ArenaNet's Guild Wars 2 Beta Client Released

Written by: Scott Hawkes (@jarimor) | April 24, 2012 4:30 pm

48 Comments

It’s the news many have been hitting their F5 keys repeatedly for.

ArenaNet has begun sending out emails giving instructions on how to get the client for the upcoming Guild Wars 2 beta weekend event.

Excited fans have already started downloading the client while others are anxious that they haven’t received their email yet. Not to worry, the fabulous Rubi Bayer explained on the Guild Wars 2 Facebook page:

Sending such a large volume of mail takes some time, so don’t fret if you don’t get yours immediately. When you do receive it, keep in mind that the site is getting an enormous amount of traffic, so you may get a 502 error briefly. Just hang in there and give it a few minutes, then try again.

As another way to fuel the excitement, ArenaNet has released a video — handily embedded for you below — to give you a good idea of what to expect this weekend.

Only three days to go…

ArenaNet's Guild Wars 2 Beta Client Released

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http://www.facebook.com/craig.gafoor Craig Gafoor

<<1st ZOOOOMFFFFFFGAAAHHHHHH!!! ITS BEGINS!!!
http://twitter.com/OnlyInSaudiArab Only-In-Saudi-Arabia

OMG am going to play GUILD WARS 2 :D

i am downloading right now :D
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ivan-Noa/100000016129555 Ivan Noa

question, I get to the forum welcome screen but I see no links to download the client anyone else got this issue/
- http://www.facebook.com/Slidhz Robin Zetterqvist
  
  Edit: I’m just retarded
http://www.facebook.com/people/Tim-Becker/1470011374 Tim Becker

I have a F5 x1000 makro on every single makro key on my G11
- Rodrigo Gomez
  
  that probably wont work , refresh and wait till it stops loading
Cyclops07

dang havent seen mine yet
http://twitter.com/WadeDMcGinnis Wade D McGinnis

Error 502 and error 500! Eeeeeh gads!
http://www.facebook.com/CrAzY.ChRiS.MtL Chris Mcpherson

I Still haven’t gotten my email for the beta client :(:( Damnnn you arenanet
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ivan-Noa/100000016129555 Ivan Noa

sweet finally got the link to work and downloading
Kicknpups

Currently at 45% on my PC and 32% on the GF’s pc!..Can’t wait 2D 18H 47M to go!
- Rodrigo Gomez
  
  how is the size at 45%?
  - Kicknpups
    
    Been downloading from the moment I received the email My friend who is downloading roughly 2.2gs Im @ 1.2gs so hence 45% which is now 71%
    - Old Ben
      
      I think he was asking what the size (in GB) was.
      
      And, to answer that, the game client is around 20 GB.
      - David Cole
        
        Mine was about 21Gb.
      - Old Ben
        
        If you were in the previous beta and installed to the same place, you might still have some old files left. If you install this one in a separate folder, you should have three files:
        
        GW2.exe (21 MB)
        GW2.tmp (0 bytes, used to download updates)
        GW2.dat (12.7 GB, the game data)
        
        Plus a couple of very small optional files if your game crashes (crash dumps and logs).
        
        The game creates a couple of other executables in a temporary folder when it runs, but those are pretty small.
    - Rodrigo Gomez
      
      still it looks like the % is based on the aumont of files and not in size i
Vidina_SS

I am still waiting for my link to be sent.
Jay

Client was available on Reddit btw… Just sayin… Give it a search
Ryan Correia

Sea of Sorrows is the server to play on!
http://twitter.com/ZodiacMeteor ZodiacMeteor

No way, Blazeridge Mountains is the place to be!
Old Ben

Forum server seems to be down again. I suspect they took it down deliberately to reduce the number of people downloading (it’s currently very slow), but they could at least have added a more descriptive message (currently it just bounces you back to the login screen, which I suspect will make a lot of people reset their password again and again).
Xample

Still waiting for the email with the link T_T
http://twitter.com/StuartJ12 Stuart

I’d welcome an error message. I get nothing. Nothing happens when I enter password. An error message would at least mean its trying to work.
Jeffrey _

