I’ve been accumulating news snippets about the as-yet-to-be-formally-scheduled release of Guild Wars 2 for an email newsletter I send out to my friends and acquaintances in the Guild Wars community. Another relatively slow week in the news: nothing further on the closed alpha testing or any guess as to when beta testing will begin.

Part 1: Discussion of previous news

• If you listen to podcasts, you might want to subscribe to the Guildcast weekly podcast
• Reminder: the official Guild Wars 2 wiki is still growing, so it’s worth checking it out now and again for new information.
• Flameseeker Chronicles: Community, contests, and minion apocalypse. “This week’s Flameseeker Chronicles is a bit of a departure. Rather than compiling a guide or a wrap-up of the latest news or content, we’re going to sit back, relax, and have a little bit of fun. The timing couldn’t be better: We’re in a post-convention lull for Guild Wars 2, Winds of Change part two has arrived and been played through, and Halloween events aren’t here quite yet. It’s a chance to take a bit of a breather, so this week I’m focusing on some community events and a little extra. Jump past the cut and let’s get started!”
• The Guild Counsel: Why not all guild departures are equal. “As a guild leader, I always believed in the philosophy that real life comes before gaming, and I tried not to press people into playing when they either couldn’t or didn’t want to. But it was hard to wish someone well after seeing him post that he was moving on. On one level, I took it personally because I felt that it was a response to my leadership. On another, I resented the fact that someone leaving meant that the guild as a whole would be set back, and I was frustrated at having to go back and find a good replacement for that open spot”

Part 2: Guild Wars news

• Reminder: If you’d like to keep track of the Guild Wars Beyond material, keep this page bookmarked.
• Reminder: Guild Wars official support forum. Here is the FAQ page for the forums.

Part 3: Guild Wars 2 news

• Tap Repeatedly: Exclusive interview with ArenaNet’s Bobby Stein. “I’ve spoken to ArenaNet’s lead writer, Bobby Stein before, but after playing Guild Wars 2 at the Eurogamer Expo last month he was kind enough to get in touch to see how I got on. Despite my initial reservations most were unfounded, but there were still just a couple of things I wasn’t entirely happy with. With interview questions in hand, here is how we got on…”
• Guild Wars 2: Eurogamer Expo and PVP. “Right away myself and my associate Velyks set about scanning-down and locating the Guild Wars 2 play areas. When stepping into the building a giant banner read ‘Play Guild Wars 2 here!’ and even though we wandered around it in circles, for the life of us we couldn’t find them. We wandered aimlessly for several minutes before, somewhere at the back of the hall; we saw the elegant, creative Guild Wars 2 logo summon us from our daze. Eagerly like school children we skipped, merry as poppets through the crowds, delightfully trouncing other gamers in our wake, standing on feet and making merry in the mayhem.”
• Guild Wars 2 – Hands On. “It’s confession time here at Square-Go: I have never played the first Guild Wars. In fact, the only MMO game I have invested any time into was DC Universe Online, a game that I played for exactly one month. Other than that, I once played World of Warcraft for about two days before moving on to something else. This isn’t because these are bad games, you understand; they just aren’t games I have the time for. Maybe the real issue is I’ve yet to find a game that actually appealed to me – one with great gameplay, an emphasis on team-work and fun, rather than grinding and killing Wild Boar. Maybe the game I’ve been waiting for is Guild Wars 2.”
• Interview: Guild War 2‘s Ree Soesbee On Sylvari. “Of the two larger MMOs that have had same-sex news to present of late, I have been rather enamored with what Guild Wars 2 is creating with the sylvari species. From basic design to cultural implications, it’s all pretty interesting stuff. However, the gender and sexuality nerd in me was pretty excited when they started discussing their lore and it included mentions that they were pretty neutral in how they viewed both gender and same-sex pairings.”
• A map of potential roleplay pitfalls in Guild Wars 2. “Seriously though, after researching and reading about the various races of GW2, I see a lot of roleplay (abbreviated to “RP”) possibilities, and most of them make me excited to step into the updated world of Tyria. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t see pitfalls in many elements of the established societies and races of this lush world. Today, I’m going to point out these potential pitfalls, so that responsible RPers can avoid them.”
• Planet of the Grawl. “Of all the races of Tyria, the apelike grawl are the most underappreciated and underestimated. A race of furry simian bipeds, the grawl can speak and use tools and weapons. They even have a fair approximation of clothing, but they lack most of the trappings of advanced society. They make their homes in caves on the edge of civilization and are considered a lesser race of raiders and bandits by the more developed cultures around them. While many grawl do resort to banditry, just as many seek nothing more than to be left alone.”
• GuildMag: An Interview With Rosa Salvitas. “Citizens of Lion’s Arch have noticed a sharp rise in recent days in adventurers dyeing their adventuring gear, armour, and even weapons in shades of pink and salmon. When asked as to why, those adventurers responded with arcane utterances such as “Pink Day in LA” and “Breast cancer awareness”, obviously expecting the listener to know what it is they’re talking about. At the centre of this is the flamboyantly dressed dye mixer by the name of Rosa Salvitas, who has facilitated this craze by whipping up a special blend of pink dye that she sells to adventurers at cost. We caught up with her during a break in her frenetic dye mixing and trading to ask her a few questions about why.”
• Hunter’s Insight: Slowed Down To A Grawl. “Going from 60 to 0 after conventions can be quite a change in pace, but at least we’ve got the grawl. The grawl were some of the first enemies introduced to the Guild Wars universe. In the original tutorial area of Ascalon they would perhaps be the 4th or 5th type of enemy you might run into. Nothing ever really happened with them though. I can’t remember a single quest involving them. Just trash mobs.”