ArenaNet announced yesterday that select retail stores will now be selling Gem Cards for Guild Wars 2. Players can purchase Gem Cards and use them in-game to receive Gems without having to utilize a credit card. Here’s the official announcement:

“You can purchase gems in-game from the Black Lion Trading Company, but starting this week you can also purchase Guild Wars 2 gems in real life at select retailers. These cards, which make a great gift, contain a serial code that can be redeemed in Guild Wars 2 for gems.

If gem cards aren’t in stock at your favorite retailer yet, be sure to ask if and when they’ll be arriving.

For redemption instructions and additional information about gems, visit the Guild Wars 2 Support page.”

Update 10/17: ArenaNet has released a list of retailers where Gem Cards can be purchased.

As we round the final bend toward Guild Wars 2′s launch, it’s impossible to not notice the rising storm of excitement, anticipation, and– well, there’s no sense in beating around the bush– hype. There, I said it. GW2 is carrying a lot of hype right now. MMO players are eager for something new, something shiny, and most importantly– something different. As most modern MMO fans know, hype can be a risky business, but GW2 has a lot of things going right for it so far. The combination of the game’s dynamic event system, dynamic leveling adjustment system, WvWvW feature, cooperative world system, and non-trinity combat system is a fairly innovative step in the industry, and a large reason for the hype.

Another innovative step is the move away from the classic subscription model. Most MMORPGs these days launch with a subscription model that may or may not prove the test of time, and if the game ends up slipping into a free-to-play model, many players feel frustrated with the model slip no matter their stance. Why? Because the developers will often veil the changes in flowery, positive PR lingo, change the way content patches are added to the game, and in general– change the game dramatically. Gamers prefer their games and development teams at face value– and that’s where Guild Wars 2 comes in.

Guild Wars 2 has eight crafting disciplines to choose between, and players can have two. They can also have all three of the gathering disciplines, which thankfully aren’t tied to any of the crafting trades. Players can choose to become a jeweler as one of their crafting disciplines, which allows the player to craft jewelry– amulets, rings, and earrings, as well as upgraded gemstones to use in equipment. Both will be undoubtedly useful in GW2, and hey– every profession benefits from shiny things, right?

Mining and logging are the two gathering trades essential to the jeweler discipline. Logging may not seem useful on the surface, but one of the gems needed– amber– is found while chopping down logs. Gemstones are randomly found while mining and logging all types of gathering nodes, and the chances of finding them can be raised by using special gathering tools. The appropriate gathering tool must be equipped while gathering (luckily all three– mining pick, logging axe, and harvesting sickle– can be equipped at once), but they do run out as you use them. For long gathering sessions, keep a few stacks handy.

The Trading Post system in Guild Wars 2 is one of my favorite features within the game and is truly next generation in its implementation and ease of use.  A great auction system encourages player interaction and provides players with another avenue of playing.  We all know the people who see generating wealth through trading as a game within a game, and we all know people who just never seem to care about buying or selling anything they get.  Arenanet has built their Trading Post system to be extremely powerful for advanced users, but extremely simple for those users who don’t really want to bother with the system.

Here are 5 reasons Why I love the Guild Wars 2 Trading Post. Keep reading to find out what they are!