Shadow of the Mad King 2012

This article is about the release. For the achievement category, see Shadow of the Mad King (achievements).

Halloween has a long history in Tyria, and in times past was always marked by the spirit of Mad King Thorn cavorting among the people unleashing his own brand of insanity. However, it's been over 250 years since he was last seen, and for most people he is merely a figure of folklore. Despite this, rumors persist among the populace that something wicked this way comes. Shadow of the Mad King is the first major game release for Guild Wars 2 and will go live on October 22 • . This new game update will include a number of new features for all of our players to enjoy, new content to explore and see, and a week-long Halloween event. — Official website

“

Halloween has a long history in Tyria, and in times past was always marked by the spirit of Mad King Thorn cavorting among the people unleashing his own brand of insanity. However, it's been over 250 years since he was last seen, and for most people he is merely a figure of folklore. Despite this, rumors persist among the populace that something wicked this way comes.

Shadow of the Mad King is the first major game release for Guild Wars 2 and will go live on October 22*. This new game update will include a number of new features for all of our players to enjoy, new content to explore and see, and a week-long Halloween event.

— Official website

Shadow of the Mad King was a Halloween-themed release and the first major update for Guild Wars 2 that went live on 22 October, 2012. It included a number of new features, new content to explore and see, and a week-long Halloween event.

It was the first festival to occur in Guild Wars 2, released as the theme for the holiday and follows the events of the return of the Mad King, which was spread across the length of the event. A short teaser was released prior to the event, depicting a decorated Lion's Arch.

The event ran from October 22nd until 3:00 AM on November 2nd, 2012 (UTC). Halloween items in the Gem Store was available until November 7. Personalized Trick-or-Treat Bags specifically remained available from the Gem Store until November 15. The chance to get rare Halloween-related skins from Black Lion Chests also continued until November 15.

Due to Hurricane Sandy, which hit northeastern United States at the end of the event, a special NPC remained until November 15th to allow affected players (or any player who missed the event) to obtain the final achievement and the holiday hat.

Features

Temporary features

• Halloween 2012 event
  • Haunted Doors
  • New Halloween recipes
  • New Halloween-themed weapon skins and shoulder armor skins in Black Lion Chests until November 5th
  • New costumes, tonics, PvP finishers, and miniatures available in the gem store.
  • Two new Halloween activities: Reaper's Rumble and Lunatic Inquisition
  • New Halloween dungeon: Ascent to Madness
  • Costume Brawl introduction

Permanent features

• Costume Brawl
• PvP paid tournaments
• New events
• New jumping puzzles
• New mini-dungeons
• New and updated achievements

Halloween event

Halloween Event Trailer has a video on YouTube.

The Halloween event began on October 22nd and lasted until 3:00 AM on November 2nd, 2012 (UTC). The event was presented in four different acts which focused on the return of Mad King Thorn and delved into his backstory.

Mail

Players receive a Halloween mail about the event.

Captain Tokk Halloween Guide, Phase 1 Halloween is a crazy time! Just ask the little mad kings. There's much to do, and so much more to come. You can assist the Durmand Priory, and they'd appreciate the help! Talk to Magister Tassi by the lion statue in Lion's Arch to get started. Some folks have reported that she has a ghostly companion helping her test a device that she'll mail to you. Are you craving some candy corn? Who could blame you? Head out into the world beyond Lion's Arch to find special candy corn nodes that you can mine for all the yummy goodness you'll need to craft spookilicious recipes and fuel Magister Tassi's psychomagical device. Halloween doesn't just happen in Lion's Arch either. You'll find that the Durmand Priory is active across the world. The Priory has heard reports have terrifying creature coming through strange doors in Queensdale, Kessex Hills, and Gendarran Fields. You'd better get your adventuring boots on, because you can't hide in Lion's Arch forever!. Also, watch for pumpkins to carve as you roam the world! —Captain Tokk

Getting started

Talk to Magister Tassi in Lion's Arch. Tell her you're ready and you will get a mail starting Act 1. You will start the the scavenger hunt for the stories to tell the memoires of the Mad King.

Act 1: Tricks and Treats (Oct 22)

See also: Shadow of the Mad King 2012/Act 1

Act 1 welcomes you with a scavenger hunt where adventurers collect stories across Tyria to compile the Mad Memoires. Act 1 was released at the start of Halloween.

Act 2: The Shadow Falls (Oct 26)

See also: Shadow of the Mad King 2012/Act 2

Act 2 tasks players with locating the second volume of the memoires. Lunatic Courtiers appear in Queensdale, Kessex Hills, and Gendarran Fields and players participate in Halloween-themed meta events. Players may also enter Haunted Doors with pumpkin icons above the door to enter the Mad King's Realm, including access to the Mad King's Clock Tower. Act 2 was released on October 26.

Act 3: Return of the Mad King (Oct 28)

See also: Shadow of the Mad King 2012/Act 3

The Mad King is trying to break free into Tyria through a portal in the Grand Piazza in Lion's Arch! Players must enter the Ascent to Madness dungeon and defeat him. This act caused permanent alteration of the Lion's Court statue.

Act 4: The Mad King's Revelry (Oct 31)

See also: Shadow of the Mad King 2012/Act 4

It's Mad King Thorn Day in Lion's Arch. Stay clear of the area if you don't want to be assaulted by insidious pranks and terrible jokes. Act 4 was released on October 31, 2012 at 9 A.M. PDT/16:00 GMT and will run until sometime after Noon PDT/19:00 GMT on November 1 . During this period the event will occur about every hour.

