August 20, 2024 at 03:55 pm
08/20/2024—August 20 Release Notes
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Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds
While the commander fought back against the treacherous Midnight King in the Realm of Dreams, the threat of the Kryptis didn't go unnoticed by the rest of Tyria. Their villages and cities were attacked and countless lives were lost, and yet the world had no idea where their assailants originated from.
Just as the commander emerges from their journey into the Secrets of the Obscure, some of Tyria's most pivotal world leaders have formed the Tyrian Alliance—an organization that seeks global collaboration in the healing years following the end of the dragon cycle. Being a figure of hope to those they've helped throughout time, the commander must navigate the delicate tides of international affairs while also being enlisted to keep an eye on other enigmatic developments.
When their first mission is to venture into the dangerous stretches of Janthir to befriend a long-sequestered society of kodan, the path forward seems clear. That clarity will be quickly challenged when the lowland kodan begin whispering of strangers and abnormal events arising throughout their deltas. How long can the commander maintain the state of respite before it is lost? How will the Astral Ward react to global developments as their existence becomes harder to conceal? The commander must walk a fine line between diplomacy and action as they make allies with the lowlanders and uncover the bloodied history of the Isles of Janthir. Storm clouds thicken by the hour.
Homesteads
Players can now obtain their own personal homestead by playing through the Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds storyline! Homesteads are an account-wide personal housing instance that provides you with an area of land and a permanent structure to cultivate, decorate, and share with your friends.
- Players with a homestead can place a conjured doorway in open-world maps, which they can use to bring their party into their homestead.
- All resource nodes (and cats!) unlocked in home instances will also be available in the homestead.
- A new account-wide handiworker crafting discipline is available, allowing players to craft decorations for their homestead.
- Unlocked mounts will appear in the homestead.
- Characters that were logged out while inside the homestead instance will visit the homestead as NPCs.
Land Spears
All professions can now use spears on land. This is unlocked via a WvW vendor purchase or by playing the first few chapters of the Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds story.
New Masteries
Homesteading
Once a homestead has been obtained, you will begin to master the crafting of homestead decorations without the need for a crafting discipline. As this mastery grows, your access to recipes and space to work in will increase, and you will gain bonuses within your homestead, such as rested experience and automated gathering of resources.
Lowland Kodan
As you meet the lowland kodan in the Janthir region, you will gain access to their techniques, such as learning to use the spear on dry land, gaining power from local honey, and harvesting resources more efficiently.
Warclaw
If you've not yet bonded with a warclaw, Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds will make doing so easier and allow you to use its skills outside of World vs. World. As you progress your Warclaw Mastery, it will become immune to falling damage, leap further into the air, and gain enhanced stamina regeneration, which is shared across all of your mounts.
Decorating (General)
A new hotkey has been added for entering and exiting decoration mode, and specialized skills are available while in decorating mode. You can change which set of these is displayed using three sub-mode buttons above your skill bar: Place New Decorations, Modify Existing Decorations, and Erase Decorations.
Place New Decorations
- Place: Begin placement by choosing a location on the ground to put the decoration, or by enabling the manipulator skills for more control over how the decoration is placed. If you use this skill before having chosen a decoration from your decorations inventory, it will open your decoration list to prompt you to do that first. If you're not using a manipulator skill to refine the placement, you can right-click to cancel placement. Otherwise, to cancel, press a different skill button or the Esc key (if you have an open panel, Esc will close it first). Also, if you're not using a manipulator, you can change the decoration's rotation by holding and dragging the mouse button when choosing the location to pivot the decoration around that point.
- Move: Once you begin placement, the Move skill becomes available; press it to activate a manipulator gizmo. Click and drag a manipulator axis to move the decoration along that axis, or drag one of the squares to move the decoration across the corresponding plane. Once you're done using the manipulator, you can change it to another type or press the Place skill again to finish placing the decoration.
