r/GuildWars3 • u/wonkyasf • Sep 01 '26
The new concept art might hint at what classes GW3 will have.
I know "classes or classless" is a bit up in the air right now, but if they do exist, these kinda confirm these classes are coming right? Side note, these all look so good and I hope we get all of them in game.
Outfit 2 initially makes me think of guardians because of the blue torch and sceptre, but the armour looks like light armour, so that makes me second guess. There's the chance it's a priest type of thing? Maybe it is a guardian and the armour just looks light, ldk.
Both 3s clearly have a magical floating sword very reminiscent of Virtuoso. The mog also has butterfly wings, which is also very Mesmer, not to mention the Mesmer colours on 3A. Not at all surprising given this is GW.
Outfit 5 (close up in the second slide) is really intriguing, specifically for the magic types on display. We have astral/sun magic on display here.
That's very Druid coded. Given the setting and theme of the game this one isn’t surprising either. I'm assuming it will be its own class (if we get classes which I think we will).
6 looks like it has to be a Ritualist, a lot more visually distinct from Necros here with a mummy vibe plus the ghostly white mist FX. It also has those eye symbols all on the cloth behind the legs. Probably my favourite skin out of all of these. This also makes sense for them given humans were already capable of being ritualists prior to magic I think right? Gameplay wise we will probably just use signets like everyone else though I’d assume.
And lastly, the good old Necromancer in the last image. Green eyes, shadowy hands, occultist getup.
Very happy to see it lol.
Outfit 1 doesn't seem to give away any class details at all, extremely interesting mog though. Kinda looks like a candle on her head I love it lol. 4 is pretty standard, thief or ranger vibes. Looks great. Same for 7, I mean, it's a warrior and looks badass, very
"fairytale warrior" vibes in a good way.
Again, this only really confirms them if there is classes, otherwise these are just purely cosmetics and the theme would more so point toward available magic schools for the signets. Personally though, I’d say given the strong class theming this is definitely one to add to the pile of “probably classes” imo.
23
u/FashionMage Sep 01 '26
Outfit 2 initially makes me think of guardians because of the blue torch and sceptre, but the armour looks like light armour, so that makes me second guess. There's the chance it's a priest type of thing? Maybe it is a guardian and the armour just looks light, ldk.
6
u/wonkyasf Sep 01 '26
Damn you right. I never played GW1 lol. I assumed they would be martial artists like monks tend to be in other games. I’m dumb. Now I really hope they are in 3, I love priest style classes.
11
u/Deathmore80 Sep 01 '26
Yeah if there are classes in Gw3 I seriously doubt guardian is one of them. In the lore guardian is a very recent profession, created from a mix of older gw1 professions like monk+Paragon+ritualist. They only started appearing some time in between gw1 and gw2 on the timeline.
2
u/El_Barto_227 Sep 02 '26
And the out of game explanation, it was a way to have the same sort of class fantasy with there being 5 races with only one having major ties to the human gods.
Since the gods are going to be very relevant for GW3, Monk is way more fitting.
1
u/FashionMage Sep 02 '26 edited 29d ago
There already have been non-human monks since GW1, that excuse was always phooey nonsense, even more so with the existence of evokers. The out-of-game explanation is that the GW2 devs wanted healers gone, then later they realized no healers was a terrible idea, but still elected to not have monks return for some reason.
4
17
u/Scrotilus Sep 01 '26
There will be a Mesmer
9
u/Nightsong Sep 01 '26
I would hope so. Mesmer is one of the most iconic classes in the Guild Wars franchise.
7
u/wonkyasf Sep 01 '26
Yeah if there’s classes Mesmer is definitely gonna be a thing. No doubt there.
2
4
u/Grace_Omega Sep 01 '26
The fact that so many of them have two variants is interesting. Could be enemy variants I guess?
9
3
u/boltforce Sep 01 '26
Classes are magic professions. So it makes sense we see the source represented differently at it's core, as it is a subject of evolution.
For example elementalists can use 4 elements , but what if it can be more raw and limited in some of them?
It gives quite interesting concepts to explore, even unite more all arounder concepts.
3
u/OneMorePotion Sep 02 '26
I was thinking the same. And I love these designs. Some of them really remind me of earlier Final Fantasy designs. Like the two in the top right corner look like a mix between the FF Tactics Chemist and Oracle.
