Game updates/2014-10-21

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October 21, 2014

Update – October 21, 2014[edit]

Halloween: Blood and Madness[edit]

Blood and Madness, our annual Halloween festival, returns for two weeks of ghoulish capers, spooky fights, and maddening fun!

Magister Tassi's instruments are picking up unusual energy readings. It appears that the Mad King isn't the only being capable of breaking through the barrier between realms—prepare to face the son of King Oswald Thorn, Bloody Prince Edrick!

Gather together with the citizens of Lion's Arch to enjoy another year of tricks, treats, and terrible jokes.

Story[edit]

Lion's Arch[edit]

  • The citizens of Lion's Arch have united to decorate the area with Halloween flair. There are pumpkins to carve, trick-or-treating kids seeking candy, and merchants selling Halloween recipes. Even Zommoros has festive spirit, turning the Mystic Forge into a cauldron. Jump in for some costume-brawl fun.
  • Mad King Thorn himself appears in Lion's Arch throughout the festival. Laugh at his mad jokes and play in his Mad King Says game.

Open World[edit]

  • In Lion's Arch, Kessex Hills, and Gendarran Fields, the Mad Realm doors have returned. There are two varieties: the green Mad King doors and the red Bloody Prince doors. Opening a door may give players a trick-or-treat bag or may trigger an attack by the Mad King's or Bloody Prince's forces.
  • Outside Lion's Arch and the capital cities, players can find tents with Halloween decorations and the Master Carver, who helps track progress toward the Pumpkin Carving achievement. Nearby, players can also talk to the ghost Rasmus, who can transfer them to the Lunatic Inquisition activity in the Mad Realm.
  • The Heart of the Mists and home citadels in the Borderlands have also received a Halloween decoration makeover.

Mad Realm[edit]

  • Players enter the Mad Realm through the Mad Realm doors that appear in Lion's Arch, Kessex Hills, and Gendarran Fields. The Mad King doors and Bloody Prince doors will transport players to the east and west docks above the Mad King's Labyrinth, respectively. The Lunatic Boatmaster transports players to the Lunatic Inquisition or the Mad King's Clock Tower. Players can also interact with the portal seal on the ground to travel to the labyrinth below.
  • The Mad King's Labyrinth has been thrown into conflict once again as the Mad King's and the Bloody Prince's armies clash. Watch the Thorns bicker as their forces fight for control. Three legendary bosses patrol the maze: the Skeletal Lich, the Grand High Viscount of Candy Corn, and the Labyrinthine Horror.
  • The Lunatic Inquisition activity pits players against one another as Lunatic Courtiers search out villagers in the labyrinth. Players must use found items and hidden secrets to survive the night.
  • The Mad King's Clock Tower has returned with its unique jumping challenge. Other players trying to ascend will be shown with a mist effect, while you will remain fully visible.

Rewards[edit]

Daily Achievements[edit]

  • Pumpkin Hacker: Find and carve pumpkins throughout Tyria.
  • Halloween Costume Brawl Champion: Emerge as a champion from a costume brawl.
  • Candy Craver: Eat 50 pieces of candy corn.
  • Shut and Locked: Complete 5 door events.
  • The Mad Inquisition: Finish a game of Lunatic Inquisition.
  • Jumping Mad: Complete the Mad King's Clock Tower jumping puzzle.
  • Grim Reaper of Grunts: Defeat Halloween minions.
  • Trick-or-Treater: Open trick-or-treat bags.

Achievements[edit]

  • A Sweet Friend: Complete Halloween achievements and Halloween daily achievements.
  • Shut the Doors: Complete door events in the Mad King's Labyrinth.
  • Upset Stomach: Give the Bloody Prince a disgusting welcome during the final battle.
  • Candy Corn Crusher: Defeat the Grand High Viscount of Candy Corn in the Mad King's Labyrinth.
  • Death to the Undying: Defeat the Skeletal Lich in the Mad King's Labyrinth.
  • Bonebreaker: Defeat the Labyrinthine Horror in the Mad King's Labyrinth.
  • Lunatic Inquisition Regular: Participate in a number of rounds of the Lunatic Inquisition.
  • A Royal Tradition: Complete a round of Mad King Says.
  • Pumpkin Carving: Find and carve pumpkins throughout Tyria.
  • A Stomping Good Time: Use Scarecrow or Mad King stomps against players in PvP or WvW.
  • Containment: Help Tassi contain the Bloody Prince's reliquary.
  • You, Back in the Box: Help Tassi reseal the reliquary.
  • Beaten Bloody: Put the Bloody Prince back in the reliquary in under a minute.
  • Something Good to Eat: Open trick-or-treat bags.

