There are a limited number of Closed Beta spots available and not everyone that applies will be admitted. However, as a current newsletter subscriber, you have been designated as a preferred Beta Test applicant! This means you have the best chance of anyone of getting into the Closed Beta. The only requirement is that you register with the same email address used to receive the monthly WAR newsletter.

We’ll be inviting Beta Center applicants into the game as early as this summer. But, if you don’t get in right away, don’t slip over to the Dark Gods; we’ll be letting an increasing number of applicants into the Closed Beta through the end of the year. Have patience and it will be rewarded.

Newsletter Beta Winners

Congratulations! You’ll be some of the first people outside of EA to explore the battle scarred lands of Warhammer Online. Simply create your Beta Center account using your newsletter email address and this summer prepare to enter a world of perpetual conflict.

Guild Beta Applicants

The EA Mythic team would like to thank all of the guilds forthe overwhelming response!We received over 10,000 eligible guild applications and we are now making our selections. Members of the WAR Community Team will be contacting invited guilds shortly with details on how to get into the Closed Beta.

Closed Beta testers will be selected based on a variety of factors, including computer system specs, game experience, and community involvement. The Closed Beta is limited to players 18 years of age or older, and requires the acceptance of our Beta Test Agreement.

WAR is coming! Are you ready?

“These poor, simple folk - too fearful or too dull-witted to see the vulgarity and evil in their own midst. They
wail and complain about my… uncompromising methods, but who among you can say that hanging half a village is too high a price to pay for the assurance that corruption has been exposed and destroyed this day?”

- Ernst Traugott, Templar Witch Hunter

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This month we venture deep into the Worlds Edge Mountains to explore the frigid and perilous land known as High Pass.

High Pass is home to all manner of fearsome creatures, for nothing weak can survive there. Every beast that dwells among the frozen peaks is a savage predator. Great, muscular Sabertusks stalk their prey silently through the snow and then pounce, using their huge, sharp tusks to deliver a mortal wound. Packs of ravenous mountain wolves bay at the cold light of the moon before descending from the slopes to hunt. Perhaps the most frightening of these creatures are the towering Yhetees, whose hands end in great rending claws several inches long.

Deadlier still than the creatures of High Pass are the tribes of Northmen who make their home in the frozen lands that border the Chaos Wastes. These primitive barbarians worship the foul gods of Chaos, and in the Age of Reckoning, they find their powers on the increase as the Winds of Magic strengthen. Many have marched south under the banner of Tchar'zanek, Champion of Tzeentch, but others have remained behind to defend their tribal lands against trespassers. Should they chance upon travelers from the south, they will show no mercy.

Even the most courageous hero can fall into darkness, and the noblest of intentions can be turned to evil purpose by the terrible will of the gods of Chaos.

So it was with Sir Luthor von Zakenhelm, once a Knight of the Blazing Sun who commanded a doomed expedition to seal the Chaos gate at the heart of the Bastion Stair. The Stair, a massive edifice far to the north that marks the boundary between the mortal world and the Realm of Chaos, proved too great a challenge for the brave members of the expedition. Those few who survived were forever changed.

Following whispers that promised unlimited strength and power, Sir Luthor strayed from the expedition and found his way to a great arena with walls of brass and red stone. A mighty Daemon was waiting within, and Sir Luthor took up his sword to do battle. When he had won, another, stronger Daemon took its place, and then another, and on it went.

Consumed by his lust for battle and his desire to conquer all foes, Sir Luthor made a dark pact with the Blood God. In exchange for converting the other knights to the ways of Khorne, von Zakenhelm would be made a Champion. His eyes burning with murderous rage, Sir Luthor hunted down the knights who had sworn loyalty to him. Some joined him, lured by the promise of power. Others refused, and paid with their lives.

All trace of the noble warrior who left the lands of the Empire behind to confront evil was now gone. Thus was born Slaurith, Champion of Khorne, who waits in his arena for a worthy challenger.

Each month, we go behind-the-scenes with Senior Designer, Josh Drescher, for an insiders look at the development of WAR.