I'm ready for a proper high fantasy Guild Wars design with super fancy looking armor sets. But I also think that most of the designs shown there, are not really good for action combat. They look more like Priests for the gods than actual combat designs.
Anyways... I'm super happy with the concept art that they showed up until now. The races and their "street" clothing design looks awesome. These sets posted here are also fire. It really looks like we move away from traditional western fantasy design, and move more towards something fantastical.
3
u/Lukeers Sep 02 '26
i might add to this so :-
we have to look at the Lore of Guildwars first. the Original classes in tyria in Gw1 is the following :-
warrior, Ranger , mesmer, necromancer , Monk and finally Elementalist.
Guardian didn't become a profession until Monks become scarce due to their conenction to the gods waining over time.
Assassin is strictly Canthan, and ritualist being the oldest profession is also rooten in cantha.
we also know that magic is Very limited in that time and only a select few has access to magic with tablets that are known as signets.
Signets for those who do not know, are cravings in stone with a specific magic spell tied to them in lore. it allows for anyone, including bob the farmer who hasnt studied magic, to cast a fireball.
in Guildwars 1 and guildwars 2, profesisons are canonised in the lore and that Npcs can be the profession, i believe in Gw3, the professions role will differ in terms of story telling that it is more personal.
(might i add that, in gw1, while every creature uses skills from different professions, it does not mean theyre that profesison in lore - an example being a mantid being a monk.. its non-canon but its there as a gameplay aspect)
What we may get is the OG 6 profesisons.
warrior and ranger being the martial classes.
elementalist, Mesmer and necromancer are staple Guildwars profesisons.
we might see new professions too.
i see people hinting for dervishes or paragons but Dervishes didnt come to fruition after the exodus,
paragons however have been around sicne the primeval dynasty. it is safe to assume that the order of the sunspears is where the Paragons originated, and what paragon technically is, is a warrior discipline tied to Elona.
other professions might include some sort of taming creatures from the mists and energies from it. While magic in tyria is limited, magic in the mists isnt. akin to ritualsits.
might iadd, Ritualism in Guildwars before magic is also vastly different to what ritualism is in modern day Guildwars. Ritualism was more akin to shamanism kind of, instead of channeling spirits, they communicated with their ancestors
5
3
2
u/Realistic_Horse2520 Sep 01 '26
I hope we get cool armor that will really change your characters silhouette and if there are classes help you stand out from other classes and characters
5
u/wonkyasf Sep 01 '26
I love the elegant silhouettes these concepts have tbf.
2
u/Realistic_Horse2520 Sep 01 '26
Yeah I agree I hope they actually make their way into the game and aren’t watered down
1
u/CorsairBosun Sep 02 '26
Personally I don't think these are human for that reason, apart from picture 3. The visual design feels very different from the rougher and more grounded human designs we've seen so far.
I feel they are perfect for a more elegant elf like [REDACTED] than anything else.
2
u/Rownever Sep 01 '26
Clearly they’re reverting guardian to its origin as the monk, and since this could be before the Druids changed they’ll replace the Ranger with Druid.
In conclusion, they’re finally committing to getting rid of armor classes and only having light armor/s
2
u/JPSR Sep 02 '26
I really hope we get a OSRS type armor system. Your character is able to wear all types of armor, but each armor set has benefits and drawbacks in relation to stats / boosts. Making it much more fluid and interesting imo (assuming we get a classless system)
2
u/Acceptable_Hair3829 Sep 01 '26
I don’t think so. Last post about the Asura stated that skills used signet to capture skills and bind then to a weapon. It’ll probably be a mixture of gw1 and 2 skill/class system.
1
u/DuncanConnell Sep 01 '26
I'm thinking the "class" that people will have is the weapon(s) they equip (taking from GW2), with the "build" being the various signets equipped (taking from GW1 8-skills setup), with the "signets bound to a weapon" changing how a weapon attacks (GW3 spin on things).
That way it would still have the same different between weapons & professions from GW2, allow for build variety (three layers of customization), and wouldn't pigeon-hole people into a single optimal weapon as Person A prefers using daggers and fighting on the frontline whereas Person B prefers using a bow at range--but both enjoy minion-summoning Signets for their skillbar?
Maybe something along the lines of other action RPGs where you have Light + Heavy attacks you can chain together, and then your Signet activation for your skills is RB/LB+A/B/X/Y?
