What to Do in Tyria

Tyria, not to be confused with the continent of the same name, is the name of the planet on which most of the Guild Wars series takes place. It is the home of many sentient species, such as the humans, Asura, Dwarves, and Norn, among others. The timeline places its age over 11,000 years old, when the Giganticus Lupicus last roamed the world.

Tyria is filled with these dynamic Events, each of them relevant to the surroundings and many involving nearby NPCs. From the smithy who wants to make a trophy from a brood mother ice drake, to the hunter heading off to investigate the grawl cave, there's a strong impression of a living, changing world. Those changes also extend into the time of day. Once darkness falls different creatures can spawn and different events may occur, particularly around graveyards. There are also guild war items that have different effects at night, such as a weapon set with a ghostly glow.

The world of Tyria itself is a massive landscape, containing cities and starting areas for each race as well as ample levelling areas. Each city is packed with incredible detail, from the streets and alleyways of Divinity's Reach to the grimy factories of the Black Citadel. Even the World versus World battlefield is monstrous, comprising four zone-sized maps with each one aiming to support 500 players.

Tyria has never looked so good.
Guild Wars 2 is an absolutely gorgeous world in every one of the three starting areas we were able to access this weekend. The Norn area is cold and bleak. The Charr lands are burned and ruinous. The human areas are lush and green as the shots from Bill’s UI video showing off the human farmlands and the enormous sprinklers shows.

But the prettiness of Tyria is more than just the expansive overview of the world. Everything is very detailed but it’s the in environments, both wide and narrow, where Guild Wars 2 really shines. The wind blows through the hair on the Charr bodies as they run through the game world. Norn breath shows in the frigid air. Apples shine on the trees. Dew glitters in the grass. The rivers and lakes shimmer in the sunlight. The underwater foliage undulates in the unseen currents.  The trees sway in the breeze. In short, the environments in Guild Wars 2 truly create a sense of immersion, a feeling that one is actually in the world rather than just playing a game with guild war items.

Read Tera Crafting System Introduction for more.