Here’s what will be necessary to start gliding in central Tyria once it’s unlocked in Guild Wars 2: unlocking the start of the Mastery gliding line. That’s it. Yes, it’s no more complicated than gliding anywhere else. The biggest restriction that players will encounter is that a few areas have been designated as no-fly zones, chiefly to avoid people bypassing jumping puzzles unfairly. Other than that, glide away.
Instances and the like will still be off-limits for gliding, as the areas were not designed to be seen from the air. Similarly, it’s quite possible that players will be able to get to places that were not meant for gliding in the old world, but the maps haven’t been redesigned in any way with updrafts and the like. It really will just be gliding in the bulk of Tyria, just as advertised. (You may want to check out our most recent installment of Flameseeker Chronicles on this exact feature, among others.)