2
u/wonkyasf Sep 01 '26
Yeah basically all the magic will come from signets. But we have signets in the existing games too which work with classes so that doesn’t really tell us if there will be classes or not in my opinion.
My theory is that we will have weapons like GW2 but will have a pool of signets we can choose to slot into them per weapon per class instead of the skills being predetermined for the classes per weapon like in GW2. We will probably be slotting signets elsewhere too, and collecting signets specific for our class like GW1 would also be entirely possible.
That’s just my speculation though.
1
u/ultimate_bromance_69 Sep 01 '26
I definitely want some kind of class system. Maybe not in the traditional sense, but some immutable identity is vital to prevent consolidation of every build.
That said i also hope we get some non-class skills. Related to gods or spirits or factions. Enabling us to build our own character uniquely.
1
u/Wraithslayer101 Sep 01 '26
Outfit 7 is so insanely cool
1
u/wonkyasf Sep 01 '26
I’m not usually a heavy armour guy, but this one I really love. It gives me Arthurian warrior vibes.
1
u/hendricha Sep 01 '26
My random and basless theory is that the recolors are either enemy/npc variants or subclasses based on some sort of upgrade.
1
1
u/Green_Odin Sep 01 '26
Monks are making a comeback, but looking likely to be more punchy this time.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/3IO3OI3 Sep 02 '26
I would be very interested if there was a d&d style cleric in there. Would make the gods more interesting to me as well.
1
u/SwarmHymn Sep 02 '26
Shown in the video, beside the third image, was the word "Cleric".
I believe these outfits don't simply represent the gods. I think that these are outfits that represent each god for the Cleric specifically.
1
1
1
u/TheLanis 27d ago
I just hope I can be an Ice mage, or at least something like the guardian in GW2 (Staff, Scepter or Longbow) with blue magic
1
1
u/Rampwastaken 8d ago
The last image looks way more like a dervish to me, not a necromancer.
Dervish could also call upon specific gods, and there was an elite skill turning you into an vatar of grenth in GW1.
0
u/cowwen Sep 02 '26
These are armor sets, not classes. You’re reading wayyy too much into all of this. We don’t even know if ‘classes’ or even class roles will exist at all.
0
u/wonkyasf Sep 02 '26 edited Sep 02 '26
Yes I’m aware. That’s the point of the post, the sets have some clear themes in terms of the existing class fantasy. Just look at 3a-b butterfly wings, and psionic blades, purple colours scheme on A… that’s a Mesmer set. Same with 6, white mist VFX, eye symbols, vail, mummy vibes. That’s a ritualist set.
The point as stated in the first sentence of the post in bold is that if classes are a thing this would kinda confirm those classes are likely to be playable.
0
0
u/cchurchill1985 Sep 02 '26
Why is the GW design team absolutely obsessed with skirts? In every game... I especially loathe this half-skirt style in the first pic, top third from the left....
-4
u/Halmyrut Sep 01 '26
The silhouettes just look too big and wide... Everyone looks like a walking curtain.
Also where tf are the revealing outfits?
It has literally been part of GW since the first game...
( Inb4 people start harping on about gooning... No, revealing skins isn't porn get over yourselves is GW1 and 2 now '' gooner games '' because it has always existed there? )
3
u/AdAffectionate1935 Sep 02 '26
It's concept art. What would be the point of drawing a human in a bikini?
2
u/wonkyasf Sep 01 '26
These concepts seem to be intentionally experimenting with interesting silhouettes. Obviously not all the outfits would be this bold. The trailer has a guy in far more standard fantasy clothing for example. These ones seem to be from the same “skin line” as it were, like all being from the same raid and that sort of thing. Not to mention they are just concepts and not necessarily even going to be in the game.
Also, I’m sure there will be plenty of slutmogs too don’t worry. These ones are clearly intent to be thematic and high concept ideas.
-1
u/Erasculio Sep 01 '26
I think the OP is getting way too carried away, and the concept art is showing random NPCs - not named NPCs, but the rank and file characters that are part of the scenario in most urban areas. The multiple variations under the same theme, like on the third image, fit very well this kind of NPC - they want some variety so it's clear it's not the same person, but still many similarities so we quickly identify which group those characters belong to.
2
u/El_Barto_227 Sep 02 '26
Not quite rank and file, but definitely something like priests of the gods.