- Rotate: Similar to Move, but the manipulator rotates the decoration. Click and drag a ring right or left to rotate the decoration around the corresponding axis. Hold Shift when you click the ring to drag it, and the rotation will snap to 45-degree increments. Pressing the skill again will toggle a spherical manipulator that you can click and drag to freely rotate the decoration in any direction.
- Scale: This works much like Rotate and Move and allows uniform changing of the decoration's scale. Drag any of the boxes to scale the decoration up and down. There are practical limits on how much a decoration can be scaled, and those may be specific to the decoration you're placing.
- Toggle Manipulator Alignment (Local/Global): While using one of the manipulators, you may use this skill to align the manipulator with either the map's coordinate system or with the decoration that's being placed.
Modify Existing Decorations
- Select Decoration to Modify: Once you have some decorations placed in the world, this skill lets you select one of them and refine its placement using the Move, Rotate, and Scale skills. After you're satisfied with the changes, press this skill again to confirm them.
Erase Decorations
Most of the erase skills are unchanged from the existing guild hall decoration system. You can target a single decoration to erase and return to storage, or you can erase all decorations within the radius of a small, medium, or large targeting cursor.
- Toggle X-Ray Vision: This skill helps in retrieving decorations that have been placed in unreachable or obscured locations, such as beneath the terrain. While X-Ray Vision is active, the targeting of erase skills can penetrate terrain and other obstacles. It's also useful for distinguishing decorations from the rest of the environment.
Common Decorating Skills
- Reset Scale and Rotation: This skill is available when placing or modifying a decoration. It will remove all rotation changes and restore the item's original scale.
- Use Last Scale and Rotation: This skill is available when placing or modifying a decoration. This matches the decoration's rotation and scale to that of the most recently placed decoration.
- Flying Mode: Toggles a flying movement mode to help you reach high places while decorating. Note that this counts as a skill, so using it will cancel any placement in progress.
- Select Decoration: Opens a list of decorations that are available for placing in the instance.
- Stop Decorating: Puts away the decoration skills and restores your combat skill bar.
The Decorations panel has been updated with the following features, which are saved per decoration mode (homesteads, guild halls, and guild arenas):
- A Favorites category of up to 16 decorations.
- A Recently Placed category, which tracks the last 8 decorations placed by the player.
- Filtering options for decorations and categories.
- Categories will remain expanded or collapsed when closing and reopening the Decorations panel.
Decorating (Guild Halls)
- Decorating in guild halls has been updated with the new Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds decorating capabilities.
- The size and shape of interaction boundaries on interactable decorations has been changed.
- A slight rotation change of up to a degree may be noticeable in the placement of some large guild hall decorations.
- The Kournan Brazier guild hall decoration now correctly has a flame.
- Attempting to place a decoration in an invalid location will now highlight the decoration in red. Previously, this functionality only worked in the Gilded Hollow guild hall.
- Entering decoration mode while in the guild arena will now allow direct placement of arena decorations, without needing to interact with the Arena Obstacles Coordinator.
Wizard's Vault
The Wizard's Vault's inventory has been updated for the new season! Last season's unique rewards are now available in the Legacy tab.
This season's new, unique rewards now require Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds ownership to purchase. Legacy rewards will continue to require their associated expansion.
Objective Updates
- New special objectives for the season have been added, and more will appear over the course of the season, including special objectives associated with bonus events and festivals.
- New daily and weekly objectives have been added for adventuring in the Janthir region, as well as the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure release "The Midnight King."
Inventory Updates
- A new item type in the Wizard's Vault this season, the Falling Star Quest License, invites players on a short adventure in the newly available Janthir region. Your efforts will be rewarded with an ascended spear and gloves, as well as a series of achievements to track the quest's progress.
- Legendary Starter Kit—Set 5 is now available, containing two new weapon kits and two returning weapon kits.
General
- Cats in the home instance can now be petted, unless they are otherwise occupied.
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Cats and other pets associated with 2023 Extra Life charity donation incentives have appeared across Tyria. They are visible only while under the effects of the Chatoyant Elixir or Chatoyant Lens.
- Animals from 2023 donations are present in a core Tyria town, as well as the Lowland Shore map in the Janthir region.
