When I first encountered Guild Wars, it was creating a reputation for itself as one of the main alternatives to World of Warcraft, offering a similar experience without the crippling monthly fee. Guild Wars 2 represents a major step forward for NCsoft and ArenaNet, completely stepping out of WoW's shadow and firmly planting itself as the new standard for MMORPG's.

GW2's story has plenty to offer both longtime GW veterans and newcomers. Set a thousand years after the events of the first GW, the land of Tyria is under siege by hellish dragons and their army of undead minions. To save the continent, multiple races must band together to overcome the common threat. The story introduces new narrative elements, while also building on much of the lore from the first game and its expansions.

Read more: An involved personal story »

MMORPGs tend to follow a pretty standard pattern. Fight monsters and do quests to reach the end-game, then start playing high-level content. But according to ArenaNet, it was important to change that dynamic in Guild Wars 2. The developer shared some thoughts on how it rethought the concept of end-game content so players could enjoy that feeling throughout the game, even before reaching high level caps.

Read more: Didn't want to require 'entirely new subset of the game' »

Though the days of plain old WoW-alike subscription MMORPGs seem numbered, Guild Wars 2 is proving you don't need to go fully free-to-play to find an audience. ArenaNet's subscription-free MMORPG has sold over two million physical and digital copies, publisher NCsoft announced today, and hit a peak of over 400,000 concurrent players.

Read more: Hit shortly after resuming digital sales »

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 »

ArenaNet has finally reopened online sales for Guild Wars 2 on the official site after a strong influx of players during the first week of the game's release forced the developer to suspend purchases and try to find a ways to combat high player "concurrency" rates.

Read more: More servers and customer support personnel added »

It may be time to gird your loins and beef up your passwords again, as yet another online game's security has been compromised. Guild Wars 2 has received more than 11,000 support requests for hacking, but it appears that the game itself wasn't targeted. Rather, ne'er-do-wells gained passwords from other sources like fan sites, and matched them to Guild Wars 2 accounts.

Read more: 'Many apparent breaches of other games and web sites' »

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 »

Guild Wars 2 dev ArenaNet had vowed that a pleasant gaming experience for it players was paramount over game sales. And, the company is making good on its word. To stabilize the game's growing population, digital sales of the game have been temporarily suspended.

Read more: Infrastructure expansion incoming »

ArenaNet is going to great lengths to ensure the quality of the game experience in Guild Wars 2, including disabling key features to combat the rising number of account hacks and provide ways for players to secure their hard-earned gear and cash.

Read more: Botters beware »

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 »

In the run-up to the launch of any new MMORPG, scheming hardcore players plot the fastest possible route to the level cap, hoping to hit it first and briefly become an Internet celebrity. This was accomplished in Guild Wars 2 before the game even officially launched, and with a crucial amount of XP coming from an unconventional source--crafting.

Read more: eFame confirmed by developer ArenaNet »

It seems almost unfair that game releases hit on Tuesdays. Weekends give an abundance of free time that could be spent digging into a game, but instead you have to wait until the start of the work week to lay hands on the newest games. This is mostly a holdover from the days of retail delivery, so luckily it can be circumvented using digital distribution. Guild Wars 2, for example, will let you start playing tomorrow if you pre-ordered.

Read more: Pre-orders still open »

Guild Wars 2 lets you choose between five distinct races. Each comes with its own lore, and developer Arenanet is highlighting those stories by releasing the opening cinematics for three of the races--Humans, Norn, and Charr--along with blurbs of their plots. Intros for the other two races will come later.

Watch: The race intro movies »

When's Guild Wars 2 coming out? August 28, that's when, publisher NCsoft announced today. That should give you plenty of time to file a time-off request at work and stock up on supplies for the customary launch binge. There's a new trailer teasing some of the wonders you'll see in ArenaNet's subscription-free MMORPG, too.

Watch: The Guild Wars 2 'Get Ready' trailer »