The latest Champions Online 'state of the game' has been posted on the official site. Bill Roper has lots to say about what's been happening during the beta. Read on!

Balance, Balance, Balance

We're in full balancing mode with powers and items now, so beta players should expect to see positive changes in the upcoming weeks. We're also running our internal Combat Triage team at full bore, working to make fights more engaging and fun - and yes, we may even make some changes to different mechanics and powers in the game to accomplish this. Beta tester feedback is going to be more vital than ever, so watch the forums for specific announcements on where to put your focus starting next week.

Calling Our Heroes in Europe

We know that our European players have expresses dismay at not being able to enter any of our contests. We've been battling against the villainous super group known as The Rules Lawyers and are very close to victory. Cheeky banter aside, we've been working on getting EU contest rules in place that adhere to applicable laws and restrictions, and we should be able to extend our contests into several European countries very soon. We have always wanted to include all of our community, and now we'll be able to do so!

Ramping Up the Hero Games

We're putting a big focus on PvP this week both here at Cryptic and out in the real world. Select members of the press are going to be battling against developers at a live event in San Francisco this Thursday. Back here at Champions HQ, we're putting in Ranks & Rewards, polishing up the B.A.S.H. battleground in Westside, and finishing up our final Area that will be reserved for the top tier of combatants. Beta players can expect to see some of these dropping in starting next week.

Check out the rest of the letter at the link above.