Guild Wars: Factions in Q2 2006

NCsoft has announced Guild Wars: Factions for release in quarter two of 2006. The game will be opened to all in January for a free weekend where players can experience the game for the first time.

Guild Wars: Factions offers new choices for the player, such as new religions, professions, skills and missions. There will also be new monsters as well as expanded options for cooperative and player-versus-player (PvP) play.

The game may be several months from release, but NCsoft is giving all gamers the chance to experience it first hand in a Guild Wars: Factions Global Free-for-All PvP Weekend. From January 20 through to January 22 the game will be open to all players regardless if you have a Guild Wars account or not.

Two new professions, Assassin and Ritualist, will be available and participants in the free-for-all will be able to try out a number of the new skills added to Guild Wars: Factions. The PvP continent Battle Isles will also be open, introducing players to new PvP experiences, new arenas, new quests and a new explorable area.

One of the new features coming in Guild Wars: Factions is Observer Mode. This will allow players who are not participating in a battle to view the action of top-ranked guilds. This mode will also be available during the Guild Wars: Factions Global Free-for-All PvP Weekend.

"We're excited to be offering this free preview of Guild Wars: Factions to players throughout the world," said Patrick Wyatt, co-founder of ArenaNet. "Factions is a huge step in the continued evolution of the game, and I think gamers are really going to be excited about the new features they're going to see!"

You can sign up for a free access key to the event at guildwars.com.