When wizards and warriors clash online, they ready their steely swords and scintillating sorcery and charge into battle. When these same wizards and warriors are given only a weekend's time, they tend to go at it a little faster. ArenaNet is current holding an open beta weekend to try out the competitive side of Guild Wars: Factions, the next Guild Wars game, which will offer new areas to explore and two new character professions to play as. The new professions will actually add a great deal of variety, because in Guild Wars, you play the game by creating a character with one primary profession and one secondary profession, from any of the game's choices. But the new professions are available only in the game's competitive arena battles, and only in certain combinations. We took the opportunity to get a jump on our weekend and try out the new game. Please be advised when reading this report that this weekend's event features an unfinished beta version of the game; all of the details are below are subject to change.