A bit surprised there is no thread on this with all the MMO junkies around here.. especially those no longer entertained by D3! 
I hope it's not the Guild Wars names that scares people off, because despite fans and Arenanet's claims, the original has practically zero in common with the sequel. I'm assuming the rest of you MMO fans have at least heard a little about the "next big thing" which is releasing on August 28, but I'll put this down for everyone else:
Design Manifesto Trailer
Design Manifesto Blog post
excessively detailed post covering everything
Pretty much everyone is tired of getting burned on the "next WoW" thing that barely lasts them a month. I've had the fortune of being in every Beta though and I think this MMO is actualy different. If you've read above they've talked the talk about what they are going to do, but for the most part they've also walked the walk, and implemented those crazy ideas with a level of polish and content that few non-Blizzard devs can afford to approach. You shouldn't go wasting $60 on someone else's words though, because there's a bunch of ongoing opportunities to get into the final short beta next weekend that will let you play up to level 35ish worth of content. Edit: although various sites are giving these out they are going fast. You might have to scour if you really want one, but I'll try to keep updating the larger giveaways that don't require contests or such.
Current Beta Key Giveaways:
http://www.ign.com/prime/promo/guild-wars-2
http://gw2.cynicalbrit.com/
If you have any interest in MMOs at all then you should find a way to try this out. It encapsulates many ideas that are I think going to be the way forward for more themepark MMOs (at least until Titan drops.) Even MoP is doing some similar things, and if nothing else it might keep you occupied till that releases, without any subscription to worry about canceling.
I hope it's not the Guild Wars names that scares people off, because despite fans and Arenanet's claims, the original has practically zero in common with the sequel. I'm assuming the rest of you MMO fans have at least heard a little about the "next big thing" which is releasing on August 28, but I'll put this down for everyone else:Design Manifesto Trailer
Design Manifesto Blog post
excessively detailed post covering everything
Pretty much everyone is tired of getting burned on the "next WoW" thing that barely lasts them a month. I've had the fortune of being in every Beta though and I think this MMO is actualy different. If you've read above they've talked the talk about what they are going to do, but for the most part they've also walked the walk, and implemented those crazy ideas with a level of polish and content that few non-Blizzard devs can afford to approach. You shouldn't go wasting $60 on someone else's words though, because there's a bunch of ongoing opportunities to get into the final short beta next weekend that will let you play up to level 35ish worth of content. Edit: although various sites are giving these out they are going fast. You might have to scour if you really want one, but I'll try to keep updating the larger giveaways that don't require contests or such.
Current Beta Key Giveaways:
http://www.ign.com/prime/promo/guild-wars-2
http://gw2.cynicalbrit.com/
If you have any interest in MMOs at all then you should find a way to try this out. It encapsulates many ideas that are I think going to be the way forward for more themepark MMOs (at least until Titan drops.) Even MoP is doing some similar things, and if nothing else it might keep you occupied till that releases, without any subscription to worry about canceling.