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Shadow of the Mad King 2024 Is Now Live!

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Get ready, brave souls, because the Shadow of the Mad King festival has officially returned, and this year's haunting begins today! Log in now for spine-chilling thrills, eerie adventures, and a host of new tricks and treats waiting to be uncovered. You'll have until November 5 to indulge in all the fiendish fun—so sharpen your wits and prepare to devour candy corn by the handful. Let's descend into the madness, shall we?

New for 2024!


It's time to go trick-or-treating! You can earn daily and weekly achievements by ringing a Haunted Bell in another player's homestead or guild hall. Each visit rewards you with bonus trick-or-treat bags, so make sure to stop by and enjoy some festive fun!

Get ready to deck out your homestead in spooky style! This Halloween season, we're introducing brand-new decorations that will bring all the eerie vibes to your space. From the new Antique Bell and Haunted Bell to the Gargoyle and Flame-Bearing Gargoyle, you'll have everything you need to transform your homestead into the ultimate haunted haven.

Whether you're hosting friends or just setting the mood for trick-or-treaters, these new decorations will make your place the most frightful stop this Halloween!
Guild hall decorations from past years' Shadow of the Mad King festivals will also be available to purchase in the form of Homestead Recipe Book: Halloween, volumes 1–9. Make sure to talk to the homestead vendor, Deft Lahar, in Lion's Arch during the festival to purchase your spooky homestead decorations!

Something wicked this way comes! The Wizard's Vault is bursting with Halloween-themed challenges, pointing you toward all the eerie activities on offer. Collect that astral acclaim and claim your well-earned rewards!



Where to Go


Start by checking your in-game mail for a letter from Magister Tassi, which contains an Invitation to the Mad Realm. Use this to travel between the mortal world and the twisted realm of Mad King Thorn.

Lion's Arch serves as the heart of Halloween festivities in Tyria. You'll find portals to Lion's Arch in every major city for players level 35 and above or for anyone who owns a Guild Wars 2 expansion.

For those who can't access Lion's Arch directly, fear not! You can still find haunted doors in locations like the Village of Shaemoor or Smokestead. These spooky portals are guarded by Lunatic Boatmasters, who will happily ferry you to the Mad Realm's horrors. Don't forget to explore the haunted doors scattered throughout Kessex Hills and Gendarran Fields—trick-or-treating opportunities await!



What to Do


As Halloween looms, the capricious spirit of King Oswald Thorn breaks free to wreak havoc in Tyria while daring adventurers to cross into his Mad Realm.

Lion's Arch: The city is transformed into a nightmarish vision filled with ghoulish decorations and a haunted atmosphere. Every two hours, Mad King Thorn himself will challenge players to a twisted game—obey his commands (but only when he says "Your Mad King says") and win keys to unlock his treasures!

Mad King's Labyrinth: Explore the dark and winding maze of the Mad King's Labyrinth—battling hordes of twisted creatures, racing your mounts, and trick-or-treating for bags stuffed with ghoulish goodies. Be wary, though—dreadful enemies like the Grand High Viscount of Candy Corn and the terrifying Labyrinthine Horror stalk these shadowy halls.

Mad King's Clock Tower: For thrill-seekers, the original heart-pounding jumping puzzle returns. Race against the rising miasma below! Or, if you prefer a slower pace, test your skills on the Stopped Clock Tower variant.

Ascent to Madness: Ready for the ultimate showdown? Face Mad King Thorn himself in this spine-chilling dungeon encounter, available to players of all skill levels.

Mad King's Raceway: Race through creepy courses on your mounts or rent a steed and join time trials or head-to-head races.

Minigames: Speak to a Lunatic Boatmaster to jump into the frenzied chaos of Reaper's Rumble or the survival horror of Lunatic Inquisition.



Rewards


As you face the horrors of the Mad Realm, you'll be rewarded with trick-or-treat bags full of seasonal delights. Stock up on candy corn, the festival's primary currency, which can be exchanged for all sorts of spooky goods: miniatures, armor skins, recipes, and more!

