Top

Guild Wars Reforged – A Dream Come True!

Posted on November 18, 2025 by Aywren

Guild Wars 1 was one of those pivotal games that brought me back to MMOs after I’d almost given up on them for good. I am absolutely over the moon in  hearing that GW is getting a complete remaster overhaul as Guild Wars Reforged on December 3!

How GW1 Won Me Back to MMOs

I had a love/hate relationship with oldskool MMOs, being a very group-shy player. The discouragement of MMOs with their huge time sinks, forced grouping for everything, grinding, subscription fees… and all the stuff I just didn’t care for (especially forced grouping – mentioning it twice because this is what ultimately ran me off)… I’d sworn off MMOs for good at one point.

Yeah. Me. Imagine that!

But then along came GW1, a game that was a new breed of MMO. Honestly, it was revolutionary for its time and really should have gotten so much more love than it ever did. I remember discussing it with Syn – who didn’t have experience with oldskool MMOs at the time (GW1 might have been her first?) – and we decided to pick it up and play it together. Good choice!

Honestly, I’m only playing MMOs now (and blogging about them) because of GW1! It always has a place in my heart and I’m so, so excited to see it revived!

Story was first and foremost, told through quests and missions. And while it wasn’t revolutionary, there were some really fun story beats for the time. I always felt the stakes were high and that my character was doing things in the world for a very clear purpose. The side characters were nothing to write home about when compared to NPCs of today, but they were loveable and memorable. The fact that I still remember some of the henchies’ names even 20 years later is testament to this (Orion, get your butt over here! Stop it with that Fire Storm!).

The skill system is amazing. The vast number of skills in the game (some legendaries you hunt down bosses to cap) alongside of the limited number of skills you can put into play at one time, really forces you to consider a tactical approach to your build carefully. Some of the builds you could make could get incredibly powerful if you went deep into gaming the system.

I remember the Whammo griffon runs from Prophecies…

Most importantly, you were never forced to group – you and your friend(s) could just pick up henchmen or heroes to fill out the blanks in your party, and go forth. Syn and I duoed the entirety of all expansions and Eye of the North. This allows for hop in – hop out playability with a lot of respect for your time as a player.

And the patch update system? This is where GW2 got it’s no-downtime update system. GW1 had it originally, and it’s absolutely fantastic.

Finally – 100% buy to play. No subscription fee. And while there are some cosmetic store transactions you can make, this was a game that was created before in-game real money shops were a thing, so it was never built to rely on this. I’m a little worried this will change since it sounds like they have a dedicated team focused on rebuilding and bringing GW1 back to life. Buuuuut…

That was a dance video I created of my GW1 characters back in 2007!

Guild Wars 1 Reforged

From what I understand, if you already own GW1, you get the Reforged update for free (?) But if you don’t, they’re repackaging the trilogy for one lower price, both from the site and on Steam. So, hold off on buying it if you’re interested!

The first updates you can look forward to include:

• New low, bundled price: Guild Wars Reforged brings Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall together for just $19.99. If you have purchased even one of the three campaigns, all of them will be unlocked through Guild Wars Reforged. And, of course, there are still no subscription fees.
• Hardware compatibility: Guild Wars Reforged is Steam Deck verified and has support for modern controllers. The UI has also been redesigned with larger text options, and the game has support for high DPI displays.
• Visual and audio updates: Dynamic sky bloom effects, new ambient occlusion, and lighting updates take better advantage of modern GPUs. Other visual touch-ups refine textures and make for a cleaner visual experience, while new positional audio support makes the world more immersive.
• User-friendliness: In addition to the updated UI that allows easier navigation, Guild Wars Reforged brings a new quest tracking system and an on-screen control guide.

Steam Announcement

But even more exciting is the note that there may be NEW content coming for the old game:

These updates will take effect for all players—the new reforged edition does not contain exclusive content or updates, but it simplifies the choice of what to purchase for new players. And Guild Wars Reforged isn’t about a one-time update; we plan to keep collaborating with our partners at 2weeks to make further improvements to the game in the future!

GW2 Announcement

Believe it or not, I have some open character slots on my account – I actually own TWO accounts and TWO copies of all of the expansions as double boxing was a helpful thing during some events – so I feel as if I’ll be diving back in with a fresh character this winter. The question is… which path to take? Depending on which expansion you start in, you get a different story experience (which gives a lot of options for replayabilty).

I have a feeling, I’ll be going old school Ascalon, much like I did 20 years ago… Ironically, I’d reinstalled GW1 on my machine last year with thoughts that it might be fun to run through it again.

Anyhow, for $20, I absolutely recommend this experience if it seems at all interesting to you. Give it a go if you never have, and if you do already own the game, jump in again!  

Hope to see you folks in Tyria!

Never forget!

Comments