Guild Wars 2 Weekly
What a beast of a week! The press beta weekend embargo ended Monday afternoon, and the information release has been massive. There have been a huge amount of preview articles and videos released, and there are more being published every day. And then, when the community was just about to regain their bearings – BAM – ArenaNet opened the beta application form! It being open for only a little bit over 48 hours, the fans were almost tripping over themselves to throw their hats in the ring, even overloading the servers for a while. And the results? 1 million applicants! So with all of this going on at once, it might feel like an overwhelming task so sort through all that new information. Luckily, we here at GWOnline have done that job for you. Follow after the jump for the full deal on this week’s Guild Wars happenings.
First of all, with the absolutely massive amount of coverage this week, I will only list the official news and a subset of the Press Beta coverage, focusing on commented videos and preview articles. For a complete list you can visit our Beta coverage collection thread, or drop by our friendsite GuildMag who has done a tremendous job keeping an updated list of all the Press Beta coverage, including gameplay footage, in one giant blog post. So without further ado, here we go!
Official:
- ArenaNet:Â Beta Development Update. Eric Flannum discussed some of the changes to the beta build the press got to experience during the weekend. (Forum discussion)
- Guild Wars 2 Beta Signup (now closed). ArenaNet threw a proper curve ball, opening up Guild Wars 2 for Beta sign-ups for 48 hours and a bit . FAQ (Forum discussion)
- ArenaNet:Â Mike Ferguson Takes Your WvW Questions Here and on Reddit. In this in-depth blog post Mike detailed some of the finer points of WvW mechanics. (Forum discussion)
- ArenaNet: Link Roundup, WvW and Beta. Rubi Bayer made a roundup of some of the press coverage this last week, including reactions from PCGamer, Massively, MMORPG.com, Kokatu, Gamestar, Buffed and IGN).
Interviews:
- Guildcast:Â ArenaNet system designer confirms underwater combat for Guild Wars 2
- Reddit: Mike Ferguson’s AMA on Guild Wars 2 World vs World (our spotlight) (transcription on GW2J)
- Through the Pixl Glass: Extended experiences. Interview with Kate Welch, Web Team Lead for Guild Wars 2 at ArenaNet.
- GWOnline Guild Spotlight – Massively Overpowered [MVOP]
Videos and Podcasts:
- Guildcast: Episode 11 – W*W killer. Gary, Elizabeth and Shawn give an in depth look at all aspects that were available in the Guild Wars 2 beta.
- Tales of Tyria: Episode 19 – When worlds collide and 19b –  The day the NDA died. The team talks about all the info coming from the Beta Weekend. For hours!
- SagelikeOne has been busy this week, posting three Q&A videos (#7, #8, #9), a summary of what was learned in the press beta, and a whole bunch of “Picking the X” profession and race videos, culminating with a “What to Play” video posted yesterday where he asks the viewer to decide which profession/race combo he should play in GW2.
- WoodenTomatoes: Lore Blogs – Asura week WoodenTomatoes goes back to the lore blogs and this time he talks a bit more in-depth about the Asura.
- Mintchip: Guild Wars 2 – Will it fail?
- TotalBiscuit: GW2 beta - Character cinematics. TotalBiscuit discusses the GW2 character cinematics and the different views on the direction ArenaNet have chosen.
- GetBONKD: Episode 21 – World vs World. The GetBONKD team explains WvW.
- Tyria Talk: Episode 17 – Beta sign ups and queue queuing. Richie talkk about the beta and the Guild Wars 2 server overflow mechanic.
- TWIMMO:Â Guild Wars 2 Beta, The Secret World launch date.
- IncGamers: Episode 70 – Guild Wars 2.
- BFF: Episode 100 – Guild Wars 2
Commented Beta Gameplay:
- Yogscast
- Charr parts 1, 2 and 3
- Human parts 1, 2 and 3
- Norn parts 1, 2, 3 and 4
- Engineer spotlight
- Mesmer spotlight
- Necromancer spotlight
- WvW.
- Gamebreaker
- Guided tour of Black Citadel
- Guided tour of Divinity’s Reach
- Guided Tour of Hoelbrak
- Charr male character creation
- Human male character creation
- Human female character creation
- Norn male character creation
- Norn female character creation
- Ascalon Catacombs playthrough
- Mesmer PvP Battle of Kyhlo
- Closing time.