For the fashion-forward, don't miss out on the Clawing Shadow Plate, a reward for completing the annual Halloween Rituals achievement. Plus, if you missed the Clawing Shadow Greaves or Clawing Shadow Gloves from previous years, they're available for purchase from vendors in exchange for candy corn.



The new Candy Core weapon set awaits those who complete either the Halloween Rituals or Weekly Halloween Festivities achievements. Powered by the essence of candy corn itself, these sinister weapons are sure to make you the envy of every ghoul in Tyria!

Do you dare to open your trick-or-treat bags? You might just find one of three new bloody weapons, including the fearsome Sanguine Shield, Sanguine Staff, and Sanguine Focus.

And don't forget—new Halloween-themed decorations are also up for grabs, perfect for turning your guild hall or homestead into a haunted haven!

We hope you have a frightfully good time this Halloween season, and be sure to share your most spine-chilling moments with us. Let the madness begin!

Amaze Onlookers with Your Smooth Breakdancing Skills

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"/Breakdance" Emote Tome


Want to bust a move and let loose after a tough day of adventuring? Learn these acrobatic, high-skill moves and impress the onlookers. This new emote tome will teach you how to move like never before! The "/Breakdance" Emote Tome is available for 400 gems.



Secrets of the Obscure Expedition Contract


The Secrets of the Obscure Expedition Contract is here! We'll send out one of our elite Black Lion expedition teams to collect resources for you from Skywatch Archipelago, Amnytas, and Inner Nayos. They'll also collect rift essence for you. This enterprising item is available for 1,000 gems.

Black Lion Chest Update: Bright Waters


Inside each chest, you're guaranteed to find a redeemable Black Lion Statuette, a Black Lion Material Bag: Janthir Wilds, and two common items. You also have a chance to find something rarer in the fifth slot, including special items, glyphs, and skins from the Dokkaebi Weapon Collection and the Bright Inquisitor Weapon Collection.

Exclusive Item: Portable Hot Springs Chair

Soak your aches away with an amazing portable hot spring! Invite a friend and relax anywhere you desire with this little piece of the lowland kodans' magical, healing waters. The Portable Hot Springs Chair is a new, exclusive drop from Black Lion Chests.



Mystical Beast Weapons Collection

Invoke the power of nature's fury with this new collection of spiritual weapon skins—you shall vanquish the wilds with your stout heart and hearty brawn. Each Mystical Beast weapon skin is imbued with the spirit of one of six different beasts and can be obtained in exchange for 1 Black Lion Claim Ticket. Unleash your mystical beast by unsheathing or swapping your weapon!



What’s in Stock


Starting October 11 and continuing for the next few days, select infinite gathering tools will be 20% off, including the Shifting Sands Mining Pick, Infinite Volatile Magic Gathering Tools, Infinite Cosmic Gathering Tools, and many more! Gather everything you need in endless style!

Returning This Week

From today until October 15, Black Lion Chest Keys, Transmutation Charges, Total Makeover Kits, Self-Style Hair Kits, and Name Change Contracts are available at an incredible 20% discount. Retouch, remake, and reimagine your characters!

Available Now in the Gem Store!


Log into Guild Wars 2 and press 'O' to access the Black Lion Trading Company for these great offers and more!

2024-10-08 - October 8th Release Notes

Game Update Notes: October 8, 2024
10/08/2024—October 8 Release Notes
Note to users of third-party programs: The game may not launch or work properly after we release a new build if you use a third-party program, due to possible incompatibilities. ArenaNet cannot offer support if a third-party modification breaks, interferes with, or prevents you from playing Guild Wars or Guild Wars 2. Our policy regarding third-party programs can be found here.

