10/15/2019—October 15 Release Notes

Living World

Halloween

Once again, the gates of the Mad Realm have opened, and Kryta's most infamous monarch, Mad King Thorn, has returned to hold court in Lion's Arch! Loyal vassals of the king are strongly encouraged to enjoy the festivities: meet the denizens of the Mad Realm in events across Kryta; tour the Mad Realm itself in the Mad King's Labyrinth and the fearsome Mad King's Clock Tower; compete with your fellow mortals in Lunatic Inquisition, Reaper's Rumble, and the Mad King's Raceway; attend to the king's whims in his notorious pastime of Mad King Says; or match wits and blades against royalty in Ascent to Madness.

Willing adventurers are encouraged to meet with Magister Tassi of the Durmand Priory in Lion's Arch for an exciting research opportunity. The Lunatic Court is also seeking to confirm disturbing rumors from Elona—adventurers who have met Palawa Joko face-to-face in the Living World Season 4 episode "Long Live the Lich" may debrief with Brigadier General Kernel in Lion's Arch.

The Lion's Arch Captain's Council wishes to remind its populace that they are not affiliated with the Krytan monarchy and cannot guarantee the safety of any citizens who choose to dabble in dangerous realms, mad or otherwise.

The Halloween Rituals (Annual) meta-achievement has been updated with a long-awaited new reward, the Pumpkin Crown! Earn your own crown by completing a variety of Halloween activities and showing your affection for the majestic Mad King Thorn. Last year's meta reward, the Mini Haunted Candle, can now be purchased at Halloween vendors if you missed it.

A new item has been added to streamline travel to Halloween activities: a reusable Invitation to the Mad Realm will be included in your festival mail. Just use it to be immediately whisked to the Mad King's Labyrinth, or use it while in the Mad Realm to retreat to Tyria. If you misplace your invitation, you can purchase a replacement from Sarettokk in Lion's Arch.

Two new weapons have been released from the Mad King's vaults: earn the Carapace of Chaos shield and Last Rites greatsword by completing new collection achievements. These achievements can be completed year-round.

A new weapon set has arrived hot from the forges of the Mad Armory: the Royal Flame weapons are a fiery take on an antique Ascalonian design. Your choice of weapon is available as a rare drop from Trick-or-Treat Bags. As a show of benevolence toward his subjects, Mad King Thorn has also allowed a one-time guaranteed choice of weapon for those who open numerous Trick-or-Treat Bags during Halloween.

The Mad King's Raceway has been refurbished in the off-season and is now open! Two new races featuring the spry springer and nimble jackal have been added, and the returning Roll into Madness roller beetle track has been rebalanced with fewer gravestones, higher fences, and updated achievements, including a new achievement for completing the extreme challenge time! Show off your honed drifting to earn the new Ghostly Racing Scarf, or you can purchase one at a Halloween vendor—your trusty mounts will never know the difference.

The mount race in the Mad King's Labyrinth has been updated with new checkpoint visuals and its own adventure. Show off your best times, but mind the Labyrinth's occupants!

The Grand High Viscount of Candy Corn and Skeletal Lich have had their maximum health slightly reduced, and they now offer increased rewards when defeated.

New weekly vendors have arrived in Lion's Arch for the duration of the festival, trading limited supplies of rare goods for Candy Corn Cobs.

Two new seasonal cooking recipes have been added.

New items have been added to Halloween vendors and Trick-or-Treat Bags.

New Halloween-themed guild decorations have been added.

Festival collection achievements have been moved to their own category in the Collections section, Festival Collections.

Candy Corn can now be consumed in bulk (if you dare).

Many minor bugs have been fixed to ensure a festival that is more fun than ever for all visitors to the Mad Realm.

General

Updated the order of achievements in the Side Stories category.

Interacting with the grand chest in the Vault of the Khan-Ur will now only consume keys that have not yet been deposited in a console.

Mounts

Skimmer deceleration when transitioning from water to land has been smoothed.

Items

Rune of Rage: Fixed a bug that caused the 4-piece bonus of the Major and Superior versions of this rune to grant fury and go on cooldown when leaving combat.

Rune of Resistance: Fixed a bug that prevented elite skills that transform the player from granting resistance.

Profession Skills

Elementalist

Meteor Shower: Fixed a visual bug that could cull meteor landing effects before they were complete.

