Beta started early but I wasted lot of time fiddling with character creation, they purged the data base so everyone has to start over.

Norn choice for what makes a hero have changed from strength, or cunning, or instinct to Defeat our Ancient Foes, or Honor the Spirits or Defend the Mists. Only they haven't changed the opening video. I picked Defend the Mists and still got dialogue about instinct.

They changed the map in Divinity's Reach, I had a heck of a time finding the bank. They moved it to a different level.

Well, at least it isn't boring, Guybrush.

I said I wouldn't do sylvari or asura in beta but I went and made a sylvari necromancer. Sylvari start out in the Dream, a pre-existance before they appear in the world. In the Dream you have the default armor for your profession but when you're born your "naked" (certain parts are covered with leafs). You talk to an NPC with a green marker over its head who provides you with the armor you had in the dream. Other races only appear without armor in the game when they've bean "defeated" so many times all their armor broke and they have to get it repaired.

One of the NPCs in the Dream had the same voice as Prince Rurik in Guild Wars: Prophecies. Not surprising that they'd reuse voice actors.

Guybrush, you must have a good ear.

I met the Pale Tree. To talk to here children she appears as a golden sylvari female. She told me only two sylvari dreamed of fighting the elder dragon, Caithe, one of the First Born and me. So the personal story is that personal, you get to pretend its not a large bunch going after the dragon. She said other sylvari dream of fighting the dragon's minions but not the dragon itself.

At first I was annoyed by the sylvari homeland, its more difficult to navigate then human, norn or charr areas. But its great to look at.

Guybrush, what makes it harder to navigate?

It's a jungle, there are more obstacles to move around. For the personal story the other areas seamed better at showing you where you need to go. I spend hours trying to get to a marker to the north, before I decided to do other stuff instead and by going west eventually found an opening to the north.

I never did find the banker in The Grove.

They added a feature I'm not really fond of. In addition to way points (instant travel) that are at first inactive until you approach them, hearts to fill by doing specific tasks and points of interest to find,and skill point challenges to complete, they added unviewed vistas. These give you a panoramic view of an area that's neat to see but they can be horrible to get to. They're platform games, you have to jump to get to them. One in the norn starter area was on the rough of a building. When I asked in chat how to do it, I got "Let's find out" and other players came running. Fortunately one of them figured it out and showed me where to do my jumping, but I kept falling down.

If you can complete all these things in an area you'll get a reward. I don't see myself completing all the vistas.

Your races city is now oddly placed on the map. Instead of showing above the entrance point its now a separate map in the bottom right corner.

I currently have to run the game on lowest graphic settings so its probably better looking for people with better graphics cards.

Some perspective on history of Tyria (BE=before exodus of the human's gods, AE=after exodus):

10,000 BE Last of the Giganticus Lupicus, the Great Giants, disappear from the Tyrian continent (fan speculation is that this was the last time the Elder Dragons were awake, were the giants killed by the dragons or were they the dragons is the big question)
205 BE Humans appear on the Tyrian continent (colonists from Cantha)
100 BE Humans drive the charr out of Ascalon
1 BE The Human Gods give magic to the races of Tyria (nearly destroying them in the process)
0AE the gods worshipped by humans leave the planet (they still send avatars for over 1000 years before they tell the humans the gods time on Tyria is done, the planet is yours, too bad other races don't realize or accept it)
2AE Orr becomes an independent nation
300 AE Kryta etablished by colonists from Elona
358 AE Kryta gains its independence
898 AE the Grear North wall of Ascalon is erected to keep charr out
1070 AE charr using titan magic bring the wall down
1071 AE Orr sinks into the sea
1072 AE Ascalonians flee to Kryta, Shiro Tagashi returns from the dead in Cantha
1075 AE Nightfall. Kormir becomes a goddess (bad timing as the other gods say its now time for humans to stand on their own too feet)
1078 AE Asura come to the surface, claiming the ruins of Rata Sum as their new home. Dwarves transformed into creatures of stone. Great Destroyer killed.
1079 AE Krytan civil war ends, Selma becomes queen, fonding the Seraph. In Cantha, the Ministry of Purity appears
1080 AE Ebonhawk is established to fight the charr
1088 AE Queen Selma unites all of Kryta
1090 AE charr conquer Ascalon, except for Ascalon City, Foefire kills charr and humans raises humans as ghosts
1112 AE charr build the Black Citadel over the ruins of Rin
1116 AE charr civil war oust the Flame Legion
1120 AE Primordious the first Elder Dragon awakens (41 years after end of war in Kryta, 48 after Glint's prophecies come to pass)
1127 AE Canthan empire defeats Kurzicks and Luxons begins to drive out non-humans and political disadents (probably including our characters if they lived)
1135 AE Palawa Joko conquers Elona (roughtly 60 years after our character freed him to get his help with Nightfall)
1165 AE Jormag, second Elder Dragon, awakes, drives Norn south
1180 AE Ventari dies leaving his writings beneath the Pale Tree
1185 AE Gargoyles mysteriously vanish from Ascalon (just an interesting foot note we don't know what this means, yet)
1219 AE Zhaitan, the Elder Undead Dragon, awakens. Orr rises from the sea. Lion's Arch floods. Contact with Cantha severed (roughly 140 years after events of GW1)
1220 AE Divinty's Reach is founded as the new human capital
1230 AE Corsairs (pirates) occupy the drying ruins of Lion's Arch
1270 AE the deep sea dragon awakes (fourth Elder Dragon, name currently unknown as most people on Tyria don't even know it exists)
1302 AE first sylvari awaken (roughly 223 years since GW1)
1319 AE norn hero Eir Stegalkin forms Destiny's Edge
1320 AE Kralkatorrik, fifth Elder Dragon awakens, flys over charr territory turning charr, animals, plants into monsters, Destiny's Edge fails to kill the dragon and disband
1324 truce negations between humans and charr begin (after roughly 500 years of trying to wipe each other out)
1325 AE present day for Guild Wars 2 (roughly 246 years after GW1, rounded to 250 by Arenanet)

