Guild Wars 2 Game Release Notes

Game Update Notes: October 16, 2018

10/16/2018—October 16 Release Notes

Living World

Halloween

Once again, the gates of the Mad Realm have opened, and Kryta’s most infamous monarch, Mad King Thorn, has returned to hold court in Lion’s Arch! Loyal vassals of the king are strongly encouraged to enjoy the festivities: meet the denizens of the Mad Realm in events across Kryta; tour the Mad Realm itself in the Mad King’s Labyrinth and the fearsome Mad King’s Clock Tower; compete with your fellow mortals in Lunatic Inquisition, Reaper’s Rumble, and the Mad King’s Raceway; attend to the king’s whims in his notorious pastime of Mad King Says; or match wits and blades against royalty in Ascent to Madness.

Willing adventurers are encouraged to meet with Magister Tassi of the Durmand Priory in Lion’s Arch for an exciting research opportunity. The Lunatic Court is also seeking to confirm disturbing rumors from Elona—adventurers who have met Palawa Joko face-to-face in the episode “Long Live the Lich” may debrief with Brigadier General Kernel in Lion’s Arch.

The Lion’s Arch Captain’s Council wishes to remind its populace that they are not affiliated with the Krytan monarchy and cannot guarantee the safety of any citizens who choose to dabble in dangerous realms, mad or otherwise.

  • Annual achievements have been added to the Halloween Rituals category. Completing every annual achievement during one year will complete the (Annual) Halloween Rituals meta-achievement, rewarding players with a spooky new miniature and a completion of the repeatable Annual Rituals achievement.
  • After a long hiatus, Reaper’s Rumble has returned to the Mad Realm, with a number of bug fixes.
  • A new Halloween activity, the Mad King’s Raceway, has been added to the Mad Realm. Speak with the Lunatic Boatmaster to try your skill at a challenging new mount race taking place on the fields of Reaper’s Rumble.
  • King Thorn has graciously relaxed the restrictions on movement in the Mad King’s Labyrinth. More of the labyrinth is now accessible, and the Mad King’s Steward now provides mount rental services for a small tithe to the treasury. Adventurers attempting to explore the outer reaches of the labyrinth, stand on fragile scenery, or disturb the royal family will still be subject to appropriate punishment.
  • The spirit of Halloween has intensified in Lion’s Arch, and visitors can expect more decorations and a darker atmosphere for the duration of the festival.
  • Decorated festival areas have been added to the maps outside of each race’s capital city: Plains of Ashford, Queensdale, Wayfarer Foothills, Metrica Province, and Caledon Forest. Festival merchants, as well as ominous portals to the Mad Realm, are also present during the festivities.
  • The minions of the Mad King and rebels in the Mad King’s Labyrinth have been slightly toughened when fighting large groups of players.
  • New Halloween daily achievements have been added, and their rotation has been updated.
  • New items have been added to the Halloween reward vendors, activity rewards, and Trick-or-Treat bags.
  • New Halloween-themed guild decorations have been added.
  • Many minor bugs have been fixed to ensure a festival that’s more fun than ever for all visitors to the Mad Realm.

Halloween will be active until November 6. Your Mad King says, “Have a happy Halloween!”

A Star to Guide Us

A few changes have been made to the boss fight instance in “From the Ashes.”

  • The sniper will no longer increase her firing speed after the player uses certain skills.
  • The sniper will no longer shoot gliding players more quickly.
  • The sniper will avoid shooting players who have Defiant Stance active.
  • Some elements of dynamic difficulty have been added to assist players who still struggle with the fight.

World Polish

  • Iron Legion engineers have relocated their training equipment in the Plains of Ashford in order to free some space for a festival tent. A local hoarding cat has followed them.

General

  • Players can now equip gear—except for weapons—while their inventory is full.

Profession Skills

Necromancer

  • Spiteful Spirit: The area-of-effect damage inflicted by this trait has been split and will now use a 50% reduced value in PvP and WvW.

Ranger

  • Windborne Notes: Fixed a bug that allowed the ranger to avoid certain-death scenarios.