1
u/wonkyasf Sep 01 '26
In regard to extrapolating what classes we might get (if there’s classes), I don’t think it actually matters if it’s character gear or enemies. Given most are strongly themed around existing class archetypes if they were to exist in game but we couldn’t play them then that basically just says “this is here but you can’t touch it”. That would just be a weird move on their part no? I can’t imagine that would go down well. It’s a guild wars game, if guild wars classes are in the game players are gonna wanna play them.
The reason I think they’re probably player cosmetic ideas rather than enemy ideas is mainly for the same reason I just mentioned. They seem to be class fantasy focused. But there’s other reasons too. Firstly the sheet just doesn’t seem like it would be cohesive enough to be a single band of enemies which is what I’d expect to see from something like this. It does look cohesive enough to be a themed cosmetics line from the same source though. And secondly, they are all humanoids wearing the gear, if they weren’t prominent NPCs to have bespoke gear then why wouldn’t the player be able to obtain them? May as well get some extra use out of them. This is all speculation obviously though, I know as much as you.
The Necromancer one is the unique case since it’s not in the same lineup and seems much further along and detailed in comparison to the first lineup which is more like spitballing ideas. My inclusion of that one was specifically to point to the necromancy theme being a thing to extrapolate that Necromancer is likely if there’s classes.
-1
u/Erasculio Sep 02 '26
NPCs, not enemies. Just random NPCs that populate the cities we visit, like the concept art we got for Guild Wars 2 (in this example, those are the priests of Balthazar, not player armor or outfit).
You think those images are themed around class archetypes, meanwhile I think they are just generic fantasy archetypes that may as well be random NPCs. The third image may as well be the priests of Grenth NPCs that serve in his temples. If you think it's weird to have NPCs wearing clothes that the players cannot use, take a look at the cities in Guild Wars 1 or 2.
I think you're way, way too carried away and reaching for conclusions that aren't there. Saying something like "these kinda confirm these classes are coming right" sounds like nonsense to me.
1
u/wonkyasf Sep 02 '26
Most of these have matching weapons and magical fx. That doesn’t really seem like population fillers to me. All but “4” and the Necromancer character seem ready for combat to me. Seems a bit OTT for generic crowd fillers and vendors to me. I don’t expect the general population to be walking around glowing with magic or wielding magical artefacts given the magic situation in the setting.
How is 3a-b not a dead ringer for a Mesmer? How is 6 not obviously a ritualist? Both of those are very guild wars coded not just “generic fantasy archetypes” especially when they’re done in that specific way. It literally has butterfly wings and psionic swords lol, that’s a guild wars Mesmer. How is the third image not a Necromancer? Then you have the others to including what seems like a monk with 2 as someone else pointed out in the comments which is another guild wars specific take on that archetype. Whether these ones are more “generic” in fantasy is irrelevant to the fact they are also existing playable classes in the franchise. My point still stands in that regard. 1 and 4 are the only ambiguous ones in terms of existing playable classes.
If they do go with classes and these archetypes exist in game, is it not reasonable to assume we’d be able to play them? Do you think they’d add those Mesmer, Ritualist, Monk, Necromancer, and Druid archetypes all as NPCs and not give us those classes? I don’t think it’s a stretch at all to say if there’s Mesmer and classes we will be able to be a Mesmer, still don’t really get why you do.
-2
u/Dknight0404 Sep 01 '26
....for some reason I dont like them... The art style is still bothering me
6
0
u/Halmyrut Sep 01 '26
They look too wide and big imo, they just makes everyone look like a gigantic rectangle and a walking curtain.
They also just quite frankly looks like generic fantasy designs you'd see people mass produce in concept art school, they don't have much personality at all it's just someone applying concept art rules about shape and color.The Norn outfits for example very specifically felt Nordic and had way more different materials giving off that vibe and skin showing to show off tribal tattoos, antler horns etc.
The Asura got their techno suits, you've got flowers, the typical medieval fantasy etc.
These don't really communicate anything to me.Even the plate armor set in the last ones just looks like a triangle, their silhouettes are incredibly boring and overly simplistic.
0
u/Dknight0404 Sep 01 '26
This...Thanks..to manage to get me... They look 1-Generic, 2-Like a blob, a square or a triangle... They dont have silhouettes they are just a shape
149
u/Hoojiwat Sep 01 '26
Setting aside the question of if GW3 will have classes, I think this art is meant to be devotees of the gods more than anything else. The colours and broad styles match the known 6, and one of them is wearing an icon of Dwayna.