Guild Wars 3 is an action-adventure MMORPG set in Orr more than a thousand years before the events of the original Guild Wars. The player becomes a Vaelwarden, a member of a guild responsible for protecting the land, its inhabitants, and the nature spirits living throughout the region. Rival guilds compete for influence and control, while the player explores the frontier, meets different characters, and becomes involved in conflicts connected to Orr and its history.

Exploring Orr

The world is designed around continuous movement and exploration. Players can glide, ride mounts, sprint, jump, and wall-run across different environments. Momentum can transfer between movement methods, allowing travel to continue without constantly stopping when switching from one type of traversal to another. Exploration is connected to discovering settlements, wilderness areas, events, characters, and hidden parts of the map.

Combat and Character Builds

Combat combines action-RPG controls with the skill and build systems associated with Guild Wars. Players need to move during battles, position themselves correctly, and choose when to activate different abilities. Main gameplay elements include:

•         exploring the open regions of Orr;
•         gliding and wall-running through environments;
•         travelling with mounts;
•         fighting enemies in real-time combat;
•         collecting and combining skills;
•         creating different character builds;
•         interacting with other adventurers;
•         meeting nature spirits and NPCs;
•         joining activities with other players.

Species and Progression

Several playable species are planned, including humans, kodan, and asura. Each provides another way to create a character and experience the world. Character development focuses on collecting skills and experimenting with combinations rather than following one fixed combat setup. Players can adventure alone or join groups and build longer-term connections with other characters and players.

The main gameplay loop revolves around travelling across Orr, discovering activities, fighting enemies, improving a character build, and learning more about the conflict between the guilds. Rather than progressing through a simple sequence of isolated levels, players move through a connected world where movement, exploration, combat, and character development work together. The Vaelwardens provide the main narrative direction, while the wider world contains additional stories and encounters that can be discovered during exploration.