When you suddenly decide to bring a two-decade-old MMORPG back from the brink, nothing is off the table. And with the Guild Wars socials lighting up today with a fairly loaded question backed by the face of its mascot, it isn’t hard to see why die-hard fans are thinking the game’s original party of heroes could be gearing up for a comeback tour.
In the last couple of months, the original Guild Wars, an MMORPG first released in 2005, came back out of maintenance mode as Guild Wars Reforged. The sudden re-release brought with it an upscaled UI, controller support, and native Steam Deck compatibility. But it wasn’t just about finally updating the game to suit modern hardware. In the weeks that followed, Guild Wars relished in new balance patches and even enjoyed the addition of new modes like perma-death, likely inspired by the success of the World of Warcraft Classic hardcore bubble.
Now, a simple eight-second clip of its mascot, Devona, has players thinking there’s still no real end in sight. There’s very little to go off, and there’s every chance it’s just a largely meaningless ad, but with captions like “the Northlands will be liberated” and questions like “Who will stand with Devona?” players are rightfully thinking that a long-standing wish for the game’s original band of heroes might finally step into the spotlight could be on the cards.
Across Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter, Guild Wars players are thinking this is some grand teaser for some new pre-Searing content. Confused? In the original Guild Wars, the opening act takes place in the lush, serene nation of Ascalon. Stick to the main quest for a couple of hours and you see the whole place get torched, shifting the rest of your adventure to the post-Searing hellscape. Refuse, though, and you’re free to hit the level cap in what’s still a sprawling open-world that’s simply yet to be set upon by the dreaded Charr.
It’s here where players are hoping the core focus of any new content will be. Another reason to stick to this sort of alternative timeline. And there’s reason to believe that it could be happening. An update right at the end of 2025 added the aptly-titled Reforged Mode. With it, new characters could enter four-person parties and have computer-controlled allies (Henchmen) tag along on their adventures around the Pre-Searing portion of the game. It even added additional spawns to, wait for it… the Northlands. Can you see where this is going?
Basically, signs continue to point toward the pre-Searing portion of the original Guild Wars campaign potentially getting a new lease of life. Another reason to step through the gates of the Great Northern Wall. If it gives players a chance to team up with Devona and her allies, Mhenlo, Cynn, Aidan, and Eve, perhaps to see more of what they get up to before the events of the game kick into high gear, it could make for another noteworthy addition to an MMORPG that had once been abandoned in favor of its sequel. And as someone who often rerolled characters to do another lap of its more picturesque open-world landscape, I’m one of those people hoping to get their wish granted. “My god I want the original team as heroes so bad,” proclaims one such enthusiastic hero on Reddit. “I would roleplay the living hell out of that.”
