Final GW2 BWE Will Have New PvP Map, Keg Brawls, And Scenic Views

Written by: Jason Winter (Twitter @winterinformal - Google+) | July 16, 2012 2:38 pm

33 Comments

The final Beta Weekend Event for Guild Wars 2 doesn’t start until this Friday, but ArenaNet’s given us the scoop on what we can expect to see in this final tune-up before the Aug. 28 launch.

We already know that Asura and Sylvari races will be playable, but don’t get too attached to your new characters — they’ll be wiped after this beta and before launch. In fact, all your characters from previous betas will also be terminated — with less-than-extreme prejudice, we hope.

So what’s there to do with your brand new avatars? How about trying out the new PvP map, Legacy of the Foefire, which promises to be a big nostagia trip for fans of the original Guild Wars? For WvW fans, there will be a new type of enemy called sentries, which are stationed on control points and designed to be handled by solo players.

Then there’s the Norn Keg Brawl mini-game, which looks a little like hockey with a keg of ale. Because everything’s better with a keg of ale.

If PvP’s not your gig, then you can explore the Brisban Wildlands, a new level 17-20 area located near the intersection of Asura, Sylvari, and Human lands. Or, you can just kick back and relax, and take in one of many scenic views, offered at a variety of locations and highlighted in this video of the view from Hoelbrak.

Finally, the Gem Store will be officially open for business, so you can make real-money purchases to test out ArenaNet’s billing system. All purchases will be wiped before launch and the gems used to purchase them refunded.

It looks like it’ll be a pretty action-packed Beta Weekend for everyone!

Want to win a Guild Wars 2 Collector’s Edition? Click here to find out how!

Final GW2 BWE Will Have New PvP Map, Keg Brawls, And Scenic Views

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https://me.yahoo.com/a/duHQ0ZlhpJp.7jj6z7Asw2xuNdERo.Yhjg--#01d81 gramis

This wipe is solely for testing what the Release will be like. they will want to know if they are prepared for the big wave.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1415731451 Viktor Eliasson

As I’ve said before and I think I’m actually right for once, they are most likely gonna wipe characters on the last BWE (right so far :O) to simulate a launch event. Most likely to stress servers enough to see how it’s actually going to be on launch and make changes if needed to make the launch as smooth as possible.

Bit of a bummer for people who’ve spent hours upon hours leveling characters but hey, they were going to be deleted sooner or later either way!
- http://www.kaiketsu.enjin.com/ Corey “Crimzen”
  
  Ya, I would have to agree. It makes perfect sense for them to want to try and simulate a launch situation and get as many bugs and errors fixed as possible. A little bummed seeing as how I needed 1 more level before I would have been able to test out the dungeon though lol, but I rather have launch as smooth as possible.
- ThnagglePuth
  
  If I remember correctly, it was initially stated that there would be a wipe between each of the BWEs. I have to admit, however, I have gotten a bit attached to my trio, but always figured they’d be gone sooner or later anyway. If nothing else, gives me (and us) a chance to revisit the character creation and correct those little ‘flaws’ that we didn’t initially notice in preparation for doing the whole thing all over on release or head start.
  
  Not to mention that it forces us to replay the starting areas all over again … there’s probably been some changes to those in the intervening weeks as well.
Mystique60

Yea I think so too. Arenanet always said beta TEST. They take testing very seriously. I really don’t care if my characters get wiped now. Gonna be hard not to go makin an Asura, but keeping away till launch. maybe original 3 areas won’t be too crowded? maybe? lol
DoctorOverlord

Looking forward to seeing what kegball is like! And I’ll be rolling up one of those asura, I didn’t even like them when I first heard about them as a character choice but the little guys have won me over and I’ll probably have one in my character roster on release if they’re as fun as they seem.
Cyclops07

it doesn’t matter to me if my characters are wiped, its a beta test. I’m sure the starting zones will be crowded. Anet hopes it stays that way months after release also . As for gating people, there will always be someone that races ahead and makes it to the end damn fast. It’s gonna happen, no stopping it so the premise that Anet is doing this to slow peeps down is dumb.
- mcfoyle
  
  ‘beta test’ – so why not let us ‘test’ the high level content?
  plenty of people would have rolled the new races without being prodded to by a character wipe.
Razor4884

NO! I just got my werewolf ability too… :<
http://twitter.com/Mjoukai Michael Harrison

I guarantee you that the character wipe is so they can emulate a launch environment to prep for that actual launch of the game. It’s just smart.

As for the PvE objectives in WvW, I believe they do give points for completion, or else it wouldn’t make much sense to me.
http://twitter.com/dularr Dularr

Too bad, my Charr Elementalist was a level or two away from 30, wanted to test out a dungeon run. Guess the guild information will be wiped as well, so this will be a solo play weekend.

I think Arenanet is going to get a real test of the Sylvari and Asura starting areas, thoses areas will be packed.
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Ian-Smith/100000531128393 Ian Smith
  
  I believe they said contact information will be kept. Meaning if you have any friends on list, you will still have them. Not sure if they will be able to do anything about guilds too.
  - dawolv
    
    Yes, guilds as far as I understood will be keept even up to release!
    
    My Charr Necro is Level 36 anyways, I had a Lvl 17 Thief to, but I was gonna start up a new char anyway. So Asura Guardian it is
    
    I think it’s quite wise of them to wipe. They need to know what it’d be like on launch day when thousands cramp up the starter zones
http://www.facebook.com/liam.is.teh.bestist Liam Gormley

Wiping now is definitely a good idea. It’s the only chance to simulate launch properly because they get to see what happens when everyone is making new characters of every race on every server for the first time. It will also make more people play Asura and Sylvari more than they probably would have otherwise as they’d be occupied on their old toons. So hopefully they’ll get a more thorough testing now.

