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Reverted edits by 172.56.17.189 (talk) to last revision by Steve1

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[[File:Normal gw2logo.jpg|thumb|right|''Guild Wars 2'' logo]]
''[[Guild Wars 2]]'' is the sequel to the ''[[Guild Wars]]'' series by [[ArenaNet]]. Currently it consists of one base game and five expansion packs.

==Base game==
The base game was released on August 28th, 2012. ArenaNet offered three ''pre-purchase'' editions of the game at the time: the Digital Edition, Digital Deluxe Edition, and Collector's Edition. Anyone who pre-purchased the game was given a 3 Day Headstart, which started on August 25th, 2012 at 12:00 a.m. PDT (GMT-7).

The game is set exactly 250 years after ''[[Guild Wars Nightfall]]''. [[Tyria]] has drastically changed due to the rise of the [[Elder Dragon]]s that woke up throughout the past 200 years.

Various other major events transpired:
*The [[Charr]] conquered [[Ascalon]] (except [[Ebonhawke]]).
**Before his death, [[King Adelbern]] unleashed the [[gw2:Foefire|Foefire]] from [[Ascalon City]], turning all [[Human]]s within its reach into undying [[ghost]]s.
*[[Kryta]] is the final Human kingdom in Tyria, which is now under siege by [[centaur]]s and torn by political unrest.
**[[Lion's Arch]] was flooded by the rise of an Elder Dragon and eventually rebuilt on top of it as a city for all races, with the only remaining portal to [[the Mists]].
*The Norn and Asura were pushed from their homelands, they have found new homes in the [[Shiverpeak Mountains]] and [[Tarnished Coast]] (respectively).
*The Charr have overthrown the [[Flame Legion]] and denounced all worship of gods as they built a new city over the ruins of [[Rin]].
*A new race has appeared in the form of the [[gw2:Sylvari|Sylvari]], birthed from the [[gw2:Pale Tree|Pale Tree]] which was tended to by [[Ventari]] and [[Ronan]] until their deaths.
*[[Cantha]] was united by [[gw2:Emperor Usoku|Emperor Usoku]], but turned into a [[w:xenophobic|xenophobic]] nation only for humans.
**The [[Tengu]], in response, fled north to Kryta and isolated themselves within the [[gw2:Dominion of Winds|Dominion of Winds]].
**No contact has been made with Cantha and the only knowledge that it still exists comes from sporadic sailors that wash up on the Tarnished Coast.
*[[Elona]] was invaded by [[Palawa Joko]] 60 years after ''Nightfall''; the [[Order of the Sunspears]] were destroyed and the [[Elon]] was diverted, causing a famine that forced Kourna and Vabbi into submission.
**The northern borders of Elona are under constant siege by Elder Dragon forces.
**The [[Order of Whispers]] still actively travels to and from Elona.

===Changes from ''Guild Wars''===
;Hardware requirements
*''Guild Wars 2'' has drastically increased hardware requirements compared to ''Guild Wars''.

;Game mechanics
*Mouse movement has been removed from the game; however, [[target]] locking will still function.
*Control of combat is more active; including [[block]]ing skills that are "held down", ground-targeting for [[spells]] and [[attacks]], and hit detection that allows one player to block area-based damage from reaching other players.
*Characters can jump over obstacles, as well as swim and dive underwater.
*Players can activate [[skill]]s while running or jumping for smoother combat immersion, and are not always restricted to being stationary while executing skills.
*Any player can join multiple [[guild]]s and a guild chat is available per guild.

;Game engine
*''Guild Wars 2'' uses a heavily modified ''Guild Wars'' game engine which includes support for true 3D environments, more detailed environments and models, better lighting and shadows, new animation and effects systems, plus new audio and cinematic engines.
**The game requires DirectX 11, with effect from Spring 2023.
*''Guild Wars 2'' utilises the [[wikipedia:Havok (software)|Havok]] physics engine to provide ragdoll animation and destructible environments, as well as [[wikipedia:occlusion culling|occlusion culling]] technology licensed from [[wikipedia:Umbra Software|Umbra Software]] to optimise 3D object rendering. <ref>[http://www.umbrasoftware.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=1&cntnt01origid=72&cntnt01returnid=54 ArenaNet® Licenses Umbra for ''Guild Wars 2''], Umbra Software</ref>

;Features
*''Guild Wars 2'' largely features an open world, instead of a large collection of instanced areas.
*Explorable areas are dynamic and contents change depending on the players' input, though they are not dependent on them.
*A day/night cycle and weather effects are present in the game. Some events and monster appearances and even some items and crafting results will depend or change as a result of in-game time.

;Races and professions
[[File:Sylvari concept art.jpg|thumb|200px|Concept art from ''[[Guild Wars 2]]'' by [[Jason Juan]].]]
''Guild Wars 2'' introduces several new playable [[creature|race]]s. The five playable races are:
* [[Asura]]
* [[Charr]]
* [[Human]]
* [[Norn]]
* [[gw2:Sylvari|Sylvari]]
Eight professions are available, though there is no secondary profession:
*[[gw2:Elementalist|Elementalist]]
*[[gw2:Warrior|Warrior]]
*[[gw2:Ranger|Ranger]]
*[[gw2:Necromancer|Necromancer]]
*[[gw2:Guardian|Guardian]]
*[[gw2:Thief|Thief]]
*[[gw2:Engineer|Engineer]]
*[[gw2:Mesmer|Mesmer]]
**Different professions have access to different [[gw2:weapon|weapons]], [[gw2:skill|skills]] (excluding race-specific skills), and [[gw2:Trait|traits]]. Armor is scaled between profession types; scholar professions (Elementalist, Mesmer, and Necromancer) use light armor, adventurer professions (Engineer, Ranger, and Thief) use medium armor, and soldier professions (Guardian, Warrior) use heavy armor.
*There is no dedicated healing profession.

