This Guild Wars 2 beta was possibly more exciting for me than any of the previous ones. It was bigger in pretty much every sense -- more areas, more races, more PvP, more people. It was still rife with its fair share of technical issues, but those issues did not seem to really define the norm. And most importantly, it was the last one, which left each experience flavored with the subtle taste of anticipation.

What did you get up to? I'd hope some of you who aren't quite as comfortable with structured PvP took this last opportunity to get in and give it a go while the scene is (theoretically) as open and easy to join as possible. If you did, you probably ran into the Legacy of the Foefire map. If you didn't, here's a bit about what you missed.

The Sylvari have been my race of choice ever since they were announced as a playable race in Guild Wars 2. It's not often that you see races outside of the generic Orc-Elf-Dwarf-Human spectrum, so the sylvan-esque race really appealed to me as something different. So of course, when time rolled around to stake claims on the impressions piece of the newly introduced Sylvari starting experience during the final beta weekend, you better believe I pounced on it.

So here we are: Guild Wars 2's final beta weekend is over, and it's just a matter of time before launch is upon us. But you'll be happy to know that I spent my entire weekend prancing around Tyria in the leafy soles of a Sylvari's boots. It was a journey full of mystery, surprises (both pleasant and otherwise), and a whole lot of oversized foliage. Follow along past the cut, where I shall make like a tree and get the hell on with it already.

With the final Guild Wars 2 beta just days away, ArenaNet has been putting out scads of information regarding what players can expect over their weekend in-game. We've already told you about the Asura and Sylvari being playable, new areas being opened up, and the new PvP map. Today ArenaNet added to the heap of updates with some information about world vs. world. The last BWE helped the team find some issues and bugs in the WvW matchmaking system, leading to some rather unbalanced matches. As a result, the server standings from that weekend won't be published, but systems designer Mike Ferguson says that those bugs have been patched up and more factors have been added to the formula to improve its accuracy.

In answer to some concerns about launch, Ferguson announced that the 24-hour match length that players are familiar with from the betas will be used until servers are consistently being matched properly. At that time, matches will move to the two-week format that WvW is meant to take.

In the same post, Ferguson listed the servers available for the final beta, which is noticeably shorter than the previous list. The world population limit has been "greatly increased," due both to the additional areas that will be open for player exploration and to some adjustment in how the team is handling its tech. Players should note that this is the initial list and the team is prepared to launch new worlds should the need arise.

Refer to the original blog post for the full world list.

[Update] ArenaNet has posted a few extra details on the official forums, world transfers will be free from the start of the beta until 9:00 p.m. EDT on July 21st. Gem cost for transfers after that time will be 1800 gems to transfer to a high-population world, 1000 gems to transfer to a medium-population world, and 500 gems for a low-population world.

We've already told you that you can play as the Asura and Sylvari in the upcoming Guild Wars 2 beta weekend, but the fun doesn't stop there! Along with a chance to meet the last two races, characters will have access to a brand-new map for characters in the 17 to 20 level range. The new map, the Brisbane Wildlands, borders the areas of the Asura, Sylvari, and humans, with a heaping helping of Skritt thrown in for good measure. There's trouble in paradise, though, according to Game Designer Kim Kirsch. "The Inquest, Nightmare Court, and human bandits now flood the area, preying on skritt and disrupting lab operations. Worse still, each of these groups seem to have their own dark intentions -- plots that could be catastrophic if left unchecked."

If you're torn between keeping your existing beta characters or rolling anew as an Asura or Sylvari, ArenaNet has made your choice a great deal easier. All existing beta information (characters, items, and likely server selection) will be deleted. You'll keep your contact list, but that's about it! This wipe will happen both before and after the upcoming beta weekend, so you'll have a clean slate for the last test and then again for the headstart weekend or launch proper. In addition, transactions in the in-game gem store will require actual credit card or PayPal purchases. While items bought in the store this weekend will be wiped, a record will be kept of how many gems were purchased, and those gems will be waiting for you after Guild Wars 2 launches.

