From the Toysit archive
Guild Wars Factions
Explore Guild Wars Factions through Cantha’s fantasy landscapes, party choices and an original two-region festival activity, with its 2006 coverage preserved.
The play at a glance
An adventure shaped by the party you bring
Guild Wars Factions sets its adventure in Cantha, a fantasy continent with a sea turned to jade and a forest transformed to stone. Its appeal lies in both the journey and the preparation: choosing a character’s abilities, forming a party and deciding how those abilities will work together when the next mission begins.
Prepare in town, then set out together
The manual describes towns as meeting places where players assemble parties, visit vendors and choose abilities. A character can equip up to eight skills, selected while in town. That makes preparation an interesting part of the adventure: which abilities belong together, and what can each member contribute?
Outside town, an adventuring area belongs to the party. Story missions carry the narrative forward; other challenges emphasize scores, competitive objectives or cooperation. ArenaNet’s Factions overview distinguishes Challenge Missions, Competitive Missions, Alliance Battles and Elite Missions, so the original report’s “four new mission types” covers several different kinds of play.
The setting gives those choices a striking backdrop. The Luxons’ Jade Sea and the Kurzicks’ Echovald Forest are imagined places with their own fictional histories. Looking at how a landscape shapes a community can be an enjoyable way to read fantasy world design.
Try this: a two-region festival exchange
For an original paper activity, invent two friendly communities: one among trees and one beside the coast. Give each a landmark and a festival invitation. Perhaps the forest village invites visitors to a lantern orchard, while the coast celebrates the opening of a shell-shaped music pavilion.
Exchange the invitations. Each group adds one useful detail for its guests: where to meet, what to bring or how to recognize the welcome party. Then design a shared banner using one shape from each place. Choose a name for the festival that makes both communities feel included.
A final postcard can show the same celebration from two viewpoints: the visitors arriving and the hosts waving from the meeting place. These are invented communities and an original Toysit activity, separate from official quests and real cultural history.
The original campaign and today’s packaging
As reviewed on October 21, 2026, ArenaNet lists Factions among the three campaigns included in Guild Wars Reforged, alongside Prophecies and Nightfall. That packaging concerns the original Guild Wars campaigns. Guild Wars 2 is a separate game. Consult the linked official support for current account and access details; the old preview keys and preorder extras below describe the 2006 release.
The historical record
Original Toysit coverage
The complete earlier product account and commentary are preserved below as historical coverage.
Multiplayer online game with roleplaying and competitive player-versus-player scored challenge strategic missions
Guild Wars Factions became available in stores worldwide April 28, 2006.
Guild Wars Factions takes place on the Asian-inspired continent of Cantha, where new and existing Guild Wars players join an epic quest. Roleplaying and competitive player-versus-player gamers will be able to join together in guild alliances to take control of territory and determine the fate of Cantha. New scored challenge missions and strategic competitive missions allow players to test their roleplaying prowess. Large-scale alliances struggle to conquer new territory across the continent of Cantha. New elite missions allow skilled players exclusive access to areas designed to be the ultimate cooperative challenge.
"Guild Wars Factions is an exceptional game that invites players to immerse themselves in an epic adventure unlike any they have seen," says Patrick Wyatt of ArenaNet. "The four new mission types create a unique experience that will engage both the roleplaying and competitive gamer in cooperative conquest of territories of the visually stunning, Asian-themed continent of Cantha."
New players will join the more than one million gamers already playing Guild Wars worldwide, and existing players will have a new continent and storyline to explore.
ArenaNet is hosting a massive beta test event in which all existing Guild Wars players and their friends are invited.
A limited edition pre-order package is currently available at retail stores throughout North America. This pre-order pack includes an access key to the Factions Preview Event on March 24, and also provides access to Guild Wars Factions twenty-four hours before the street date, exclusive in-game items for each of the game's new professions, a friend-key that gives access to the FPE for friends without an existing Guild Wars account, a limited trial of Guild Wars for a friend, a tactical guide, a quick reference card, and a CD that includes concept art, wallpapers, and in-game trailers.
Guild Wars is a series of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) developed by ArenaNet and published by NCSOFT. The original "Guild Wars" was released in 2005 and was noteworthy for its subscription-free model, relying on one-time game purchases instead. This approach made it highly accessible compared to other MMORPGs that require monthly fees. The game is set in the high-fantasy world of Tyria, offering a rich lore and a plethora of quests, battles, and explorative opportunities. The PvP (Player vs Player) elements are particularly strong, giving the game its name, "Guild Wars," as players often form guilds to combat each other or complete challenging in-game objectives. The sequel, "Guild Wars 2," released in 2012, builds upon the foundation of the original while introducing new gameplay mechanics, dynamic events instead of traditional questing, and more. Both games have maintained a strong and loyal fan base, and they continue to receive updates, keeping the worlds fresh and engaging.
Sources and editorial notes
The original 2006 Factions manual supplies the historical play description. Selected geography, skills, towns and mission sections were reviewed; this is not a complete walkthrough. ArenaNet’s support pages were reviewed on October 21, 2026 through accessible web text; direct requests returned HTTP 403. The 2006 preorder offers and later Guild Wars 2 commentary are preserved as history. No account login, installation or gameplay was tested.
- Original Toysit image — Existing same-site image reviewed and retained unchanged.
- The Guild Wars Factions Manuscripts — Original publisher PDF; selected geography, character skills, towns and mission sections reviewed. PDF pages 7–8, 28–29, 41, 47, 52, 59 and 63 are among the consulted sections; PDF page numbers differ from printed spreads.
- ArenaNet: Guild Wars game and expansions — Official Factions section reviewed for mission categories and campaign identity; direct HTTP 403, accessible indexed text reviewed.
- ArenaNet: Guild Wars Reforged FAQ — Official three-campaign packaging and account context reviewed October 21, 2026. Direct HTTP 403; accessible web text reviewed.
- Original Toysit coverage — Complete historical account retained, including its original claims and wording.
Images and descriptions are retained as historical material. How Toysit covers toys.
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