Greetings, Tyrians!

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s announcement of Guild Wars 2: Secret of the Obscure™, we’re here with full details of this weekend’s Weaponmaster Training beta. The event runs from Thursday, June 29 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) until 10:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 2, and it is open to everyone (that means it’s not gated behind prepurchase).

What Is Weaponmaster Training?

This expansion focuses on new ways of augmenting the combat options for each profession. Weaponmaster training is a Guild Wars 2: Secret of the Obscure feature that grants elite specialization weapon proficiency to each profession, regardless of whether the corresponding elite specialization is equipped—or even trained! This is one example of the ways we’re lifting constraints to unlock an unprecedented number of playstyle customization options while staying true to the feel of Guild Wars 2 combat.

Your beta character will have weaponmaster training unlocked, granting you automatic access to each elite specialization weapon for your profession. Why not try out a sword as a catalyst, or play a dagger-wielding mirage?

How Can I Participate?

Every Guild Wars 2 account in good standing, including Play-for-Free accounts, will automatically get character slots marked “Beta” when the beta begins. Clicking on one of these slots will allow you to create a character from any of the nine Guild Wars 2 professions.

From there, explore the open world or try a game mode dedicated to group play. You’ll find options to join World vs. World and structured Player vs. Player in the bar located at the top-left corner of your UI. To tackle the Fractals of the Mists instanced group content, visit Fort Marriner in Lion’s Arch and enter the portal.

Please note that the beta characters will disappear on July 2 at 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) at the end of the event, and any gameplay progress earned while playing on them—including rewards and currency—will not be saved.

We’ve created a thread in each profession’s subforum for feedback from this beta. After you’ve had a chance to play, we’d like to hear what you think—what you enjoyed, what you think could be improved, and why you liked or disliked certain build changes in the beta. Please visit the threads for elementalist, engineer, guardian, mesmer, necromancer, ranger, thief, revenant, and warrior to share your feedback.

What Comes Next?

We’ll be back in the next week or so with details about the next WvW World Restructuring beta, which will feature the ability for guilds to team up in Alliances for WvW. Between now and launch, we’ll share additional deep dives on Guild Wars 2: Secret of the Obscure features, so be sure to keep an eye on our blog. Then, on August 22, the expansion begins—weaponmaster training, streamlined runes, and the new relic system will all go live alongside a brand-new story and more. Sometime after launch, we’ll have news about a beta event for another expansion feature: expanded weapon proficiencies. More features, story, and combat challenges will unlock in releases following the expansion launch.

If you haven’t yet locked in your prepurchase rewards, you can visit our store page and get a copy of the expansion in time to wear your exclusive Demon Hunter title during the beta this weekend!