I’m really looking forward to playing this new PvP map anyway. After spending a good 30 hours on the old two I was definitely starting to crave a third. The secondary mechanic sounds a tad uninventive though. He mentioned killing NPC’s. Sounds very similar to killing the monsters in Niflhel. GW wiki says ‘NPC guards and guild lords spawn. Defeating them grants your team a lot of points’. Yep sounds very similar to Niflhel lol. I hope they’ve made it different enough to seem unique. Maybe the NPC’s will spawn at the capture points or something.
SiderFace

WvW was never stated to be “PvP”.

that is an easy assumption many people make, but no, Arenanet reps have said many times that it is neither PvE nor PvP; it is something entirely different altogether.
- http://www.kaiketsu.enjin.com/ Corey “Crimzen”
  
  what this guy said ^
Revanhavoc

Note to ArenaNet: Sentinels was a cooler name.
Sharuko

Thanks Mike S for mentioning this when a lot of other gaming sites missed this. Why would you wipe beta characters right before the last beta? The answer is pretty simple, they don’t trust their limited end game “content”. They only want to test their starting areas and want to avoid people in higher levels.

Is the end game broken?
Is there end game?
Will the end game work without the trinity?
Are these dungeons full of bugs?

We won’t know the answer to that because they haven’t fully tested the later zones and content. But that is ok, because we have a new map in PvP which includes the same exact mechanic like all the other maps (conquest). And we get to play the Na’vi and the Teletubbies if we want to.
- astarael8
  
  Hmm, or maybe they want to simulate launch? Having lots of people in the same starting areas will stress the servers and will give them some idea of what to expect and how their servers will hold up. Way to go jumping to conclusions though.
- St_Draco
  
  We? How are “we” going to play anything? Last I checked you asked for a refund and got it. So, unless you bought another copy, I don’t see how “you”, which is included in “we”, will be doing anything.
  
  So how’s that Tera going? Have you alt’d your way to president yet? How are those battlegrounds? Or have you jumped ship to TSW already?
  
  Sharuko, we love you bro. You always make GW2 seem so good. Your trolls are just the thing this game needs to help bring people together XD
- Spammerbam
  
  Your trolls are getting weak, just like Tera’s contents.
  - ArsenicSundae
    
    You can smell the desperation in the air. Every silly complaint they’ve had have been tossed back in their faces, so now they are resorting to the most anemic attempts as fearmongering because it’s all they have left.
    
    Sad, pathetic trolls. Their end is nigh.
    - Sharuko
      
      Trust me on this one, but the launch is only the beginning.
      - Spammerbam
        
        I do agree with you; testing the later level contents is also important.
        
        But, what Anet is trying to achieve through the BWE3 is to simulate launch.
        
        Having character wipes was expected throughout all the BWE’s, and was announced since the beginning.
- Jay
  
  You seem to have a lot of questions for someone who isn’t playing the game…
  
  I’ll play along though.
  
  No.
  
  Yes.
  
  Yes.
  
  Probably not.
  
  You’d know these answers if you leveled a character past 11… Until next time.
  
  (づ｡*◕__◕｡)づ・。*。✧・゜゜・。✧ Magic!.. How ArenaNet makes it all work.
  - St_Draco
    
    Past 11? He didn’t even make it past level 3 lolol
- http://www.kaiketsu.enjin.com/ Corey “Crimzen”
  
  I would take the time to counter all your arguments, but since I’ve been trained in the art of not feeding trolls, I’m just going to say this…Bookah please
- Spammerbam
  
  So while I wait for GW2 BWE3, I might as well answer your questions and feed you.
  
  Is the end game broken in Tera? _ How can it be broken, when there’s no end game?
  Is there end game in Tera? _ If there’s a number between “barely” and zero, that would be it.
  Will the end game in Tera work without the trinity? _ The game barely works WITH the trinity.
  
  Are these dungeons full of bugs?
  _ The whole game is full of bugs. And for some reason, the day/night cycles doesn’t seem to work right, and all the monsters and NPCs seems so static.
  
  …Oh wait, that’s part of the game.
  - Sharuko
    
    Do you always have to talk about Tera? Tera has nothing to do with this discussion.
    - Spammerbam
      
      Exactly.
      
      Don’t forget someone who always talk about GW2, and indirectly insults the game, even on a totally different gaming thread.
      
      You know who you are.
      
      I talk about Tera to make a point. You come up with negative aspects for GW2, yet those same aspects are a lot worse in Tera, the game you’ve been playing.
      
      See what I mean? Don’t troll and play fair.
Jay

I’m staying away from Sylvari, since I want to keep that whole experience fresh. I will be backflipping all over the place with my Asuran Warrior though. My goal is to hit at least level 20, setup a few PVP builds for my Thief, and try out the Mystic Forge at least once. Oh, also would like to complete at least one jumping puzzle, and if I have time, visit the Dark Room.

Gonna be a busy weekend…
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=506728308 Julian F’n Mugnieco

i honestly just want to fool around with the character creator for the asura/sylvari. i’m more interested in making a characters appearance based on the type of personality i want to portray and act within my personal story accordingly, then i am about the outcome or lore behind the personal story.
ArsenicSundae

The wipe makes sense. This is still a test this weekend, despite the level of polish that players have come to expect. By enticing everyone to jump into the sylvari and asura zones right from the top, they’ll be able to stress the holy hell out of those zones to see if anything breaks. It’s probably as close as they can get to simulating the launch day frenzy. If this BWE goes smoothly, the actual launch will likely follow suit.

Besides, those new starter areas haven’t been tested as thoroughly as the other three and they have just one weekend to do it. This wipe comes as no surprise.

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