Sleepless nights, twitching, and shaking?

All symptoms of Guild Wars 2 withdrawal which was barely satiated by ArenaNet‘s stress test on Monday.

With only seven hours to romp around Tyria, it was just a taster of what is on offer in GW2 and the GuildCast crew were among the thousands who put the servers to the test. Were there any noticeable differences from the first pre-purchase BWE?

It certainly seemed that some fixes and adjustments had been made, we talk about our experiences and what we got up to. Spoiler alert: a guardian may have been played. Again.

GAMEBREAKER’s guilds W A Space and Agreeance went romping across WvW on the Darkhaven server. Many faces were pwned as the map turned red. Is the balancing between servers going to be a serious problem for how WvW is perceived?

Or will the ranking mechanism be responsive enough? We ponder the possibilities.

You had many questions to ask us this week and we’re happy to provide the answers. The regular crew is reunited to bring you the triumphant tales from Tyria. Join Massively‘s Elisabeth Cardy and Richie “Bogotter” Procopio,  along with GAMEBREAKER’s Scott Hawkes and Gary Gannon for a hair pulling, scream inducing episode of GuildCast!

Guilds are spreading far and wide.

The latest edition of all things Guild Wars 2 kicks off with the confirmation that guilds will be going global. Instead of being isolated to just one server, in GW2, guilds will be able to exist across multiple worlds. Another example of ArenaNet making the game as social an experience as possible? Or could this even have a negative effect on community?

We hash it out.

There has been some honest criticism of how the events system appear to many players when first encountering the game. Does Guild Wars 2 really change the way to handle questing? Or do the early experiences risk repetitious game play? We look at renown and dynamic events and make sense of it all.

With a plethora of top quality viewer questions this week, we take the time to answer as many as we can, leading to another hefty episode!

Jesse Cox makes a special guest appearance, uniting with his former enemies on the WvW battlefield: Massively‘s Richie Procopio and GAMEBREAKER’s Scott Hawkes.

Join them and your host Gary Gannon for this week’s pulse-pounding episode of GuildCast!

Achy, feverish chills?

Yes, you too have Guild Wars 2 withdrawal. But fear not, we have the treatment to get you through this between-BWE stage.

Finally, the general public got their itchy fingers on the game we love to talk about and it seems you kind of like it. The large majority of responses have been very positive in regards to the experience had over the weekend. It seems ArenaNet has a bit of a hit on their hands…

What was your favorite part of the weekend? We talk about what really made us giddy.

Guild Wars 2‘s systems were hit with a wall of traffic and faced their greatest acid test so far. Were the results encouraging? How many of the issues are part of the game or just answered by “But it’s beta”?

There’s so much to talk about there was no way we could fit it all into a regular show, so this week we go into overtime to bring you the biggest edition ever!

Join Massively‘s Richie “Bogotter” Procopio and Elisabeth Cardy, along with GAMEBREAKER’s Scott “I Love Guardians” Hawkes and Gary “I Hate Jesse Cox” Gannon to bring you this week’s gargantuan GuildCast!

News just breaks around us.

Before going live tonight, ArenaNet sent out hundreds of thousands of emails around the world, giving eager fans the chance to download the Guild Wars 2 client.

Was it all smooth sailing? Are you smiling at the log-in screen right now?

If so, stop it! There’s too much  in this packed show to split your attention!

As we were broadcasting, the beta servers were listed and named! Seriously, if you want to know what’s going on, be sure to catch our shows live. We’re just a magnet for breaking stories.

Mike O’Brien said that Guild Wars 2 is fighting for the heavyweight MMO title, can GW2 surpass World of Warcraft? And what does that actually mean anyway? How would we even know if ArenaNet’s superb new MMO had really kicked dust in WoW‘s face?

Randall Price says that there are plans afoot for content that will last for years. So no worries about closing the doors the day after launch then. Is it really a surprise to hear that Guild Wars 2 will have regular content? Or is the non-subscription model daring enough to give fans anxiety?

Along with your viewer questions, there’s enough Guild Wars 2 related news to make even the ravenous hordes waiting for this Friday happy.

Join Massively‘s magnificent Richie “Bogotter” Procopio, GAMEBREAKER’s Editor In Chief Scott Hawkes  and the singularly marvelous Gary Gannon for this week’s GuildCast!

Excited much?

We all know now that from April 27th to the 29th many of you will be living on energy drinks, paying for your loved ones to go on weekend breaks or just pulling the battery out of your phone and nailing the door shut.

Guild Wars 2‘s first pre-purchase beta weekend is going to be fascinating.

Will the game live up to the billing that many people — including myself — have contributed to? Or is it just inevitable that some will be throwing around the rage?

There’s much to look forward to, even for we lucky miscreants who have been in previous betas — not rubbing it in, honest…well, not much.

What aspect of the game are you anticipating delving into the most?

The overflow system seems to be a stroke of genius, but can even it handle the bombardment of eager players next week? Should people expect Guild Wars 2 to be like most other betas and be prepared for server hiccups?

You were eager to ask us questions and we were delighted to answer, but to make sure we don’t set ourselves on fire — except me, that’s a given — we have the team to get the job done.