- Extra Life charity pets can now be petted.
- Scribe crafting stations now have unique background art, rather than reusing the art from weaponsmith crafting stations.
- The Tools of the Luxon Hunters and Energized Tools of the Luxon Hunters collections have been moved to the Rare Collections category.
- Fixed an issue that caused progress in the Tools of the Luxon Hunters collection to stall if a player unlocked the requisite weapon skins without owning Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons. Visiting Lion's Arch will allow progress to resume.
- Fixed an issue that allowed the Delve into the Haze achievement category to be viewed and accessed by players who do not own Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons.
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Updated the damage types of generation 3 legendary weapon variants:
- Kralkatorrik: Lightning
- Primordus: Fire
- Jormag: Ice
Several updates have been made to the currency and materials exchange vendor Gharr Leadclaw:
- Adjusted the currency costs in the Essence Exchanges tab.
- Updated the variety of items to exchange for weekly astral fluctuating masses.
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Updated the variety of items to exchange in the Heart of Maguuma: Bulk Exchanges and Crystal Desert: Bulk Exchanges tabs.
- Adjusted the costs of those items the player exchanges for currencies or materials.
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Gharr now appears in several new locations. No Masteries are required for players to see him or use his services in these areas:
- Dragon's Stand, east of Pact Base Camp Waypoint, offering Heart of Maguuma bulk exchanges.
- Eye of the North, near Snargle Goldclaw, offering Crystal Desert bulk exchanges and 2 new daily exchanges.
- Arborstone, near Kestrel Zuru, offering Cantha bulk exchanges and 5 new daily exchanges.
World Polish
- Fixed an issue that caused Kryptis rifts to spawn too slowly in certain areas of Thunderhead Peaks.
- The beach resort at Southsun Cove will no longer automatically transform players into an armorless state. For guests wishing to take a swim, a nearby tent has been repurposed as a changing area.
- Skywatch Archipelago: Fixed an issue that prevented shrine guardian chests 32, 33, 34, and 35 from being properly tracked for progress in the Rise and Shrine achievement.
- Fixed an issue that prevented the water bucket near the Aid Fort Salma renown heart from being accessible.
Relics
- Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds relics will need to be unlocked before they are selectable options for a legendary relic.
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New relics have been added.
- Relic of the Claw: When you disable an enemy, gain a strike damage bonus for a duration.
- Relic of Sorrow: After using an elite skill, create an area that destroys missiles and heals and reduces incoming damage for allies.
- Relic of the Blightbringer: Build stacks when inflicting poison on an enemy. At 5 stacks, the next time you inflict poison also inflicts a burst of poison, weakness, and cripple on nearby enemies.
- Relic of the Stormsinger: After using a movement skill, your next attack performs a chain-lightning strike.
- Relic of Atrocity: Your lifesteal damage and lifesteal healing is increased.
- Relic of Rivers: Gain alacrity and regeneration when you dodge.
World vs. World
The warclaw has received updates to its skills with the release of Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds:
- Sniff will now identify damaged and destroyed gates and walls for players.
- Chain Pull can now also be attached to walls and will apply Weakened Frame, an effect similar to Structural Vulnerability.
- Lance now has 2 charges.
Additionally, the warclaw will now be unlocked for any player who enters WvW if they own Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire or Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns. Players who have previously completed the warclaw collection to unlock the mount will receive a War Machine Weapon Skin Selection and WvW skirmish tickets in their mail upon logging in.
The increased stamina and Warclaw's Blessing have been removed from the Warclaw Mastery ability line and are now inherent benefits to owning the warclaw in WvW. Finally, the WvW ability point costs to fill out the WvW Warclaw Mastery line have been greatly reduced.
Profession Skills
Elementalist
- Increased all etching durations from 5 seconds to 7 seconds.
- Etching skills will now put their corresponding lesser skill on a short cooldown to prevent unintentional usage.
- The visual effects of Jökulhlaup, Derecho, and Haboob will no longer be replaced by legendary effects.
