Game Update Notes – July 25, 2017

07/25/2017 – July 25th Release Notes
Living World Season Finale- “One Path Ends”

Balthazar has disappeared again, and it’s top priority to find him—especially if what he’s planning could bring disaster to Tyria. And if one thing’s for sure, it’s that he’s gearing up for something big. He’s already managed to collect magical power from a bloodstone, and now he’s set his sights on an Elder Dragon. With Taimi’s device broken, you’re on your own—for now.

New Legendary Sword
A new legendary weapon is now available. Speak to Grandmaster Craftsman Hobbs in Lion’s Arch to learn how to craft the new sword precursor, Save the Queen, and forge the new legendary sword.
New Legendary Hammer
A new legendary weapon is now available. Speak to Grandmaster Craftsman Hobbs in Lion’s Arch to learn how to craft the new hammer precursor, Might of Arah, and forge the new legendary hammer.
World Polish
General

  • Players can now turn in midair while jumping.
  • The event “Kill the Risen before they reactivate the Statue of Lyssa” now rewards players with the same chest as the event “Kill the Corrupted High Priestess.”.
  • The skeleton and his treasure hoard have been located and returned to their ship in the Gilded Hollow.

Blazeridge Steppes

  • Fixed an issue in which the Shatterer event failed to start when both prerequisite events were completed.
  • Prerequisite events for the Shatterer will now automatically fail if they are not completed within the time limit to lure out the Shatterer.

Fractals
New Fractal: Shattered Observatory

  • A new fractal is accessible through the Mistlock Observatory.
  • Added a new Shattered Observatory fractal achievement category under Fractals of the Mists on the Achievements tab of the Hero panel.
  • New rewards are available from BLING-9009 in the Mistlock Observatory.
  • The continued perseverance of adventurers has again caught the eye of the Harbinger.

Molten Furnace

  • Fixed a bug in which wiping during the final fight with the Weapons Test Engineer could cause the instance to stall on retry.

Molten Boss

  • Falling from the platform during the battle against the Molten Berserker and Molten Firestorm will now result in death.

Nightmare

  • Fixed a bug in which completing the fractal would not award some daily achievement progress.
  • The Nightmare fractal is now accessible at scales 24, 49, 74, and 99, replacing the fractals previously at those scales.

Mistlock Instabilities

  • Adrenaline Rush now permanently enrages enemies and applies a 150% damage increase instead of a 200% damage increase.

Miscellaneous

  • The glider animation for Ad Infinitum has been updated to be more suitable for a legendary glider.
  • Fixed a bug in which Fractal Avengers were prevented from finishing players.
  • Mist-potion boon icons are now invisible outside of fractal maps.
  • Reduced the gold cost of medium and heavy ascended chest pieces by 1 gold to match the WvW ascended armor cost.

Raids

  • Added a new achievement for acquiring legendary armor pieces.

Bastion of the Penitent

  • Fixed a bug in which safe zones in the Cairn the Indomitable encounter became out of sync with certain attacks.
  • Adjusted the initial impact arc of Orbital Sweep during the Cairn the Indomitable encounter.
  • Fixed a bug in which players took multiple instances of damage from Cairn the Indomitable’s Energy Surge attack.
  • Fixed a bug in which Rigom behaved erratically when stunned and brought to 0 health at nearly the same time.
  • Fixed a bug in which Samarog abandoned the fight when pushed past certain health thresholds too quickly.

Personal Story
Items

  • Exotic backpacks acquired from the Druid Stone collections in the “Flashpoint” release now have an upgrade slot.
  • Fixed a bug in which killing the Eye of Zhaitan in the Promenade of the Gods in Cursed Shore would not progress the Flameseeker Prophecies III collection.
  • The Jade Maw Lens is now required to test items at the Metal Forest for the Bifrost III collection.
  • Players who have deleted the Humming Krait Crystal without crafting the Krait Focusing Crystal for the Kraitkin III collection can now purchase a replacement from Grandmaster Craftsman Hobbs.
  • Players who have misplaced components for the Incinerator III collection can now purchase replacements from Grandmaster Craftsman Hobbs.
  • Fixed various legendary journey text bugs.
  • Two sets of Heirloom Seed Pouches have been renamed to avoid champion loot bag confusion.
  • Fixed a bug in which certain weapons prevented progression of the Twice-Told Legend achievement.
  • The Charged Quartz Orichalcum Amulet now has a chance to drop from grand exalted chests in Auric Basin.
  • The following jewels can be converted into infusions in the Mystic Forge:
    • Preserved Queen Bee
    • Chak Egg Sac
    • Poly-luminescent Undulating Refractor: Black, Green, Orange, and Teal
    • Vial of Liquid Aurillium
  • The following legendary weapons now have custom projectile effects:
    • The Juggernaut
    • The Moot
    • Bolt
    • Meteorlogicus

Structured Player vs. Player
PvP Lobby

  • Cautrell the Traitor has returned from his exile and is back to vending in the new lobby.

World vs. World
General

  • Made the following adjustments to participation grace times:
    • Defending caravans has been changed from 2 minutes to 5 minutes.
    • Hitting a player/objective with a siege weapon has been changed from 1 minute to 2 minutes.
    • Capturing a shrine has been changed from 2 minutes to 5 minutes.

BLACK LION TRADING COMPANY GEM STORE
New Items and Promotions

  • For a limited time, a new set of Abaddon weapon skins are available from Black Lion Weapons Specialists for 2 Black Lion Claim Tickets. Keys can be found in the Special category of the Gem Store for 125 gems each.
  • The Shield of the Goddess has returned for a limited time and can be found in the Style category of the Gem Store for 600 gems.
  • Introducing the Mistlock Sanctuary — the most elaborate Black Lion lounge to date. In addition to a full suite of general services and amenities, the Sanctuary also contains everything a fractal explorer could need. For easy access, pick up the lifetime pass in the Utility category of the Gem Store for 1,000 gems, or check out some of the Mistlock Sanctuar’s unique features with a two-week pass for 150 gems.

Improvements

  • The Black Lion Chest has been updated to the Return to Orr Chest and can be previewed for a full list of its contents.
    • The Black Lion Material Bag has been added as the new guaranteed item. It contains a collection of high-quality crafting materials, special Living World Season 3 materials, and a few surprises.
    • The Unidentified Dye and Tome of Knowledge have been removed, and the Mystic Forge Stone and the new Black Lion Booster have been added as common drops.
    • The Communal Boost Bonfire has been added as an uncommon drop.
    • The new Mini Dwayna’s Messenger is available as an uncommon drop for the duration of the Return to Orr Chest.
    • The new Feathers of the Zephyr Package with the Golden Zephyr Backpiece and Feathers of the Zephyr Glider is available as an uncommon drop for the duration of the Return to Orr Chest.
    • The new Advanced Leather Rack and Advanced Cloth Rack are available as rare drops.
    • The Daydreamer’s Weapon Collection is now available as a rare drop for the duration of the Return to Orr Chest.
    • The Dwayna’s Weapon Collection is now available as a super rare drop for the duration of the Return to Orr Chest.

Mac Client

  • Fixed an issue in which the command-key symbol was not shown in some contexts.
  • Enabled use of the minimize button in windowed mode.
  • Fixed keyboard navigation behavior in text boxes.
  • Improved the support for non-US keyboard layouts.
  • Improved the rendering of some visual effects.