If you can’t wait for Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns™ to get your hands on the new Stronghold Player vs. Player game mode, be sure to join us on June 2 at noon Pacific Time (UTC‑7) for the second Stronghold PvP Public Beta! The map will be available live within Guild Wars 2 for 24 hours, so you’ll have plenty of time to storm the enemy gates (and to defend your own).

To get started in Stronghold, you’ll need to head to the Heart of the Mists, which can be accessed through the main portal in Lion’s Arch or through the PvP panel icon located at the top of your screen. Once you’re ready, queue for an Unranked Arena match. You’ll see Battle of Champion’s Dusk as the featured map; vote for it, hit “Accept” when your queue pops, and enjoy the battle! Conquest matches can still be played in Ranked Arena.

Want to learn more about how to play Stronghold? Check out Ready Up episode 28, or read all about it on the official Guild Wars 2 site.

Tournaments

As part of the Stronghold beta, tournament organizers ESL, Academy Gaming, and AspectGG will also be hosting the first ever Stronghold tournaments available on live servers. Teams stand to earn gem codes for placing highly in the tournament, and all teams that win a round in the events will be rewarded with a mini llama for participation. Because sign-ups are limited to 16 teams per region, we recommend that you reserve your slot in these tournaments as soon as possible. These tournaments are open to all players with no restriction. If you aren’t competing, you can always catch the tournament broadcast live on Twitch.

Europe: ESL Stronghold 5v5 Cup

Tournament time: Tuesday, June 2, at 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7)

Tuesday, June 2, at 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) Livestreams: English, hosted by Jebro and ChroNick: http://www.twitch.tv/guildwars2 German, hosted by Sputti and Blackmoa: http://www.twitch.tv/guildnews French, hosted by Waffle and Audio: http://www.twitch.tv/fureurwebtv Spanish, hosted by FariFariNos and Reihn: http://www.twitch.tv/farifarinos

Click here to sign up.

North America: Academy Gaming/AspectGG Stronghold Beta Cup

Tournament time: Tuesday, June 2, at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7)

Tuesday, June 2, at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) Livestreams: English, hosted by Storm and Heurix: http://www.twitch.tv/guildwars2

Click here to sign up.