Balance, Bug-fixing, Polish[edit]

World Polish[edit]

General[edit]

  • Fixed an exploit that allowed players to join a guild rush without being transformed into the rush creature.
  • The General achievement category for dungeon completion is now appropriately named Dungeons.
  • Fixed a bug in which the inventory window size preference would sometimes reset to default when moved before closing.
  • Newly created accounts can no longer send items and gold through the mail. This restriction is automatically lifted shortly after the account is created.

Items[edit]

  • Fixed a bug that caused the drop rate of fractal weapon skins to decrease above fractal level 40.
  • All story reward items that were not unlocking skins now properly unlock skins.
  • Renamed the Guild Finisher to Guild Shield Finisher.
  • Fur-Lined Mask/Helm/Helmet: Fixed a bug that made this vendor item tradable and salvageable.

Profession Skills[edit]

Racial Skills[edit]
Elementalist[edit]
  • Arcane Power.png Arcane Power: Fixed a bug that caused attacks enhanced by this skill to only inflict one stack of vulnerability with Shard of Ice.
Engineer[edit]
  • Grenade Barrage.png Grenade Barrage: Removed the duplicate Number of Targets skill fact while underwater. Added a Number of Targets skill fact to Grenade Barrage in PvP.
Guardian[edit]
Mesmer[edit]
  • Phase Retreat.png Phase Retreat: Fixed an issue that caused this ability to be reflected or blocked by enemies.
  • Chaos Armor.png Chaos Armor: Removed the range indicator from this skill.
Necromancer[edit]
  • Death Shroud.png Death Shroud: Updated this state so that it no longer ejects players from Plague Form in certain instances.
  • Plaguelands.png Plague Form: Added a stability skill fact.
Ranger[edit]
  • Long Range Shot.png Long Range Shot: Updated skill fact text.
  • Quicksand.png Quake: Fixed a bug that prevented the untraited version of this skill from displaying the red danger ring for opponents.
  • Cold Snap.png Cold Snap: Fixed a bug that prevented this skill from displaying an increased effect radius when traited with Nature's Vengeance.
Thief[edit]
  • Body Shot.png Vital Shot: Fixed a bug that prevented this ability from functioning with Ricochet in PvE.

Structured Player vs. Player[edit]

Skyhammer[edit]

  • Skyhammer Cannon: Direct Lightning can now be avoided by dodging.
  • Increased the time before the floor panels disappear after a player steps on them.
  • Players that are in stealth no longer cause the floor panels to disappear.

World vs. World[edit]

  • Fixed a bug that caused the siege decay timer to appear on cannons.

Black Lion Trading Company Gem Store[edit]

New Items and Promotions[edit]

Improvements: New Currency Exchange UI[edit]

The Currency Exchange UI has been overhauled to be quicker to use and easier to understand.

  • Quick exchange options for both currencies are now visible on the front page of the Currency Exchange.
  • The comparison between Exchange for Gold and Exchange for Gems prices is much more obvious.
  • Fixed exchange amounts have been set to simplify the exchange process and remove confusing rounding points.
  • Added a preview of new balances.
  • Added an improved confirmation UI.

Bug Fixes[edit]

Mac Beta Client[edit]

  • Fixed a bug that caused the Trading Post to crash on Mac systems.
  • Fixed a bug that required rebooting to restart Guild Wars 2 on Mac systems.

Guild Wars 2 Wiki Notes[edit]

  • With the new currency exchange interface, gems are exchanged with coin in increments of 400.
  • The two holes where the possessed Statue of Dwayna may occasionally walk into have been closed off.
  • The inventory window size preference still occasionally resets.
  • The patch note "Increased the party kick threshold from 40% to 50%." was removed for unknown reasons.
  • Build: 40,695