- The beneficial effects applied by Seethe and Energize will no longer be consumed by slot 1 skills.
- Flame Spear: This skill now strikes up to 3 enemies.
- Blazing Barrage: Increased the power coefficient from 2.15 to 2.5 in PvE and from 1.3 to 1.5 in PvP.
- Volcano: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.26 in PvE only.
- Ice Beam: Increased the power coefficient per strike from 0.33 to 0.4 in WvW and from 0.33 to 0.45 in PvP.
- Ripple: This skill is now ground-targeted and also heals the user in addition to its other effects. Fixed an issue that caused Ripple's movement speed to be affected by quickness, slow, and movement-speed modifiers.
- Undertow: This skill will now always pull enemies that it strikes and will slow enemies within the inner radius.
- Fulgor: This skill now also strikes enemies in addition to the damage-over-time effect. Fixed an issue that allowed Fulgor's damage-over-time effect to be applied to WvW walls.
- Reduced the damage-over-time effect from 3 seconds to 1 second in PvE only.
- Derecho: Increased the power coefficient from 4 to 5 in PvE and from 1.4 to 1.6 in WvW.
- Earthen Spear: This skill now pierces. Increased the power coefficient from 2.2 to 2.6 in PvE and from 1.25 to 1.45 in PvP.
- Harden: Increased the dazed duration from 0.25 seconds to 2 seconds in PvE only.
- Fissure: Increased the power coefficient from 1.9 to 2.1 in PvE, from 0.9 to 1.0 in WvW, and from 1.3 to 1.5 in PvP.
- Haboob: Increased the power coefficient from 3.5 to 4.25 in PvE and from 1.2 to 1.33 in WvW.
- Fixed issues that prevented several skills from being affected by skill retargeting.
- Fixed an issue that caused multiple Volcano or Lesser Volcano skills cast in short succession to be affected by each other's damage falloff.
- Fixed an issue that prevented the flipped version of spear slot 5 skills from being available when swapping out of a double-attuned state as a weaver.
Engineer
- Puncturing Jab: Increased the angle of this skill's hitbox.
- Rending Strike: Increased the angle of this skill's hitbox.
- Amplifying Slice: Increased the angle of this skill's hitbox. Reduced the casting time by 0.2 seconds. Reduced the bleeding and vulnerability durations from 8 seconds to 6 seconds. Increased the bleeding and vulnerability stacks from 1 to 2.
- Conduit Surge: Added visual effects to help engineers identify their focused targets. Updated this skill so that Focused can only affect one target at a time. Successfully applying Focused now applies a Focusing effect to the engineer to help indicate time left on the focused target. Increased the burning stacks from 2 to 3 in PvE and from 1 to 2 in PvP and WvW. Reduced the focused burning duration from 8 seconds to 6 seconds and the unfocused burning duration from 6 seconds to 4 seconds in PvE only. Reduced the cooldown from 8 seconds to 6 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Lightning Rod: Increased strike damage per hit on focused targets from 0.25 to 0.3. Increased the strike damage per hit on unfocused targets from 0.15 to 0.17.
- Electric Artillery: Reduced the casting time by 0.24 seconds. Increased the range from 600 to 900. This skill no longer requires you to face your target. Increased the burning duration from 4 seconds to 6 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Devastator: Reduced the casting time and aftercast by 0.25 seconds. Increased the range from 450 to 600. Increased the damage coefficient from 1.75 to 2.0. Increased the burning duration from 4 seconds to 6 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Boiling Point: Reduced the internal cooldown from 3 seconds to 1 second.
- Modified Ammunition: Reduced the damage per condition from 2% to 1.5% in WvW only.
Holosmith
- Photon Blitz: Increased the total damage coefficient from 1.6 to 1.84 in PvP and WvW.
- Prime Light Beam: Reduced the field's number of targets from 5 to 3 in WvW only.
- Laser's Edge: Reduced the maximum damage bonus from 15% to 10% in WvW only.
Guardian
- Permeating Wrath: Reduced the number of targets from 5 to 3 in WvW only.
