就在中国玩家欢庆龙年之际，《激战2》传来好消息。根据官方透露，游戏将在今年3月到4月之间举行大规模测试，并有可能在今年晚些时候正式发售。

激战2即将大规模测试 

　　2011年，《激战2》登陆诸多大型游戏展会，更是在科隆游戏展上击败魔兽世界获得了最佳网游的奖项，而游戏上市之后能否撼动魔兽世界的霸主地位也成为网友们猜测的热门话题之一。

龙年将属于激战2？

　　《激战2》的制作公司ArenaNet创办人及现任主席Mike O'Brien在官方Blog上发表一则名为《Welcome to the Year of the Dragon》（欢度龙年）的文章。文中除了向一众支持者问好外，更重要的是透露了《激战2》将会在三至四月举行的大规模测试，而游戏上市指日可待！用Mike的话来说：欢迎来到龙年——《激战2》的年度。

Mike O’Brien 

　　文章开头，Mike先重申他们反对沉闷的任务模式、僵化单调的战斗方式，以及月费制度的决心，再次强调《激战2》是让玩家重新思考MMORPG定义的机会，他表示将竭力为玩家提供新的体验，并再次介绍《激战2》各种创新的特色。

　　之后Mike宣布今年内所有玩家都可以亲身感受到《激战2》带来的创新体验，他指出游戏的第一次内部测试已经顺利完成，他们正着手准备更大型的测试。在二月的测试中，ArenaNet将广邀媒体参与，而在三月到四月的测试，其规模更会大幅提高，并指将会有邀请大量玩家参与，甚至确认《激战2》将在今年稍后时间上市。

　　ArenaNet重申，他们不欲使用开放测试一词，因为本次测试将如他们以贯做法一样是有时段限制的周末测试，为防玩家有错误期待，所以只称之为测试活动。

　　博客原文：

　　Welcome to the Year of the Dragon!

　　Today is Lunar New Year’s Day, and according to the Asian zodiac system, the first day of the Year of the Dragon. It’s an auspicious omen for all of us at ArenaNet, as we get ready to make this our own Year of the Dragon。

　　According to tradition, the dragon embodies passion, independence, and ambition. We think it’s a perfect analogy for what we’re trying to accomplish with Guild Wars 2. We’re a company full of MMO and RPG fans, and we’ve set out to fundamentally rethink how you deliver an RPG experience online. So this year, the Year of the Dragon, let’s usher out old thinking – the tired old quest model, stiff repetitive combat, and monthly fees – and usher in the new。

　　Guild Wars 2 has captured the imagination of gamers and media all over the world with its action-oriented combat, its living world full of dynamic events, its highly personalized role-playing experience, and the handcrafted artistry that suffuses every element of the game. Last year, thousands of you joined us at shows and events all over the world to try Guild Wars 2 for yourself. This year, you’ll finally be able to immerse yourself in the vast, diverse world of Tyria。

　　We recently finished our first closed beta test, and we’re now ready to hold progressively larger events. In February we’ll invite select press to participate in beta testing, and in March and April we’ll aggressively ramp up the size of our beta test events so that many of you will have a chance to participate. And of course, this all leads to the release of Guild Wars 2 later this year。

　　So stay tuned to our official Guild Wars 2 website, our Facebook page, and this blog for more information about how to participate in an upcoming beta event。

　　It’s been an incredible adventure over the past five years, working with our community and our team of dedicated artists, designers, and programmers to realize this vision. This year, the seeds of that work come to fruition. We can’t wait to play the game with you。

　　So welcome to the Year of the Dragon – the year of Guild Wars 2.