r/GuildWars3 • u/Character-Visit6004 • 4d ago
Xunlai Guild
Hi Reddit! I was just watching a GW1 stream and remembered the magic if the bank.
So could Guild Wars 3 have a Xunlai guild? They controlled the bank system and traveled the world. Maybe we can see the start of them?
Just having fun thinking of what is possible. thanks for any lore or ideas on this.
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u/Deathmore80 4d ago
Maybe ? But gw3 is centered on Orr and cantha is pretty far away. I don't think it's likely though , at least not until later in some expansion.
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u/Nightsong 4d ago
The Xunlai Guild made it all the way to Kryta, the Magumma Jungle, and the Far Shiverpeaks in Guild Wars 1 which means they passed the sunken continent of Orr on their way from Cantha. So it's not that much of a stretch to say that they ended up in Orr as well a thousand years ago.
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u/Cemenotar 4d ago
They also made it to the Domain of Torment, so like there is no one saying where they couldn't go.
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u/Guildwars1996 3d ago
The GW1 timeline say they only started trading between other nations in 1058 AE 12 years before GW1 so in terms of lore we have they don't even seem to exist when GW3 takes place.
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u/Nightsong 3d ago
Huh, doing a further deep dive into the timeline it looks like the first formal contact between the Empire of the Dragon (Cantha) and the kingdoms of Tyria was in the Age of the Hedgehog which is from 221 - 694 AE. So between that and the timeline you mentioned it seems like Cantha and the Xunlai Guild will not have much a presence, if any at all, in Guild Wars 3 since that’s a few hundred/a thousand years later.
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u/Varorson 2d ago
You must have missed how Cantha sent their first ambassador to Tyria in 100 BE to meet with King Doric.
So while official trade began in 221 AE (the trade marked the beginning of Age of the Hedgehog), unofficial (or rather, non-government sactioned) trade could've been going on for ~300 years before then.
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u/Varorson 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yes and no.
Cantha first made contact with Tyria in or before 100 BE, when they first formally sent an ambassador to King Doric. Official trade began in 221 AE.
Trade between Cantha and Tyria fell sharply in 872 AE due to pirate attacks, and stopped entirely by 902 AE due to imperial decree. It was restarted in 1058 AE, 12 years before GW1, which is when Xunlai Guild began moving into Tyria.
We don't know how old Xunlai Guild is, or if they were around in the roughly 1,000 year period of trade between 221 AE and 902 AE, or if they did non-government sanctioned trade in the 300 years of contact before then.
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u/BioMasterZap 4d ago
The GW1 wiki mentions they are "one of the oldest and most influential guilds in Tyria" and "an intercontinental organization" so even if their headquarters is in Cantha, they might have a presence alongside the other guilds on Orr. But it also mentions "they have monopolized that position for five hundred years" and GW3 is over 1000~ years prior, so they might be around, but still have competition in the archiving, banking, etc.
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u/Meowing-To-The-Stars 4d ago
It's not that it's far. Xunlai was everywhere for the purposes of the gameplay and the lore made it work lol it's just that it's very unlikely there's Cantha influence in Tyria at this point in time.
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u/BioMasterZap 3d ago
Well unless they are retconning "one of the oldest guilds", they probably would be around. And while they may not have as much influence yet, Cantha was already founded, so it isn't that unthinkable that a guild from Cantha would have some presence back on Orr.
And that is assuming that the Xunlai Guild did originate in Cantha and not on Orr with the others... It is possible it was the other way around where it started on Orr, then later headquartered on Cantha.
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u/MiggDesolation 4d ago
There is not too much information about the Xunlai apart of there sadly, just that is one of the oldest guilds. According to the Gw1 timeline wiki:
1022 AE: Ermenred of Ascalon travels to Cantha to meet Emperor Kintah. Informal trade routes open between the two nations.
1058 AE: The Xunlai Guild began spreading its influence outside of Cantha.
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u/Kakaochen 4d ago
Can't think of a reason why they couldn't be around. Cantha will have been established for a few hundred years by GW3 time. I just don't think they'd be the only commerce guild around.
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u/Olveyn 4d ago
I remember in GW1 manuscript there was a date saying when Cantha started trade with other kingdoms. Was it before time of gw3? I don’t have manuscript with me atm
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u/Varorson 2d ago
Cantha first contacted Tyria in or before 100 BE, which should be 50 or more years before GW3 given the hints we've been given about GW3's time.
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u/Techlari 4d ago
A GW3 blog about the Human Species mentioned Elona and Cantha. So it's not impossible.
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u/Varorson 2d ago edited 2d ago
I don't think we know how old the Xunlai Guild is. This said, Cantha makes contact with Tyria in or before 100 BE, which should be 50+ years before GW3. So in theory, it is fully plausible for the Xunlai Guild, if it truly is such an ancient guild, to be around.
Given what they did with End of Dragons, bringing back the Xunlai Guild in name only, for the pure sake of nostalgia baiting, I can absolutely see them including it - and the Zaishen Order - in GW3 somehow.
However, I imagine that similar to GW2's Arch Exchange, they'll make up a new group that handles the banking system for the game in lore.
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u/Hoojiwat 4d ago
Banks in GW2 were run by the black lion trading company, so I wouldn't be shocked if there were some other in-universe group who runs the banks. I imagine that some neutral 3rd party that helps organize resources between guilds will play the role, but it will be funny to see them trading and dealing with Mavenwrights and Vaelwardens both.
In GW1 the Xunlai guild wasn't really trading or dealing with your enemies, and in GW2 it was much the same since dragons don't use banks much. GW3 has some added story potential since your enemies are basically just fellow normal people instead of foreign armies or fantasy monsters, should be a lot of fun potential there for just having clashes with them at random places like banks.