- Daybreaking Slash: This skill will now heal the player as well as other allies. Increased the base healing multiplier from 0.03 to 0.06. Increased the healing power multiplier from 0.03 to 0.06. Increased the target cap to 5 for both allies and enemies.
- Helio Rush: This skill is now a targeted area-of-effect skill and will heal the player as well as other allies. Increased the movement speed by 15%. Reduced the power multiplier from 1.25 to 0.8 in PvP and WvW. The illuminated version of this skill now additionally deals bonus damage to enemies and inflicts weakness on them.
- Gleaming Disc: The non-illuminated version of this skill now has a visual effect. The illuminated version of this skill now does more damage to enemies on the follow-up shock wave.
- Solar Storm: The illuminated version of this skill now has a higher limit on the number of strikes per target and additionally heals for each condition removed from allies. Reduced the power multiplier from 2 to 1.8 in PvE only.
- Symbol of Luminance: Resistance granted by this skill can now stack with other sources of resistance, but the symbol can only grant resistance once per interval to each affected target.
Dragonhunter
- Dragon's Maw: Increased the cooldown from 40 seconds to 60 seconds in PvP only.
- Test of Faith: This skill's passthrough strike now deals additional damage to disabled targets. Reduced the passthrough damage coefficient from 2.5 to 1.88 in PvP only.
- Procession of Blades: Reduced the total damage coefficient from 4.4 to 3.6 in PvP only.
Mesmer
- Mind the Gap: This skill's visual effect has been improved to better outline the outer edge. This skill now always grants Clarity on hit. This skill's outer edge will now always deal critical damage when it strikes an enemy. Increased the damage coefficient from 1.4 to 1.54 in PvP only.
- Imaginary Inversion: This skill will now cleanse conditions at the start of the cast, regardless of whether you have Clarity. This skill no longer requires hitting an enemy to heal, and this healing is now increased with Clarity.
- Phantasmal Lancer: This skill's phantasms no longer dash at the target and now launch their spears toward the target, inflicting damage in an area. This skill now grants swiftness to the player. Increased the damage from 0.4 to 0.6 in WvW and PvP.
Mirage
- Fractured Glass: Increased the damage per hit from 0.25 to 0.3125 in WvW and PvP.
- Phantom Razor: This skill now inflicts crippled for 1.5 seconds instead of dazing the target.
- Mirage Mantle: Fixed an issue that prevented Sharp Edges from stacking duration properly.
Necromancer
- Soul shard damage and healing information is now visible when viewing the Perforate tooltip.
- Soul shard duration now refreshes when gaining new shards.
- Deadly Slice: This skill now grants one soul shard if it strikes an enemy.
- Perforate: Increased the power coefficient per strike from 0.46 to 0.5 in PvE only.
- Isolate: Increased the power coefficient from 1.8 to 2.4 in PvE only.
- Addle: Reduced the number of soul shards required to inflict immobilized from 4 to 3. This skill now always grants its bonus effects when striking a defiant enemy. Increased the base number of soul shards generated from 1 to 2. Increased the power coefficient from 1.5 to 1.9 in PvE only.
- Extirpate: This skill now grants 12% life force and 5 might upon striking the first enemy, plus 2% life force and 1 might for each additional enemy struck. Increased the power coefficient from 3.4 to 3.8 in PvE only.
- Signet of Vampirism: Reduced the casting time by 0.4 seconds.
- Vile Blast: Increased the cooldown from 15 seconds to 18 seconds in PvP only.
- Dread: Reduced the internal cooldown from 3 seconds to 1 second.
Reaper
- "Suffer!": Increased the cooldown from 16 seconds to 20 seconds in PvP only.
- "Nothing Can Save You!": Reduced the duration of unblockable stacks from 10 seconds to 6 seconds in all game modes. Increased the cooldown from 16 seconds to 24 seconds in PvP only.
Ranger
- Drake's Swipe: Increased the power coefficient from 0.8 to 0.9 in PvE only.