Massively‘s Elisabeth Cardy and Richie “Bogotter” Procopio join GAMEBREAKER’s Scott Hawkes and Gary Gannon for this week’s hype-busting GuildCast!

For more Guild Wars 2 coverage, be sure to check out our GW2 home page

Which one did you get?

From the way twitter was set ablaze — and how the Collector’s Edition sold out in many areas — the Guild Wars 2 pre-purchase was rather popular.

Did you think the hulking Rytlock Statue made the CE worthwhile?

Racial skills are not going to be in PvP. So, goodbye to a sea of rampaging norn then. Smart move or a loss of flavor in the PvP side of the game?

We look at weapon switching and just how fundamental it is. A system that givers depth, or is it just so complex it’s hard for the average player to grasp?

Add a touch of spec building, a dash of viewer questions and you’re ready to dig in to a tasty episode.

Join your returning champion Gary Gannon, along with Jason Winter and Massively‘s Richie “Bogotter” Procopio for this week’s Sohothin singed GuildCast!

It’s all getting rather exciting.

Pre-purchase looms ever closer and the clamor for Guild Wars 2 is only growing it seems. This week we look at a variety of aspects important to all of you frothing at the mouth to get playing.

The EU Fan event went off with aplomb this week, with confirmations and reiterations aplenty.

Structured PvP will be possible on the shiny overflow server system. With ArenaNet‘s servers doing things hitherto unseen in MMOs, where do they get their wonderful toys? Speaking of PvP, it was revealed that one of the two remaining maps will feature underwater combat and a pirate ship! Will you be diving in head first, or does underwater combat make you seasick?  We talk about our hands-on experience with battles in the briny deep.

The Asura and Sylvari races have been kept out of our grubby little paws so far, will we be seeing them in the next round of beta events? Or is ArenaNet planning to keep some things neatly tucked up its sleeve? We discuss the startling possibility that a playable race might not be available until launch.

With viewer questions and a whole lot more to pore over, we bring you the Massively duo of Elisabeth Cardy and Richie “Bogotter” Procopio — along with Scott Hawkes and Mike Schaffnit — to give you the news and views you need.

Brighter than Sohothin on a summer’s day, this is GuildCast!

Is the grin apparent?

There’s a glowing aura of smugness this week — well, except for Schaff — after the latest Guild Wars 2 beta weekend.

First off we talk about the vast, sprawling grandeur of cities in GW2. With the homesteads of the Sylvari and Asura currently unavailable, what can we expect them to be like?

Don’t bet on understatement.

Could we be seeing Tyria from an elevated view? The gang discusses the possibilities of air travel for the future — with some grumblings about the teleportation system.

We spent a lot of time running around in Dub v Dub. Literally. Those are some big maps to cover. Is it possible ArenaNet has over-sized in this case?

We also take a look at Battleg — erm, structured PvP. How does it compare to WvW? Is it really the training ground for the pro-player?

Weapon switching is discussed in detail, profession favorites — apparently there are professions other than Guardian — and we strive to come up with elements of Guild Wars 2 that we’re not entirely happy with.

Join us as we take a stroll through Tyria with Massively‘s Elizabeth Cardy, Mike B aka Fony of the BFF Report, Scott Hawkes and Mike Schaffnit — nerf mages — for this week’s happy-go-lucky GuildCast.

Beware exploding plant cannons in this week’s GuildCast.

You might not have heard this, but apparently there are going to be microtransactions in Guild Wars 2! Of course, Mike O’Brien‘s blog on ArenaNet‘s philosophy set many forums — including our own comments — on fire. There have been many views on this contentious issue; which shows you the passion people hold for the game.

We discuss the approach that underpins the implementation of the Gems currency system and whether we should be concerned.

Details emerge on Twilight Arbor through an article in PC Gamer, we look at the lore as well as the design of the massive Sylvari themed dungeon. Will this be yet another MMO grindfest?

We answer your viewer questions after pondering the terrifying threat of giant fish.

To tackle these thorny subjects, we brought together a duo of debuts: Massively’s Richie Procopio and GAMEBREAKER’s Scott Hawkes join your host Mike Schaffnit to bring you GuildCast!

Last week, ArenaNet opened its virtual doors for beta sign-ups. After receiving just over one million interested in beta testing in over 48 hours, Lead Content Designer Collin Johanson and the other devs wanted to thank everyone for their interest in testing out Guild Wars 2. He — and his goofy grin — stated that not everyone will make it into every round of weekend testing — sad face — but he would like to show off a bit of never-before-seen footage for all the fans. However, that doesn’t answer the all-important question: When does the bloody beta start? Our panel would like to know, too. However, the announcement of pre-purchase beta invites does suggest to Shawn Schuster that beta will begin sometime before April 10th (the first day of pre-purchasing), and based on statements by director of marketing Chris Lye suggest that beta will be open in the since that there will be little in regards to NDA restrictions.

Our team of experts from gaming media is confident in the quality Guild Wars 2; not to mention they are extremely excited for the game to launch. And Dylan Tehrani and Shawn Schuster from Massively are here to share their excitement with you and host Gary Gannon on GuildCast!