The countdown timer on the Guild Wars 2 Website is ticking off the minute to the launch of the MMORPG sequel, showing the game's early access period will begin in under 48 hours. This post has details on how players of the original Guild Wars can claim their "Hall of Monuments" rewards in the new game. To avoid confusion of how the head start and launch will work, ArenaNet provides the following schedule:

The information below will give you specific details about times and dates based on whether you pre-purchased, pre-ordered, or are picking up a copy of the game on release day. For those players who have not pre-purchased or pre-ordered the game, Guild Wars 2 will officially launch at 0:00 AM Pacific time (GMT -7:00) on August 28th.

• Pre-Purchase with 3-Day Headstart: Everyone who pre-purchased Guild Wars 2 will enjoy three full days of Headstart Access. The three-day Headstart Access will officially begin at 0:00 AM Pacific time (GMT -7:00) on August 25th. However, please note that in order to ensure we’re fully prepared for that fateful hour we may bring servers online up to 3 hours prior. If you’re a player committed to getting in first to grab that character name of your dreams you’ll want to be keeping an eye on things during that time period.
• Pre-Order with 1-Day Headstart: Those who pre-ordered Guild Wars 2 will be able to participate in one day of Headstart Access. The one-day Headstart Access will begin at 0:00 AM Pacific time (GMT -7:00) on August 27th. NOTE - Pre-Order code registration is now enabled.

Download the Client today: If you’ve registered your pre-purchase or pre-order and created your Guild Wars 2 account you can go to account management today and download the client. Be sure to update the client periodically to minimize your download at launch. We look forward to seeing you in-game very soon!