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What is Guild Wars 2?

What Is Guild Wars 2?

At a glance

An open-world MMO about exploration, combat, and collecting, with no monthly subscription. The base game is free, and expansions are one-time purchases.

The world and its story

Guild Wars 2 takes place in Tyria. The Elder Dragons are awakening from their long sleep and threatening the world. You become one of the heroes who stand against them.

The story begins 250 years after the original Guild Wars, but you do not need to have played it. Start with the base game’s personal story, then travel across continents through the expansions.

Still growing after 14 years

2012 Launched in August; expansions and content updates continue today
16 million+ Accounts created by 2021
Metacritic 90 Steam English reviews: Very Positive (88%, checked October 1, 2026)
More than 2× ArenaNet reported in 2022 that active players had more than doubled over the preceding few years
6 Expansions released, through Visions of Eternity in 2025
1.9 billion hours Total community playtime reported in 2021: roughly 220,000 years

Guild Wars 2 has continued receiving expansions and content updates since its 2012 launch. Its sixth expansion, Visions of Eternity, arrived in 2025.

Why players choose it

Here is how access, gear progression, and rewards work.

💳 No monthly subscription The base game is free to play Buy an expansion once. There is no monthly subscription fee.
⚖️ Gear you can keep using Ascended and legendary gear have the same maximum stats Once you have ascended gear that fits your build, you can use it for a long time.
📅 No required login schedule Daily and weekly objectives are optional Your equipment and progress remain when you return from a break.
What to consider
Guild Wars 2
✕ Gear tiers and stats
✓ Ascended and legendary gear have the same maximum stats.
✕ Access and purchases
✓ The base game is free, and expansions are one-time purchases. The Gem Store focuses on cosmetic and convenience items. You can also exchange gems for gold to buy equipment or materials, but there is no stronger, cash-only gear tier.
✕ Daily and weekly rewards
✓ Systems such as the Wizard’s Vault offer daily and weekly rewards. Completed objectives award rewards; your existing gear and progress remain available when you take a break.
✕ Crafting and changing stats
✓ Craft equipment using its required materials. Ascended weapons and armor can change stats through the Mystic Forge; legendary gear can change stats for free while out of combat.
✕ Combat rewards and gathering
✓ Players who meet the participation requirements receive their own kill rewards. Resource nodes can also be gathered separately by each player.

Plenty of ways to play

🌍
Open-world exploration

Dozens of maps, dynamic events, and map-wide meta events. Fully exploring even one map can take hours.

 📖
Personal Story & Living World

A long-running story with roots in the original game, spanning hundreds of hours from the base game through the latest expansions.

 ⚔️
Fractals & Raid Encounters

Instanced challenges for smaller parties and larger groups. Build a team and take on difficult encounters.

 🏰
WvW: large-scale team battles

Three teams fight over keeps and castles across large maps. Your selected WvW guild is used for team assignment, and dozens of players can take part in a siege.

 🎮
Structured PvP

Primarily 5v5 battles. Choose a PvP amulet, runes, sigils, and build instead of using your PvE equipment’s stats, so you can learn without having to catch up on gear farming.

 🔨
Crafting & Collections

Long-term goals include crafting gear and food, making guild and homestead decorations, collecting account-wide wardrobe skins, and creating legendary equipment.

 🐎
Mounts

Each mount has its own handling and abilities. Leap across gaps on a raptor, fly on a skyscale, or race on a roller beetle.

You can focus on the content you enjoy. The game supports concentrating on PvE, WvW, or the story without having to do everything.

A welcoming community Shared combat rewards and personal gathering opportunities encourage cooperation. Another player can feel like a welcome ally, which helps explain the community’s reputation for friendliness.

A few more things to discover

🎵 Music recorded with live orchestras

The original soundtrack was composed by Jeremy Soule, known for The Elder Scrolls and Harry Potter games. Live orchestral recording continued through the Living World and expansions.

End of Dragons features traditional Korean instruments. Seoul-based composer Andi Roselund contributed additional music and Korean instrument sounds. Its credits include performers on gayageum, geomungo, haegeum, and piri, among others. The orchestra was recorded at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville. Lena Raine, also known for the music of Celeste, has contributed to several Guild Wars 2 soundtracks.

🎭 A cast of familiar voices

Several well-known actors perform in the English voice cast, including:

  • Nolan North: known as Nathan Drake in Uncharted. In Guild Wars 2, he voices the male human player character and an Elder Dragon.
  • Troy Baker: Joel in The Last of Us and Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite. He plays Logan Thackeray in Guild Wars 2.
  • Jennifer Hale: the female Commander Shepard in Mass Effect. She voices the female sylvari player character and Queen Jennah.
  • Steve Blum: Spike in the English dub of Cowboy Bebop. He voices Rytlock Brimstone.
⏳ 1.9 billion hours: roughly 220,000 years

For the ninth anniversary in 2021, ArenaNet reported over 1.9 billion hours of community playtime and more than 16 million accounts. Four more expansions have been released since that announcement.

Common questions

Q Can I play if my language is not supported?

CatBridge translates NPC dialogue and chat, reads on-screen text through OCR, and provides Discord voice captions. Choose a supported language and translation engine in its settings. The installation guide explains how to connect it to the game.

Q Is it too late to start in 2026?

You can try the base game for free before deciding to continue. The maximum equipment tier has stayed stable for years, and you can explore the expansions at your own pace.

Q How does progression compare with other MMOs?

Ascended equipment remains useful for a long time, and you can choose from story, exploration, competitive play, and collection goals. At level 80, start by choosing a build and preparing the equipment it needs.

Q Which region should I choose?

Choose North America or Europe based on your connection and the people you want to play with. Friends need to be in the same region for shared PvE. See region and account settings before choosing.

Q How do I find a guild or community?

Look for groups that match your language, region, usual play times, and preferred activities. Check in-game recruitment, community forums, or Discord servers. The guild guide explains what to look for.