Every Guild Wars Campaign, Expansion, And Mission Pack, Ranked

While the original Guild Wars hasn’t seen a significant update since the 2020 Anniversary celebration, many fans of the unique cooperative-based multiplayer RPG are still playing (and thinking about the game wistfully) today. The pseudo-MMO’s life was short, but its history burns bright. After their second campaign, the studio behind Guild Wars, ArenaNet, set out to release a new campaign (equivalent to a complete game containing a new continent, skills, characters, and a story) every six months. This extremely short development time quickly left the team burned out, and it isn’t hard to see why.

Each release (three standalone campaigns, one bonus mission pack, one expansion, and several staggered adventures that acted as a prologue to each campaign) was a content bounty, a miracle of worldbuilding, art, gameplay, and game design. In this list, each entry will be judged in terms of its volume of content, gameplay additions, worldbuilding, mission design, art, and importance. A ranking of its sequel, Guild Wars 2 (and its expansions), will not be included here, as there is already so much to cover for the original game.

6 The Bonus Mission Pack

An Interesting Excursion Into History And Lore

• Platform(s): PC
• Released: 2008-01-28
• Developer(s): ArenaNet
• Genre: RPG

The “Bonus Mission Pack,” released following the “Eye of the North” expansion, includes four stories told through the history of Tyria (the planet, not the continent). The missions themselves did not long-requested answers to burning unsolved mysteries but stories the studio wanted to tell, including the fate of Saul D’Alessio as seen through the POV of the Mursaat prophet himself, the settling of the Tengu Accords, and the battle of Jahai in Elona.

For long-time fans, the pack contained four bite-sized missions that shed light on familiar locations and faces, but many looked upon the pack as lacking upon release. The reward for completing each mission and its bonus objectives were some unique weapons, appealing to those who had many hero characters to adequately equip. The “Bonus Mission Pack” is ultimately an add-on for hardcore Guild Wars fans only.

5 Guild Wars: Beyond

A Welcome But Incomplete Coda To The Saga

• Platform(s): PC
• Released: 2010-04-08
• Developer(s): ArenaNet
• Genre: RPG

It’s hard to place the “Beyond” content so low on the list, in part because each update was given to players for free. However, while it was great to see each story wrapped up (the White Mantle story, especially) and with some seriously meaty content, it just didn’t last as long as it could have. The planned “Beyond” story for Elona (which would have involved the rise of Pawala Joko) was unfortunately scrapped, leaving Nightfall fans especially disappointed.

“Beyond” was a great reuse of familiar and beloved locations and could have grown into something much more substantial. However, the value of the quests, rewards, additional hero unlocks, and lore expansions was not lost on the fanbase, who look upon this last hurrah as a hint of what could have been had Guild Wars been run concurrently with its sequel (for which the “Beyond” content was likely approved of to sell).

4 Guild Wars: Eye of the North

A Return To The Series’ Roots With A Long Eye On The Future

• Platform(s): PC
• Released: 2007-08-31
• Developer(s): ArenaNet
• Genre: RPG

After agreeing that building a sequel with a brand-new engine, setting, and focus was the way to go for the franchise, ArenaNet broke its tradition of releasing a standalone adventure and began work on its first expansion. “Eye of the North” was the result. Instead of new professions, players could work their way up the ranks of new factions, many of which would play a starring role in the sequel. “GW: EN” brought back some familiar faces, including everyone’s favorite missing Ascalonian little girl, Gwen.

Although “GW: EN” didn’t feature a new continent, it expanded the existing Tyria seen in Prophecies: the mountains of the Far Shiverpeaks, Sparkfly Swamp of Lower Kryta, and the iconic Charr Homelands. Much of the enjoyment of the expansion hinged upon the tantalizing possibilities that a sequel would bring. The rewards for completing its quests (and gaining any remaining loot and titles from each campaign) were motivated by the idea that rewards transferred over to the next game, the next era. With the sequel being more than a decade old, the luster has naturally dulled.

3 Guild Wars: Factions

An Unexpected And Beautiful Change Of Pace

• Platform(s): PC
• Released: 2005-04-28
• Developer(s): ArenaNet
• Genre: RPG

Unlike other multiplayer fantasy universes, ArenaNet didn’t just add more land for existing players to explore; they added a new continent on the other side of the world and allowed players to transfer in or start over. This second standalone campaign struck out from the traditional Western fantasy setting and ambitiously crafted something new by taking inspiration from Eastern mythology. What makes Factions so special is that, despite being inspired by real-life parts of Asia and its mythology, ArenaNet did not merely restrict themselves to Japanese or Chinese stereotypes or ideals, a temptation trap that many game developers still fall into today when attempting to construct such a setting.

Instead, they drew and synthesized from a wide variety of influences for Kaineng and Shing Jea (Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Taiwanese, Cambodian) all while integrating the systems from the Prophecies campaign to work together cohesively. Guild Wars Factions wasn’t afraid to show off the grunge underbelly intrinsic to life in an economically thriving but sprawling and undermanaged city (the lower-class streets of Kaineng). Not only did they build a true-to-scale metropolis but the evocative Jade Sea and petrified Echovald Forest. The meditative soundtrack, unusual for a fighting fantasy game, brings an almost aetherial calm upon the player. While the difficulty curve was a little steep and the exploration somewhat linear, Factions brought in new professions, new cultures, and fascinating and varied environments to explore.

2 Guild Wars: Prophecies

A Timeless Foundation With A Lasting Legacy

• Platform(s): PC
• Released: 2005-04-28
• Developer(s): ArenaNet
• Genre: RPG

The original standalone campaign, Prophecies, might be the oldest in the original Guild Wars anthology, and it may not have the most tricks up its sleeve, but it did lay the groundwork for everything else to come. The story and map size are impressively huge, probably because it was given more time to cook in the oven before release, unlike the other entries. However, its difficulty curve is nice and lenient, with skills evenly spread across the game.

Exploration is fairly open as well, and while the maps look somewhat dated compared to the sequel (or any modern game), for a piece of interactive art more than two decades old, its iconic landmarks of Pre-Searing Ascalon, the Crystal Desert, the Maguuma Jungle, the coasts of Kryta, and the Shiverpeaks never fails to captivate (at least with a little imagination). The quests, characters, and storylines (even if they remain subtlely told) still stand up, as do the challenges and excitement of buildcraft from this elder campaign.

1 Guild Wars: Nightfall

A Campaign Of Wealth And Bounty

• Platform(s): PC
• Released: 2006-10-26
• Developer(s): ArenaNet
• Genre: RPG

By their third swing at the concept of standalone campaigns, ArenaNet had finally hit its stride. Nightfall represented an accumulation of all the experimentation, efficiency practices, and story buildup that began a mere 18 months earlier. Set in the lands south of Tyria, Elona presented a rich tapestry of cultures, vibrant, fiery deserts, mystical swamps, and lush jungles inspired by real-life North Africa and India. Players were given heroes, customizable henchmen, to help shore up their parties (or to help solo players maintain an even more solitary multiplayer experience).

The story, worldbuilding, and lore arguably peaked with Nightfall, along with the gameplay. The plot can be experienced independently, but it also wraps up the storylines of both previous campaigns. Unfortunately, Nightfall had the disadvantage of being released third in line after only so many months and was initially overlooked. The general consensus, and from all given metrics, is that the third campaign stands as Guild Wars‘ finest release.