In the MMO boom of the 2000s, Guild Wars stood proudly alongside the likes of World of Warcraft and Runescape as one of the top dogs. While its sequel is the main focus for developer ArenaNet these days, the original Guild Wars is back in the spotlight today to celebrate its 20th birthday. A brand new edition of Guild Wars has just launched, collating all of the game’s content together in one bundle. The best part is that, if you’re swift, it’s an absolute bargain as well. As an added bonus, a new update has just hit the game, adding in long-lost items that were previously time-limited or region-locked and introducing all-new weapon upgrades.
Guild Wars burst onto the scene in 2005, and it wasn’t just its excellent fantasy role-playing action and PvP battles that caused a stir. Unlike some of the big MMORPGs of the time, it was a free PC game with no subscriptions. Future expansions would set you back some cash, but the core experience had no paywall. In the two decades since, it’s solidified its status as one of the all-time great MMOs, and the release of the Guild Wars 20th Anniversary Masterpiece Collection means you can find all of its past content under one roof.
That means that you get the base game, all three of Guild Wars’ campaigns (Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall), the Eye of the North expansion, and the Bonus Mission Pack. The Guild Wars 20th Anniversary Masterpiece Collection normally retails at $39.99 / £34.99, but thanks to a gigantic 80% discount, you can grab it from the Guild Wars 2 store for just $7.99 / £6.99. The discount ends on Tuesday, April 29.
As mentioned, the original Guild Wars has also received an update today. One really cool aspect is that items that were previously exclusive to certain events or regions have been unlocked for everyone to find and use in the game. However, you’ve still got to put some effort in to get them, because they’ve been “added as rare drops from high level enemies in the game world,” according to ArenaNet.
Main-hand weapons also now get access to some new upgrades. “These ‘of the Profession’ modifiers will set the level of the named profession’s primary attribute to as much as 5, even if you wouldn’t normally have access to that attribute, granting new build possibilities to established characters,” ArenaNet says. If you want even more of an incentive to chase these new upgrades, equipping them will give your weapon new cosmetic streaks that leave a colored trail in the air when you swipe and slash with them. The color corresponds to the Profession they’re aligned with.
So, whether you’re an existing Guild Wars grinder, an old player that’s looking for a nostalgia hit, or someone who plays other MMOs and fantasy RPGs that wants to give it a go, today’s a good day.
For more, check out some of the best old games. If you want to look ahead into the future, rather than the past, then here’s our upcoming PC games guide.
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