21 years after release, Guild Wars 1 just got an ‘Ironman’ mode inspired by a venerable community-driven challenge

Guild Wars might look indistinct among the many MMOs that arrived in the wake of World of Warcraft’s genre-defining heyday, but it has relatively little in common with WoW or even EverQuest, the Iron Age big dog in the massively multiplayer space. It’s a unique blend of deckbuilding and ARPG-esque adventuring where you can team up with other players in town hubs across different campaigns—a setup so unique it’s still drawing a crowd over two decades, a very different sequel, and a big modernization update later.

It’s not an easy game. But, the question always goes, how can I make this harder on myself? An update arrived Jan. 28 with the answer: Melandru’s Accord. “Inspired by the community-driven Ironman challenge,” the new game mode will require that players earn all their skills and items without the relief of player trading or mercenaries (special NPC helpers that copy character builds and gear).