I think Scott has a major crush on Rubi.
- benzjie
  
  who doesn’t ?
JJGlyph

Bum rush the servers like it’s the last Black Friday you’ll ever see!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1399975557 Charles Jennings

got the link all it says is .. Unavailable …. HUH !!!!!
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1154409531 Roly Vento
  
  Be sure you read the email, Need to go to the “Getting started thread” of the forums. Follow the instructions there. I had the same problem but now I understand the rules and client is already downloaded.
  Best of luck!
Englisheart

lol my email was in spam…check it if you havent received your email guys
http://twitter.com/SiderFace Sean Siders

Anyone else loading up the client just to listen to the music? =D

P.S. Thanks Gamerbreaker for all the updates.
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1154409531 Roly Vento
  
  I did that this morning lol
Vidina_SS

Anyone else having the problem where you can’t download the beta. When you go to account management then go to download clients it says “Not Available”
- http://twitter.com/SiderFace Sean Siders
  
  Its in the “Beta Weekend” thread of the forums once you’re logged in :D
- http://twitter.com/borded nathan law
  
  the not available is in reference to the final release build of the game, there is a link in one of the forum threads, you have to click the news and announcements link.
- http://www.facebook.com/CharlieTheUnicorny Charlieh Tha Uniornh
  
  YES YES YES. & now im scared i cant get in
  - BattleRealm
    
    It’s almost like you guys didn’t read the e-mail and don’t know what Google is…
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1154409531 Roly Vento
  
  Be sure you read the email, Need to go to the “Getting started thread” of the forums. Follow the instructions there. I had the same problem but now I understand the rules and client is already downloaded.
  
  Best of luck!
http://www.facebook.com/CharlieTheUnicorny Charlieh Tha Uniornh

Ahhh nvm,
the guy below here saved my arse with his news and announcements link
its not that visible as a link… but THANKYOU Nathan law <3
BattleRealm

You know.. Google is a thing…. I wonder why people are waiting for the e-mail…
benzjie

45 minute download..not too bad
Christopher Velez

Thanks Nath
http://www.facebook.com/people/Kyle-Eggers/100000868131517 Kyle Eggers

This really feels wrong, Arena Net shouldn’t be push the pre-purchases without a and saying you’ll only get in to a BETA which is for testing, when they don’t even have a release date yet. I do understand that some people are crazy fan boys who have to have the game the first day it comes out, but push pre-purchase so hard seems wrong for a lot of reasons. I mean pre-ordering a game at Game Stop or Best Buy is okay because you are only asked to put down like 5 or 10 dollars and more of the time those stores won’t let you pre-order unless there has been a release date put out by the company even if it gets pushed back. But now Arena Net is asking us to pay for a game with no release date up front, and saying the only way to get into the beta is to prepurchase.
Beta’s are for testing and I have test quite a few the most resent Daiblo III and SWTOR and neither of those companies Blizzard or EA pushed this hard to get us to pre-order, and made it a requirement for beta testing.
This feels like Arena Net is getting to greedy and really nothing even in this up coming beta weekend has shown two of the races. This just feels wrong how hard Arena Net is pushing the pre-purchase, how they don’t have any release date and they are asking for our money, and how they are promoting the game with beta access.
I’m interested in Guild Wars 2 and will most likely buy it but, this strong push for a games without a release date could drive me away. It feels very wrong, and makes me worry about the ethics of Arena Net.
- Kicknpups
  
  It may feel wrong to you but to people who “have” beta tested the game.The many and I do say many! have stated it’s a great game! So what if Anet isn’t following Blizzard and EABiojoke…Just to use examples here SWOTR is crap sure argue say it’s a good game your entitled to your thoughts.They were taking pre-purchase back in June! That wasn’t even for a beta access but for 3day head start…So how is ANet misleading? As for D3…You subscribe to WoW for a year and you get into D3 beta..So other words your not paying the box price of 60-80 or even the CE of 150 but 180$ to beta test,open beta test and own the game! Anet is doing the same thing but! You actually get a whole weekend! The only difference is that Anet hasn’t released a launch date and for good reason. A game with this much “hype” and for a company who wants to stand behind there product won’t say it’s ready till it’s ready…So the so called “fanbois” who have faith in Anet just as the “fanbois” who do in Blizzard to shell out $180 for a year of wow and the “idiots” who did months before SWOTR are no different then rest!
  - HarmonBlues
    
    The “many” would consist of press, some people at conventions and a small selection of actual testers (as opposed to the main public during marketing betas). Joe Schmoe hasn’t been playing GW2 unless he’s gone to one of these conventions and played the game there.
- Old Ben
  
  People sell things that don’t exist yet all the time. Farmers sell their crops years in advance, company shares are bought based on how much they are likely to be worth in the future, and so on.
  
