Mass Effect 3 'Operation: Beachhead' is another bonus XP weekend

On Monday, BioWare announced a rough release schedule for the previous Mass Effect 3 Operation: Raptor weekend, and while that appears to have hit a snag due to exploits, they're continuing with this weekend's event, Operation: Beachhead.

BioWare originally teased Beachhead by suggesting it would "require expert trained soldiers to complete," leading the community to speculate whether the new challenge would involve Gold difficulty and possibly Reaper objectives.  Turns out, Beachhead is another bonus XP event, during which players will earn 25% bonus experience by playing any map against any enemies, with no mention of a required difficulty setting. 

As with the last XP weekend, PS3 owners will be able to participate.  Here is the meat of the announcement:

Last weekend the Mass Effect community rallied to promote a record breaking 350,000k+ operatives in the field.  This weekend we’re bringing you Operation Beachhead, which will run from 6PM PST Thursday April 5, to 5AM PST Tuesday April 10 on Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3. 

Allied forces have matched krogan mercs and batarians with asari justicars for unconventional warfare.  Their mission: to create resistance on Reaper-occupied planets to tie down local Reapers.

All N7 Forces will receive a +25% Experience Bonus for participating in Operations in any Theatre of War against any foe. 

The second paragraph has been causing a stir in the multiplayer community, with many arguing that BioWare is hinting at the addition of new classes and races, confirming this leaked image from March.  Most seem to be dismissing the mention of batarians and Justicar as colorful writing, a way of getting readers excited for Beachhead and nothing else.  Frankly, I'm inclined to agree.  The way the classes in the old "screenshot" are assigned doesn't work with the current multiplayer system.

Well, guess a bonus XP weekend works as a follow-up to all those promotions from the last challenge.  And hey, something for PS3 owners to get in on until BioWare works things out with Sony.