The Thursday Mega Community Update of Doom

After carefully crafting a clever and colorful list of important updates to publish earlier today, Firefox decided it was Act Like a Gru Day and ate the entire post before I managed to save a draft. Ah, the wonders of modern technology. They truly are amazing!

Let’s try this again…

While I put the finishing touches on my next epic yarn about the trials and tribulations of life as a necromancer’s minion, I’ve compiled a short list of important happenings in and around the Guild Wars 2 community for the latter half of this month. Initially I intended to task Barlow with the list, but apparently he’s trapped under a giant dust mote down in his crypt.

There’s a surprising amount to cover all of the sudden, so let’s dive right into the details!

Five Reasons to Play GW2 on Ten Ton Hammer

While it’s pretty obvious at this point that I’m fully on board the GW2 train, one by one my fellow staff members at Ten Ton Hammer are beginning to understand why I’ve been making such a big fuss about the game for the past couple of years. This week, main site maestro Shayalyn put in her 2cp with Five Reasons to Play Guild Wars 2.

If you’re reading this article you’re likely here for one of two reasons--you’ve heard about Guild Wars 2 but haven’t decided to follow it closely yet, or you’re already a fan and you’ve come here to validate the fact that you’ve hitched your wagon to a rising MMO star. Whatever the case may be (information or validation), we’ve put together 5 good reasons why you’ll want to pay attention to one of the most innovative and highly anticipated games to hit the gaming scene so far this decade, ArenaNet’s epic fantasy adventure set in the land of Tyria.

Read the full article over on Ten Ton Hammer!

Dates for the First Public Beta Weekend Announced

I spent most of the day yesterday in a fetal position beneath a giant rock, sicker than a dog that just finished eating a month-old Happy Meal. Naturally, the folks over at ArenaNet decided that provided the perfect opportunity to finally announce the dates for the first public beta weekend.

A post providing expanded details about the event should be hitting the ArenaNet blog shortly, but in the meantime here’s what the official press release had to offer:

Today, NCsoft and ArenaNet, the developers of Guild Wars 2, are excited to announce the first public Beta Weekend Event for Guild Wars 2, the most anticipated game launching this year. From April 27-29, hundreds of thousands of fans that have pre-purchased Guild Wars 2 will get their first chance to explore the world of Tyria. Players will discover next weekend that Guild Wars 2 doesn’t follow tired, outdated MMO conventions, but it offers them a true online world rich with persistent, dynamic and social experiences like nothing they’ve ever played.

The only way players can guarantee access to Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend Events is to pre-purchase the Guild Wars 2 Collector’s, Digital Deluxe, or Standard/Digital Editions. In addition to access to our Beta Weekend Events, players will receive three-day Headstart Access prior to launch and the exclusive Hero’s Band in-game item. Pre-Purchase is available at buy.guildwars2.com or select retailers in North America and Europe.

Eligible players should look for an email coming from NCsoft with additional information on how to download the client and additional account registration information. For information on the type of content players will experience in the Beta Weekend Event and exact timing, please look for an upcoming article on the ArenaNet blog at www.arena.net/blog.

If you’ve already made your purchase but were holding off registering your account until after the initial stampede subsided, don’t forget to do so soon. While downloading and patching the game client was quick and painless for the previous beta events, you’ll still want to make sure to give yourself plenty of time prior to the 27^th in case there are any hiccups in client distribution this time around.

Guild Wars 2 Community Town Hall Tonight at 9pm EST

Tonight at 9pm EST, the fine folks at Fragworld are hosting the first Community Town Hall for Guild Wars 2. While I could certainly take a stab at explaining what the event is, I think the following summary from the official announcement sums it up rather well:

These events are a chance for guild leaders, officers and fansite admins to come together and talk about recent happenings in the community, to meet other guilds, and discuss the future of the game. If we have enough signups we will do EU and Oceania as well. We organize these events for several games, often with the game developers participating in some fashion. Feel free to listen to previous events to get an idea of what the event is about. For this event we will also be giving away some codes for beta access and possibly some other prizes.

If you don’t plan on participating, you can still follow along on the live Fragworld Stream over on Twitch.tv. I’ll be attending for GW2Hub and Team NecroBator barring a sudden case of getting stepped on by an Elder Dragon or lit on fire by a mischievous mountain goat of doom. If you’d like to participate, be sure to toss your hat in the ring over at the event page on Fragworld, or you can also do so on the GW2Guru forums.

MS Toga Party This Saturday

Community events are awesome. Do you know what’s even more awesome? Community events like the latest and greatest MS Toga Party happening this Saturday from 12-6pm CDT.

Once again, Gamers Giving Back and the Gaming World Enertainment Network will be hosting the MS Toga Party! The event is a charity fundraising event, hosted within the game Guild Wars. Its aim is to raise awareness and support for those who are effected by Multiple Sclerosis. The event takes place in April to coincide with the North American Wide Supercities MS Walks. The 'Toga Party' can be found in international districts of Chahbek Village inside of the game's world.

For more details, be sure to visit GW2Hub’s community event listing, or you can also hop directly to the event website.

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On that note, I’m heading back into the lab to finish fleshing out my thoughts on the necro’s Flesh Golem and other minions. This next update will coincide with an updated look at minions over on NecroBator, so between the two you’ll hopefully be well versed in the fine art of minion mastery heading into the beta next weekend!