- Machinima
- ZAM
- IGN
- TotalBiscuit
- Philetic
- Fan-made commentary on Guru’s WvW footage, very enlightening.
First-hand press Beta impressions (not including the ones already linked above):
- IncGamers First Impressions
- Flameseeker Chronicles Extra:Â Guild Wars 2Â crafting explained. Elisabeth takes a closer look at crafting in Guild Wars 2, supported by unique press beta video footage.
- MMORPG: The starting zones preview
- MMORPG: The good and bad of Guild Wars 2
- MMORPG: PvP and World vs World preview
- MMORPG:Â The Closed Beta preview (general article)
- MMORPG - Guild Wars 2: Ascalon Catacombs – The Dungeon Experience
- Kotaku: How not to do PvP in Guild Wars 2
- Kokatu: How does the Razer Blade handle Guild Wars 2? See for yourself.
- IGN: Guild Wars 2: Gameplay > Story
- Gamespot: Guild Wars 2: Inside the First Hours of the Beta
- Necrobator: A Closer Look at Necromancer Traits.
- Destructoid: Guild Wars 2 isn’t like any MMO you’ve played before
- GameInformer: Guild Wars 2 is the MMO revolution that Star Wars: The Old Republic promised
- Games.On.Net: Impressions from the closed beta
- VG24/7: A jaunt through Tyria: hands on with the Guild Wars 2 beta
- AusGamers: Hands-On Preview: Guild Wars 2 closed beta
- TenTonHammer: Guild Wars 2 Press Beta impressions – Part 1
- Tap Repeatedly: Impressions: Guild Wars 2 beta
Other articles and blog posts this week:
- Flameseeker Chronicles: The I-word. Elisabeth talks iteration.
- Dragon Season: The Elementalist.
- Guild Wars Insider: PAX East 2012 Panel Featuring GWI and ArenaNet.
- The Vigilant: Guild Wars 2 Beta. Rhysanne gives her perspective on the beta.
- Attached to Keyboard: Press beta coverage thoughts. Tasha Darke’s take on the press beta coverage.
- The Feral Engineer: Engineer Skills and traits. Feral did a huge job transcribing all the skills and traits from our Engineer skills video.
- Hunter’s Insight: Another ArenaNet update, Jumping Puzzle and All the cool kids like Guild Wars 2
- GuildMag: Origins of the Norn. Konig des Todes gives a lore background on the Norn.
- GuildMag:Â World vs. World: Have Fun Storming the Castle!
- Hardcore Casual:  GW2s  perfect storm.
- Demajen: Closer to the grave – Necromancer traits.
- Distilled Willpower: The consolegate affair and The Dolyak in the Room.
- Paragus Rants (MMORPG blogs): Guild Wars 2 thoughts.
- Greibach’s Normal Form: The big Beta barrage, Part 1: Traits.
- Shewstr: The Music of Guild Wars 2.
- Nerdy bookahs and their travel guide: Guild Wars 2Â and its server transfers.
- Team Legacy: The current WvW start zone
- RPGReporter: Vote for most anticipated MMO. The RPG reporter vote is completed, and to the surprise to no one (?), Guild Wars 2 walked away with the #1 spot. (Forum discussion).
- GWOnline visits Guild Wars 2 – This is our story…
- What I did on my GW2 Beta trip. Part 2 (Forum discussion)
- Press Beta Weekend – Second impressions
- Guilds and influence.
- Guild Wars 2 screen shots. (Forum discussion)
- GWOnline Beta coverage trailer
- Skills and trait videos of all the professions. (Using max level 80 PvP characters).
- Charr starting zone gameplay. Part 2
- Norn male Engineer character creation and personal story.
- Menus and options up close. (used by the Band of Brothers guild for their menu run-down here)
- Guild Wars 2 World map. (Forum discussion)
- More GWO beta videos on GWOnlineTV. Including Human Elementalist character creations, Charr cubs, and more.
Oh, and you haven’t missed our ongoing GWOnline Blog Extravaganza have you? Make a Community Blog post about what would happen if you were in beta, for the chance of winning an everlasting Guild Wars 1 reindeer tonic! Deadline Midnight PST Wednesday February 29th.
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