Character selection screen

The Character selection screen is the first screen that appears when starting the game after the login screen. Here the player can choose to play, create or delete a character, as well as see character and account-wide progress.

Overview

An example of a character selection screen.

1. Options and Contacts
2. Selected character information:
   • Character name
   • Level, race and profession
   • Represented guild
   • Percentage of Central Tyria map completion
   • Current location as a zone name
   • World
3. Log Out button and Region Selection dialogue
4. Selected character model preview
5. Other character slots:
   • Profession or elite specialization
   • Level
   • Active crafting disciplines
     • Other learned disciplines are listed when hovered
   • Background image changes by zone
6. Account Name
7. Account Progression and Achievements
   • Mastery Rank
   • PvP Rank
   • WvW Rank
8. Play, create and delete a character

Background and soundtrack

The theme can be changed with the "Character Selection Background" dropdown setting in General Options. A randomized selection can also be made each time the screen is visited. The setting defaults back to the most recent expansion upon their release, currently "Castora" (Visions of Eternity). Each background has a different soundtrack, and alters the lighting/reflections used for the shown character. As the backgrounds consist of multiple layers with animated elements, some are significantly more resource intensive than others.

#	Name / Release	Background	Soundtrack song(s)	Animated elements	Parallax	Camera environment	GPU usage
7	Lion's Arch Guild Wars 2		Overture (Tyrian Overture, main theme) Tyria Reborn	Birds flying past Fog rolling in	0	Slightly zoomed in Lighting: Day, backlit Reflection: Queensdale	Low
1	Heart of Maguuma Heart of Thorns		Heart of Thorns Theme Maguuma Overture	Birds flying past Fog rolling in	0	Lighting: Bright day Reflection: Queensdale	Low
2	Crystal Desert Path of Fire		Path of Fire (theme) Arid Dawn	God rays Embers and sparks Dust blowing past	0	Lighting: Night Reflection: Queensdale, tinted orange	Medium
5	Cantha End of Dragons		End of Dragons (theme) A New Era of Heroes	God rays Doves taking flight Mist over river Riverbed flooding and drying Cherry blossoms	1	Lighting: Day Reflection: Daigo Ward	Medium
3	Horn of Maguuma Secrets of the Obscure		Secrets of the Obscure (theme)	Sun flare Billowing cloud God rays Flocks of birds Flowing waterwalls and mist Dandelion seeds	1	Lighting: Dusk Reflection: Spire's Heart	High
6	Janthir Wilds Janthir Wilds		Janthir Wilds (theme)	God rays Flowing waterfalls Mist and rainbows Flocks of birds Flower petals	1	Lighting: Day Reflection: Timberland Holt	Very High
4	Castora Visions of Eternity		Visions of Eternity (theme)	Floating rocks Flowing ley lines Multiple flocks of birds Waterfalls Raving crab (behind left ship) Scraps of sails waving Mist rolling over the water Stone with pulsing energy core Glowing pollen	1	Lighting: Night Reflection: Studio light	Very High

Anomalies:

• "Lion's Arch" is named after a city instead of a region.
• "Janthir Wilds" is named after the expansion instead of the region.
• The sorting of the dropdown makes little sense.

Bugs:

• When the overlay is hidden due to inactivity, GPU usage will increase.
• Manually hiding the GUI (default Ctrl + Shift + H) will not change resource usage, but GPU usage will still increase when the inactivity timer is reached; implying the UI is still being handled while hidden.
• With the setting set to random, the previously shown background's soundtrack will start playing for a few seconds before changing to the second song of the correct soundtrack.

Character icon backgrounds

Core (Central Tyria, The Mists, and Living World Season 2)

• 

  Ascalon

• 

  Kryta

• 

  Maguuma Jungle

• 

  Maguuma Jungle (Asuran)

• 

  Ruins of Orr

• 

  Shiverpeak Mountains

• 

  The Mists

• 

  Maguuma Wastes

Heart of Thorns and Living World Season 3

• 

  Heart of Maguuma

• 

  Ember Bay

• 

  Bitterfrost Frontier

• 

  Lake Doric

• 

  Draconis Mons

• 

  Siren's Landing

Path of Fire and Living World Season 4

• 

  Crystal Desert

• 

  Domain of Istan

• 

  Sandswept Isles

• 

  Domain of Kourna

• 

  Jahai Bluffs

• 

  Thunderhead Peaks

• 

  Dragonfall

Icebrood Saga

• 

  Grothmar Valley

• 

  Bjora Marches

• 

  Forging Steel

• 

  Drizzlewood Coast

End of Dragons (Cantha)

• 

  Seitung Province

• 

  New Kaineng City

• 

  The Echovald Wilds

• 

  Dragon's End

• 

  Gyala Delve

Secrets of the Obscure (Horn of Maguuma)

• 

  Skywatch Archipelago

• 

  The Wizard's Tower

• 

  Amnytas

• 

  Inner Nayos

Janthir Wilds (Janthir)

• 

  Lowland Shore

• 

  Hearth's Glow

• 

  Janthir Syntri

• 

  Mistburned Barrens

• 

  Bava Nisos

Visions of Eternity (Castora)

• 

  Comosus Isle

• 

  Shipwreck Strand

• 

  Starlit Weald

• 

  Eternity's Garden

Gallery

Historical UI

• 

  Before the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns expansion

• 

  Before the Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire expansion

• 

  Before the Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons expansion

• 

  Before the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure expansion

• 

  Before the Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds expansion

• 

  Before the Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity expansion

Beta characters

• 

  Path of Fire beta character tag.

• 

  End of Dragons beta character tag.

• 

  Beta character tag from Weaponmaster Training onward.

• 

  Watermark in the character information area of beta characters from the Weaponmaster Training beta onward.

Notes

• Equipped weapons, back items, and cosmetic auras (infusions) are not shown.

Version history

Patch	Changes
January 28, 2025	The World Selection panel was removed and replaced by a Region Selection panel, featuring only America and Europe as choices.
April 16, 2024	(Undocumented) Added a copyright notice to the top-right. (© 2012-2024 ArenaNet, LLC)
November 07, 2023	Added an option to allow players to choose which character-select background is displayed. This drop-down box can be accessed via the cog icon at the top left of the character select screen. the dropdown selection is halfway down the General options window.
June 29, 2023	(Undocumented) Beta event characters used the red beta tag starting with the Weaponmaster Training beta.
October 04, 2022	Changed the environment map used for lighting in the character selection screen to match the Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons background.
November 30, 2021	Updated the character grid on the character selection screen, adding mouse-wheel support and dynamically adjusting the number of characters displayed based on resolution.
August 28, 2018	(Undocumented) Many the character icon backgrounds were updated to use higher quality images.
September 22, 2017	Path of Fire release: (Undocumented) Character info and Account progression panel was updated.
April 18, 2017	(Undocumented) The character selection screen background art has been reverted to the version from before Heart of Thorns, and the camera angle has been adjusted.
May 03, 2016	Character background is now present on log-in screen for characters in Lion's Arch Aerodrome.
October 23, 2015	Heart of Thorns release: (Undocumented) Character info and Account progression panel was updated. (Undocumented) Account Medals tab was removed.