- Bee's Sting: Increased the power coefficient from 0.7 to 1.2 in PvE and from 0.466 to 0.6 in WvW and PvP.
- Mongoose's Frenzy: Increased the power coefficient per hit from 1.0 to 1.25 in PvE only.
- Wolf's Onslaught: Increased the power coefficient per hit from 1.0 to 1.25 and the follow-up damage coefficient from 2 to 2.5 in PvE only. Reduced the casting time of the follow-up attack by 0.267 seconds.
- Falcon's Stoop: Increased the power coefficient from 1.8 to 2.2 and reduced the cooldown from 10 seconds to 7 seconds in PvE only.
- Owl's Flight: Increased the power coefficient from 2.16 to 3.25 and reduced the cooldown from 10 seconds to 7 seconds in PvE only. Improved the tracking of this skill when you have a target.
- Warclaw's Engage: Decreased the size this skill's visual effect. Increased the power coefficient from 2.64 to 3 in PvE only.
- Predator's Ambush: Decreased the size of this skill's visual effect. Increased the power coefficient from 2.64 to 4 in PvE only.
- Panther's Prowl: This skill now grants Hunter's Prowess when used. Hunter's Prowess allows the use of a stealth skill, even if the player is revealed. Reduced the number of charges from 2 to 1 in PvP only. Increased the stealth duration from 2 seconds to 3 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Spider's Web: This skill no longer shares its cooldown with Panther's Prowl. Increased the cooldown from 10 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE and from 15 seconds to 25 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- The pet selection panel now displays more pets per row.
- Flourish: Reduced the power coefficients from 0.75/1.0 to 0.6/0.9 in PvP only.
- Thistleguard: Increased the cooldown from 20 seconds to 24 seconds in PvP only.
- Wild Strikes: Reduced the total damage from 2.4 to 2.0 and reduced the dazed duration from 1.5 seconds to 1 second in PvP only.
- Healing Spring: Reduced the duration of regeneration per pulse from 3 seconds to 1.5 seconds in PvP only.
- Smoke Cloud (Juvenile Smokescale): Increased the cooldown from 20 seconds to 30 seconds in PvP only.
- Stalk (Juvenile Jaguar): This skill will no longer apply stealth to downed players. Increased the cooldown from 35 seconds to 45 seconds in PvP only.
- Moment of Clarity: Reduced the daze and stun duration increase from 50% to 10% in PvP and WvW.
Untamed
- Ravager's Abandon: Reduced the power coefficient from 1.25 to 1.0625 in PvP only.
- Rampant Growth: Reduced the power coefficient from 0.91 to 0.75 in PvP only.
- Relentless Whirl: Reduced the total power coefficient from 1.7 to 1.5 in PvP only.
- Enhancing Impact: Reduced the quickness duration from 3 seconds to 1.5 seconds in PvP only.
Revenant
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The first spear skill slot's melee and ranged autoattacks have been separated to give each its own tooltip. Each attack now inflicts 1 stack of vulnerability for 6 seconds in addition to applying torment.
- Abyssal Fire: This skill's casting time has been slightly reduced. This skill now attacks up to 3 targets in a radius of 180 upon striking a foe. This attack is a 20% projectile finisher.
- Abyssal Strike: The casting time has been reduced from nearly 1 second to slightly over 0.5 seconds. Increased the attack radius to match other melee skills.
- Abyssal Force: Reduced the energy cost from 5 to 4. Reduced the casting time to 0.5 seconds. This skill now inflicts 1 stack of burning for 8 seconds instead of inflicting torment.
- Abyssal Blitz: This skill now drops a maximum of 3 mines, and the distance at which they are created has been slightly increased. Blitz mines now inflict weakness in addition to slow and chill effects.
- Abyssal Blot: This skill now pulls enemies on its first damage pulse instead of its last. Each pulse now inflicts poison for 6 seconds.
