Game updates/December 2014

December 2014 updates
Tuesday, 23 December 2014 Monday, 22 December 2014 Thursday, 18 December 2014 Wednesday, 17 December 2014 Tuesday, 16 December 2014 Thursday, 4 December 2014 Wednesday, 3 December 2014 Tuesday, 2 December 2014
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Update - December 23, 2014

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a server crash.

Guild Wars 2 Wiki Notes

• Build: 43,467

Update - December 22, 2014

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug in which players could use Orphan Laine's Letter to become invincible in WvW and PvP.
• Fixed an issue relating to looting the end-of-dungeon chest in Tixx's Infinirarium.
• Fixed a bug in which logging in to PvP with a new character would remove a player's Potions of PvP Reward from their bank.

Guild Wars 2 Wiki Notes

• Build: 43,440

Update - December 18, 2014

Bug fixes

• Fixed a client crash.
• Fixed a bug in which shard transfers failed or became stuck.
• Fixed a bug preventing Sous-Chef Seimur Oxbone from appearing on maps at the right time.
• Slight adjustments have been made to the Wintersday Gift reward tables in response to player feedback:
  • Cold Weather Conqueror's Selections no longer drop from gift bags, at any rarity.
  • Cold Weather Conqueror's kits and individual runes of all rarities still drop.
  • Previously collected Cold Weather Conqueror's Selections can now be sold to vendors.
  • Wintersday-themed transform tonics can now also be sold to vendors.
  • Wintersday-themed transform tonics can now be used as components in new Mystic Forge recipes.
• PvP: Fixed a bug preventing players from unlocking a Wintersday Gift Tree when using the Gift of Magnanimity in the PvP lobby.
• PvP: Players on winning teams will now receive a bye if they are victorious against a team on which one or more players disconnect during the match.
• PvP: Players on losing teams with one or more desertions will now receive a forfeit.
• PvP: Players' win totals will now include byes.
• PvP: Players' loss totals will now include forfeits.
• PvP: Matchmaking ratings are not adjusted if a match results in a bye or forfeit.
• PvP: Ladder points are still adjusted for all wins, byes, losses, and forfeits.

Guild Wars 2 Wiki Notes

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Update - December 17, 2014

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug in which players could load into an instance of Toypocalypse that had already been completed.
• Fixed a bug that prevented players from receiving daily fractal bonus-chest rewards.
• Fixed a bug in which some players would not receive full rewards for completing Tixx's Infinirarium their first time this year. All players should now be eligible for a bonus reward for completing Tixx's Infinirarium in this release.

Guild Wars 2 Wiki Notes

• Build: 43,256

Update 2 - December 16, 2014

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a client crash.
• Fixed a server crash that occurred when players joined activities.
• Fixed a bug that prevented some players from trading in items to Sous-Chef Seimur Oxbone.
• Fixed a bug that prevented some back items and weapons from animating.

Guild Wars 2 Wiki Notes

• Build: 43,234

Update – December 16, 2014

Festival: A Very Merry Wintersday

The nights may be growing longer and colder, but Divinity's Reach is merry with the warmth of the Wintersday spirit. Celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of the next in this traditional winter festival!

The Wondrous Workshop

• Enter Toymaker Tixx's workshop inside his golem-shaped airship—Tixx's Infinirarium—to corral mischievous toys and set things to rights!

Wintersday Festivities

• Celebrate the holiday with festive traditions: leap from snowflake to snowflake in the Winter Wonderland jumping puzzle, ring in the season in the Bell Choir activity, defend gift-bearing dolyaks in Toypocalypse, and store up precious presents in Snowball Mayhem!

Warming Grawnk's Heart

• It's your chance to save Wintersday! Grawnk has stolen ornaments from the children's orphanage in Divinity's Reach, and it's up to you to track them down! If you succeed in your mission, you'll be able to plant a beautiful Wintersday tree in your own home instance.

Wintersday Gift Tree

• The latest trend in Tyrian holiday decor, these trees provide Wintersday gifts year-round and are attractive in any home, whether it's in the heart of the Black Citadel or the outskirts of Rata Sum. Receive yours by helping the orphans of Divinity's Reach find their lost ornaments. Also, the Star of Gratitude provides additional rewards for those of you with empyreal fragments to spare.

