Guild Wars 3 focuses on the current weaknesses of the MMORPG genre. One of them is movement.
At the beginning of the presentation, lead gameplay designer Anthony Ordon walked through the world of Orr, the setting of the MMORPG, as a human character in third-person view. The human was wearing armor that covered most of the body. He was equipped with a bow and arrow, which leads us to believe he was a ranger.
The world showcased in this presentation comprised grassy landscapes with rocky hills, dotted with individual trees and bushes. Additionally, there were dark cave tunnels visible that felt somewhat more claustrophobic than the open world.
During the presentation, it was immediately noticeable that the character no longer has to stand still for certain actions. Instead, there are fluid transitions between the different movement elements.
One example is the glider, which is back in Guild Wars 3. The developers jumped from a smaller cliff and showed us what has changed for the third part: you can directly jump to a wall from the flight and run along it for a few moments.
In another scene, a fellow player was even used as a springboard after a small run to stay airborne with the glider. Johanson also mentioned that calling a mount should feel just as fluid.
Overall, Guild Wars 3 aims to go more vertical. Because the movement system feels freer, the vertical level design invites even more exploration – and that is intended to feel rewarding for players. Traditional linear levels are set to be replaced by a cohesive 3D world. There should be hardly any loading screens, which further emphasizes this fluid gameplay experience.
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