have awoken! They have a hunger for grilled players!”[/i] The ancient gods are not the only ones Jim, all Blood Bowl fans are hungry, and can’t wait to play some Blood Bowl 3. We must admit it’s been a long wait. But we can finally say with assurance, BB3 has never been so close to be ready. Actually, you can already play it by joining the Beta right now : https://bloodbowl-thegame.com/#/home [previewyoutube=6AHkbhsCIDg;full][/previewyoutube] The first Blood Bowl Beta took place back in June 2021, more than a year ago already. A lot, and I mean A LOT has been done since then. One thing that has been clear since the beginning is that Blood Bowl 3 needed to be a worthy successor of the previous opus. To achieve this task, Cyanide and Nacon did not hesitate to postpone the game to improve it, using previous beta(s) players feedback and asking veteran players to make sure Blood Bowl would answer their expectations. With this 3rd Beta, the game has never been closer to this goal. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38626626/4b43c50fd63c1d16504ad245b4d419b4b503a1d7.png[/img] [b]What you can find in this beta? [/b] Everything from the previous beta, better, and more! 6 playable teams: Black Orcs, Imperial Nobility, Elven Union, Dwarfs, and 2 new teams. Let’s first introduce the 2 Stars of the show: 2 new and exclusive teams that have never set food in a Blood Bowl game before. The Chaos Renegades and the Old World Alliance. Both teams are composed of players that you would usually see in other teams. You will have to compose with their unusual compatibility (or incompatibility) to fight your way to victory, which opens a completely new window for strategy. [b]The Chaos Renegades [/b] The Chaos Renegades are an unlikely alliance of Humans, Dark Elves, Skavens and Green Skins alongside the big guys from Chaos. They are devastatingly strong and intimidating. Due to their devotion to the Gods of Chaos, every player in the team has access to mutation skills, giving them a lot of flexibility. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38626626/207434ca18a5e756f5faeed20bd93419adb4dbee.png[/img] [b]The Old World Alliance [/b] The Old World Alliance bring together Humans, Dwarfs, Halflings and the one and only, TREEMAN! This team combines the flexibility of Humans with the strength and resistance of the Dwarfs. The cherry on top? The Treeman will hold his position like no one else. Yet you will have to be smart to make all these players work as a team… let’s say they are not always each other biggest fans of each other, which can tends to make your life difficult. Both teams are not just players from other teams brought together. They have their unique personality and look, with their own customization to make sure you will not confuse your players with ones from another team. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38626626/124a301d915565d11da770c2666ee6451dc77420.png[/img] To go with these two new teams there are 3 completely new pitches, each with their own special event to spice things up during your games. [b]The Chaos Chosen Pitch[/b] Be careful when you spill Blood on this pitch during the first half, you might awaken the dark forces hidden in the shadows. Have you ever seen a Blood Bowl game without Blood spilled? Exactly. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38626626/eae9502fa68b21237b552b8f58e5e52e59f6b0e5.png[/img] As a result, what looked like a normal pitch could change a bit… [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38626626/c1d3e974f05192c0e709585077443c85f8a23852.png[/img] Your players better not be sensitive to heat strokes. [b]The Nurgle Pitch[/b] Do we need to introduce the one and only Nurgle, the God of disease, decay and rebirth. A lovely entity. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38626626/54b4c86972347f3a3104bf320431ad849c87d267.png[/img] Do we need to introduce the one and only Nurgle, the God of disease, decay and rebirth. A lovely entity. The pitch might be dormant at first, but if any player is unfortunate enough to die, it will awaken carnivore plants and swirling worms that will complicate players movement and slow the pace of the game. Particularly effective for a Nurgle team. [b]The Dark Elves Pitch[/b] Last but not least, the Dark Elves Pitch is built over water. A nice touch but as you can imagine for now, it’s not just a nice water convenient for a swim. A gruesome sea creature, probably a Blood Bowl fan, has taken up residence in these calm waters. If a team scores a touchdown during the match, the creature will react to the crowd roar and take part in the show. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38626626/d10e1f1183690939be47a69e00b1ff23de304ef2.png[/img] In addition to that, lots of improvements and additions have seen the light of day since the last beta. The HUD has been completely modified based on player’s feedback, the wheel of skills can now be interacted with via the mouse, and there are more camera options. With the introduction of the ‘Simultaneous Action’ feature you can now prepare your next moves while your opponent plays. Also new is the ‘Formation Menu’ where you can prepare your different offensive and defensive strategies, and save them. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38626626/39241c5ceca33a630900d4e6c73cd33f4a508b7b.png[/img] That is just a few of the numerous surprises you can discover right now by participating in our PC beta, so if it’s not done already, please register here and have a taste for yourself! https://bloodbowl-thegame.com/#/home Even though the game is playable, it is not final yet and there is still plenty of content that we keep in store for the release. We will also, as we always did, take a lot of interest in feedback to improve the game. You can join us on Discord to share your thought and discuss with us: https://discord.gg/bloodbowl3 We opened this note by a quote from Jim so it’s only fair to let Bob have the final word… [i]“Yum! I’ve got my McMurty’s Squig Burger and my XL-size cheese-shake – let’s watch some Blood Bowl!”[/i]