Meta events

Lion's Arch loading screen

• Lion's Arch - Shadow of the Mad King
• Gendarran Fields - Advisor of the Lunatic Court
• Kessex Hills - The Mad Engineer
• Queensdale - Knocking On The Door

Jumping puzzles

• Mad King's Clock Tower - Located within the Mad King's Realm. This puzzle was only available during the Halloween event starting in Act 2.

Events

Over 50 events were introduced in this update, involving two specific enemies:

• Modus Sceleris
• Skritt Burglar

Jumping Puzzles

• Hidden Garden - Located in Mount Maelstrom.
• Tribulation Caverns - Located in Dredgehaunt Cliffs.
• Coddler's Cove - Located in Timberline Falls.
• Hexfoundry Unhinged - Located in Sparkfly Fen was added as an achievement.

Mini-dungeons

• Forsaken Halls - Located in Dredgehaunt Cliffs
• Vexa's Lab - Located in Fireheart Rise.

Achievements

• Added karma rewards to daily and monthly achievements.
• Added 19 new exploration achievements to the Explorer achievement list, including "Dive Master," which tracks unique diving goggle uses.
• Added a new Jumping Puzzles achievement category.
  • Moved all existing jumping puzzle achievements from the "Explorer" category to the "Jumping Puzzles" category.
  • Added 4 additional jumping puzzle achievements.
• Added a new Bosses achievement category.
  • The Crash Landing achievement has been moved from the "Explorer" category to the "Bosses" category.
  • Added 7 new boss achievements.

Gem Store

Item	Gem Cost	Qty	$ or €	£	Description
Devil Horns	0	1	-	-	Seasonal. For sale only during the Halloween season. Reveal your inner evil by growing a set of horns. (You can wear this as your town clothes hat, as long as you're not in combat.)
Mad King's Outfit	700	1	$8.75€	£7.44	Seasonal. For sale only during the Halloween season. Imitate Mad King Thorn in your town clothes (hat, uniform, boots, gloves, toy scepter), as long as you're not in combat. Equip the scepter and gain the five Mad King roleplaying skills. Consumable Account Bound
Phantom's Hood	200	1	$2.50€	£2.13	Head Clothing Seasonal. For sale only during the Halloween season. A dark cowl that hides your face. (You can wear this as your town clothes hat, as long as you're not in combat.) Consumable Account Bound
Witch's Outfit	700	1	$8.75€	£7.44	Seasonal. For sale only during the Halloween season. Dress up in your town clothes (hat, uniform, boots, gloves, toy broom) as a witch or warlock, as long as you're not in combat. Equip the broom and gain five witch and warlock role-playing skills. Consumable Account Bound
Mad King Finisher	75 275	1 30	$0.94€ $4.50€	£0.80 £3.83	Double-click to consume. Seasonal. For sale only during the Halloween season. When activated, turns your finishing move into a special Mad King finisher in PvP and WvW. Lasts for one hour.Consumable Account Bound
Personalized Trick-or-Treat Bag	35 275 750	5 10 35	$0.44€ $1.57€	£0.38 £1.33	Seasonal. For sale only during the Halloween season. Each bag contains one food item, recipe, tonic, crafting material, or piece of candy corn. Consumable
Scarecrow Finisher	75 275	1 5	$0.94€ $3.44€	£0.80 £2.92	Seasonal. For sale only during the Halloween season. When activated, you will finish PvP and WvW enemies with a scarecrow. Lasts for one hour.Consumable Account Bound
Spooky Ghost Tonic	35 125	1 5	$0.44€ $1.57€	£0.38 £1.33	Double-click to consume. For sale only during the Halloween season. This tonic transforms you into a roaming ghost for one hour. You will be unable to fight creatures while transformed.Consumable Account Bound
Spooky Skeleton Tonic	35 125	1 5	$0.44€ $1.57€	£0.38 £1.33	Double-click to consume. For sale only during the Halloween season. This tonic transforms you into a skeleton for one hour. You will be unable to fight creatures while transformed.Consumable Account Bound
Spooky Zombie Tonic	35 125	1 5	$0.44€ $1.57€	£0.38 £1.33	Double-click to consume. For sale only during the Halloween season. This tonic transforms you into a roaming zombie for one hour. You will be unable to fight creatures while transformed.Consumable Account Bound
Miniature Spooky Trio	500	1	$6.25€	£5.32	Seasonal. For sale only during the Halloween season. A miniature spooky ghost, spooky skeleton, and spooky spider come together in this limited-edition collector's pack. Consumable Account Bound

Soundtrack

Halloween 2012
Track	Title	Length	Composer	Download
1	The Lunatic Court	3:07	Stan LePard	SoundCloud
2	The Clocktower	1:40	Maclaine Diemer	SoundCloud
3	Halloween In Tyria	2:17	Maclaine Diemer	SoundCloud
4	The Tale Of The Mad King Thorn	1:47	Maclaine Diemer	SoundCloud

See also

• Carving Pumpkin
• Haunted Door
• Shadow of the Mad King weapon skins

External links

• Official release page
• GW2 Forum: Update Notes - October 22, 2012
• Shadow of the Mad King teaser trailer (courtesy of mmorpg.com)
• Act 3 cinematic cutscene (courtesy of mmorpg.com)
• Halloween soundtrack download link by Maclaine Diemer on Reddit.

The Guild Wars Wiki has an article on Halloween 2012.

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Festivals

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2012 Festival and Special Event releases

Shadow of the Mad King The Lost Shores The Wondrous Workshop of Toymaker Tixx