Unrest continues to bubble beneath the ice-flecked surface of Guild Wars 2. The Flame & Frost narrative -- which began last month and saw refugees pitifully seeking your aid -- is set to advance again next week. Forces amass as the storm grows more violent, and, in true MMO fashion, this can mean only one thing: new features.

The official Guild Wars 2 blog has the skinny on what's going down. Yep -- if there's one thing MMOs can teach you, it's that there's always a bright side to disastrous situations.
Brand New PvP Map – Spirit Watch
This peaceful green vale, nestled between cliffside shrines to the norn Spirits of the Wild is about to echo with the sounds of combat. In Spirit Watch, players will score bonus points by capturing the Orb of Ascension and running it to any of the three shrines on this newest PvP map.

Team Up for Guild Missions
Join your fellow guild members to take on an entirely new category of content! These missions, designed for coordinated group play, include everything from bounties to group puzzles to cross-country challenges. You'll need to work together to complete the missions and earn new Guild Merits, which can unlock cool upgrades and rewards. It pays to be in a guild!

Two Team Rated Play in PvP
It's time to prove your skill! In this new type of competitive PvP, two teams of equal average rating are pitted against each other in a quick, intense match. The ratings for every member of each team is then adjusted after the match.

Choose Your Own Daily Achievements
With our new selectable achievement system, you'll have a chance to set new daily challenges for yourself and to choose what kind of content you want to be rewarded for playing.

Preview Items in the Trading Post
Try before you buy! You'll have the ability to preview items in the Trading Post before you buy them. Simply right-click an item icon and select "Preview" to see the item equipped on your character. Check out how a weapon looks by itself, how it looks when sheathed, and how it looks when wielded by your character.
Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing how the daily achievements will pan out -- this is the most unique take on achievements I've so far seen in videogames, and I'll always dig something that encourages players to set their own goals instead of seeking arbitrarily defined objectives. And the Trading Post gear preview? I'm all over that. Gotta look good in even the most inclement of weather, yo. Flame & Frost: The Gathering Storm begins on February 26.