For those too lazy to go to other sites for GW2 info...

Alhazred23

 I've synthesized the major information provided in the IGN and Eurogamer interviews below:

• There will be no monthly fee.
• The game is set 250 years after the last Guild Wars campaign.
• The major antagonists will be the forces of the Ancient Dragons. 
• The game is based primarily in a persistent world, with instancing used selectively to enhance storytelling.
• There will be no 'standard' MMORPG quest system; this is replaced by persistent world events that players can participate in by being in the right place at the right time; the outcome of these events will be affected by player participation, and will influence later event sequences.
• Crafting will be included.
• The game will be fully soloable through the use of a 'companion' system that is an evolution of the 'hero' system introduced in Guild Wars Nightfall.
• There will be swimming and a significant amount of underwater content; functioning underwater will be available to all races and the focus will be more on exploration and the way the environment changes the pace of battle, rather than the risks of a hostile environment.
• Players will still be able to have multiple characters on one account.
• There will be five playable races in the initial release: Human, Charr, Norn, Asura and Sylvari; the races will be differentiated beyond just cosmetic differences, but ArenaNet is not ready to release the mechanical details of this.
• The races will not be enemies during regular exploration of the world, so multi-racial parties are fully viable.
• There will be a two-mode PVP system: competitive PVP and open world PVP.
• Players can create competitive PVP characters from the start; all competitive PVP characters will have access to the same pool of skills and gear, but presumably not be able to participate in the PVE portion of the game.
• To engage in open world PVP, PVE characters enter a battlefield called 'The Mists,' but no other details on this system have been released.
• There will be a skill deck system similar to Guild Wars 1, but there will be fewer total skills for each class; in exchange, individual skills will be of 'higher quality.'
• Guild Wars 2 will enter beta testing much nearer to release than Guild Wars 1, which entered beta testing very early on in the development cycle.
• The game will have low system requirements.

 

Gennadios

Originally posted by Alhazred23


 I've synthesized the major information provided in the IGN and Eurogamer interviews below:

There will be a two-mode PVP system: competitive PVP and open world PVP.

...

To engage in open world PVP, PVE characters enter a battlefield called 'The Mists,' but no other details on this system have been released.

 

 

All of the sources I've read refer "The Mists" as Realm PvP, not Open World pvp. It's a major distinction, as it appears that PvP will not be available in wider (explorable) game world.

Alhazred23

Originally posted by Gennadios

Originally posted by Alhazred23


 I've synthesized the major information provided in the IGN and Eurogamer interviews below:

There will be a two-mode PVP system: competitive PVP and open world PVP.

...

To engage in open world PVP, PVE characters enter a battlefield called 'The Mists,' but no other details on this system have been released.

 

 

All of the sources I've read refer "The Mists" as Realm PvP, not Open World pvp. It's a major distinction, as it appears that PvP will not be available in wider (explorable) game world.

I would hesitate to use the term 'Realm PvP,' as the world 'realm' has some connotations that haven't even been implied yet. We don't know how the game will determine who you can and cannot attack, and what sort of goals players will have when entering The Mists. We only know that when characters are in this area, they can attack other characters, but they won't have the same objectives as in competitive PVP (such as ladder advancement). I only call it 'open world PVP' because it doesn't take place within an arena of some sort - unless you count the entirety of The Mists an 'arena.'  A better description might be 'Battleground PVP,' but that description also has certain connotations that may be misleading. Given the technology they used in GW1, it might be that 'The Mists' are simply a separate layer that mirrors the regular, explorable game world, but with PVP; in that (purely hypothetical) case, i would say 'open world PVP' would be a totally appropriate description.