;Level
The level cap in ''Guild Wars 2'' is 80. Characters will have their power scaled down in areas designed for lower level players, to keep content somewhat challenging.

;[[Player versus Player]]
*All characters are scaled up to maximum level while participating in PvP.
*Structured PvP in ''Guild Wars 2'' is similar to a PvP-only character in ''Guild Wars'', without the need for a separate character slot. Any character can participate and has PvP-only armor to customize as they please.
*World versus World battles pit 3 servers against each other into 4 map areas, containing up to 2,000 participants. Victory in World PvP confers benefits to your world/server.

;Prequel bonuses
*As a courtesy, character names from ''Guild Wars'' accounts were reserved for potential use on linked ''Guild Wars 2'' accounts when the game was newly released.
*The [[Hall of Monuments]] allows players from both games to gain some cosmetic-only bonuses in ''Guild Wars 2''. However, players will not be able to migrate any items or titles they obtained in ''Guild Wars''
**One exception is the [[Maxed titles rank|God Walking Amongst Mere Mortals]] title, which available account-wide in ''Guild Wars 2'' if at least one character of a linked Guild Wars account has attained it.

==''[[gw2:Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns|Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns]]'' expansion pack==
{{quotation|Official website|The story of ''Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns™'' takes place in the Heart of Maguuma, the deep jungle where [[gw2:Pact|Pact]] forces crashed on their way to confront the [[Elder Dragon]] [[gw2:Mordremoth|Mordremoth]].}}

===Changes from ''Guild Wars 2''===
;Game mechanics
*New currencies were added.
*A mastery system allows for account-wide bonuses for characters of level 80.
*[[gw2:Raid|Raids]] were introduced. Raids are instances for up to 10 players.
*Guild [[User_interface#Chat_window|chat]] was enhanced to allow cross-guilds interaction more easily.
*[[Guild hall]]s were introduced to the game. To obtain a hall, the expansion is required.
**Access afterwards is also available to accounts with only the base game.
*[[gw2:Gliding|Gliding]] is possible to combat falling damage, as well as a means of transportation.
*An action camera mode for more vivid screenshots was added.

;Professions
*The [[gw2:Revenant|Revenant]] profession is exclusively available to accounts with Hearts of Thorns or Path of Fire activated. It is the third soldier profession.
*[[gw2:Specialization|Specialization]]s were added. All professions can specialize at level 80 to unlock further abilities and skills.

;World map
*The heart of the [[Maguuma Jungle]] is added as a playable area.

;Player versus Player
*[[Guild versus Guild]] as seen in ''Guild Wars'' makes a return in the form of [[gw2:Stronghold|Stronghold]]. A guild is not required to participate.
**Aspects of ''Guild Wars'''s [[Fort Aspenwood]] resource collecting are also present.
*One new map was added to World versus World.

==''[[gw2:Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire|Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire]]'' expansion pack==
{{quotation|Official site|As the balance of magic comes undone, lead your allies in the hunt for the rogue god [[Balthazar]], whose scorched-earth campaign threatens the very existence of [[Tyria]].}}
===Changes from ''Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns''===
;Game mechanics
*[[gw2:Mounts|Mounts]] were added, along with a mastery line for each mount.
*[[gw2:Bounty|Bounties]] were introduced to challenge level 80 characters.

;Professions
*Nine new specializations were added, a second one per profession.

;World map
*The [[Crystal Desert]] is added as a playable area and stretches all the way up to [[Vabbi]], [[Elona]].

==Notes==
[[File:Old gw2logo.jpg||thumb|150px|right|Old GW2 logo prior to release of the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em0Sd60iI2w official trailer].]]
*To help tie the events of ''Guild Wars'' with ''Guild Wars 2'', ArenaNet released three books: [[gw2:Ghosts of Ascalon|Ghosts of Ascalon]], [[gw2:Edge of Destiny|Edge of Destiny]], and [[gw2:Sea of Sorrows (book)|Sea of Sorrows]].
**''[[Guild Wars Beyond]]'''s story also focuses on connecting the story of the two games.
*[[Jeremy Soule]] composed the original music for ''Guild Wars 2''.
**[[gw2:Maclaine Diemer|Maclaine Diemer]] composes new music for ''Guild Wars 2'' since 2013, when Soule's contract with the company ended.
*Some [[lore]] found in ''Guild Wars 2'' is [[w:retroactive continuity|retroactive continuity]] (retcon) material from ''Guild Wars''.

==References==
{{gw2w}}
<references/>

[[Category:Guild Wars 2]]

Guild Wars 2 - Revision history

self>Tanetris: Reverted edits by 172.56.17.189 (talk) to last revision by Steve1