- Abyssal Raze: The casting time of this skill has been reduced from 1.25 seconds to 0.75 seconds. This skill now inflicts torment without requiring Crushing Abyss, and it inflicts 2 stacks of torment per stack of Crushing Abyss. Increased the bonus strike damage per stack of Crushing Abyss from 20% to 33% in PvE and from 10% to 17% in PvP and WvW. Reduced the energy cost of this skill from 10 to 8.
- Crushing Abyss: Reduced the maximum stacks from 5 to 3.
- Coalescence of Ruin: Reduced the power coefficient from 1.45 to 1.3 in PvP only.
- Phase Smash: Increased the cooldown from 12 seconds to 15 seconds in PvP only.
- Field of the Mists: Reduced the field duration from 6 seconds to 3 seconds in PvP and WvW.
Renegade
- Orders from Above: Reduced the alacrity duration per pulse from 1.5 seconds to 0.75 seconds in WvW only.
Vindicator
- Angsiyan's Trust: Reduced the energy granted from 25 to 10 in PvP only.
- Death Drop: Reduced the power coefficient from 1.335 to 0.75 in PvP only.
- Empire Divided: Reduced the power bonus from 240 to 120 in PvP only.
Thief
- Using a lead attack skill will now always enable follow-up skills unless the skill is interrupted.
- Using a follow-up skill will now always enable finisher skills unless the skill is interrupted.
- Mantis Sting: Reduced the bleeding from 2 stacks for 6 seconds to 1 stack for 4 seconds in PvE only.
- Unsuspecting Strike: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to be affected by movement speed.
- Entangling Asp: Reduced the poison stacks from 2 for 6 seconds to 1 for 2 seconds in PvE only.
- Falling Spider: Increased the number of targets struck from 3 to 5. Reduced the bleeding and poison stacks from 2 for 7 seconds to 1 for 3.5 seconds in PvE only.
- Shattering Assault: Increased the number of targets struck from 3 to 5.
- Ashen Assault and Malicious Ashen Assault: Increased the attack range from 170 to 240. Reduced the bleeding and poison stacks from 4 for 8 seconds to 3 for 7 seconds in PvE only.
- Fixed an issue that prevented some spear skills from generating shadow force.
- Tactical Strike: Reduced the power coefficient from 1.33 to 1.1 in PvP only.
- Infiltrator's Return: Increased the initiative cost from 2 to 3 in PvP only.
Deadeye
- Mercy: Increased the cooldown from 30 seconds to 45 seconds in PvP only.
- Malicious Tactical Strike: Reduced the damage coefficient from 1.33 to 1.1 in PvP only.
Warrior
- Mighty Throw: This skill now produces four spear shards regardless of range. The initial spear projectile deals more damage, and the follow-up shard projectiles deal less damage. This skill now counts as an explosion.
- Maiming Spear: Reduced the casting time by approximately 15%. Increased the aftershock damage coefficient from 0.6 to 1.2 in PvE only. The aftershock now occurs in a radius of 240 regardless of range, deals bonus damage to the enemy closest to the epicenter, and counts as an explosion.
- Disrupting Throw: This skill has been moved to the third skill slot. This skill now immobilizes at all ranges. This skill additionally dazes the first target struck by the projectile. Reduced the total casting time by 33%. Decreased the cooldown from 15 seconds to 10 seconds.
- Spearmarshal's Support: This skill has been moved to the fourth skill slot. Reduced the damage multiplier from 0.7 to 0.6 in PvE. The target now takes increased damage from this skill. Spears now spawn over the target without delay, regardless of its distance from the player. Increased the radius from 90 to 120. Decreased the cooldown from 20 seconds to 15 seconds.
- Spear Swipe: This skill has been moved to the fifth skill slot. Players can now move freely while casting this skill. The movement portion of this skill now occurs at the same time the projectile fires. Increased the power coefficient from 1.5 to 2.0 in PvE. This skill's projectile is now unblockable, reflects missiles, and counts as a projectile finisher. The first enemy struck by this skill's projectile is launched instead of knocked back. Increased the evasion duration from 0.5 seconds to 0.75 seconds. Increased the cooldown from 10 seconds to 20 seconds. The cooldown is decreased if an attack is evaded or at least one enemy was struck by the projectile.
