This week has been another one with lots of excitement. We got to see some new screenshots of the PvP lobby and armor. ArenaNet announced new community managers, including Rubi of Guildcast and The Flameseeker Chronicles. The GWOnline Charr Plush contest was concluded, with two very worthy winners. ArenaNet started to send out Guild Wars 2 beta keys to the press, who promised impression pieces already February 20!

Oh, and the column got a new snappier name. You like?

Official:

• New Community Managers. Rubi Bayer from Guildcast and The Flameseeker Chronicles is a brand new US hours Community Manager. Aidan Taylor and Melanie Corolleur join the EU time zone team from NCSoft. (Forum discussion)
• ArenaNet started to send out beta keys so select press. Note that even though the press will be allowed to talk about some of their experiences after February 20, it will not be a general and complete lift of the NDA. (Forum discussion)
• Canthan New Year. The year of the Dragon also arrived in Guild Wars 1, delivering one wicked-looking celestial mini dragon. This should thus be the last Canthan New Year before Guild Wars 2 is released. (Forum discussion)
• Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Systems specs coming soon. Support liaison Gaile Gray announced on the official wiki that Guild Wars 2 system specs are close to release. We can’t wait to see how well our systems will stand up to the game! (Forum discussion)

Interviews:

• GWOnline Community Feature – Rhonda a.k.a. Malibu Barbie. We had a chat with one of the central figures of the “Pink Day in LA” events in Guild Wars 1, Malibu Barbie of the Gaming World Entertainment Network (GW-EN).
• Team Quitter: QQ & A with Robert Gee. About the recent Guild Wars 1 skill update, this interview from a couple of weeks back (published January 10) flew under the radar. Still an interesting read about ArenaNet’s balancing process.

Videos and Podcasts:

• Guildcast: Episode 8 – Armor of sexy. In this very last Guildcast with Rubi as co-host, Rubi, Shawn, Gary and Elixabeth talk GW2 armor art, official forums (or rather lack thereof), and more.
• Tales of Tyria #16: Table scraps. The gang discusses the Jotun, Beta news, and many other small topics including a Bridger Rant!  They also debut a new segment entitled: Table Scraps – for topics that just don’t merit their own roundtable discussion, but are still worth discussing.
• Massively Speaking Episode 184 Shawn and Rubi talks about the lawsuit between NCSoft and En Masse, among other things.
• SagelikeOne: PvP Sage talks about the PvP in Guild Wars 2.
• Snebzor: Official iPhone/Andriod app. Snebzor talks about how the promised Guild Wars 2 smartphone app might work.
• TubeElephant: Spotlight – Beta Screenshots and more [Ep. 01]! Tube Elephant spotlights Jotun, beta screenshots, and his brand new live stream at twitch.tv

Other:

• Acid For Blood: Guild Wars 2: 2012. Brinstar, a.k.a. Regina Buenaobra, is looking forward to playing Guild Wars 2 as a regular player later this year.
• RPGReporter: Vote for most anticipated MMO. The RPG reporter just launched their own “most anticipated” vote, interesting because everyone can pick up to three games from the list. So far it looks like a GW2 landslide, but much can happen still. (Forum discussion)
• So Much Monsters: Guild Wars 2 renders.  Joe Pikop, one of the 3D artists working for ArenaNet, posted a whole bunch of, well, Guild Wars 2 monsters. Very impressive work!
• MMORPG: The Beta wait is almost over. David North talks about how the approaching GW2 beta makes him feel. (Forum discussion)
• Flameseeker Chronicles: What lies ahead. Rubi talks beta, Jotun, and takes her farewell of the Flameseeker Chronicle. Massively are currently looking for someone to take over the column.
• The Vigilant: Will Guild Wars 2 be too much of a Good Thing? Rhysanne ponders the risks of addiction.
• Dragon Season: How to: Jade Quarry. The Dragon Seasons blog give some tips on how to win in the Guild Wars 1 competetive mission Jade Quarry.
• Guild Wars Insider: PvP map screenshots, PvP scholar armor and lobby, PvP action, pets, armor. GWI published a series of PvP screenshots spread over the week, to much joy of the community. (Forum discussion)
• Guild Wars Insider: The debate over female armor portrayal. GWI talks skimpy clothing in GW2. (Forum discussion)
• Guild Wars Insider: Onward steed! Mounts in GW2. GWI also discusses the possibility of mounts.
• Guild Wars Insider : How Arenanet’s story and game design will help foster the best community.
• The Feral Engineer: Engineer Lore: Part 1. Feral takes a real close look on Engineer lore. Great read!
• Flame Throwing: Different strokes and folks and press. Flame Throwing goes through some different possibilities about beta NDAs.
• Guild Wars 2 junkies: Breaking the mold – Dynamic Events. Drew talks Dynamic Events.
• Nerdybookahs: One question that you’d desperately want to ask ArenaNet. Nerdybookahs are anxious to hear about how, exactly, will the character name servers work. And Collector’s Edition.
• Nerdybookahs: Realistic game preview. Nerdybookah also ponders the sexiness of the released PvP scholar armor.
• Demajen: Closer to…. Blogger Demajen had one productive week, publishing a whole slew of GW2-related blog posts. Necromancer, Elementalist, Guardian, Mesmer, Engineer, Ranger, Thief.
• Hunter’s Insight: The 3 Month Cycle. HI wonders why people are so adamant about the “3 month cycle” for new MMO’s decline, and why they would apply this to non-sub games such as Guild Wars 2.
• Necrobator: Introducing the Necropedia. Sardu kicked off the Necropedia project, a necro guide collection tool, for community- as well as Necrobator-made guidies.
• GuildMag: Tyria’s Decay – The Elder Dragon of Orr. Thalandor Doomspeaker gives an in-depth overview of the lore background of Zhaitan, the prime nemesis of Guild Wars 2. (Forum discussion)
• NoobFeed: Guild Wars 2 preview, Part 1: Story and the world. Bruno Sampaio started a series of Guild Wars 2 overviews, in this first one he tackles the story and the world.
• Under the Pale Tree: Let’s play the release date game! Veren applies some logic to the question of possible release dates.
• Worldverseworld: World Versus World FAQ. The WvW blog summarizes what we can expect from WvW in Guild Wars 2 in the form of an FAQ. (Forum discussion)
• Tyrian Order: Guild Wars 2 – Changing the laws of life. Neves ponders change..
• Gamerevolution: 2012 Is a great time to start PC gaming and this is why. Jonathan Leack lists Guild Wars 2 as one of the prime reasons to why 2012 is primed to be a great year for PC gamins.
• Badger Herald: Hopes high for strong gaming year in 2012. As does Andrew Lahr.
• GeekRevolt: 2012 – Bright year for the PC? As does Bryan Allbright. See a trend here?
• GWOnline: Head to Head – Ranger vs Necromancer. Alaris tackles the two Guild Wars 2 pet classes (undead are cuddly too!). (Forum discussion)
• GWOnline: Account security. RDarken shares some personal hackee stories and shares some vital security advice. Also check out the comment section for additional tips.
• GWOnline: Charr Plush Contest Over, Grats satomz and Odinius! Auntie had her work cut out for her, but finally came to a conclusion. (Forum discussion)