Elite: Dangerous 'Beta 2' is a major gameplay upgrade to the Beta:

• Combat ratings from ‘Harmless’ all the way up to ‘Elite’.
• Reputations per system and galaxy-wide that influence attitudes and prices offered to you.
• Ability to discover and explore and scan new systems and sell the data on them.
• Detailed system maps.
• Around 500 additional star systems to explore.
• Lakon Asp Explorer ships added.
• Much greater variety of upgradable Life Support modules, Engines, Hyperdrives, Power Distributors, Sensors, Shield Generators and Cargo Racks for all ships.
• Ships are subject to gradual ‘wear and tear’.
• New weapons including mines and a new non-lethal missile-deployed cargo hatch disruptor for piracy.
• Outposts (small, exposed ‘roadside café’ stations in remote locations)
• Occelus starports, a version of which can move around for early civilization of new systems and space tourism.
• Visibility of other ships in supercruise, and track others through supercruise and hyperspace.
• Newsfeeds about events from the rest of the galaxy and player activity in your local system.
• All backers names (from the appropriate crowd-funding reward tiers) have been added to the NPC naming database.

Beta 2 also includes a host of other improvements and optimizations including additional rock, ice and metal planetary ring types, a lot more music and some optional ‘simulator’ tutorials.