It's no public beta, but the first-ever Guild Wars 2 limited beta starting today means that we'll be seeing a lot more in-depth reviews and gorgeous screenshots! The limited beta for Guild Wars 2 will last through the weekend through Sunday, and will involve a select group of playtesters and media reporters. There will be a short news embargo, according to, but after that the random press people who got invited (aka the chosen ones) will be flooding the blogosphere with hands-on tell-alls on what they really think about the game. So far till now, most Guild Wars 2 coverage has revolved around the stunning art and breath-taking environments, but now that we’re inching closer to an open beta, expect videogame journalists including yours truly to start dissecting the finer points of the game like progression difficulty and class balance. Playtesters, on the other hand, are still handcuffed with a stiff NDA. We imagine this will only be lifted once the wider beta weekend events begin. ArenaNet has said before that there will be no open beta in the traditional sense but it will holding successive beta weekends – similar to what other MMOs like Rift and SWTOR did -- leading up to the launch date later this year. Most likely you haven’t been selected to join this first beta weekend, but don’t fret! Lead designer Eric Flannum promised he will be posting a blow-by-blow recap of what you missed out. Then ArenaNet will follow that up with details on “an upcoming Guild Wars 2 beta event” that you won’t want to miss – which for us is code word for more beta invites so stay tuned!
