World Restructuring & Alliances Status
The 30-second summary
- Status (May 2026): World Restructuring (WR) has been an always-on beta since 14 June 2024.
- "Phase 2" Alliances — the original promise of player-built alliance organisations — has not yet released.
- Teams are rebuilt the first Friday of each month based on WR guild membership.
- Currently 27 teams exist (15 EU, 12 NA), running on a 4-week match cycle.
- Legacy "home worlds" no longer determine your match — your WR guild does.
How WR works today
Each player picks one WR guild from the WvW panel. At the start of each month:
- ArenaNet's matchmaker bundles all members of each WR guild together.
- Bundles are combined into 27 roughly population-balanced teams.
- Players who do not set a WR guild are matched separately into "guildless" buckets.
- The new teams stay together for a full 4-week match cycle.
Within the cycle, the 27 teams rotate through 9 tiers per region (3 teams per tier per match), so you fight new opponents each week.
Setting your WR guild
- Open the WvW panel (B).
- Click the World Restructuring tab.
- Select any one of your guilds as your WR guild.
- Confirm — the change takes effect at the next monthly team rebuild.
If you want to play with friends, all of you must set the same WR guild before the monthly cutoff. Ask your guild leadership which guild they're using — many WvW communities now have a designated "WR guild" specifically for this.
What changed vs. legacy worlds
| Aspect | Legacy worlds | World Restructuring (now) |
|---|---|---|
| Who you fight with | Your home server | Your WR guild bundle |
| Team duration | Permanent (occasional resets) | 4-week match cycle |
| Server transfers | Paid 1800 gems | Free — switch WR guild |
| Matchmaking | 1-week match | 1-week matches × 4-week cycle |
| Number of "teams" | ~50 worlds total | 27 (15 EU, 12 NA) |
Why "Alliances" still isn't here
The original 2018 announcement promised a system where players could build named alliances of multiple guilds (up to 500 players) — that is "Phase 2". It has been repeatedly delayed:
- 2018 — announced
- September 2021 — first beta
- January – February 2024 — last formal beta windows
- 14 June 2024 — WR became an always-on beta with single-WR-guild assignment only
- 2026 — still no firm Alliances release date
ArenaNet has stated Alliances remains a goal but has not committed to a timeline. WR's current form is treated as the live system in everything but name.
Practical impact for new players
- You no longer pay to "transfer servers" — just change your WR guild.
- You will fight different opponents each month, not the same regional rivals forever.
- Communities now organise around WR guilds instead of historical worlds.
- If you want to follow specific commanders, find out which WR guild they're using.