With my Sylvari Mesmer finally at level 30, it was time to begin exploring the Guild Wars 2 dungeon scene. A level 30 dungeon known as the Ascalonian Catacombs was located in the middle of the Plains of Ashford, home of the Charr race. Getting together with my experienced guide, a level 35 Human Elementalist named Ziva no Najwa, we threw out an open call for a party of five to begin what would undoubtedly be an arduous quest.

A helpful Charr named Rogg Ironlight, a Norn named Sabnir Stonepaw, and a human named Kookielea soon joined our ragtag group and we walked through the front gate. The Ascalonian Catacombs were filled with restless spirits of Ascalonian soldiers that were killed by the Charr. Rytlock Brimstone, the Story Mode's Charr representative, would act as our NPC guide and provide backstory in various areas.

Read more: Dungeons are no easy affair »

If you missed the first two Guild Wars 2 diaries, you can read them here.

After exploring the Caledon Forest and the Grove and helping out with random odds and ends, it was time for my personal story to continue. There was lot of chatter about this dark faction of the Sylvari called the Nightmare Court. It was time to deal with these rogues. But first, I had to deal with the matter of my full inventory.

Having killed many things, my inventory was constantly full of crafting materials that would prove useless in battle. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to craft and the game wasn't doing a good job of explaining it to me. After exploring Caledon Forest a little more, I found an area filled with artisan crafters who offered to teach me trades--up to two at a time. I learned the armorsmith and tailor skills and decided to start crafting. Of course, I had no clue where to start and I couldn't find a clear tutorial on how to do so.

Read more: Experiencing crafting »

If you missed the first Guild Wars 2 diary, you can read it here.

After introducing myself to the Sylvari and the Grove, it was time to begin exploring the surrounding area known as the Caledon Forest. I couldn't see myself venturing too far out, since I was still leveling up my character, but Guild Wars 2 offers more ways to earn XP than simply killing things. So I gave my XP meter a boost by exploring areas and finding unexplored points of interest.

Undead rising from the swamp »

I should have expected this. Rarely does an MMO launch without a hitch and, sure enough, Guild Wars 2 continues the trend. The masses wanted to dive into GW2 as badly as I did, which meant I ran into some connectivity issues throughout the day. It took a few tries, but I eventually managed to jump into the GW2 character creator.

After playing through most of the races during the GW2 beta, I opted to restart my journey with the Sylvari. The game's resident plant-like people, the Sylvari have only been in existence for 25 years, first coming into being long after the events of the first Guild Wars. Considering my own status as a Guild Wars newcomer (I never played through the first GW or any of its expansions), I found it fitting that I take the role of a race exploring Tyria for the first time.

Read more: Building a new life in Tyria »