Massively's launch guide to Guild Wars 2
Oh, 2007: Those heady days when Guild Wars 2 was set to feature a beta in... 2008! It took a few more years than initially expected, but the wait was worth it because now, it's ready -- Guild Wars 2 officially launches tonight at midnight PDT!
But how ready are you? Jump past the break (jumping joke!), where we've organized Massively's many years of GW2 coverage to help catch you up on the game, its systems and features, its races and classes, and its lore.
Excelsior!
%Gallery-159080%
Class reveals: Mesmer, Engineer, Thief, Guardian, Necromancer, Ranger, Warrior, Elementalist
Exclusive class interviews: Mesmer, Engineer, Thief, Guardian, Ranger, Warrior
Analyzing the Engineer and the Guardian
Massively's guides to professions and skill points and traits
The trinity and Guild Wars 2, cross-profession combos, and underwater combat
Breaking down Guild Wars 2's character creator
Racial week roundups: Asura, Sylvari, Charr, Norn, Humans
The cheerful insanity of the Asura and our PAX 2011 hands-on with the Asura
Turning over a new leaf in the Sylvari starting experience
The Sylvari and Asura intro cinematics and racial armor videos
Five things to love about Lion's Arch, Lion's Arch previewed in video
Sylvari and Charr: Dreaming of green knights and Life in the legions
Touring Twilight Arbor, Snowden Drifts, Ascalon Catacombs, and Gendarran Fields
Picking your Guild Wars 2 main
Renown hearts, personal story, and dynamic events: How "questing" works
The game at the end of Guild Wars 2 and why we don't need no stinkin' endgame
What to expect from dynamic events
Legendary weapons and endgame
GW2's achievements system and incentives for PvE dungeoning
Death, combat, and healing in GW2
Guild Wars 2 crafting explained and demonstrated
Leveling to 80 through pure crafting
How the dye system works
Guild Wars 2's beta economy and pet economist
Our GW2 PvP primer and guide to Glory
GW2 world vs. world primer and a visual overview
Lis' hands-on with world vs. world, Matt's hands-on with world vs. world
Our look at Legacy of the Foefire
PvP tournaments and e-sports
A sneak peek at PvP scholar armor
The making of the Battle of Kyhlo
Making the 'jump' from Guild Wars to Guild Wars 2
Efficient Hall of Monuments progress and The road to 50
Hall of Monuments newbie guide and reward video
It's bigger on the inside: Story changes between the two games
Visual changes between Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2
The end of an era: The Guild Wars 1 finale
Getting your GW1 and GW2 accounts linked
A brief history of Tyria parts one and two
Storytelling and emotional connections, Guild Wars 2's three story types
The Guild Wars 2 naming process
Guild Wars 2 gravestone epitaphs
Maps and personal story in GW2
The Jotun, Grawl, Quaggan, Krait, Skritt, Hylek, Kodan creature reveals
Cinematic conversations in GW2
The novels: Ghosts of Ascalon, Edge of Destiny, Sea of Sorrows
Ghosts of Ascalon impressions from a lore nerd
Nostalgia, or why Guild Wars 2's lore matters
ArenaNet's microtransaction philosophy and defense of RMT
Guild Wars 2 soundtrack available for $30
Felicia Day unboxes the collector's edition
Soundtrack single available on iTunes
SteelSeries' GW2 gaming peripherals
The Making of Guild Wars 2: A book made out of "paper"
The hidden perils of Guild Wars 2's microtransactions
The gem store goes (partially) online, last-minute store items revealed
The Guild Wars 2 manifesto, four pillars of gameplay, and online manual
An outsider's look inside Guild Wars 2
Shawn's closed beta impressions, Lis' closed beta impressions, Brendan's hands-on
Guesting, world transfers, and regions and how account linking works
Sanctum of Rall shard named after late gamer
Six things SWTOR and GW2 can learn from each other
Cool things about overflow servers
The mobile app: Then and now
The pros and cons of multiguilding
Celebrating the dances of Guild Wars 2
How to join our totally unofficial GW/GW2 guild, MVOP
It takes an Asura's intellect, a Human's charm, a Sylvari's wisdom, a Charr's passion, and a Norn's love of strong mead to dive into Guild Wars 2 and make sense of a game this complex. Fortunately, we have all five on the Massively staff. Enjoy our previews, guides, and our weekly GW2 column, Flameseeker Chronicles!
