David Campbell has put up a blog post on the ArenaNet blog, and it’s a doozy. In the last weekend beta event, we will finally be able to play the asura and sylvari races, opening us fully to the five playable races when the game launches.

For asura players, this means beginning your tale in Metrica Province, a vivid, exotic jungle area full of high-tech laboratories, quirky golems, and competing krewes of mad scientists. Nearby, the massive monoliths of the asuran capital Rata Sum hum with technomagical power. These diminutive geniuses may seem cute at first glance, but never underestimate an asura…

Sylvari players begin their story in the Grove, a luminous living city nestled in the shade of the Pale Tree, the “mother” of every member of this young race of plant humanoids. The sylvari are an enigmatic race of chivalrous explorers who are driven by an insatiable curiosity and guided by a collective Dream.

All five races will be selectable next beta weekend July 20-22. As always, you can jump between starting zones using the asura gates, so make sure to have a look at these new areas!

Source: ArenaNet Blog