Order

An order is a multi-racial organization which is dedicated to combating the awoken Elder Dragons. In Guild Wars 2 there are three orders, one of which the player joins as part of their personal storyline and which determines a significant portion of the higher level parts of that story. Each of the orders have their own philosophies about what tactics will ultimately defeat the dragons. While they are rivals at times they recognize that protecting Tyria is the most important goal which they each share.

The three orders are:

Durmand Priory: The scholars of the priory believe the dragon might be defeated using ancient knowledge of a past victory.
Order of Whispers: The secretive Whispers order believe the dragons cannot be defeated and must be returned to sleep.
Vigil: Members of the militaristic Vigil believe a united army of all the races can defeat an elder dragon.

Joining one of the three orders is not required to play the game, though progress through the personal storyline will be blocked at some point if the player doesn't make a choice. Once a choice is made, you can change your order, with "a little effort".^[1] Each of them has a unique looking armor and weapon set that players can acquire.^[2]