Note: the Flame Legion shaman assumed the charr were losing to humans because humans had gods and forced other charr to worship titans. Eventually the humans kill the titans (charr claim credit in GW2 which annoys me) and most charr eventually revert to "atheism" (they acknowledge the human's gods exist as powerful beings they just refuse to see them as gods). What the flame legion did not know is that the titans were actually servants of the humans forgotten god Abbadon who was using them to reek vengeance on humans (for forgetting him) and the other gods. We don't know what he'd have done with the charr if humans had been wiped out. After humans (NOT charr) killed the titans, the flame legion tried to foist destroyers on the other charr, but humans with help from dwarves, norn and asura took care of that. The destroyers btw were the servants of Primordious the then sleeping elder dragon. So had the charr wiped out the humans they'd have found themselves feeding the elder dragons when they woke. By GW2 time flame legion is no longer in charge and has stop worshiping other things, they now claim a fellow charr as a god. Humans and charr will, some reluctantly, have to join togther, alone with norn, asura and sylvari to defeat the dragons. Asura and sylvari history is much shorter than human and charr but those two races have their own issues to deal with. First sylvari met by asura were experimented on. They claimed not to know the sylvari were sentient.

In GW2 humans still worship the Six, Kormir having replaced Abaddon, even though the "gods" are silent now.

Wow, there is a lot of detailed history for this game!

Reserve Your Guild Wars Character Name for Guild Wars 2 by July 31 - Guild Wars 1 players log into Guild Wars 1 to reserve those character's name for Guild Wars 2.

I'm planning new names. I did make two GW1 characters just to save the names for GW2.

Ahhhh I see you thought ahead.

For all five races you start out facing some kind of boss monster. In keeping with the different attitudes of the races this act receives slightly differing responses from your people.

For humans you will be respectfully addressed by other honorable humans, including guardian Captain Logan Thackeray, a leader of the Saraph, the Queen's personal champion and former member of Destiny's Edge, as the "Hero of Shaemoor".

For norn you will be respectfully addressed by other heroic norn, including Eir Stegalkin, a great norn sculptor, ranger with pet wolf and founder of Destiny's Edge, as "the Slayer of Issormir" or just "Slayer".

For sylvari you will be respectfully addressed by other sylvari, including first born Caithe, a thief born to cycle of night, the only other sylvari to feel the call to confront Zaihtan the elder dragon head on, former member of Destiny's Edge, as "Valiant" (a title given to sylvari who hava a Wyld Hunt, most do not).

Charr are different. How other charr respond to you depends on your legion. If you chose Ash Legion, you are respected for surviving the battle that killed your commanding officer and promoted to his position. On the other hand, if you are Blood Legion, your commanding officer despises you for surviving, and you consider him a coward and a fool for splitting his forces. You will have to challenge him to personal combat to take his place. I don't know what happens with Iron Legion. But I believe in all three cases you ultimately gain the rank of "Legionnaire". Which ever legion you are Rytlock Brimstone, Tribune of the Blood Legion, a formidable warrior and former member of Destiny's Edge, will respect you for you part in the battle.

I haven't played asura so I don't know about them yet, however I wouldn't be surprised if you get no respect from Zojja, elementalist and former member of Destiny's Edge, just because asura are sarcastic and all always trying to show up each other.

Telling Stories – From Global to Personal and Back Again

Thanks Guybrush!