24 spalio, 2023
Greetings, Tyrians,
The launch of Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure™ has filled the skies of Tyria with skyscales, Halloween is in full swing, and we’re back with another update on all things Guild Wars 2.
Going through the Veil
“Through the Veil,” the first of three major updates to Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure, is coming on November 7. As you may remember from previous update blogs and our expansion announcement, anyone who owns Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure will have full and permanent access to all new expansion content.
In ‘Through the Veil,’ three new story chapters will pick up where the launch story concluded and continue the adventure as you take your first brave steps into a new world: Nayos, the Realm of Dreams. If you haven’t gotten a chance to play yet, you’ve got about two weeks to get caught up on the story so far and get ready for the next installment. For folks who have already played the launch story (or want a glimpse of it), we’ve put together a little refresher on some of the key moments that have led to our situation at the start of “Through the Veil.”
In addition to new story chapters and the opening of the third map, the Cosmic Observatory Strike Mission Challenge Mode and the Oneiros-Spun armor set will also be released on November 7. In fact, to make it simple, here’s the chart we shared at launch that shows our plans for each Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure update.
August 22, 2023
November 7, 2023
Update 2 (2024)
Update 3 (2024)
Story
Launch Story Arc
Story Continues
Story Continues
Story Concludes
Maps
Skywatch Archipelago,
Amnytas,
Outpost: Wizard’s Tower
Inner Nayos (Final Map) Introduced
Final Map Extended
Final Map Completed
Instanced Combat
Strike: Cosmic Observatory,
Strike: Temple of Febe
Cosmic Observatory Challenge Mode
Temple of Febe Challenge Mode
Fractal with Challenge Mode
Weapons
Weaponmaster Training
New Weapon Proficiency for Each Profession
Masteries
Heart of the Obscure Research,
Flight Training,
Astral Ward
Inner Nayos Masteries
Mastery Updates
Mastery Updates
Wizard’s Vault
Wizard’s Vault Introduced
Wizard’s Vault Seasonal Refresh
Wizard’s Vault Seasonal Refresh
Wizard’s Vault Seasonal Refresh
Armor
Rift Hunter Armor,
Astral Ward Armor
Oneiros-Spun Armor
Obsidian Legendary Armor Tier 1
Obsidian Legendary Armor Tier 2
Relics
40 Core Relics,
12 Secrets of the Obscure-Exclusive Relics
Additional Expansion Relics
Legendary Relic
Additional Expansion Relics
Rift Hunting
Available in Secrets of the Obscure Maps and a Rotation of 12 Existing Maps
Convergences with Legendary Enemies,
Rift Hunting Map Rotation Completed
New Legendary Enemies
New Legendary Enemies
Eagle-eyed observers will notice that the only real change from last time is that we moved up some items: we previously thought we’d need to add a few additional maps to the Rift Hunting rotation with each of the releases, but we were able to include six new maps to the rotation with the September 26 build. An additional six will be implemented with “Through the Veil,” completing the Rift Hunting map rotation.
Convergences
Get ready, Rift Hunters! We’re excited to take demon hunting to a whole new level with Convergences, which are public or squad-based forays into enemy territory. The new story will introduce you to the concept of Convergences and unlock the associated Inner Nayos Mastery track.
Together with fellow Rift Hunters, you’ll open up a portal into the home realm of the Kryptis, where you’ll need to have your weapons at the ready and your wits about you. There are no waypoints in the hostile territory you’ll strike into; it’ll take coordination between players to keep yourselves and your allies alive long enough to complete your objective and take out the legendary Kryptis lurking in each Convergence.
The public version of Convergences operates on a timer, while squads can open Convergences on demand with unstable Kryptis motivations acquired from tier 2 and tier 3 bounties. You can also earn an unstable Kryptis motivation each week by participating in a Convergence.
Wizard’s Vault Refresh
Each major expansion release comes with a Wizard’s Vault refresh (if you’re just catching up with Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure, you can find more details on the Wizard’s Vault here). New seasons bring a new series of special objectives to complete for astral acclaim, which will all carry over. And you can then spend that Astral Acclaim on an updated roster of rewards!
The upcoming season of the Wizard’s Vault features an additional three unique armor pieces (to complement the three pieces from the season that’s about to end), a new infusion, a weapon set color variant, and more. And the rewards from the inaugural season aren’t going away: this release will add a Legacy Rewards tab, where all the exclusive cosmetic rewards from previous seasons will remain available (although at a slightly higher cost due to being out of season).