We know Guild Wars 2's release date. We know when the last beta weekend will take place. Now, the last great mystery has been answered. A blog post scheduled to go live later this morning (link coming soon) details the changes that ArenaNet has in store for the beta schedule for July 20th to 22nd. Spoiler alert: The Sylvari and Asura will be playable!

Previous beta weekends gave players access to the home cities and two explorable zones apiece for the Humans, Charr, and Norn, as well Lion's Arch and Gendarran Fields. In the upcoming beta, the last two playable races will also be open for exploration. Like the other races, Sylvari and Asura characters will see personal story content up to level 20 and access to their respective capital cities, the Grove and Rata Sum. In addition, a new Guild-Conquest PvP map will be available for playtesting.

If you've always wondered what sort of city snarky magitech geniuses would build or have been waiting for ever to play as a humanoid plant, your time is now.

[Edit to add: ArenaNet's blog post has been published, and Gamespot now has a video of Asura gameplay.]

There's no doubt that the folks over at ArenaNet have been busy with preparations for the upcoming Guild Wars 2 beta weekend event. The team has doubled the number of servers available for the beta and instituted a number of changes to the beta content itself, as detailed in a recent blog post. Despite the bustle, Lead Game Designer Eric Flannum took the time to answer a few of our questions regarding changes in the upcoming beta.

With the second Guild Wars 2 beta weekend event fast approaching, the ArenaNet blog has been updated with some new details about updates to beta client.

As we've been told before, players' characters from the previous BWE and stress test will roll over into this event, allowing people who put the effort into leveling their toons to reap the sweet, sweet rewards of higher-level content. That higher-level content comes in the form of the Ascalonian Catacombs dungeon's story mode (for level 30 characters), explorable mode (for level 35 characters), and a new map human-territory map, Gendarran Fields (for level 25-35 characters). Additionally, players can travel to Lion's Arch and give their unwanted weapons and items to the Mystic Forge to see what it spits out in return. Apparently, the forge runs on pure djinn power (253% more green than any fuel we've got, we're guessing): The djinn Zommoros is held within the Mystic Forge and is evidently content to take players' stuff in exchange for mysterious goods of unknown value.

On the PvP side of things, WvW maps have received quite an update! Along with the normal face-stopping and zerging associated with WvW, players will now be able to participate in a newly added mini-dungeon, skill challenges, jumping puzzles, and even dynamic events. Players participating in structured PvP will form five-player groups, take part in eight-team tournaments for chests full of goodies, and find that structured PvP matches reward them with Rank as well as Glory.

Updates have been made to general gameplay and design, as well. Overflow server technology is now being made functional by the ability to see when party members are on overflow worlds, travel to those party members' worlds, and stick together between zones. Chat has been improved with chat bubbles, map chat, and an update to local chat. Those of you who've been waiting on key-binding functionality will find that it's got a new interface (which includes the binding of modifier keys, thank the five gods). Skills have been split into three tiers, so players now have to unlock a certain number of skills on one tier to be able to unlock any skills on the next level, in order to encourage a sense of progression and to make adding new skills more feasible in the future.

Full details of the update can be read on the ArenaNet blog.

The second Guild Wars 2 press beta weekend has come and gone, and Massively was there every step of the way. Stay tuned throughout the day today for even more guides, impressions, videos, and Q&As to get you ready for the highly anticipated sequel to Guild Wars.

The most recent Guild Wars 2 beta weekend has wound to a close (much to my dismay), but thankfully my time in Tyria has not been wasted. Oh, heavens no. I spent the majority of the weekend running around the war-torn borderlands and getting the everloving daylights stomped out of me in the game's world vs. world combat.

When I wasn't busy acquainting my face with the ground, however, I had plenty of time to meander about the battlefield of The Mists, storming keeps, cutting off supply caravans, and defending encampments, and now I finally get to share my impressions with all of you fine readers. So what did I think about GW2's WvW system (my total lack of PvP ability aside)? Rev up your siege engines and gird your proverbial loins, then follow past the cut to find out!