Tribes Ascend open Beta begins Friday

This Friday Hi-Rez Studios will be opening up the beta test to the public for their online free to play shooter Tribes: Ascend.
Prior to the Beta going live to the public, they are also adding new maps and a new game mode called Arena Deathmatch. Other updates before the beta opens will include:

New gametype, Arena Deathmatch, with two initial maps
New Capture The Flag map, Temple Ruins
New Team Deathmatch map, Inferno
Two new unlockable items for the Soldier class:  Proximity Grenade and Utility Pack
New default suits for Doombringer and Brute
Ability to view either Blood Eagle or Diamond Sword skins from Class menu
Service supporting Name Change
Large number of bug-fixes and balance adjustments.  

Tribes Ascend is a decent recreation of the classic tribe series and we’ve had a lot of fun during the closed Beta. If you’ve not tried it yet, then do check it out later this week, especially if you were a fan of the original Tribes series.
“The Tribes: Ascend Closed Beta has exceeded our expectations”, says Todd Harris, Hi-Rez Studios Chief Operating Officer.  “Over 300,000 players participated in the closed beta and the game has improved greatly based on community feedback.  We are now excited to launch Open Beta this Friday.  We have expanded capacity in North America, Europe, and Australia and added new local servers to support growing communities in Brazil and Asia.”