Weapons, Skills, and Balance
As you already read in the table above, six additional expansion relics will be available starting November 7. We’ll continue to expand the build options available to players through additional relics with the other two updates to follow.
Not too long after the release of “Through the Veil,” you can look forward to a skills and balance update on November 28. We’ll be sharing a preview of those changes, plus the new relics we just mentioned, this Friday, October 27, on our Twitch channel. As always, we appreciate your feedback beforehand, and we’ll be watching carefully when the changes ship so we can see how things evolve.
Speaking of November 28—this is also an important day because you will get your first chance to try out a new weapon on your favorite profession! While this Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure feature will launch during our second major expansion update in early 2024, we’re giving all players a chance to demo the expanded weapon proficiencies early to test them and provide feedback. This special beta event will run from the time our November 28 build goes live—around 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) until 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time on December 3. We’ll start sharing more information about each profession’s new weapon proficiency shortly after the release of “Through the Veil.”
World vs. World
We’ll have another blog out with more detailed information on World vs. World in a few weeks, but here are some highlights for this quarter.
In late January 2024, we’ll be expanding the ways you can use your guild hall to create unique gameplay experiences with a guild hall arena update, including a selector to control which game mode rules your guild arena uses. This new feature will give you the ability to set your personal game mode in the guild hall, enabling the skills and balancing for the Player vs. Player or World vs. World game modes. In addition, we’ll be introducing options to select teams outside of the confines of the guild arena, giving you access to the entire map so you can battle your friends.
We’ll also be running another World Restructuring beta in early 2024. As we discussed in our last studio update, the WvW team has shifted their priority to releasing a live version of the guild-based World Restructuring system. Doing this allows us to get consistent live data and feedback from the community to inform our continued development and improvement. Since our last beta, we’ve addressed a number of issues with guild selection, queue failures, reset issues, and more. In the next beta, we’ll be testing the new team builder, UI updates, and bug fixes. Assuming everything goes well with that test, we will be able to move forward with turning the system on full time. While we don’t have dates for the beta or initial release at this time, we will let you know as soon as possible to allow you time to organize your guilds.
The Busiest Time of the Year, except for All the Other Ones
Those are the major releases and system updates coming up soon, but there’s just a little more to cover. November and December will also include more events: a weeklong buff to support our Extra Life stream on November 3 and 4, a two-week New Hero Jump Start event, a Dungeon Rush week, and Wintersday coming up on December 12. Lunar New Year and a second skills and balance update will be coming along near the end of January 2024. Around then—or a little after—we’ll be back to talk about the next few months of Guild Wars 2.
Altogether, November through January looks something like this:
Secrets of the Obscure
Events
Gameplay Systems
Story Continues
Final Map Introduced
Convergences and Inner Nayos Mastery
Additional Expansion Relics
Wizard Vault Seasonal Refresh
New Armor Set
Cosmic Observatory Challenge Mode
Halloween (Ends November 7)
Extra Life Enhancement and Livestream
New Hero Jump Start
Dungeon Rush
Wintersday
Lunar New Year 2024
Skills and Balance Updates
Expanded Weapon Proficiency Beta
World Restructuring Beta
Guild Hall Arena Update
As a sign-off reminder, we’ve got two livestreams coming up. First, we’d love to have you join us this Friday at noon Pacific Time (UTC-7) for a preview of the November 28 balance patch. Then, come back on November 3 and 4 for our 24-hour Extra Life celebration starting at noon Pacific Time on Friday and running until noon Saturday. You can learn more about our Extra Life stream here. And you can always check our official Guild Wars 2 channels for the latest news and updates.
Happy adventuring, and we’ll see you in the game.
—The Guild Wars 2 Team
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17 spalio, 2023
“There’s a chill in the air and a bump in the night.
It’s the season of ghosts and sensational frights.
Go carve a spooky pumpkin; get lost in a maze.
Ascend into madness—join the Halloween craze!
A clock tower to climb and candy corn to acquire.
When Mad King Thorn says, you’d best heed his desires!”
That’s right: the Shadow of the Mad King festival begins today! This year, we have many ghoulish goodies to seek out and a brand-new mode for the Mad King’s Clock Tower. You’ll have three thrilling weeks (until November 7) to participate in the festivities and gobble up as much candy corn as you can stomach. Let’s dive into the details, shall we?