Signet of Air: Fixed a bug that prevented this skill from gaining the benefits of the Written in Stone trait if used without a target.

Engineer

Impact Savant: Fixed a bug that prevented vitality from being affected by this trait in PvP and WvW. It will now correctly decrease vitality by 180 in all game modes.

Guardian

Zealot's Defense: Increased damage by 20% in PvE.

Tome of Courage—Epilogue: Unbroken Lines: Fixed a missing tooltip about this skill granting aegis.

Mesmer

Chaos Armor: Fixed a bug in which the effect granted by this skill was incorrectly called Chaos Armor instead of Chaos Aura.

Necromancer

Manifest Sand Shade: Fixed a bug that prevented the effect of this skill from lasting more than 10 seconds in PvP and WvW when not traited with Sand Savant. The effect will now last for the increased duration of 15 seconds in PvP and WvW.

Ranger

Juvenile Wyvern Pets: Fixed a bug that prevented the wind effects from displaying during the use of the Wing Buffet skill.

Revenant

Protective Solace: Clarified the description of this skill to indicate that it blocks missiles but does not destroy them.

Elemental Blast: Fixed a bug that allowed this skill to be used underwater to hit foes at a range that was greater than intended.

Gaze of Darkness: Fixed a bug that prevented this skill from inflicting vulnerability and blindness on visible enemies.

Inspiring Reinforcement: Fixed a bug that caused this skill to have a range that was longer than intended. It will now correctly affect a range of up to 900. The targeting on this skill has also been lined up to better represent the area affected.

Warrior

Shrug It Off: Fixed a bug that prevented the version of "Shake It Off!" used by this trait from counting as a shout for the purposes of Vigorous Shouts.

Vigorous Shouts: Fixed an issue that caused this trait to heal for less than the listed amount. Fixed an issue that caused this trait to have incorrect information in the combat log.

Call of Valor: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to have incorrect information in the combat log.

Sight beyond Sight: Fixed a bug in which this skill displayed a radius of 900 instead of the actual radius of 600.

BLACK LION TRADING COMPANY GEM STORE

New Items and Promotions

The new Skeletal Wings Backpack and Glider Combo is available in the Style category of the Gem Store for 700 gems.

A new set of Seven Reapers weapon skins is available from Black Lion Weapons Specialists for 1 Black Lion Claim Ticket each. Black Lion Claim Tickets are available from Black Lion Chests.

To celebrate Halloween, one free Hallows Fortune Fireworks bundle is available in the Toys category of the Gem Store with a limit of one per account.

For a limited time, the Ghostly Outfit and Mad King's Outfit are available in the Style category of the Gem Store for 700 gems each.

For a limited time, the Candy Corn Gobbler Pack is available in the Utility category of the Gem Store for 300 gems. Each pack comes with a Candy Corn Gobbler and 15 pieces of candy corn.

For the duration of Halloween, weapon skins from the Gargoyle Weapon Collection are available from Black Lion Weapons Specialists for 2 Black Lion Claim Tickets each.

Black Lion Chest

The Black Lion Chest has been updated to the Mad Mayhem Chest and can be previewed for a full list of its contents. The Evon Gnashblade Trick-or-Treat Bag has been added as the guaranteed item for the duration of the Mad Mayhem Chest. The new Searing Chain Gloves skin is available as an uncommon drop for the duration of the Mad Mayhem Chest. The Golden Talon longbow skin returns as an uncommon drop for the duration of the Mad Mayhem Chest. The Mad Realm Weapon Collection is now available as an uncommon drop for the duration of the Mad Mayhem Chest. The Shadow of the Mad King weapon set and the Blood and Madness weapon set are now available as rare drops for the duration of the Mad Mayhem Chest. Unused versions of the Glyph of the Forester and Glyph of the Watchknight are available as rare drops for the duration of the Mad Mayhem Chest.

The items available in exchange for Black Lion Statuettes have been updated. Black Lion Statuettes are redeemable by using the statuette itself or by redeeming one at any of the Black Lion Chest Merchants located in every major city. An additional selection of dye kits has been added. The exclusive Grasping Phantom Glider, Mini Spooky Mounts Pack, and Envoy Scythe Staff skin are currently available. Additional items including the Toxic Mantle and Toxic Gloves skins, Soul River Glider, Phoenix Glider, and Bubble Glider, and a selection of travel toys have been added.



Improvements and Updates