General
  • Fixed an issue that prevented the Is This a Scratching Post? achievement from updating properly.
  • Fixed an issue that prevented jade bot workbench decorations from recognizing users who placed a workbench nearby and immediately attempted to interact with it.
  • Description text has been added to the Thesis on Speed effect tooltip.
  • The conjured doorway can now be summoned in Dry Top, the Silverwastes, Arborstone, Verdant Brink, and Lion's Arch Aerodrome.
  • The "Keep the troll party from getting out of hand" events in Lowland Shore are no longer group events. The events' completion timers have been increased.
  • Refined the criteria for the away-from-keyboard timer to prevent it from counting noncombat damage sources such as falling or self-inflicted damage as entering combat.
  • Improved the precision with which decoration placement checks for valid decoration space near areas where no decorations are allowed, such as the waypoint in Hearth's Glow.
  • Relic of Rivers: Reduced the alacrity duration from 2 seconds to 1 second and the regeneration duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP only.
Warclaw Mount
  • Players are now able to dismount the warclaw in midair in all game modes.
  • Fixed an issue that caused combat mounting to fail when autoattack was enabled.
  • Updated the Feral Fury Mastery's text to indicate that only the Lance and Battle Maul (Engage) skills gain increased crowd control.
  • Reduced Lance's knockdown time in PvE from a baseline of 2.5 seconds to 1.25 seconds.
  • Updated Battle Maul (Engage)'s description to indicate its current functionality. This skill delivers a double strike to enemies within a radius of 180 and stuns them for 2 seconds, reduced from 3 seconds. Updated the skill facts for this skill. This skill is now affected by Feral Fury's control increase. Updated the skill's visual effect to help identify the different attack regions.
Items
  • The off-season Halloween vendor in Hooligan's Route now stocks a much larger assortment of Halloween items for players who wish to purchase items with candy corn after the event has ended, including recipes for homestead decorations.
  • Added Wings of the Sunless and Endless Fractal Challenge Mote Tonics to Zotturrikk's shop inventory in Hooligan's Route in Lion's Arch.
  • The birthday vendor in Lion's Arch will now also sell the Dragon Decade Spear Skin to players who have finished ten objectives in the Decade of the Dragons achievement, in addition to players who have completed the Birthday—Year 10 achievement.
World vs. World

[h3]General[/h3]
  • To reduce confusion, the Join Team button on the World Restructuring - BETA tab of the World vs. World panel is no longer displayed for players who are already on a team.
  • Objectives will now remain contested and the "Repel the enemy attackers" event will restart if the objective's lord is dead when the event finishes.
Profession Skills

[h2]Engineer[/h2]
Mechanist
  • Barrier Burst: Increased the might duration from 15 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only.
  • Mech Frame: Channeling Conduits: This trait now applies might instead of alacrity in WvW only.

[h2]Guardian[/h2]
  • Solar Storm: This skill now deals reduced damage on subsequent hits to a target. Reduced the damage coefficient from 1.8 to 1.5 in PvE only.

[h2]Mesmer[/h2]
  • Restorative Illusions: Reduced the healing power scaling from 0.46 to 0.3 in PvP only. Reduced the base healing with no clones from 360 to 219.
  • Illusionary Inspiration: Reduced the outgoing healing increase from 15% to 10% in PvP only.
  • Temporal Enchanter: Reduced the resistance duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP. Reduced the superspeed duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP and WvW.
  • Journey: Reduced the base healing from 719 to 527 and reduced the regeneration duration from 4 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP only.
  • Signet of Inspiration: Increased the cooldown from 20 seconds to 30 seconds in PvP only.

Mirage
  • Split Surge: Reduced the might per hit from 2 to 1 in WvW only, and reduced the damage coefficient per hit from 0.45 to 0.36 in WvW only.
  • Phantom Razor: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to daze when used by a clone.

[h2]Necromancer[/h2]
  • Locust Swarm: This skill now grants swiftness to nearby allies in addition to its previous effects.
  • Perforate: Increased the number of targets from 3 to 5.
  • Extirpate: This skill no longer inflicts Extirpation in WvW and PvP. It will continue to apply Extirpation in PvE.
  • Ritual of Life: Increased the revive percentage from 2% to 3.5% in PvE only.
  • Transfusion: Increased the revive percentage when the scourge elite specialization is equipped from 1% to 2% in PvE only.
Scourge
  • Trail of Anguish: This skill now grants its initial boons to nearby allies in PvE only. Increased the cooldown from 20 seconds to 25 seconds in PvE only.

