WildStar's second phase of closed beta is no longer region-locked

And thank your stars for that—dungeon-plundering and interior design should be available to everybody . While the first phase of closed beta was primarily US players, WildStar's now choosing not to discriminate based on geographical location for choosing the second round of beta participants. The lucky ones in will get to play a new faction, aim for a slightly higher level cap of 30, and try out new features like "Mentoring." Take a look inside for the lowdown.

First, the big things to be aware of. The Exile faction's been packed up in its box for this round, but now we get to say hello to the Dominion. Level 20+ players can check out the newly opened dungeon, Ruins of Kel Voreth. A capture-the-flag-style 10v10 battleground is now available for PvPers. And, finally, attributes have been renamed to be 100% more badass. For instance, Strength is now Brutality; Stamina has become Grit. I look forward to telling friends that I'm "stacking Moxie."

Two pretty major features have also been introduced for this round. Rallying will convert players' levels to that of the instance, meaning they'll face the challenges at the level they were designed for. Though not applied to PvE dungeons in this beta round, it will work in PvP. No more one-hitting low-leveled enemies!

And, finally, Mentoring has also been introduced. That means you can bring a high-leveled player with you on your travels without negatively affecting your own progression. I'm all for encouraging teamwork, so this is an addition I'm especially keen to hear about.

The humungous full list of patch notes can be found at the WildStar forum , and sign-ups are still being taken at the website .