Greetings, Guild Wars 2 community,

The wait is over! Our first beta test for the new World vs. World borderlands map begins today!

Inspired by Ascalon before and during the Searing, this new battlefield brings one of Tyria’s most iconic locations into World vs. World. For the duration of the beta, all borderlands maps have been temporarily replaced with the new map, giving everyone plenty of opportunities to explore and face off in battle. The beta runs through December 8.

Jump In and Help Shape the Map!

As we shared in our previous blog, this is a very early look at the map. It’s still in a gray-box state, with unfinished art, and plenty of room for changes based on what we learn from your playtesting.

For this first beta, we’re particularly interested in how the map feels to play. How does it feel to navigate? Are objectives placed in interesting locations? Where are fights happening, and how does the terrain affect combat?

Whether you’re commanding a squad or roaming solo, we want to hear about your experiences. Head over to the official World vs. World forums to share your feedback and help us make this new battlefield the best it can be.

More World vs. World Updates

Alongside the new map beta, we’re also rolling out several other updates to World vs. World.

The new War Score system, which we’ve been testing with the community, is officially coming out of beta. We’ve made additional scoring adjustments to put more emphasis on PvP interactions (kills and revives), while defending and upgrading objectives continues to reward players for actively contributing to their team’s success. The updated scoring will take effect with the WvW reset on Friday, November 13. We’ll continue monitoring the system and making adjustments as needed.

We’re also officially releasing the new skirmish and match reward systems. Skirmish rewards are available starting today, while match rewards will begin with the November 13 reset.

Finally, we’re introducing a few quality-of-life improvements, including streamlined auto-loot in WvW and a new “Upgrade All” button for WvW abilities.

You can find the full details in today’s release notes.

We’ll See You in the Mists!

We’re looking forward to seeing how the map plays once thousands of players get their hands on it. Thank you for being part of this process and helping us shape the future of World vs. World.

Now rally your guild, jump into the Mists, and let the battles begin!

—The Guild Wars 2 Team