  If you aren’t sure if you want to play the game, wait for it to be released, read some reviews, and then make a decision.
  
  If you are confident that you’ll want to play the game, it makes very little difference whether you pay for it now or later. It makes perfect sense to prioritize beta access to confirmed purchasers; other people could be using the beta as a “demo” and getting a misleading image of the game (which is still buggy and incomplete), leading to a reduction in sales. So the alternative was between a beta that prioritizes “confirmed” buyers or a closed beta.
  
  If you aren’t planning to pre-purchase, then both options would be identical to you. If you are planning to pre-purchase, then the second option means you can help iron out some bugs and make sure the game is released as soon as possible. It’s not like they’re deliberately delaying the game’s release; they want it to be ready ASAP.
  
  If what you want is a game demo (not debugging / beta testing), then just wait; I’m sure they’ll release a trial version, eventually, like they did for GW.
  
  The SWTOR beta gave priority to people with pre-orders and the Diablo III beta gives priority to people who bought the WoW annual pass. Since the servers have limited capacity they’re obviously not going to give random people (who might not even bother to play the beta, let alone buy the game) priority over the ones that are willing to “put their money where their mouth is”. AFAIK, you can still get into the GW2 beta without pre-purchasing (at least until the number of pre-purchasers hits the limit, but then ANet will suspend pre-purchases, which hasn’t happened yet).
- HarmonBlues
  
  “…and saying the only way to get into the beta is to prepurchase. ”
  
  Remember that 50 hour beta registration event? People who signed up during that have a chance to get into the beta weekends.
  
  Also, betas have not been just for testing for at least half a decade now. There are still testers in betas, usually before the public even has a chance to sign up. Some of the public will be chosen as true testers as well, but larger, later stage betas are now used for marketing. PC demos pre and post release are basically nonexistent anymore. The marketing beta has taken up some of the slack for the loss of these demos and honestly i think many publishers prefer this. An open demo close before or after release, with no termination schedule doesn’t get people going nuts like the marketing betas do. With limited timeframes and often periods of limited invites, hype and interest are generated more easily. I really miss having all those PC demos around for even years after a game was released, because renting PC games is just not common like it is with console games.
  
  Based on what i said before, I’m fairly confident you weren’t actually testing Diablo III or SWTOR. You most likely weren’t there spending hours finding bugs and having a personal discourse with the development team. They weren’t relying on you as part of their small team to give them daily or weekly updates on what you’ve found and how effective their changes or fixes have been.
  
  You were there as more of a lab animal, not an intern. They gain information in these marketing betas, sure. Information about server stability, game imbalances, quality of content. The beta test just doesn’t mean what it used to in many cases. True testing is not just getting to play early. You’re not really playing in the same way when you’re really testing something.
  
  The marketing beta obviously works. It hits the desire to play something before others and allows people who participate to get some idea about if the game will be a good financial investment for them. Obviously being betas–usually not as close to the finished product as a demo, there is a clear downside when it comes to judgement about future purchase.
  
  I definitely see where you’re coming from, but I don’t share that viewpoint. If you have followed this game enough and you’re very confident that you will enjoy it, then the pre-purchase is worth it to you. If that doesn’t apply to you, then you should not feel any obligation to pre-purchase or any resentment towards ArenaNet or those that do pre-purchase. Anyone who is afraid of pre-purchase because they don’t think the game is EVER going to release shouldn’t be pre-purchasing in the first place. I certainly understand since you seemed to think that only pre-purchasers can get into these beta weekend events. If that were the case, I’d definitely be more sympathetic to your point of view.
http://www.facebook.com/aaron.ellingson1 Aaron Ellingson

Well I get in , cuz I got my copy…..and when I click on their link it sends me to a blank page in the forums area…. and wont move past that …. thanks glad I could be part of the Beta!

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