Guild Wars 3 Announced!

Summer Game Fest (SGF) featured a lot of cool games, but none, at least for me, more exciting than the announcement of Guild Wars 3. It feels like a long time coming; it has been almost 14 years since the release of Guild Wars 2 and I am itching for a new MMORPG experience. I think a lot of players are. 

But, what will that look like? What can we expect? I know other MMORPG players are not strangers to big promises not being delivered *cough* looking at you, Ashes of Creation *cough*. Guild Wars 3 still has a long way to go, but the trailer has given us a few hints (maybe?) about the game. 

TRAILER ANALYSIS

The trailer starts us out in what feels like a magical jungle and notes, very specifically, that this is alpha footage captured in-engine. Clearly, all those job postings about Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) were for something! Next, a hero riding some kind of creature that looks like the Guild Wars 2 warclaw jumps into scene. In true Guild Wars fashion, the sound is excellent and exciting. At this point in the trailer, only 10 seconds in, I had a strong inclination that it was Guild Wars 3. Though the art style is distinct from Guild Wars 1 and Guild Wars 2, it still feels like a Guild Wars game through the character's armor and the creatures aesthetic. 

The trailer jumps into what I call the "stitching" scene. It talks about how "we all have our reasons for coming to this vast frontier". They make reference to "our wonder" being a big reason why people stay in this land. I must hand it to them, this was a beautiful segway into the introduction of Guild Wars 3, because all Guild Wars fans can agree with the wonder of the worlds that ArenaNet builds.

The trailer is calling this a "modern evolution of the MMO". This is perhaps the most exciting component of the trailer. Back when Guild Wars 2 released, it really tried to change the game through dynamic events and a "living world". When ArenaNet says they are trying to modernize something or make it evolve, I really believe them. I'm absolutely sick of the cookie-cutter, safe style of MMORPGs nowadays. They're extremely formulaic and, frankly, boring. Even with Guild Wars 2, we understand that each expansion will have a set amount of content and that content will be packaged in a very particular way. The content itself its very similar to what other MMORPGs provide. To me, this means that there is very little that each MMORPG differentiates itself on. I would like to see a true differentiator in Guild Wars 3. But, what could that be?

The trailer seems to hint at this. First of all, they have the hero, who is gazing about a beautiful landscape of Orr, running up a cliff. The hero seems to have some kind of magical power as they're going up the cliff. Guild Wars 2 fans will recognize that movement is a big part of what makes Guild Wars 2 somewhat unique. I hope that they're really leaning into this for Guild Wars 3. Colin Johanson explains that they want the game to be a bit more tactical with some kind of skill capture component (?). It feels like they're really going for some kind of Guild Wars 1 and Guild Wars 2 hybrid. All I know is that I want a slower game. 

The tapestry and "stitching" continues and notes that the gods are present in Orr, so clearly a prequel to the original Guild Wars. Maybe we'll get to experience some real "Guild Wars"? Personally, I hope that we get to see some new connection to the gods. Maybe via classes?

A little over a minute into the trailer, we finally get to same some different races. It looks like we have a bear-person (kodan), a furry Asura, and a human. Does this mean there are only 3 races in Guild Wars 3? One thing ArenaNet seemed to struggle with in Guild Wars 2 was adapting the sheer volume of skins to different skeletons, like the Charr, so it might make sense to simplify things into more humanoid skeletons. But, then where is the Sylvari? Oh yeah, that timeline doesn't work... Sylvari do not exist? Some salad-lovers are going to be really upset about that. 

I have no idea what the flying dragon thing was at the end of the trailer, but this timeline is when all the elder dragons are still present in the world (I think), so maybe it has something to do with that? The trailer ends off talking about how they can promise magic. The logo is brilliant with the red banner. I am a huge fan. 

So, what does this all mean? We are getting a new MMO and one that is going to try and push some MMO boundaries. I absolutely can't wait! Let's go to Orr!

And just in case you weren't sure... Skein Gang will be in Guild Wars 3.