Guild Wars 2 Game Release Notes

Game Update Notes: December 17, 2019

12/17/2019—December 17 Release Notes

Wintersday

Come join us in celebrating Wintersday—Toymaker Tixx has made his annual visit to Divinity’s Reach to spread seasonal cheer and festivity! Bring the cheer of Wintersday to the distant north in the Secret Lair of the Snowmen, complete daily achievements to earn fanciful holiday weapons, save Wintersday for the orphans around Divinity’s Reach by giving them wrapped gifts, and test your snow-throwing skills against other players in Snowball Mayhem. You can also experience the joy of jumping in Winter Wonderland, defend against waves of toys in Toypocalypse, and help keep Tixx’s airship, the Infinirarium, in order! Keep an eye out for Wintersday Gifts appearing all around Tyria, too.

  • The Wintersday annual meta-achievement Wintersday Traditions has been updated with a new armor reward, the Festive Sweater! Enjoy the cold season in comfort and style. Last year’s meta-achievement reward, the Mini Freezie’s Heart, can now be purchased from festival rewards vendors.
  • The Secret Lair of the Snowmen has been updated as a Strike Mission, allowing heroes to choose between entering as a team or matching with like-minded festivalgoers.
  • A new holiday weapon set is now available as a rare prize from Wintersday Gifts—the Rimed Verdant weapons are a seasonal take on sylvari weaponry. A one-time guaranteed choice of weapon is also available for festivalgoers who open enough gifts.
  • Two new miniatures, the Mini Magical Reindeer and Mini Mystical Snowflake, have been added to the Wintersday rewards vendor. These miniatures are also available as rare drops from the Secret Lair of the Snowmen and very rarely appear in Wintersday Gifts.
  • The Wintersday mount race in Divinity’s Reach has been updated with new checkpoint visuals and its own Adventure. Get a head start on burning off holiday calories!
  • New daily bonus reward achievements have been added to provide a way to track how many daily karma bonuses each activity has remaining.
  • A new weekly vendor has arrived in Divinity’s Reach for the festival, trading limited supplies of rare goods for Snow Diamonds.
  • Wintersday Gift rewards from many daily achievements and activities have been increased, including rewards from Toypocalypse, Bell Choir, Secret Lair of the Snowmen, Snowball Mayhem, and Winter Wonderland’s easy route.
  • Wintersday Gift rewards from the Winter Wonderland jumping puzzle’s hardest route have been decreased from 15 to 12 per completion.
  • Wintersday Gift rewards from the Infinirarium and Secret Lair of the Snowmen are no longer reduced after the first completion per day.
  • The Infinirarium’s daily achievement, Saving Wintersday, can now also be completed by triumphing in the Secret Lair of the Snowmen.
  • A new festival invitation, Invitation to Wintersday, will be included in the festival announcement mail for easy travel directly to the Wintersday celebrations. If you misplace your invitation, it can be reacquired from Sarettokk in Lion’s Arch.
  • New candy-cane themed guild decorations have been added.
  • The Divinity’s Reach festival planning committee has enlisted the aid of additional Charity Corps Seraphs to divide festival reward distribution for ease of use.
  • The Rime-Rimmed Mariner’s Rebreather breathing apparatus now has its own item skin and can be unlocked in the Wardrobe. If you have an existing rebreather and the skin was not unlocked immediately, you can unlock the skin by equipping it or by trading the rebreather for a new version at the Wintersday rewards vendor.
  • A number of festival-related bugs have been fixed to ensure a happy holiday for all heroes.

Wintersday will be active until January 7 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-8). See you in Divinity’s Reach!

Living World

  • Bjora Marches—Raven Sanctum: Fixed an issue that caused Oppressive Darkness to stick on players after they used a waypoint to leave the area.

Items

  • Legendary Runes: Fixed a bug that could prevent nonlegendary runes of the same type from counting toward multipiece bonuses.

Profession Skills

Engineer

  • Reactive Lenses: Fixed a bug in which this trait used the old version of Utility Goggles. It now reflects the newly updated behavior, granting resistance and clearing blindness.
  • Gadgeteer: Fixed a bug in which this trait used the old version of Utility Goggles. It now reflects the updated behavior, granting resistance and clearing blindness. When Gadgeteer is traited, the skill will also grant protection.

Revenant

  • Protective Solace: Added enemy variant effects for the bubble created by this skill in competitive modes.

Bug Fixes

  • Players are no longer unable to use weapon skills 4 and 5 after switching to an Equipment Template in which the active weapon set is empty and the other weapon set has a two-handed weapon.

BLACK LION TRADING COMPANY GEM STORE

New Items and Promotions

  • The new Snowflake Gobbler is now available in the Utility category of the Gem Store for 400 gems.
  • The new Winter Monarch Cape skin is now available in the Style category of the Gem Store for 500 gems.
  • For a limited time, the Festive Hat is returning to the Gem Store for 150 gems.
  • For a limited time, the Stag Helm is returning to the Gem Store for 500 gems.
  • For a limited time, the Wintersday Appearance Package is returning to the Gem Store for 1,700 gems—a savings of 15%.
  • For a limited time, the Winter Monarch Outfit is returning to the Gem Store for 560 gems—a savings of 20%.
  • For a limited time, the Glacial Glider is returning to the Gem Store for 400 gems—a savings of 20%.

Black Lion Chest

  • The Black Lion Chest has been updated to the Winter Skies Chest and can be previewed for a full list of its contents.
    • The Evon Gnashblade Wintersday Gift has been added as the guaranteed item for the duration of this chest.
    • The new Starlight Wings Backpack and Glider Combo is available as an uncommon drop for the duration of this chest.
    • The Celestial Axe and Elemental Sword return as uncommon drops for the duration of this chest.
    • The Frostforged and Glacial weapon sets are available as uncommon and rare drops respectively for the duration of this chest.
    • Unused versions of the Glyph of Volatility and Glyph of the Crucible are available as rare drops for the duration of this chest.
  • The items available in exchange for Black Lion Statuettes have been updated. Black Lion Statuettes are redeemable by using the statuettes themselves or by redeeming them at any of the Black Lion Chest Merchants located in every major city.
    • The exclusive Starborn Outfit, Mini Cozy Wintersday Mounts Pack, Infinirarium Glider, and Candelabra Staff are currently available.
    • The bonus collection has been updated to a selection of Wintersday-themed weapon skins.

Improvements and Updates

  • For a limited time, miniatures from the Many Merry Minis category are available with the Black Lion Miniature Claim Ticket.

12/17/2019 – Late Notes

Living World

  • Bjora Marches: Raven Sanctum: Fixed an issue where the Light that guides the way through the darkness failed to reach the Trial of Wisdom as intended.
  • Bjora Marches: Raven Sanctum: Fixed an issue that allowed interaction with a light totem through one of the bookcases in the Trial of Wisdom area.
  • Bjora Marches: Light Puzzles: Adjusted the reset time on light sources and movable mirrors, and corrected the placement of a the debris pile in the Mountains.

BLACK LION TRADING COMPANY GEM STORE

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed an issue that was causing some consumable items to be ungiftable when they should not be. Most consumable items should be giftable again (including Transmutation Charges, Heroic Boosters, Waypoint Unlocks, and others).

Bug Fixes:

  • Fixed an issue in which warrior banners could last longer than intended.
  • Fixed a client crash.
  • Increased the maximum duration of the Wintersday Boost granted by the Snowflake Gobbler from two hours to one day. Prevented the Snowflake Gobbler from purchasing additional Snowflake Gobbler’s Blessings if the purchase would extend the Wintersday Boost beyond its maximum duration.