Guild Wars 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to ArenaNet’s flagship title.  Due to launch sometime in 2012, GW2 aims to fix a lot of what’s “wrong” in the MMO world. With reworked combat mechanics, a focus on Dynamic Events, voiced quest dialog, several new professions, fan-favorite races, and the massive open world of Tyria, Guild Wars 2 is on track to be far more epic in scope than the original… while still retaining the F2P business model.  The reliance on a holy trinity of class-roles is gone too, with every profession in GW2 being able to take on several roles, including that of a healer.  On top of it all, there will also be several unique forms of PVP for the competitive gamer: from match-made contests that any gamer will be familiar with to massive World vs. World vs. World wars that pitch entire servers against one another.  ArenaNet hopes there will be something for everyone in Guild Wars 2.

FEATURES

• Dynamic Events | Aimed at making questing more interesting than killing ten rats, Dynamic Events are area-wide quests that scale based on the amount of people participating and can set in motion a chain reaction that spans an entire zone.  Players will always have something new and exciting to do when they log in, from stopping a band of invading centaurs, to hunting down a massive ice wyrm with the Nords.
• Unique Combat Mechanics | Each profession has both weapons and spells to use, and each weapon has its own skills as well.  Players will be able to blend their skills to create powerful interactions (fire arrows throw a wall of fire to create flaming arrows), and every class is capable of being a healer, ensuring that you’re never waiting around for a “priest” to complete content.
• Personal Story | At character creation, players will set up their personal biography for their hero, which will inform their entire story throughout the scope of GW2, maximizing replay value and ensuring that your character feels like a character, and not just an avatar with shiny armor.
• WvWvW PVP | A part of the Endgame, we don’t know much about WvWvW PVP yet, other than the fact that it will allow hundreds of players from three different servers to compete against one another in a massive battle with siege weapons and destructible environments for some pretty extreme server-wide bonuses that are bestowed upon the winner.
• Free to Play | Guild Wars 2 will continue the tradition of its forebear by being completely free beyond the retail purchase of the game.  There will be an Item Shop in the game, but ArenaNet insists that it will only be for cosmetic and convenience items, never for anything that would give one player a competitive edge.

PROFESSIONS

• Warrior | Your sword and board master, the Warrior prefers to be in the thick of battle.
• Ranger | The ranged specialist capable of splitting an ant in two from three hundred yards away.
• Necromancer | Master of the undead and dark arts, you do not want to tick the Necromancer off.
• Elementalist | The magical architect of fire, air, earth, and water.  Basically, a raging pyro with a few other tricks as well.  But come on… fire.
• Guardian | This profession is hell-bent on protecting his mates, and he does it through causing pain to his enemies as well as warding his allies.
• Thief | Fancy yourself a spry little pickpocket? Or do you just want to get all stabby on someone? This may be the class for you.
• Engineer | Guns, traps, bombs… more guns. The engineer is all about the mechanics (literally) of battle.
• Mesmer | A fan favorite, the Mesmer’s skills involve the manipulation and destruction of its enemies’ minds.  He will make you think you’re on fire while you fight mirror images of him and watch him teleport across the battlefield in the blink of an eye.

RACES

• Asura | Little, genius, and damned cute, the Asura are technological marvels with an passion for technology.
• Charr | Primal, tribal, and obsessed with warring as a part of their main existence, the Charr are new allies to the people of Tyria… but ferocious ones at that.
• Norn - These massive 9-foot tall Northerners value the spirits of nature more than anything else.
• Sylvari | The Sylvari are a young botanical plant-like race, whose inquisitive nature has brought them to the forefront of the conflict in Tyria.
• Human | The most widespread and influential race in Tyria, the Humans must work with all of the other races to ensure the safety and survival of Tyria.