[h2]Revenant[/h2]
  • Abyssal Raze: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to inflict torment for a longer duration than intended. Increased the torment duration from 4 seconds to 6 seconds in PvE only.
  • Song of the Mists (Call of the Centaur): Reduced the base healing from 1920 to 1300 and reduced the healing power scaling from 1.0 to 0.5 in PvP only.
  • Generous Abundance: Reduced the base healing when using a Legendary Centaur skill from 463 to 271 and reduced the base healing when using another legend skill from 197 to 152 in PvP only.
  • Purifying Essence: Increased the cooldown from 5 seconds to 10 seconds in PvP only.
  • Energy Expulsion: Increased the energy cost from 35 to 50 in PvP only.
  • Natural Harmony: Reduced the healing power scaling from 1.75 to 1.0 in PvP only.

[h2]Vindicator[/h2]

  • Balance in Discord: Reduced the base healing from 810 to 522 and reduced the regeneration duration from 6 seconds to 3 seconds in PvP only.

[h2]Warrior[/h2]
  • Maiming Spear: Reduced the initial-hit damage coefficient from 1.2 to 1.1 in PvE only. Reduced the shock-wave damage coefficient from 1.2 to 0.75 in PvE only. Reduced the shock-wave damage bonus from 50% to 20% in PvE only.
  • Spearmarshal's Support: Reduced the damage coefficient from 0.6 to 0.4 in PvE only.
  • Harrier's Toss: This skill no longer evades and now applies vulnerability to enemies it hits.
  • Defiant Stance: Increased the casting time by approximately 0.5 seconds.
  • Balanced Stance: Increased the cooldown from 40 seconds to 50 seconds in PvP only
  • Wild Throw: Fixed an issue that occasionally prevented certain on-hit traits such as Building Momentum or Sundering Burst from activating properly

Spellbreaker

  • Cull the Weak: Reduced the weakness duration from 3.5 seconds to 1.5 seconds when the spellbreaker elite specialization is equipped, in PvP only.
  • Full Counter: Increased the cooldown from 12 seconds to 14 seconds in PvP only.

Delightful New Fashion Arrives in the Gem Store!

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Blissful Skirt and Boots Combo


Combine this beautiful skirt and trendy boots with your favorite armor skins; visiting a friend's homestead with a new sweet look will feel incredible. The thigh-high socks are formfitting and complete your style with a touch of playful couture—an indispensable piece of fashion for your wardrobe! The Blissful Skirt and Boots Combo is available for 800 gems.

What’s in Stock


Starting October 4 and continuing for the next few days, select armor sets and fishing rods will be 20% off, including the Flamekissed Light Armor Skin, Flamewalker Medium Armor Skin, Flamewrath Heavy Armor Skin, Jade Tech Fishing Rod Skin, Golden Dragon Fishing Rod Skin, and many more! Get fishing with your hottest ensemble!

Returning This Week

If you want to experience the amazing Living World seasons with a new character, we have the perfect discounts! From today until October 8, Black Lion Instant Level 80 Tickets and Living World seasons are available at a 20% discount. Keep an eye out.



Available Now in the Gem Store!


Log into Guild Wars 2 and press 'O' to access the Black Lion Trading Company for these great offers and more!

Grab these free Guild Wars 2 goodies, thanks to Nvidia

Nvidia is once again using its GeForce Now cloud streaming service to give away in-game goods. This time you can claim free Guild Wars 2 gift in the form of character customization items to celebrate the release of the Janthir Wilds expansion.


GeForce Now is Nvidia's cloud streaming platform and Guild Wars 2, one of the best MMOs on PC, has been part of the service since early 2022. Every so often, Nvidia likes to reward GeForce Now members with in-game items, the most recent of which was a free mount in Elder Scrolls Online.


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