Guild Wars 3 is the first game in the series to get controller support directly at launch. MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann is pleased about this. Until now, controller support has either been non-existent or poorly implemented.
I have had an intense relationship with Guild Wars for years. Besides Elder Scrolls: Online and Lord of the Rings: Online, I’ve put hardly as many hours into an MMORPG as I have with this one.
However, I had to wait 20 years for one feature: Genuine and well-thought-out controller support. Until now, I had to play every Guild Wars with a mouse and keyboard. Guild Wars 1 did not offer controller support at its launch in 2005, and neither did part 2 (released in 2012).
Guild Wars 3 should be playable with a controller, but better than Reforged
But hey, doesn’t Guild Wars 1 now offer controller support? Yes, if you want to call it “support”: Guild Wars 1: Reforged has indeed introduced official controller support with its re-release on Steam 19 years after the original release. But playing Reforged with a controller is no fun:
The menu navigation feels rough, and often you have to steer the mouse pointer with the controller anyway. For me, this is not genuine controller support. I have more work with it than if I just used a mouse and keyboard. And I want to play, not constantly curse at the controls.
This hasn’t changed, by the way: At the time of this article (June 9, 2026), I logged back into Reforged, and the controller controls are still terrible, more effort than fun.
Guild Wars 3 directly with a controller: But well, everything is supposed to be different and better in Guild Wars 3 soon, at least that’s what the team promises. It says in the official post on Steam:
For the very first time, you can experience the world of Tyria on both PC and PlayStation 5. We have developed a combat system that is supposed to feel fantastic with every playstyle – whether with a controller or with mouse and keyboard.
I therefore have hope that Guild Wars 3 will really be playable with a controller in the end. Because you can’t really tell a PS5 player: Hey, we do offer controller support, but most of the time you’ll need a virtual mouse pointer to navigate through menus or equip items.
I will really only know once I see solid gameplay of the controller controls or can test the controls myself in the beta.
As long as I still have to wait for Guild Wars 3, I will continue to play Elder Scrolls Online. By now, after several years of solo gameplay, I’ve found out that you can rely on the community when you really need them: I have played ESO solo for over 10 years, but now 11 players have shown me how great the community can be
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