The first public beta for Guild Wars 2 is next weekend and it should be a doozy.
ArenaNet has confirmed that “hundreds of thousands” of players will be getting their first hands-on taste of the game, including the chance to create multiple characters for three of the game’s races — Norn, Human, and Charr — and play as any of the game’s eight professions.
All the content from previous, limited betas will be available, including PvP, WvW, capital cities and more, with the big new addition being the hub city of Lion’s Arch, described in The Art of Guild Wars 2 as
a unique, cosmopolitan city that rejects the queen’s rule and claims to be a free city state, open to all races and cultures.
There’s still no sign of the Asura or Sylvari races, however, so there might be relatively little “new” content for players to dive into. Considering that it will be the first real taste of the game for many, maybe this is the right approach, though players looking for an extensive amount of new info might be a little disappointed.
The beta starts at noon PDT on Friday, April 27 and lasts until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, April 29, and the only way to guarantee a spot in the beta is to pre-purchase the game. Beta testers will receive an e-mail next week with instructions on how to download the client.
What do you think? Will this be your first time playing Guild Wars 2? What are you looking forward to trying out?
