Guild Wars 2 takes place exactly 250 years after the events of Guild Wars Nightfall. Elder Dragons have woke throughout the last 200 years, and their enormity and power have greatly changed the world. When they rose they twisted the earth, shattered mountains, and created great tidal waves. This rise of the Elder Dragons also forced the Norn and Asura from their homelands, requiring them to settle in new territories.
The Elder Dragons' awakening was only one of many major events that took place between Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2. The Charr have now retaken their homeland of Ascalon from the humans, leaving only Kyrta as the final human kingdom in Tyria. Before he died, King Adelbern released the Foefire from Ascalon City, turning all the humans who remained into undying ghosts who hunt the living. These undead now pose a constant threat to the Char, who overthrew the Flame Legion, and denounced worship of all gods.
Meanwhile Kyrta is under siege by centaurs, and political unrest between the Queen and nobles cause constant strife. Lion's Arch was destroyed by the rise of the Elder Dragons and rebuilt as a hub for all the races. Cantha has become isolationist, and exiled all races except humans. The Tengu as well have become isolated within the Dominion of the Winds, which has been guarded off by a massive great wall.
While they were displaced by the Elder Dragons, the Norn have created a new home in the Silverpeak Mountains and now thrive there, hunting and reestablishing their lives in former Dwarven territory. The Asura, who used to live underground, now live in a massive floating cube above the Tarnished Coast. An entirely new race has appeared only 25 years ago called the Sylvari, born from the Pale Tree, one of the tallest and largest features in the world.
