Nearly three and a half million people have played Guild Wars and ArenaNet isn't about to forget them. Hard at work on a full sequel to the immensely popular no-monthly-fee massively multiplayer online role-playing game, the developer hopes to bridge the gap between the original and its successor with Guild Wars: Eye of the North, an expansion geared toward level 20 charactrers with new environments, enemies, abilities, and a cross-title rewards system.

Eye of the North will be the first true expansion pack for Guild Wars, introducing new content for play with your existing character. Unlike previous stand alone titles Nightfall and Factions, you'll need a high-level character to explore the new locales in Eye of the North. The expansion is targeting dedicated users, although it will be possible to engage in some of the new mini-games if you're not quite that advanced.

Even though Eye of the North is set on the continent of Tyria, the same location of the original Guild Wars, expect a wide range of new environments. Among new forests and caverns will be the floating island of Orr, a bizarre plain brimming with magical power. In total, expect 18 dungeons to ship with Eye of the North. From what we saw, there's a nice bit of variety among the dungeons and the creatures that populate them. Gigantic scorpions and spiders, ethereal elementals, and feral beast were in attendance during our look at the game.

Complementing the new locations are two new playable races: the goblin-like Asura and the Charr, infamous as the enemy race in the first game. The Asura possess ashen skin and a goblin-like appearance, a reflection of their underground habitation. Native to Orr, Asurans can wield advanced magic unavailable to other races.

Along with the two races, the game introduces 50 new skills for bolstering your character's combat abilities. You can only tap these in battle against the environment and not other players, but at the very least the expansion offers a slate of new skills to toy with. Additionally, 40 new armors sets are being created, as well as ten heroes that can be discovered through the course of the game.

ArenaNet understands the frustration dedicated fans of the game are likely to experience when Guild Wars 2 launches and you're forced to create a new character; as such, Eye of the North will attempt to soften the blow by bestowing rewards for those with high-level characters. The new Hall of Monuments tracks your notable progress in the game, such as the acquisition of powerful items or advanced skills. When creating a character in Guild Wars 2, these monuments will correspond to unique items in the sequel. While it isn't quite as nice as transferring your existing avatar, it's a nice alternative.

Eye of the North obviously isn't being designed with the average player in mind; rather, the high level content and bonuses ArenaNet will be churning out before the August 31 release date ought to please ardent Guild Wars fans.