Asura and Sylvari races playable in BWE3

[Mif]

From Massively

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.

Update:
Confirmed by the ArenaNet Twitter

Asura and sylvari will be playable in the next Beta Weekend Event! Keep an eye on http://www.arena.net/blog for details later this morning. ~RB2

Update 3:
Official blog post

For our final Beta Weekend Event (July 20-22), we’re making the asura and sylvari races available to beta players for the first time. Players will be able to create characters from any of the five main races of Tyria—human, norn, charr, asura, and sylvari—and begin their Guild Wars 2 experience in any of the five radically different home regions.

For asura players, this means beginning your tale in Metrica Province, a vivid, exotic jungle area full of high-tech laboratories, quirky golems, and competing krewes of mad scientists. Nearby, the massive monoliths of the asuran capital Rata Sum hum with technomagical power. These diminutive geniuses may seem cute at first glance, but never underestimate an asura…

Sylvari players begin their story in the Grove, a luminous living city nestled in the shade of the Pale Tree, the “mother” of every member of this young race of plant humanoids. The sylvari are an enigmatic race of chivalrous explorers who are driven by an insatiable curiosity and guided by a collective Dream.

If you’ve played in previous beta events, you know that each playable race has its own distinct regions, signature city, and personal storyline options. But above all, each race in Guild Wars 2 has its own identity, and the asura and sylvari perfectly illustrate this.

We can’t wait to see players drinking in the mystical atmosphere of the Grove or stopping alchemagical experiments running amok in Metrica Province during our last Beta Weekend Event before launch. If you want to reserve a spot in the beta, pre-purchase your copy of Guild Wars 2 today.

We’ll see you in-game on July 20-22! Excelsior!

[nalle]

Was just about to make a thread about it thinking you'd fallen asleep or something.


I will try to not play Asura at all and just go Sylvari for the last BWE to save the experience for the release (Sylvari is the race I like the most after the Asura anyway).

[Mif]

I will try to not play Asura at all

I'd try, but who am I to resist?

[Deleted]

YAY!

Excited about the new Pvp map as well

[fishious]

Damn you ANet! And I was going to try and resist playing bwe3 so it would be more fresh on release.

[Squirrelbanes]

Great news
Now just have to resist playing them............
Yes. I'll be totally fine sticking with humans to not spoil content. Totally, totally fine.
.......

[Event Horizon]

I actually wish ArenaNet kept these 2 races a secret for release, but oh well I won't play them anyway I want to keep the stories and starting zones fresh for release

[sarasun]

Don't....create...Asura...

Impossibru!

[jvbastel]

Guild-Conquest PvP map

...

no really,

[Deleted]

Resistance is futile! I won't even try :P

[nalle]

Great news
Now just have to resist playing them............
Yes. I'll be totally fine sticking with humans to not spoil content. Totally, totally fine.
.......

If SoS wouldn't be full (so I could transfer there as i doubt everyone would transfer to my EU server), I would've liked to try and help as many Asuras as possible and just go play Sylvari together in BWE3 to save the best of the game for the release.

[Delias]

I actually wish ArenaNet kept these 2 races a secret for release, but oh well I won't play them anyway I want to keep the stories and starting zones fresh for release

While I plan to keep their starting zones a surprise, I'm definitely doing the starter area for the Sylvari. I mean, who DOESN'T want to see what the Dream is like? (People who don't care about lore excluded, obviously)

[sarasun]

While I plan to keep their starting zones a surprise, I'm definitely doing the starter area for the Sylvari. I mean, who DOESN'T want to see what the Dream is like? (People who don't care about lore excluded, obviously)

Probably my plan, since there's no way I'm using one of my character slots on live for a Sylvari ^_^

[Mif]

While I plan to keep their starting zones a surprise

I'll definitely create an Asura to play as, and have a good long look around Rata Sum, but I sure as hell won't be setting foot in metrica province

[Delias]

Probably my plan, since there's no way I'm using one of my character slots on live for a Sylvari ^_^

.. but you have 5 slots, and there's 5 races. O.o

[sarasun]

.. but you have 5 slots, and there's 5 races. O.o

Two Asuras. Or Three.

Y'know, different paths in story. Ahem.

[nalle]

I'll definitely create an Asura to play as, and have a good long look around Rata Sum, but I sure as hell won't be setting foot in metrica province

I might actually do the same, looking around Rata Sum but not touch the starting zone (other then getting to Rata Sum that is).

[Mif]

Only now I realise that I should of made the thread title "Asura playable in Beta Weekend Event 1", then pointed out the first 2 were "Bookah Weekend Events"

[Delias]

I might actually do the same, looking around Rata Sum but not touch the starting zone (other then getting to Rata Sum that is).

(Pssssst. LA - portal with the Asura infront of it)
If you don't want to ruin any of the story, playing an Asura long enough to get to LA may not be the best move. =P

[Bloodlight]

The Guild-Conquest PvP map...

I wonder if it is the one with the Guild Lords. Much anticipation!