Guild Wars 3 action combat caps at 20 players, not raid scale

Arenanet revealed Guild Wars 3 combat at Gamescom, and it breaks from MMO convention: the action-game style fighting works best at a scale of about 20 players, not traditional raid sizes. The studio is keeping most of the game under wraps, declining to discuss mounts, professions, dynamic world events, shops, and the economy for now.

What they did show is movement and combat closer to a Prince of Persia game than an MMO. Combat designer Kevin Stocker sprinted up walls, mantled cliff edges, and wall-ran across broken paths in the demo. Set more than 1,200 years before the first Guild Wars, the game takes place in Ancient Orr, a region of grassland and cliffs beneath a floating white marble city. Players belong to the Vaelwardens, a faction of high fantasy enforcers keeping Orr safe from rival states and belligerent gods.

Studio head Colin Johanson pushed back on Breath of the Wild comparisons, noting Guild Wars did gliders first. The action combat being a first for MMOs is the headline, but its 20-player ceiling marks a deliberate departure from the large-scale raids that defined the genre.