From the Panel at Comicon:
Dynamic Events
The game will have no set quest system or quest chains. The player is to explore the world and events occur around the player. The player’s choices then affect the world. The world is therefore constantly changing with new dynamic events that can be both minor and major, ie: “helping a farmer kill rabbits to save his watermelon crop which, if you do, lets him open up his stand to sell watermelons and rabbits feet. If you do not kill the rabbits then his stall is remains closed.” Other dynamic events are large scale that can affect large scale as in having enemy units occupy a town or giant snow storms rolling across the map based on the events. The game is therefore much more dynamic and it is what the player chooses to do no scripted events. The game also encourages players to work together as there are no defined roles for each class in that they are able to switch between roles in groups and all can aid in resurrection of other players encouraging groupplay and a strong community. From Colin Jackson writer of Dynamic Events states that there are currently over 1500 unique dynamic events all hand scripted and alter the world.
Character Customization
With the new playable races: Charr, Sylvari, Norn, Asura, and of course the humans, the player is given various race combination combined with professions. The combination of race and professions allows for a richer customization when compared to the first Guild Wars. The professions released as of now are Thief, Guardian, Warrior, Elementalist, Necromancer, Ranger, and Engineer as well as an undisclosed last profession. With Guild Wars 2, the dye system is revamped allowing for 3 colors, to alter hues of clothes and create the best look for the player. The customization allows for size scaling, manipulation of skin textures and patterns, as well as the new color system. Kristen Perry discussed that armor will not be like it is in World of Warcraft in that there is a top tier gear that all looks the same. There is some discussion in the works of allowing one to use all types of gear and clothing, and allowing them to be scaled so that the player can look consistently like their own. The home instance is another new concept designed. It will be your racial city in which your personal story or dwelling resides, and one’s home instance changes according to what he or she does in game.
PVP
The Guild Wars 2 PVP system is server vs server vs server. Essentially one server versus two other servers in battles that anybody can participate in, as well as level up in. PVP battles last for 2 weeks. Players will not only fight each other but can perform other tasks to supplement the PVP effort. The winning team receives bonuses and rewards for their server, lasting a predetermined amount of time based upon the score. The player will be able to capture areas as well as fight in the main battlefield. Depending on the areas captured, dynamic events can happen, like having to push a cart back to a team-controlled mine. The server can unlock siege weapons, depending on their actions in PVP.
A distinction between GW2 and competitors is a lack of verbose text to read for quests. Instead, the dynamic event system will have NPC’s go to you and ask for help. For example, an NPC can ask you to help put out a burning building, while giving you a bucket of water. The team hopes to get more people emotionally invested in the characters and the world of Guild Wars 2 with quests like these. Another distinction is scaled content such as dungeons. If you are level 80 and want to do a level 30 dungeon, you will be able to do so. Entering the dungeon will set your character within the dungeon's level range, allowing them to enjoy and replay dungeons and instances.
The release date has not been disclosed as of now. There are plans for a closed beta test by the end of this year, and the open beta progressing afterwards. The game sounds pretty epic, but will it be able to deliver all that it promises? If it succeeds, the game may redefine MMOs. As a fan of Guild Wars, I eagerly await future news and updates. To find out more about the game check out http://www.guildwars2.com/en/.
The full panel:
