Guild Wars 2 has a significantly larger world than that of Guild Wars. Underwater explorable areas are a significant part of some zones, some of which have over half of the area underwater. These underwater areas are accessible to players through an easily obtainable consumable item and have new friendly races and their own events. The areas are designed to be fun places to explore for all races.
A day/night cycle, faster than real-time, is present in the game and some events will occur and monsters appear depending on the in-game time. There are also weather effects. The interior of houses and buildings in the environment are accessible.
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| Ranger vs Ogre |
Event system
- Instead of a traditional quest system, there are dynamic events. As the world is explored, objectives become revealed by occurrences around the player. For example, a town under attack is identifiable by the destruction caused by enemies and townspeople fleeing. Defending the town gives rewards. There are over 1500 events that can occur in a dynamic system based on player action or inaction in the world. Participation in these events thus affects the state of the world.
Personal story
- In the 250 years since the events of Guild Wars, the Elder Dragons have awoken. As massive forces of nature, these dragons have wreaked destruction across the continent of Tyria, forever changing its face and its inhabitants. The player is thrown into the midst of this destruction. Each character has its own biography which affects the story and how non-player characters react. As the game progresses, organizations can be joined and situations approached in different ways; these influences change the experience of the story as it advances towards the final confrontation with the Elder Dragon, Zhaitan. There are therefore thousands of different story permutations possible.
Non-combat interaction
Guild Wars 2 will have a "robust" crafting system. Mini-game activities are provided in major towns.
Video show-casing the dynamic events system.
