You know the drill - cough up cash early for an MMO and invariably you'll get goods that mere mortals miss out on when they buy the game after the release date. Such is the case with Guild Wars: Eye of the North, the first traditional expansion to grace ArenaNet's MMO series.

Expected July 20, the pre-order pack will grant you access to a sneak peek weekend for Guild Wars: Eye of the North set to occur August 24-26. You’ll also get your hands on these exclusive weapons: the Glacial Blade, the Hourglass Staff and the Darksteel Longbow.

Additionally, a trial DVD contains all three previously released Guild Wars campaigns - Guild Wars, Guild Wars: Factions and Guild Wars: Nightfall - which are playable for a period of 10 days or 14 hours (whichever expires first).

NCSoft tells us the sneak peek weekend will let you "log into the game for a first look at Eye of the North. Players will be able to explore the Far Shiverpeaks region of the world, home of the barbaric Norn. Everything players obtain during the Sneak Peek Weekend - including items, XP, Heroes, and loot - will be permanent and available when the expansion goes live."

Fans of the series, fear not: everything will work pretty much the same in Eye of the North – a subscription-free model with the ability to preserve and carry over all your achievements from other campaigns. New content includes 18 multi-level dungeons, 150 new skills across all ten Guild Wars professions, ten new heroes, 40 new armor sets and new items, weapons and titles. But, most importantly, Eye of the North will pave the way for the plot of Guild Wars 2.

Guild Wars: Eye of the North releases August 31.