Guild Wars 3 Previews Show Momentum-Based Combat and Smaller Open-World Fights

ArenaNet has shown the press a longer look at Guild Wars 3, focusing on its action combat, traversal, and how the studio wants the MMO to fit into shorter play sessions. The game is in development for PC and PlayStation 5 on Unreal Engine 5, with a beta planned for fall 2027.

Set roughly 1,000 years before the original Guild Wars, Guild Wars 3 takes players to the frontier of Orr as Vaelwardens of the Order of the Vael. The big shift, at least from this first wave of previews, is movement. Momentum carries between running, jumping, gliding, sliding, riding, wall-running, and combat skills.

• A running jump from a cliff can feed extra speed into a glider deployment.
• Warriors can turn momentum into heavier aerial attacks and ground slams.
• Enemies can be stunned by knocking them into walls, or killed outright by sending them off ledges.
• Allies can use a warrior’s shield as a springboard for attacks from above.
• Traversal is limited by stamina, so players won’t be able to chain wall-runs and glides forever.

Combat is also being built around positioning. One example shown to press involved a flamethrower enemy that resisted frontal attacks until players moved around to hit a fuel tank. Another had spiders webbing players until fire burned the webs away. Status effects are planned to have stages too, such as cold slowing a target before eventually freezing it.

Classes share the core movement kit, but each has its own momentum-based tricks. ArenaNet described warriors dropping from above, necromancers using a horizontal slash that travels farther and drains more health with added speed, and rangers firing aerial shots. Build swapping is expected to stay flexible in most situations, so players can adjust skills for the fight they’re entering.

ArenaNet is also designing around controllers from the start. Instead of leaning on a traditional 1-through-0 skill bar, abilities can chain out of actions like dashes and wall-runs. Studio director Colin Johanson said the launch console focus is PlayStation 5 only, with other consoles, including Switch 2, not targeted for launch.

Large open-world fights will be smaller than some MMO players might expect. Johanson said major combat encounters are expected to top out around 20 players so the action remains readable. Towns and cities can show more players, while the world uses overlapping dynamic instances that prioritize friends, guildmates, and friends of friends.

Johanson also said ArenaNet wants to cut down on the “preparing to have fun” feeling common in MMOs. The pitch is that someone with a 30-minute break should be able to log in and do something meaningful, then step away without feeling punished for playing other games. ArenaNet has described Guild Wars 3 as a buy-to-play successor, but hasn’t shared further monetization details.

Further reading: Official Guild Wars 3 site