This month, we present another of our animated podcasts and take a long look at an important piece of the MMORPG puzzle - Quests. We’ll show you the innovations we are bringing to the questing system and show how we plan to deliver on the promise that “War is everywhere!” We’ll showcase the variety of quest types and explain how the epic storyline of the Age of Reckoning figures into every one of our quests. Don’t miss it!

For the Writing Team, that phrase isn't just a destination, but also a point of departure that leads us to many questions. Why is war everywhere? How did it get there? What objectives are the armies of Order and Destruction fighting over? What effect will those battles have on the larger war? Providing the answers is the job of WAR's writers and Content Designers, and the first place we go to get them is the game's backstory.

The Forest of Shadows was cloaked in darkness but the Northman was near - he could smell his stink. Suddenly, with a frenzied shriek, the wild-eyed Zealot launched himself up from the dense undergrowth. A conspiracy of ravens exploded from the trees, their screams calling for Tzeentch to witness the coming congress of metal and flesh.

Skweem
By Luke Derry

Worshipper of Tzeentch
By Jeremy Cripe

Visit the Fan Art Gallery >>

Feeling creative? Send us your WAR-inspired art. We will choose the best entries and feature them in upcoming newsletters and on our website. Note to aspiring artists: Color submissions will usually get more love than ones done in pencil!

Submit your artwork >>

Welcome to the WAR Grab Bag, where our friendly neighborhood community manager answers the most pressing, the most popular, and the most interesting questions from fans. Keep those questions coming, as we’re eager to hear what you have to say!

Check out this month’s Grab Bag >>

"I used to hate PvP combat until I played Camelot. We did a great job at making RvR so much fun in Camelot and Warhammer is going to take it to the next level."

Developer Profile >>

"Currently I’m painting a Wood Elf army. Painting the miniatures is a good way to do something artistic at home that doesn’t involve sitting in front of a computer after you spend your entire day at work sitting in front of a computer."

Developer Profile >>

WAR is about to enter into Closed Beta and now is your chance to secure a spot in the test. Each month we'll randomly select 5 names from the newsletter subscriber database for entry into the Closed Beta Test.* If you are a current Warhammer newsletter subscriber, then you're automatically entered into the drawing every month. If you are not yet a newsletter subscriber, click here betacenter.eamythic.com to register for the Closed Beta and subscribe to the monthly newsletter.

May Winners:
Stig C., Europe
Jaime E., Europe
Tim N., North America
Laura S., North America
Tim D., Australia

How would you best describe your involvement with Warhammer?

I’m a huge Warhammer fan
      with more miniatures than I
      know what to do with and a
      compulsive urge to buy
      more!

I’m a reformed Warhammer
      addict and now only
      occasionally weep over the
      latest cool miniatures.

Pah! Those tabletop games
      aren’t for me… but I do like a
      good Warhammer novel or
      computer game.

Warhammer? Elves, Orcs
      and big warriors in spikey
      armour? I know of this but
      have never partaken of its
      sumptuous delights.

I’m a big MMO player, but
      didn’t know about the glory
      of Warhammer until I heard
      about this game.

I know nothing about MMOs
      or Warhammer, but I can’t
      resist the hype and want a
      piece of it.

In this month’s featured Art of WAR image, the crazed Chaos Zealot has literally got the jump on the Empire’s Witch Hunter. Who will win the fight?

Why?

Visit the WAR booth for your
chance to play the latest build
of the game!

2007 Games Days
Games Day – Baltimore
June 23, 2007

Games Day – Chicago
July 28, 2007

Games Day - Germany
August 5, 2007

Games Day – Los Angeles
August 11, 2007

Games Day - UK
September 23, 2007

2007 Shows and Conventions
(Attendance plans subject to change)

Origins 2007
July 5 - 8, 2007

ComicCon San Diego
July 26 - 29, 2007

GenCon Indy
August 16-19, 2007

Games Convention, Germany
August 20 - 22, 2007

The Penny Arcade Expo (PAX)
August 24-26, 2007

Stay Tuned for more events to be announced. We'll be on the road coming to an event near you!