In August, Guild Wars 2 celebrates its seventh birthday and has thus been around for a number of years. Meanwhile, players are increasingly expressing wishes for a successor. But do we really need Guild Wars 3?
This is Guild Wars 2: Guild Wars 2 is an MMORPG from ArenaNet. It was released in August 2012 and focuses primarily on a shared game world.
No matter what you do and how you play, you can hardly hinder each other or steal mobs or resources. With this formula, the game has also been very successful.
In September 2017, the game counted 11 million created accounts. There are now two major expansions and more than 66 free game expansions.
What is the current situation with Guild Wars 2? In recent months, the MMORPG has been struggling increasingly. Although the numbers for the fourth quarter of 2018 are still satisfactory, the parent company NCSoft has caused layoffs of more than 100 employees.
Apparently, the projects at ArenaNet that were not related to Guild Wars 2 were affected. As it turned out later, work was being done on at least two other games. For this, employees were gradually pulled away from the MMORPG.
And it seems that at least some of these employees are supposed to work on Guild Wars 2 again. In an interview with Eurogamer, it was confirmed that the planned developments would continue and that the layoffs were not supposed to have a major impact on the MMORPG.
However, the already announced new episode will be delayed a bit because there were restructuring within the teams. What is particularly exciting is how the Guild Wars franchise will proceed. Calls for a successor are continually being made.
That’s why players are increasingly wishing for Guild Wars 3
Too many empty areas: The world of Guild Wars 2 is huge and has many areas. But some of them are not as well-visited as they used to be.
This is partly due to the layout and long-term motivation of some areas, but also to a somewhat difficult system for newcomers. New players need not only the two expansions to unlock all areas. Theoretically, they also have to purchase the episodes of the Living World.
Without purchasing the corresponding episodes, there is no access to the areas. Anyone who logs in while the episode is freshly released receives the content for free.
The engine is reaching its limits: The areas of the expansion Path of Fire are larger than the others and very graphically demanding. But the size and graphics come at a price.
Problems, stuttering, or even significant skill lags occur repeatedly. Whether on the new maps or in “World vs. World” PvP. The number of effects and players is often no longer displayable, no matter how good your system is.
Problems with the code: There are also recurring issues regarding the code. Sometimes a lot of time is needed for small changes because not everything has been documented or some content has been programmed very awkwardly.
This was repeatedly confirmed by the developers during discussions about features like the build templates. These have now been announced in a roadmap for the future, almost seven years after release.
Fresh ideas are needed: After almost seven years, many players have simply seen and experienced everything. New innovations cannot be programmed as quickly as players consume them.
A new game, a fresh start, and new tasks would help engage and excite players again. The new story episodes usually only manage to do this for a few hours.
Is a Guild Wars 3 realistic at all?
But how realistic is a successor for Guild Wars 2? Looking at the facts, things look rather bleak.
The story does not allow for a successor: The story of Guild Wars 2 is far from finished. Currently, we are in the midst of a battle with the Elder Dragons and have just lost a member of our hero group.
When transitioning from Guild Wars 1 to Guild Wars 2, the story arcs were concluded, and there was only a slight open end with the awakening of a dragon.
After that, there was a time jump of 250 years. A hard cut or a similar jump like between the two games would currently not be possible at all.
Guild Wars 2 gets a marketing boost: Currently, ArenaNet is feverishly working to promote Guild Wars 2 again. A return campaign has been launched, new trailers have been filmed, and posters have been hung in Europe and America. Recently, there have also been ads for Guild Wars 2 on MeinMMO.
Although the next plan is not to release a new expansion, but rather another season of the Living World. However, the goal is to attract many new players.
Where will the development come from? Between the last release of Guild Wars 1 (August 31, 2007) and the release of Guild Wars 2 (August 28, 2012), about 5 years passed. During this time, the first part was only sporadically fed with small content updates.
Guild Wars 2, on the other hand, only received a major expansion in September 2017 and has since had five new story chapters. There have also been many technical extensions like the overhaul of the loot system or new mounts like the Warclaw and the Rollerbeetle.
Although ArenaNet was also working on two other projects in the meantime, one of which is presumably a mobile game, it did not sound like direct work was being done on Guild Wars 3.
That’s why I don’t believe in a Guild Wars 3
The latest developments show that ArenaNet is refocusing on Guild Wars 2. And the world offers many areas and stories that need to be shown and told.
Neither from the perspective of the story nor from the perspective of the developers does it currently make sense to develop the successor Guild Wars 3. Interest in MMORPGs is declining, and other genres are strong.
NCSoft is heavily focused on the mobile sector. Due to reductions and adjustments among employees, it is likely that only Guild Wars 2 and possibly the mobile game at ArenaNet are being worked on.
More interesting than the successor is likely the upcoming Season 5 of the Living World. If this succeeds and actually also contains content that corresponds to an expansion, then ArenaNet could keep both existing and new players engaged for the long term.
However, if the new season does not meet expectations, then it will not only become tighter for Guild Wars 2 but also for ArenaNet itself. They have been living off Guild Wars 1 and Guild Wars 2 since 2001. The latest cutbacks will certainly not help in building a broader offering.
Does Guild Wars 2 suit you? This MMORPG is suitable for these player types:
