Guild Wars 2 News

Ghostly greetings to all! Shadow of the Mad King begins today, and with it three whole fang-tastic weeks of trick-or-treating. New to Guild Wars 2? Forgotten how to navigate the labyrinth? We've got your spine...err...back! The guide below has everything you need to know.


First, check your in-game mail for a letter from Magister Tassi containing an Invitation to the Mad Realm. Use this item to travel back and forth between Tyria and the Mad King's Labyrinth.
Lion's Arch is Tyria's Halloween celebration headquarters. Asura gate portals to Lion's Arch are available in major cities and can be used by any player who has purchased a Guild Wars 2 expansion or is at least level 35.

Players without access to Lion's Arch can travel to the Mad Realm from the Village of Shaemoor in Queensdale, the Village of Smokestead in the Plains of Ashford, Snowlord's Gate in the Wayfarer Foothills, the Village of Astorea in Caledon Forest, and Soren Draa in Metrica Province. These locations are outside each starting city's main gate. Run to the candy corn icon on your map and speak to a Lunatic Boatmaster guarding a haunted door, and they'll whisk you away to your choice of eerie activities.

Haunted doors will also appear in Kessex Hills and Gendarran Fields throughout the event. Interact with the doors to trick-or-treat!


During Halloween, King Oswald Thorn's capricious spirit can manifest in Tyria—and Tyria's citizens can cross into Thorn's Mad Realm.

[h2]Lion's Arch[/h2]
The city of Lion's Arch is transformed with scary decorations and a gloomy autumn glow! Every two hours, Mad King Thorn will gather his "subjects" (anyone within shouting distance) to play a game. Perform the emotes he commands you to—but only if he calls out, "Your Mad King says." If you do well, you'll receive keys to unlock the Mad King's Chest.

The Grand Piazza also features seasonal vendors and doors to Shadow of the Mad King activities.

[h2]The Mad Realm[/h2]
[h3]Mad King's Labyrinth[/h3]
Battle hordes of Halloween creatures, race your mounts, and trick-or-treat at haunted doors through the twists and turns of a macabre maze. It's a great way to gain experience for your characters and Trick-or-Treat Bags full of goodies, especially if you team up with other players to explore. Stay on your toes, though—powerful enemies like the Grand High Viscount of Candy Corn, the legendary Skeletal Lich, and the Labyrinthine Horror will make nougat of the unwary.

[h3]Mad King's Clock Tower[/h3]
Hop to the top of a vicious timed jumping puzzle before the deadly miasma below makes its way to you.

[h3]Ascent to Madness[/h3]
Face Mad King Thorn himself! This dungeon encounter is intended for players of all skill levels and can be entered from Lion's Arch.

[h3]Mad King's Raceway[/h3]
Take your mounts out for a spin in time trials and races against other players. Springer, jackal, and roller beetle rentals are available if you need a steed.

[h3]Minigames[/h3]
Speak to a Lunatic Boatmaster to participate in Reaper's Rumble or Lunatic Inquisition.


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Become the spookiest ghoul in the Labyrinth...or die trying. Hahaha-HA! (It's okay, you can just waypoint.) Shadow of the Mad King activities award Trick-or-Treat Bags containing a vast selection of Halloween goods. The primary currency is candy corn, which can be traded to special vendors for minis, armor skins, recipes, and more.

Many unique rewards are obtained by completing achievements. You'll find information on the Shadow of the Mad King achievements and their rewards in your Hero panel under the Daily and Festivals categories.

[h2]New Equipment Skins[/h2]
Weapons heavy with rattling chains, clawed gloves emerging from the darkness—this year, we've got everything. Complete the annual Halloween Rituals achievement to obtain them.

• Chained Chest (Tier 1)
  
• Clawing Shadow Gloves Box (Tier 2)

Clear your way with a terrifyingly beautiful candlestick or become the headless gourmet chef of wild pumpkins. New exotic weapons can be found in the Courtly Weapon Chest or purchased with Candy Corn Cobs from Sparking Stone in Lion's Arch.

• Nightmare Splitter Axe
  
• Harvester's Grin Staff
  
• Pale Light's Companion Torch

[h2]Candy Corn Exchange[/h2]
What's Halloween without a candy corn extravaganza, right? Use your delicious treats to get new miniatures, traditional Halloween rewards, and more!

• Mini Fluffy Black Cat
  
• Mini Black Labrador

Happy Haunting, Tyrians!

Invoked from volcanic ash, the Molten Phoenix is brimming with magnificent fire magic. Start a light show with this obsidian beauty.


Xunlai Jade has been hard at work on the latest innovation in jade tech: the Mini Jade Bot!

A miniature jade bot can now be purchased in exchange for 1,000 Research Notes from any Xunlai Jade Sales Associate. This miniature inherits the appearance of whichever jade bot skin you currently have equipped. It will automatically hide itself when your jade bot is in use and unhide itself when you're done!

Additionally, when remotely controlling your jade bot using a Jade Bot Terminal, your jade bot will adopt the look of its currently equipped jade bot skin.


For the next two weeks, we're offering a 20% discount on Black Lion Instant Level 80 Tickets and Living World Season bundles. Get straight to the action at level 80 and dive into some of our most beloved stories and explorable zones from Living World Seasons 2 through 5!