Toys and Treasures

• Tixx has an assortment of new goodies for the citizens of Tyria! Complete three new collections to receive exclusive rewards, such as the Endless Gift Box Tonic.
• Enjoy other festive rewards like the new Magnanimous Choir Bell and the Rime-Rimmed Mariner's Rebreather.

New Features and Content

New Daily Achievement System

• Achievements have been divided into 3 categories: PvE, WvW, and PvP.
• The number of available achievements per day is based on the highest-level character on an account:
  • Levels 1–10: 1 achievement per category
  • Levels 11–30: 3 achievements per category
  • Levels 31–80: 4 achievements per category
• Completing daily achievements now awards players with items and/or experience based on their corresponding content type, such as WvW daily achievements rewarding world experience.
• Completing daily achievements no longer awards players with achievement points.
• A new Daily Completionist achievement has been added and is earned by completing any combination of daily achievements from the three categories.
• Completing the Daily Completionist achievement rewards players with 10 achievement points.
• December will be the final month to include monthly achievements.
• Existing daily and monthly achievement rewards have been rolled into the new log-in reward system.
• For more information, please see this blog post.

New Log-in Reward System

• The first time you log in each day, you'll receive a new item from the reward track.
• Progress on the log-in reward track will reset only after claiming the 28th and final reward.
• Players logged in after 4:00 p.m. PDT on December 15 will receive their first daily log-in reward chest after 4:00 p.m. PDT on December 16.
• Players last logged out before 4:00 p.m. PDT on December 15 will receive their first daily log-in reward chest immediately after the update.
• For more information, please see this blog post.

World vs. World

• The World vs. World Sneak Attack event begins December 16. For the next month of World vs. World, the following rules will apply:
  • All player kills will award 1 point of world score. Using a finisher on a player while you have Borderlands Bloodlust will award 2 points.
  • The white crossed swords that appear when an objective is under attack have been removed from all objectives in World vs. World. Now a player must scout the objectives in order to see them being attacked.
  • All players will receive a Mist War Summons effect, which increases WXP gain by 15%, experience gain by 15%, and magic find by 50% while in WvW.

Structured Player vs. Player

• The PvP Ladder test season begins December 16. For the next month of Player vs. Player, the following rules will apply:
  • Between the dates of December 16 and January 13, enter Ranked Arena during the ladder test season and compete for the top spots on the leaderboard to earn PvP-exclusive rewards.
  • At the end of the season, the top 250 players on the ladder in each region will each receive a PvP-exclusive Mini Llama.
  • The top 20 players in each region will receive a piece of the PvP-exclusive Glorious Hero's armor, available only through tournaments and special events.
  • The top five players from each region will receive an additional piece of Glorious Hero's armor.

Balance, Bug-fixing, Polish

General

• The Contacts and LFG panel no longer resets continually when new entries are listed.

Items

• Major Sigil of Leeching: Fixed a bug that occasionally caused this sigil to begin cooldown without triggering correctly.

Black Lion Trading Company Gem Store

New Items and Promotions

• A new Gifts Mail Delivery mail carrier is available in the Upgrades category of the Gem Store for 350 gems.
• The new Arctic Explorer Outfit is available in the Style category of the Gem Store for 700 gems.
• New Wintersday weapons are available from the Black Lion Weapons Specialist for 1 ticket each.
• Every Black Lion Chest also includes a guaranteed Personalized Wintersday Gift (for a limited time).
• The Royal Pass (2 weeks) has returned to the Special category of the Gem Store for 300 gems (for a limited time).

Guild Wars 2 Wiki Notes

• Tokens such as Zhaitaffy, Fortune Scraps, Candy Corn, Black Lion Claim Tickets, and WvW Tournament Tickets can all be used at the corresponding merchants and taken from the player's bank.
• Introduced a bug that prevents the daily bonus reward in Fractals of the Mists.
• Build: 43,170

Update - December 4, 2014

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug that occasionally caused the Lotus Harvesting Node unlock item to disappear without unlocking the harvesting node in players' home instances.
• Text was updated for the World Tournament Series special event for all regions.