Warrior

  • Winds of Disenchantment: This skill no longer pulses the instant the spell is cast. Instead, every second after casting, the total number of pulses is reduced by 1. The duration of this skill has been split, and it will now have a 5-second duration in WvW and PvP while retaining a 10-second duration in PvE.

Structured Player vs. Player

  • Dungeon weapon reward track boxes are now stackable.

World vs. World

General

  • Dungeon weapon reward track boxes are now stackable.

BLACK LION TRADING COMPANY GEM STORE

New Items and Promotions

  • A new Nightfang Griffon Skin is available in the Style category of the Gem Store for 2,000 gems.
  • A new Festive Harvest Chair is now available in the Toys category of the Gem Store for 600 gems.
  • For a limited time, a new set of Mad Realm weapon skins is available from Black Lion Weapons Specialists for 1 Black Lion Claim Ticket, found in Black Lion Chests. Keys are available in the Utility category of the Gem Store for 125 gems each.
  • For a limited time, the Mad King’s Outfit, Witch’s Outfit, and the Bloody Prince’s Outfit are 25% off in the Style category of the Gem Store for 525 gems each.
  • For a limited time, the Candy Corn Gobbler Pack returns in the Utility category of the Gem Store for 300 gems. Each pack comes with a Candy Corn Gobbler and 15 pieces of candy corn.
  • For a limited time, one free Hallows Fortune Fireworks bundle is available in the Toys category of the Gem Store with a limit of one per account.

Improvements

  • The Black Lion Chest has been updated to the Elonian Halloween Chest and can be previewed for a full list of its contents.
    • The Evon Gnashblade Trick-or-Treat Bag returns as the guaranteed item of the Elonian Halloween Chest.
    • The new Envoy Scythe Staff Skin is available as an uncommon drop for the duration of the Elonian Halloween Chest.
    • The new Nightfang Griffon Skin is available as an uncommon drop for the duration of the Elonian Halloween Chest.
    • The Grasping Phantom Glider returns as an uncommon drop for the duration of the Elonian Halloween Chest.
    • The Gargoyle Weapon Collection is now available as an uncommon drop for the duration of the Elonian Halloween Chest.
    • The Shadow of the Mad King weapon set and the Blood and Madness weapon set are now available as rare drops for the duration of the Elonian Halloween Chest.
    • Unused versions of the Glyph of the Forester and Glyph of the Unbound are available as rare drops for the duration of the Elonian Halloween Chest.
  • The items available in exchange for Black Lion Statuettes have been updated. Black Lion Statuettes are redeemable by using the statuette itself or by redeeming one at any of the Black Lion Chest Merchants located in every major city.
    • A new selection of dye kits has been added.
    • The exclusive Storm Dagger Skin, the Mini Spooky Mounts Pack, and the Grasping Phantom Glider have been added.
    • Additional items including the Black Feather Wings Backpack and Glider Set, White Feather Wings Backpack and Glider Set, Hawk Wings Backpack and Glider Set, Cosmic gathering tools, and the Toxic Mantle and Toxic Gloves skins have been added.
  • For a limited time, the following categories of miniatures are available when using Black Lion Miniature Claim Tickets: Ascalon, Hylek, Random Critters, Scary, and Sylvari. Black Lion Miniature Claim Tickets are dropped from Black Lion Chests. Keys can be found in the Utility category of the Gem Store for 125 gems each.
  • A new tab has been added to the Black Lion Exchange Specialist that will allow players to acquire toys corresponding to unlocked costume brawl outfits.

Bug Fix:

  • Fixed a server crash.

Late Notes: October 16, 2018

10/16/2018—October 16 Release Notes

Profession Skills

General

  • Fixed a bug that caused legend skill positions to change when players swapped their revenant legends.

Bug Fixes:

  • Relaxed the challenge time for achievements in Mad King’s Raceway from 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds.
  • Added a labyrinth door to the Mad King’s Raceway to help players trying to leave or trying to locate the Lunatic Boatmaster.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the Lunatic Boatmaster to refuse to return low-level players to the realm of the living.