New for 2023!
A new variant of the long-feared Mad King’s Clock Tower jumping puzzle has appeared! Normally unavailable to visitors during maintenance, the Stopped Clock Tower is now open to guests looking for a more leisurely incarnation of the tower’s daunting climb. Existing achievements have been updated to reflect which version of the clock tower they can be completed in, and new achievements have been added for you to conquer each variant.
The Wizard’s Vault has new special objectives directing you toward all sorts of Halloween activities. Earn that astral acclaim and collect your rewards!
Atop the Stopped Clock Tower is a mysterious craftsraven who will help you craft four makeshift Paper Bag Helm Skins. Be the talk of the costume party with these emotive headpieces. Keep reading below for more fang-tastic seasonal goodies.
Where to Go
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 Plains of Ashford, Snowlord’s Gate in 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!
What to Do
During Halloween, King Oswald Thorn’s capricious spirit can manifest in Tyria—and Tyria’s citizens can cross into Thorn’s Mad Realm.
Lion’s Arch
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.
The Mad Realm
Mad King’s Labyrinth
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.
Mad King’s Clock Tower
Hop to the top of a vicious timed jumping puzzle before the deadly miasma below makes its way to you. As mentioned above, there’s also a new Stopped Clock Tower variant to explore!
Ascent to Madness
Face Mad King Thorn himself! This dungeon encounter is intended for players of all skill levels and can be entered from Lion’s Arch.
Mad King’s Raceway
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.
Minigames
Speak to a Lunatic Boatmaster to participate in Reaper’s Rumble or Lunatic Inquisition.
Rewards
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.
New Armor, Weapons, and Decorations—Oh My!
If smoky and spiky is your style, complete the annual Halloween Rituals achievement to obtain the Clawing Shadow Greaves. If you missed last year’s matching Clawing Shadow Gloves, fear not! You can find them for purchase from candy corn cob vendors.
You’ll also earn your choice of weapons from the new Grim Machine set for completing the same annual Halloween Ritual achievement or the Weekly Halloween Festivities achievement. Collect them and let off some steam!
Be cautious when opening your Trick-or-Treat Bags, as three horrifying new weapons have been added to the Courtly Weapon Chests. The Sanctioned Executioner greatsword, Guided Executioner longbow, and Heralded Executioner warhorn can also be purchased from Sparking Stone in Lion’s Arch.
There are also new Halloween-themed guild decorations, the Paper Bag Helm Skins mentioned above, and the long-awaited Mini Derlitz the Candy Raven!
We hope everyone has a bewitching Halloween season, and be sure to share your spookiest moments with us!
Check out the full release notes on the Guild Wars 2 forums.
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17 spalio, 2023
Moonshadow Bat Griffon Skin
Lunar magic will bewitch your soul as you descend from the skies. This griffon skin will transform your mount into a shadow-blessed beast guided by the moon!
Black Lion Chest Update: Lorekeeper’s Flight
Inside each chest, you’re guaranteed to find a redeemable Black Lion Statuette, the Evon Gnashblade Trick-or-Treat Bag, 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 Lorekeeper Weapon Collection.
Exclusive Item: Personal Gyrocopter Chair Glider Combo
Travel on a powerful machine that will survive even the roughest of environments—made from the best metal around and Iron Legion approved! This glider combo includes the Personal Gyrocopter Chair and the Personal Gyrocopter Glider.
Weekly Black Lion Supply Package
Once a week, Evon Gnashblade is rounding up some surplus stock into valuable packages at bargain prices. This package includes a brand-new way to unlock dyes you don’t own: the Guaranteed Dye Unlock.
For 400 gems, you will receive one Guaranteed Dye Unlock, two Black Lion Chest Keys, five Transmutation Charges, and a Heroic Booster. This offer is available once per week while supplies last!
What’s in Stock
We’re refreshing our seasonal selection of backpack and cape skins with a 20% discount starting this Friday. The incredible discounted items include the Abyss Stalker Cape, Dragon’s Watch Cape, Astral Scholar Cape, Fire Quiver Backpack, and many more!
Returning This Week
Black Lion Instant Level 80 Tickets and all Living World seasons are 20% off until October 30.
Let’s get ready for the spookiest time of the year! Halloween items will be on sale at a 20% discount starting October 17. Items such as the Bat Wings Glider Combo, Candy Corn Gobbler, Mad King Mega Bundle, and others.
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!
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