Guild Wars 2 Wiki Notes

• Build: 42,852

Update - December 3, 2014

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue in "Meeting the Asura" where the player could be forced into stealth after being discovered.
• Fixed an issue in which players became locked out of their guild banks.
• Fixed a server crash that occurred when players switched teams in ranked and unranked arenas.
• Fixed a bug in which PvP profession records were getting cleared. This fix will cause Unranked Arena wins and losses to be reset. Each player's Ranked Arena wins and losses will be recalculated from their Team Arena and Solo Arena stats when they log in. Players' achievements will be unaffected by this change.
• Fixed a bug in which water splashes appeared on terrain in the Silverwastes.

Guild Wars 2 Wiki Notes

• Build: 42,778

Update 2 - December 2, 2014

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a client crash.
• Fixed a server crash.
• Fixed a bug in which PvP matches with the ready button enabled would start without all players being ready.

Guild Wars 2 Wiki Notes

• Build: 42,713

Update – December 2, 2014

Living World: Seeds of Truth

The death of the Zephyrite Master of Peace and Caithe's hasty exit with Glint's egg have left more questions than answers. Why did Caithe take the egg? And, more importantly, how do you catch a thief?

Achievements

After completing Seeds of Truth, showcase your tactical mastery as a hero of Tyria by completing challenging, episode-related achievements.

Rewards

• Continue collecting Carapace and Luminescent armor with the addition of heavy, medium, and light boots and leg armor.
  • Earn pieces of Carapace leg armor by completing the Seeds of Truth storyline. Extra pieces can also be purchased for bandit crests.
  • Carapace boots can be found in Lost Bandit Chests. Additionally, players who receive the Boot Requisition Order will be able to purchase boot pieces for bandit crests.
• Recipes to craft ascended Sinister armor and weapons are now available.
  • Named for the fabled necromancer Verata, the inscription and insignia recipes can be purchased for bandit crests.
  • Recipes for weapons and armor can be found in recipe books in Lost Bandit Chests throughout the Silverwastes.
• New and exciting treasures can be found in Lost Bandit Chests.
  • Players who find the Essence of Time will be able to create the new focus, Eternal Sands, in the Mystic Forge.
  • Mini Mordrem Thrashers and Endless Mordrem Thrasher Tonics may be found.
• Bandit crest collectors have several new offerings.
  • Endless Mordrem Husk Tonic
  • Mini Mordrem Husk
  • Mordrem Fang Extraction Device
  • Bag of Rare Gear
• Complete the Drydock Scratch jumping puzzle to find a Magnificent Chest that contains masterwork and rare gear, empyreal fragments, patchwork knapsacks, jewels, and a chance to find the new welding torch.

New Features and Content

Arenas

• Team and Solo Arena have been merged into Ranked Arena.
  • A party of any size can queue, including solo players.
  • Player statistics from Team Arena and Solo Arena have been combined to create Ranked Arena stats.
  • Legacy Team and Solo Arena stats can be viewed in the PvP panel.
  • Rewards are unchanged.
• Unranked Arena has been added.
  • A party of any size can queue, including solo players.
  • Rewards are now the same as Ranked Arena.
• All maps are available for play in Ranked Arena and Unranked Arena.
  • During the leaderboard test season, ranked play will have a limited set of maps.

Matchmaking and Leaderboards

• Matchmaking will take into account other parameters in addition to matchmaking rating (MMR), such as largest group size and team composition.
• Leaderboards will no longer use MMR as a basis. Instead, players will earn ladder points based on the quality of the matches they participate in.

Match Accept

• Ranked Arena and Unranked Arena matches will now prompt players to accept the match before it can start.
• The client will flash and play an alert sound when matches are ready.
• Declining or failing to accept a match prompt within the time limit will cause players to accumulate dishonor and be prevented from queuing for a short period of time.

Map Selection

• Players can now vote for the map they would like to play after accepting a match prompt.
• The list of selectable maps is randomly generated.
• The final map is picked via weighted roll. The more a map is picked by players, the higher the chance that map will be chosen.