[h2]Black Lion Claim Ticket Update: Dokkaebi Weapon Skins[/h2]


Embrace your trickster spirit with these new goblin-themed weapons. Blue is the coolest color for fire to be, anyway.

[h2]Black Lion Chest Update: Seven Reapers Legguards[/h2]


The next part of the Seven Reapers set has found its way into Black Lion Chests. Pick up some Black Lion Chest Keys now for your chance to acquire the new Seven Reapers Legguards.

[h2]Black Lion Guarantee[/h2]
In every Black Lion Chest you open for the next two weeks, you'll find The Evon Gnashblade Trick-or-Treat Bag. Open up this grab bag for a chance at a number of rare weapons, infusions, and crafting materials.


Surely you don't want to hang on to that extra candy corn all year, right? Pick up the Candy Corn Gobbler today and convert that excess sugar into boosts to experience, magic find, karma, and more!

Starting this Friday, look for the following items to be added to the Gem Store at a 20% discount:

• Abyss Stalker Cape
  
• Astral Scholar Cape
  
• Dragon's Watch Cape
  
• Fire Quiver Backpack
  
• Plush Ram Backpack Set
  
• Scruffy Backpack
  
• Shatterspark Cape
  
• Warrior Quaggan Backpack Set

In three weeks, on November 4, Team ArenaNet will once more be participating in a 24-hour Extra Life Game Day stream! If this is your first time hearing about Extra Life, check out our first blog post about the event here!

As a part of our partnership with Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, we're doing something extremely special this year: we'll be adding a CMN Champion child, April Arellano, as a nonplayable character in Guild Wars 2.



At fifteen months old, April Arellano was sick and struggling to breathe, struck with a 105-degree fever. Her parents, Antonio and Shannon, brought her to a local hospital, where they were able to determine that April had pneumonia in her right lung. However, they were unable to treat her. Her family made a quick decision to transfer her to Children's Health of Orange County (CHOC), a member hospital of Children's Miracle Network.

Once there, doctors were able to immediately treat April and diagnose her with septic shock. Septic shock is fatal in 98% of cases involving children, but thanks to the specialists at CHOC, April was quickly diagnosed and treated, saving her life.

Further tests showed that the septic shock April was suffering from had stopped the blood flow to her extremities, causing the skin there to die all the way down to the muscle. April was transferred to the burn unit at a neighboring hospital where they determined that gangrene had already begun to set in on April's right calf. The doctors made the decision to amputate April's leg to stop any further infection—once again saving her life.

April is ten years old now, and she loves to sing, dance, perform in local theater, and play video games. Her parents attribute her current good health to the support provided by CHOC and Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.


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April was born and raised just outside of Divinity's Reach, in the small village of Garenhoff. She's an ambitious and adept mesmer—and a serial meddler. We spent a lot of time working together with the real April and her parents to nail down aspects of her design, and we're extremely proud of the result! April will be appearing in Guild Wars 2 as an important part of a special game update that will go live during our Extra Life 2022 Game Day event.

This event is an important part of our Extra Life plans for this year, so we're keeping most of the details under wraps for now. We want the maximum impact possible on Game Day to help change kids' health! Make sure to tune in to our Extra Life Game Day stream on November 4 for more information on how you can access this new content and meet April yourself.

A quick word from our development team on the upcoming content:

"Hey, all, Indigo Boock here! I'm a narrative designer working on Guild Wars 2. We're so excited for everyone to dig into April's little adventure during our Extra Life Game Day. I don't want to reveal too many secrets just yet, but I can say that getting to talk with April Lynn and learn about her story was such a delight. I was immediately inspired by her confidence (and her dance moves, of course). April's character in-game is resilient, brave, and filled with charm—but she barely compares to her namesake. We can't wait for you to witness our little mesmer's shenanigans firsthand."

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Our beloved spooky season arrives in Tyria next week! Get your most frightening attire ready to terrify the masses.

Shadow of the Mad King is Guild Wars 2's annual Halloween festival that opens up the gates to the Mad Realm to welcome all Tyrian citizens. From October 18 to November 9, the veil between our world and the Mad Realm thins, and you may cross the threshold at your leisure. You must beware, though, dear reader...for the Mad King's minions may do the same.

[h2]Maid Outfit and Butler Outfit[/h2]


Show off your passion for cleanliness and order with these stylish new outfits!

[h2]"/Serve" Emote Tome[/h2]
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Tea, anyone?

[h2]Discounts[/h2]
For the next two weeks, we're offering a 20% discount on Bag Slot Expansions!

[h2]Returning This Week[/h2]

Starting this Friday, look for the following items to be added to the Gem Store at a 20% discount:

• Chop-It-All Logging Axe
  
• Cosmic Harvesting Tool
  
• Cosmic Logging Tool
  
• Cosmic Mining Tool
  
• Glitter Bomb Harvesting Tool
  
• Mad Scientist's Harvesting Tool
  
• Mad Scientist's Logging Tool
  
• Mad Scientist's Mining Tool
  
• Shifting Sands Mining Pick
  
• Super Adventure Logging Bear
  
• Thresher-Sickle 5000
  
• Infinite Volatile Magic Gathering Tools

[h2]Available Now in the Gem Store![/h2]

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