Guild Wars 3 travels over a thousand years into the past and starts on the continent of Orr. ArenaNet ignores the previous timeline and begins long before the events of the first Guild Wars.
A stroke of luck for PS5 players experiencing Guild Wars for the first time. Back then, the gods still walked the earth. A radical change for the MMO franchise, as both veterans and newcomers start from scratch.
Back to the golden era
The switch to Orr is a clever move, as the first behind-the-scenes footage suggests. Those familiar with the previous games will remember the contaminated ruins and the ship attacks. Now we see Orr at its absolute peak, long before the devastating Guild Wars. The floating city of Arah towers above pristine forests and vast plains. This is not a dying land. It is alive.
The developers are moving away from the typical world-threatening disasters. No dragons tearing the entire planet apart. Instead, the focus is on local conflicts, political tensions, and the eponymous battle between the guilds. Magical energy is extremely scarce in this era and strictly controlled by the High Council. This promises a full-blown factional war.
A fresh start without baggage.
The most important news for the community concerns the platforms.Guild Wars 3“It will be released simultaneously for PC on Steam and for PlayStation 5. All players will share the same world from day one. Console MMOs are often constantly suspected of being casual. ArenaNet has to strike a balance between accessibility and the usual depth of gameplay.”
At the same time, the studio promises not to abandon "Guild Wars 2." The current MMO will continue to operate independently and receive new updates. Whether ArenaNet has the resources to manage two massive online games simultaneously remains the big question. Skepticism is warranted.
The fresh prequel setting has enormous potential. It moves away from exaggerated fantasy threats and towards guild conflicts on equal footing. The simultaneous PS5 and PC launch ensures full servers at launch. Whether the system of exclusive magic and guild power struggles will work in the gameplay remains to be seen in the first gameplay footage. So far, there are only promises.
What do you think of the leap into Orr's distant past – do you prefer the down-to-earth guild conflicts or will you miss the epic apocalypse stories?
