I finally have a somewhat chore-free weekend so I picked up GW2. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy! The official site has stopped selling digital copies because demand is outpacing supply and they're worried about killing their servers. Unprecedented for an MMO if I had to guess.

It's amazing how challenging it is these days to locate and purchase a hard copy PC game. Absolutely zero stores in the city core had copies. I had to get in a car and drive outside the city limits!! This is madness! When I made it to a Future Shop surrounded by tumbleweeds I scurried inside, scanned the PC section to no avail. I turned to a clerk, asked if he could locate Guild Wars 2, and off he went ... when he came back he excitedly announced that he'd located the last copy. Well, I'm pretty sure it's the last damn copy in this entire province, holy crap!

Anyway, I'm very much looking to booting it up and, for the first time since WoW launched, being a complete newbie at a Ma-Mor-Pa-Ja.

So weird ... I started off with a Sylvari Guardian too, and I know next to nothing about the original Guild Wars, and hence the lore.

Sometimes, Gregg, I worry that we are the same person. Are we the same person?

Also: how do I add you to my friends list? I assume it is by your account name, which I don't know. You can add me though! xtal.6519

My MMORPG experience is as follows: I got to level 2 (I think) in the original Everquest. I played Lineage II for a week or so and maybe made it to level 7. Then I played WoW for years on and off, which was child's play, and I had a level 60 which was crazy! My love of Warcraft 1 & 2 helped fuel my desire to explore Azeroth.

One thing I have to say about GW2: it's so fast paced. I feel like I'm never not doing anything, which is an adjustment for me, because usually in this type of game I excel at standing around towns, taking it all in, and doing nothing. It will be an adjustment.

Oh, also, does the server I'm on matter? Can I only see people on other servers (or whatever they call them) through instancing?

From Lewis:

...you can’t play with him yet until ArenaNet implement their “guesting” feature, which will allow you to move worlds freely, but not permanently (should be a couple of weeks away).

Get him to move to Gandara with us

Which server you on xtal? If you've no connections to it then hop over to Gandara while it's free to switch. Me, Lew and the Semper Dius guild we're in (I'm new to guilds) were on Ruins of Surmia originally but it was a bit too low population so we switched. Lew tells me that a good chunk of them are from the Far West and don't suffer any lag/ping issues so you should be golden to join us. That and we'll be able to tear it up in WvW together, you'll be able to heal me and everything.

Reading a recent email transmission from ArenaNet...a neat bit stuck out to me.

Brand New Features

We're beginning the year by adding a lot of new features such as an improved achievement system, new laurel achievement currency, and new Ascended gear and Infusions. We're also introducing guesting so you can play with friends on other worlds without changing your home world.

Hm. Well that's nifty. I haven't touched GW2 in a while. 'Cause, you know...words, explanation, point, etc., blah blah and so forth. But I think that's still a pretty nice idea.