ArenaNet Details Guild Wars 3 Momentum System, Calls It an MMORPG First

ArenaNet says the system is meant to remove the stops and starts common in MMOs. Johanson described the usual pattern: “If you can picture with me for a second, movement in an MMO, you're riding through the world on your mount, and you get off your mount, and your character immediately stops moving,” he said. “And then you start moving again, and you go to glide, and you stop gliding, and your character immediately stops moving. Then you go into combat, and you use an ability, and then you move, and you'll stop moving again.”

He continued: “There are no fluid transitions between movement and combat in MMOs, and Guild Wars 3's momentum system introduces the first MMO that has truly fluid movement across the entire world.”

With the momentum system, players can jump off a mountain, deploy a glider, dive, fly, or wall-run while carrying momentum. According to Johanson, this creates “a seamless sense of movement you'd expect to see in an action game, rather than an MMORPG.” Momentum is also part of combat. TechRadar reported that it previewed a warrior class with a unique ability that uses momentum and modifies attacks when the warrior comes down from the sky. The ability increases damage output and the radius of attacks “based on his velocity or how much downward momentum” the warrior carries, and the class can run up walls and slam back down on enemies to deal huge amounts of damage.

Johanson said momentum also affects battlefield control, and the faster a player is moving, the more momentum they have. The environment is “part of the experience,” he said, explaining that enemies can be knocked into walls to be stunned and damaged by building momentum in combat. Players will need to use their environment, whether the battlefield or terrain, to their advantage. Johanson called this “another first for the MMORPG genre.”

Guild Wars 3 does not have a release date, but a beta is scheduled for fall 2027. The game is coming to PC and PlayStation 5, according to TechRadar.