Guild Wars 2 Game Release Notes

Game Update Notes: October 13, 2020

10/13/2020—October 13 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 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 Living World Season 4 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.

  • The Halloween Rituals (Annual) meta-achievement has been updated with a fashionable new reward, the Lunatic Court Cape! Earn your own cape by completing a variety of Halloween activities, and show your allegiance to the Mad King’s court with pride. Last year’s meta-achievement reward, the Pumpkin Crown, can now be purchased at Halloween vendors if you missed it.
  • A new weapon set upgrade is now available! If you have added Haunted weapons to your wardrobe by completing Halloween daily achievements, speak with Lunatic Weaponsmith Markham in Lion’s Arch to trade your hard-earned Candy Corn for the even more disturbingly ignited Demon-Haunted weaponry!
  • The Grand High Viscount of Candy Corn, the Skeletal Lich, and the Labyrinthine Horror have had their health and damage scaling per player lowered and their base health and damage increased to provide a more even challenge across group sizes.
    • This trio of enemies now also grants a temporary stacking boost to magic find when defeated.
  • New Halloween-themed guild decorations have been added.
  • Personalized Trick-or-Treat Bags will now be account bound rather than soulbound.
  • The Shadow of the Mad King global event now displays the time remaining for the Halloween festival.
  • Many minor bugs have been fixed to ensure a festival that is more fun than ever for all visitors to the Mad Realm.

The gates to the Mad Realm will be open for three weeks, from October 13 until November 3. Have a happy Halloween!

General

  • Weekly Fractal Fighter achievements have been moved into their own Weekly Fractals achievement tab.
  • Added consumable descriptions to Gold Fractal and Abyssal Fractal weapon skin consumables.
  • Updated the names of the Gold Fractal and Abyssal Fractal weapon skin consumables to more accurately reflect their functionality.
  • Fixed an issue in which a retired achievement would affect some players during the daily reset.
  • Sarettokk, the Lion’s Arch’s Lost and Found Shinies vendor, will now sell players the Invitation to the Party item if they have previously earned but misplaced it.

Profession Skills

Elementalist

  • Tornado: Increased cooldown from 90 seconds to 120 seconds in PvP only.

Engineer

  • Enhanced Capacity Storage Unit: Reduced might stacks per pulse from 2 to 1 in PvP only.
  • Lesser Grenade Barrage: Reduced power coefficient per grenade from 0.5 to 0.3 in PvP only.
  • Flashbang: Reduced blind duration from 2 seconds to 1.5 seconds in PvP only.
  • Supply Crate: Increased cooldown from 90 seconds to 120 seconds in PvP only. Reduced stun duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP only.
  • System Shocker: Reduced base barrier gained from 724 to 362 in PvP only.
  • Bulwark Gyro: Increased cooldown from 25 seconds to 30 seconds in PvP only.
  • Throw Mine: Increased cooldown from 15 seconds to 30 seconds in PvP only.
  • Personal Battering Ram: Increased ammo recharge from 20 seconds to 30 seconds in PvP only.

Guardian

  • Writ of Persistence: In PvP only, this trait no longer increases the radius of symbols.

Revenant

  • Sevenshot: Reduced power coefficient per hit from 0.31 to 0.24 in PvP only.
  • Scorchrazor: Increased cooldown from 12 seconds to 18 seconds in PvP only.

Thief

  • Hidden Thief: Reduced base stealth duration from 2 seconds to 0.25 seconds in PvP only.
  • Concealing Restoration: Reduced base stealth duration from 1 second to 0.5 seconds in PvP only.

BLACK LION TRADING COMPANY GEM STORE

New Items and Promotions

  • To celebrate Halloween, one free Hallows Fortune Fireworks bundle per account is available in the Toys category of the Gem Store.
  • The new Sand Lion Warclaw skin is available in the Style category of the Gem Store for 1,600 gems.
  • For a limited time, items from the new Dark Matter Weapon Collection are available from Black Lion Weapons Specialists in exchange for 1 Black Lion Claim Ticket. Keys are available in the Utility category of the Gem Store for 125 gems each.
  • For a limited time, the Ghostly Outfit is available in the Style category of the Gem Store for 700 gems.
  • For a limited time, the Candy Corn Gobbler Pack is available in the Utility category of the Gem Store for 300 gems.
  • During the Halloween event, the items from the Gargoyle Weapon Collection will be available from Black Lion Weapons Specialists for 2 Black Lion Claim Tickets each.

Black Lion Chest

  • The Black Lion Chest has been updated to the Vermilion Autumn Chest and can be previewed for a full list of its contents.
    • The Evon Gnashblade Trick-or-Treat Bag has been added as the guaranteed item for the duration of the Vermilion Autumn Chest.
    • The new Vermilion Throne and Sand Lion Warclaw skins are available as uncommon drops for the duration of this chest.
    • The Dark Matter Cape remains as an uncommon drop for the duration of this chest.
    • The Merciless Weapon Collection, the Shadow of the Mad King weapons, and the Blood and Madness weapons are available for the duration of this chest.
    • Unused versions of the Glyph of the Leatherworker and Glyph of the Tailor are available as rare drops for the duration of this chest.