Forbes gives us their impression of the last Beta Weekend Event, check it out:
The remarkable thing about this is that none of this gameplay was forced. I could follow the plot, ignore it, or catch up to it later, and I didn’t have to coordinate with other players. What I liked even better: Everyone who takes part in completing an objective gets some credit proportional to how much they contributed. Do well, and you’re rewarded with a gold medal when it’s all over; turn up halfway through, and you might get a bronze or nothing at all.
Those NPCs I mentioned above? They’re quest givers, sort of—except it turns out GW2 doesn’t roll that way. You can participate in an activity just by turning up in the area it’s located and throwing in with whomever happens to be there. The NPC is there to give the activity a purpose (usually, the objective is to help the NPC), and to give the player extra information and background if they want it—but you can also just ignore them. No need to talk to them to start a quest, no need to talk to them later to end it.
LET'S GET SOCIAL