Preordering Guild Wars...

If I pre-order Guild Wars now, can I play the Beta today?

Can I play the beta untill release?

Just wondering because I want to try the game now.

You will only be able to play Next weekend, I think the dates are 15-17(Fri-Sun), and on the 27. The game releases on the 28th.

whats the point of pre-ordering then?

because people who dont pre-order can play on the 15-17 right?

no they cant

edit

and they start play on the 28th instead of the 27th for the preorders

uh no... you have to pre-order to get a beta key, which lets you play next weekend. it also lets you play a day early on the 27th. that's the point, and also the normal point of pre-ordering, to get the game on time.

No. Only pre-orderers can. Preordering also gives you an item upon release, And it most stores the money you put on a preorder discounts it when you actually buy the game, so there is no extra cost whatsoever to pre-order it.

ok thanks guys for clearing this up for me

no prob. if you're going to pre-order, make sure you do soon because I know at certain places you can't pre-order too early to the beta weekend. at Gameplay (UK) you have to pre-order before the 13th to be eligable for the beta weekend. I don't know what this is like for other retailers though.

And dont pre-order online if you want to have the game for this BWE . I ordered mine online only to find out i could Not pick it up in the store, i had to wait for it to come in the mail. So if you are pre-ordering online, i suggest you make sure you can pick it up in-store, or will be shipped to you for Fri,sat and sun to take part in the BWE for April.

eh? I thought you downloaded the client off the website for the BWE?
Gameplay said they'll email me my beta weekend key on the 14th.

Yeah u do use the client for bwe because i am getting my key through e-mail too so i couldnt use the actual game!

You can download the client, but that's not the point. You have to have the beta key once it is downloaded, and that only comes with the pre-order kit. I believe that only European retailers are emailing the beta keys. North American retailers only send them out in the kits. So if you ordered online and have to wait for them to mail it, you may miss the BWE if you don't leave sufficient time for shipping...

Vai

oh i see. I didn't realise it was different for anywhere else! Thank you

Merged: i'm wondering how i'm going to be able to play on the 27th because my game isn't going to be delivered until the 28th, and that client download isn't going to cater for the 27th is it? i might be wrong but from what I read on the pre-order site, it looked as though i don't get the game on the 27th

i think the client does as it might be small and u wouldnt think it was the whole game but actually most of the info is sever side so u could actualy play the whole game. i think anyway

Read this. An interview given by Gaile during fansite friday #39 where she explains using the betas keys and what they are for. Good link.

Vai

i'm beginning to wonder what exactly comes in the box... you're only paying for the key really, i'm guessing. and to have a lovely cd and manual

Gameplay.co.uk
-p0t4T0

Thank you vai!

No worries Diabolus. And as far as what comes in the box, I got a CD (with a link to download the client, some wallpapers and other art, some music by Jeremy Soule, etc) a poster, a Prima Tournament Strategy guide, and the beta keys (one for me, one for a friend). Everything there is available from the website except the strategy--but that's what the forums are for.

So basically you are paying for the beta keys (well worth it in my view seeing as it ends up being free since you get your money back when you get a discount on the retail version of the game).

Vai