Dishonor

• Declining or not accepting a match prompt for Ranked Arena or Unranked Arena will result in dishonor and a timeout.
• Disconnecting at any time during a running Ranked Arena or Unranked Arena game will result in dishonor and a timeout.
  • Players must continue playing the game on reconnect.
• When dishonor is given, an immediate timeout is also applied. During a timeout, Ranked Arena and Unranked Arena are unavailable.
• Timeout duration increases as dishonor accumulates on an account.

General

• Rosters have been removed. Players will now queue with their party.
• Banker, trading post, and laurel vendor NPCs have been added to the Heart of the Mists.

Balance, Bug-fixing, Polish

General

• Megaserver: Joining a party member while playing on a map in which your guild has an active mission with an ongoing reservation in place will no longer silently fail.

Items

• Gastronome Plikk in Rata Sum now sells the Vintner's Guide used to unlock the Fine Wining item-collection achievement.
• The Observational Zymology Manual used to unlock the Brewmaster item collection is now available for purchase from many bartenders around Tyria.

Structured Player vs. Player

• The PvP panel stats tab has been reskinned.
• Scoreboard UI has been reskinned.
• Ready Button UI has been reskinned.
• Autobalance UI has been reskinned.

World vs. World

• Fixed an issue that prevented player pets from attacking gates in Edge of the Mists.
• Reduced the radius of the Siege Disabler trick from 450 to 300.
• Increased the skill recharge of the Siege Disabler from 5 seconds to 45 seconds.
• Decreased the duration of the Siege Disabler trick from 45 seconds to 35 seconds. The duration on Siege Golems remains unchanged.

Black Lion Trading Company Gem Store

New Items and Promotions

• Glint's Winter Dye Kit is now available in the Special category of the Gem Store for 125 gems.
• The Black Lion Chest drops have been updated. Keys are available in the Special category of the Gem Store for 125 gems each.
  • Added a new Teleport to Friend consumable as an uncommon drop. This consumable will take you directly to a party member in PvE.
  • Home instance unlocks for orichalcum ore, elder wood logs, omnomberries, snow truffles, and lotuses have been added as very rare drops.
• Winter's weapons have returned to the Black Lion Weapon Specialists for the price of 2 Black Lion Claim Tickets each.
• The Wintersday Minis 3-Pack, Toy Golem, Toy Soldier, Plush Griffon, Princess Doll, Toy Ventari, and Fancy Winter Outfit have all returned to the Gem Store this year.

Mail Carrier Customization in the Wardrobe

• Mail carriers have been added to the Equipment section of the Hero panel for accounts with a character higher than level 71.
• Once unlocked, players can select the default mail carrier for every character on their account to receive mail from the game or send their mail to other players.
• When sending mail, a one-time mail carrier can be selected from the Compose mail dialog, affecting only the current mail being sent.
• The currently selected mail carrier and additional options can be previewed in the Hero panel.
• A new Griffon Mail Carrier is available in the Upgrades category of the Gem Store for 500 gems.

Improvements

• The Replica Job-o-Tron Backpack will stop talking when the Hide/Unhide check box is unchecked.

Guild Wars 2 Wiki Notes

• This update included several UI changes
  • The simple check buttons to accept or reject party invitations were replaced by rectangular buttons matching the rest of the interface, containing both icons and text.
  • The logout confirmation panel was completely changed, and now has a gray background instead blue.
  • Changes in the inventory panel:
    • When activating a salvage kit, now all items that cannot be salvaged will be colorized red, replacing the previous blue highlight of items that were salvageable. Unlike the previous highlight, this red highlight will not disappear after the first salvaging action.
    • The inventory now highlights new items. Every new item that is placed into the inventory or any existing stack of items that is increased will be highlighted until the item or stack is clicked or the inventory is closed after the item or stack was visible. This can be enabled or disabled in the inventory options.
  • Completed achievements don't show their Achievement Points reward in achievement lists anymore.
• Copper, Silver and Gold gathering nodes in Hunter's Hearth have been moved.
• PvP achievement related to tournament (Champion professions, Professional Assassin, Champion Brawler) now depend on Ranked Arena
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