No turning back

Im new to the game and i've heard that at a certain point the game goes from pre to post searing ascalon, when does this occur and what should i have done by this point?

Post searing occurs once you have chosen your secondary profession then spoke to *i thnk* Warmaster Tydus in Ascalon. He will let you know when you can't return.

All that is asked of you is that you have picked a secondary, which I believe you have from your Avatar (W/R). Follow the primary quests in your log (press L) and that will lead you in the right direction.

Edit: I think the NPC's name is Sir Tydus in Pre-Searing. 'Take me' is right in saying that you should level up a bit and grab those skills while they're free. Also, keep your Black, White and Silver dyes as they're worth a lot of gold

Agreed... Get to know the game, get as many skills as possible through quests.
You should be like lvl 5-lvl 7 when you leave Pre-Searing.

I'm pretty much at that point now, isnt that the guy outside the academy?

Yes. When you go into the academy, you go to the searing.

You should have both your primary and secondary professions. You should have done every quest you can get your hands on (especially the ones you get from trainers). You should be at least level 7 and saved up a bit of gold for armor and all that. Double check the towns for quests that have been added, and go have some fun!

When you're ready, speak to Warmaster Tydus and he'll direct you to the Acadamy. Good luck, have fun and see you on the other side!

Indeed. Good Luck! I always hate leaving pre-sear.. So innocent, so nice & sunny things are...
Kinda like the transition into the real (adult) world... :P

Lots more fun awaits though Post-searing is where the real fun (and work) begins

A Tip of something to do in pre searing before leaving.
Especially cause your new, you should (should have talked) talk to all the profesion trainers, and get the skills they teach you.

Dont learn the profesion unless you want, and dont learn the one you want untill you have talked to all the trainers.This is helpfull in atleast 2 cases.

1 is when/if you ever decide to go to pvp , the skills you have learned there will have been unlocked which means you dont have to use points to unlock them.
2.If you decide you want to skill later you will have to buy it, buying a skill makes the cost of skills go up , so any free skills you can get are welcome especially when you reach the 1K for skill mark.

make sure you have explored all of pre searing before moving on, thats just in case you want to get the 100% map exploration title

The above poster is clueless,ignore him.

I would reccomend exploring though, not because of titles but just because pre-searing is one of the most beatiful places in the game. You should DEFINATLEY explore the catacombs and northlands before you leave, you may regret it later.

well theres nothing wrong with exploring for title either

^- No, but Pre-sear doesn't count towards the Tyrian exploration title...

apologies about that, as i always keep thinking it does matter in tyria ever since it included in cantha sorry >_<