Originally posted by Martin Kerstein (Source)

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Let me explain what an overflow server is and what it does. It is a technology we also use as our version of a queuing system. When a map or a world you want to log into is at capacity limit, the game will ask you if you want to play on an overflow server – so you can actually play while you are in a queue. Once space opens on your world, the game will ask you if you want to join your friends on your world. And you keep all the progress you made while you were playing on the overflow server.

Arenanet seems to have a unique solution to waiting in line. You can actively play the game while you wait to play the game! There’s a meme somewhere in there.

To celebrate the successful press beta weekend for Guild Wars 2, the nice folks at ArenaNet gathered us all together in the main courtyard of Divinity’s Reach and killed us over and over again.

Just a warning, the video’s audio is a little rough.

Kotaku also has a full preview article titled, “10 Things I learned from Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend”

Combat in Guild Wars 2 retains the same simple elegance as the original game, a welcome in a genre that tends to lean towards complicated mechanics involving multiple rows of confusing icons. Here your weapons determine the first five abilities in your single toolbar and skills and traits determine the final five. There’s no need to rearrange your toolbar every time you switch weapon sets; those pre-defined skills populate automatically, leaving the player free to ponder which tools to use rather than how to use them.

MMORPG.com has a preview from this weekend’s press event showing us some WvW content.

Over the course of the demo we found that the PvP lived up to the hype it has been given. The great thing about the system is the ease at which you can transport from place to place. Maybe one night you need a rest from the action and want to explore your player’s personal story? Or perhaps you want to go out and get a new pet for your Ranger? You can be doing these calmly, that is until your guild sounds the horn of battle and off to the front you run trying to take back control of your lost objectives. One great element was that we were playing against some top guilds in Europe. The landscape of the battlefield was constantly changing hands and epic battles were raging all night long. The European guilds ran some great sweeps and took several of the objectives.

Follow the link above for the full preview write-up.

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The ArenaNet developer blog has been updated informing the community, that the pess beta event has begun.

Originally posted by Martin Kerstein (Source)

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It starts today.
Hundreds of invited players and press from around the world will be logging into Guild Wars 2 for a beta test weekend of high adventure, exploration, in-depth personal stories, and teeth-rattling combat. We love playing our game as much as we love showing it off to our fellow gamers, so damn near everyone at ArenaNet will be logging in this weekend to play alongside our beta testers.
After this beta weekend we’re all going to have lots of great stories to tell about epic world vs world battles, hilarious NPC chatter, hidden wonders, narrow escapes, hard-fought victories, as well as moments of quiet awe in this magnificent handcrafted world.
Next week, media will be posting their observations and videos online, so prepare yourself for a flood of information and gameplay footage. In a Dev Update right here on the ArenaNet Blog, Lead Designer Eric Flannum will discuss some of the changes players experienced during this beta weekend event. Plus, we’ll have some very specific information about an upcoming Guild Wars 2 beta event – I guarantee you will not want to miss it!

Expect to see some exciting updates from the major news sites next week.

Bonk Studios gives a great video run down of GW2′s activities or minigames like bar brawl and target shooting. Essentially these are minigames that are played in all the major cities as something characters can do in their down time.

Today we see the publishing of a new Developer’s Blog by Mike Ferguson on the topic of World vs. World.

We have amazing PvE gameplay and intense competitive PvP in Guild Wars 2, but we also offer huge, open-field, server-versus-server warfare the likes of which you’ve never seen. We call it world vs. world or WvW.
Hello, everyone, I’m Mike Ferguson, one of the systems designers here at ArenaNet. I’m here to tell you about one of the most eagerly anticipated aspects of Guild Wars 2: world vs. world! This is a huge game type, and there’s a lot to talk about, so get comfy!

In the blog, Mike gives us an incredible amount of information regarding WvW maps and how things work and what ArenaNet’s philosophy is behind this part of the game. World vs. World is comprised of three different sides against each other. ArenaNet knew right away that they wanted to use three sides instead of the typical two that you see in today’s MMORPGs.

The crew at guildwarsinsider.com are giving the community highlights of the NCSoft conference call which ArenaNet was a part of. So far it contains information about a possible console version, larger beta events in the near future, also their internal thoughts on when the game will be launched.

Stay tuned to guildwarsinsider.com as they update the page.

Wartower.de put together a collection of interviews they did with developers of Guild Wars 2 that shows the passion and the intensity of why they love Guild Wars 2. You can really see the passion they all have for the game and from our experience with the game: it shows.

Youtube user wetwillyhip released a Guild Wars 2 trailer stitched together using clips of released game footage he has found online.

With incredible editing and a perfect song this trailer is nothing short of epic. If you weren’t already anticipating the release of Guild Wars 2, you will be now.

This weekend the major gaming news sites received their event invites for Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet will be allowing them to report on what they see and experience in game. What portions of the game they will be shown hasn’t been released but It’s safe to say that most of it the die hard fans have already seen at the major conventions last year. Some limitations will more than likely still apply as the NDA is still in effect. Hopefully new and exciting information will be released to further the drooling us eager fans have, as we try to act patient waiting for the release. It is all an act though as who can truely be patient waiting for this amazing game?

Unfortunately while the invites have gone out the event has yet to start. Luckily the wait for this is short and the event is due to start within a couple weeks. Until then you can head over to youtube and watch some the convention videos of Guild Wars 2 to cure your itch. Maybe it won’t cure the itch but it may satisfy it for a brief time. If anything it is amazing how much of the game has already been shown to the world.

This batch of four screenshots over at Guild Wars Insider gives us a glimpse at some up coming pvp environments. Here we see lush landscapes and snow capped peaks in the distance with the usual red vs blue team colors. This particular zone they state is set to be tested in February. Everyone will be hoping they get a chance at the beta event for pvp carnage. Except there has been no word yet as to how to get into any Beta events.

Guild Wars Insider released nine more of their exclusive exclusive screenshots late last night. These morsels of eye candy show us some pvp combat!  Since we can’t kill people ourselves in Guild Wars 2 yet I suppose these will have to do. For now…

Guild Wars Insider got two new screenshots that show us a little bit of the PVP lobby and some cool looking PVP armor. Follow the link to the GWInsider article to take a look at the rest of the screenshots.

Today, ArenaNet released another blog detailing the lives and habits of the ancient race of Giants called the Jotun. below is a brief look at the detail given in the full blog post.

The jotun (pronounced JŌ-tun) are the last remnants of an ancient society of giants. Once powerful, advanced, and arrogant, they proclaimed themselves rulers of the Shiverpeak Mountains and raised great monuments to themselves on the highest peaks. Their leaders, known as giant-kings, were tremendously powerful beings, as skilled in feats of strength as they were in magic and lore.

And yet, as the jotun defeated all who threatened their control over the mountains, they did not adjust to peace. Convinced that they were the superior race, they became obsessed with the purity of their blood and the number of heroes, warlords, and giant-kings in each lineage. Blood became a reason for taking one mate over another, seizing land, and in time, wiping out other “lesser” tribes. Eventually, the jotun conquered or destroyed all their external enemies, and then the giant-kings turned on each other, each seeking ultimate control. Families waged war upon one another, and brother made war on brother, until the tribes erupted in vicious internal wars for control.

Get to know all about the Jotun race in ArenaNet’s latest blog: The Savage Pride of the Jotun