Try Out Guild Wars 2's Elite Specializations In The First End Of Dragons Beta, Starting Today

Guild Wars 2 players have their first chance to get their hands on three of the new elite specializations coming in End of Dragons, as the first beta test for the expansion begins today. From now until August 21, you can log into the game to receive a fully powered, level 80 version of one of the three specs that have been revealed over the past few weeks -- the mesmer's virtuoso, which was shown off during the expansion announcement, as well as the necromancer's harbinger and guardian's willbender, which were profiled in detail during last week's Guild Chat podcast.

The virtuoso blends telekinetic abilities with Canthan dagger mastery, sending their lethal blades flying in all directions. The harbinger uses a pistol and elixir skills to debilitate foes before finishing them off. The willbender wields an offhand sword and is more mobile and offensively minded than previous guardian builds.

All players, whether on a free account or not, will be able to create characters based on the three specializations and can take them wherever they want throughout Tyria. They will be deleted once the event ends, and no progress recorded on them will be saved.

The next beta will take place from September 21-25 and feature three more elite specializations, with the final one running October 26-30 and making available the final three. A fourth event will run from November 30 to December 4 and offer all elite specs, as well as the siege turtle mount. The End of Dragons expansion launches in February 2022.

For more on the End of Dragons elite specialization beta tests, check out the post on the Guild Wars 2 site.