- Harrier's Toss: Reduced the casting time by approximately 33%. This does not affect the evade duration. Players leap higher and can now move freely while casting this skill. This skill now does more damage to the target closest to its epicenter.
- Wild Throw: Reduced the total casting time from 2.5 seconds to 2 seconds; the total number of spears thrown remains the same. This skill now deals more damage to the first enemy it strikes. This skill is now a projectile finisher and can no longer be used on targets behind you.
- Path to Victory: This skill no longer inflicts weakness. Reduced the damage coefficient from 0.91 to 0.5 in PvP only.
- Snap Pull: Increased the cooldown from 18 seconds to 22 seconds in PvP only.
- Impale: Reduced the damage coefficient from 1.5 to 1.2 in PvP only.
Gem Store Improvements
The following changes have been made to categories and tabs in the Gem Store to aid in item searchability and to fix an issue that caused text to overlap under certain circumstances:
- The Toys tab is now named Novelties.
- The Mounts category and Skiff Skins category have been merged into the Mounts and Skiffs category under the Style tab.
- The Jade Bot Skins category, Emotes category, and Fishing Rod Skins category have been merged into the Miscellaneous category under the Style tab.
July 30, 2024 at 04:00 pm
Game Update Notes: July 30, 2024
07/30/2024—July 30 Release Notes
Festival of the Four Winds
On behalf of Queen Jennah of Kryta and the Captain's Council of Lion's Arch, you are cordially invited to participate in the return of the Festival of the Four Winds!
High atop the Labyrinthine Cliffs, our Zephyrite friends have been working in tandem with Lion's Arch to host an incredible variety of fun vendors and events to entertain visitors from all across Tyria. This celebration of unity and peace between our cultures is more important than ever before, and we hope that you will join us in the festivities.
In this spirit of cooperation, Queen Jennah has personally overseen the reopening of the Crown Pavilion, featuring a variety of challenges for Tyria's finest to test their mettle!
Transportation to the festivities couldn't be easier! Special hot air balloons are now stationed in each nation's capital city. Visitors can also sail directly on the ship from Lion's Arch.
We look forward to seeing you at the festival!
—Captain Ellen Kiel
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Complete the (Annual) Four Winds Customs meta-achievement to earn the Beach Trunks, a new leg armor piece appropriate for seashore fun.
- Last year's meta-achievement reward, the Zephyrite Headband, can now be purchased from the festival reward vendors.
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A new Sandswept weapon set is now available. You'll receive your choice of a weapon by progressing the (Annual) Four Winds Customs meta-achievement and the (Weekly) Four Winds Festivities achievement.
- Last year's Sun-Grown set can now be acquired from the weekly festival rewards vendor.
- The long-awaited Zephyrite short bow, torch, and warhorn are now available from Blessing of the Four Winds containers. Once you've unlocked one of these weapon skins, you can also acquire its upgraded Sun-Blessed form from a Zephyrite Weapon Enchanter.
- Contents of the Zephyrite Supply Boxes have been updated, including three new weapons crafted by a traveling weaponsmith.
- Added a new Mini Sea Turtle to the festival reward vendors in Labyrinthine Cliffs and Crown Pavilion.
- A new event[AI1] has been added to the Labyrinthine Cliffs seaside. Help the Zephyrites prepare for the treasure hunt by filling water balloons at the shore and sending them to the upper docks by kite basket.
- Updated the trading prices at the Bazaar of the Four Winds.
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Added new festival guild hall decorations:
- Krytan Garden Column
- Elonian Bazaar Shade
- Beach House Spiral Stairs
- Skimmer Rental Post
- Various issues have been fixed to ensure a safer and more pleasant festival for all participants.
The Festival of the Four Winds will be available for three weeks, from July 30 to August 20. Enjoy the festivities!
July 15, 2024 at 04:01 pm
07/16/2024—July 16 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
- Updated the behavior of the away-from-keyboard timer that returns players to the character-select screen after extended periods of inactivity. In open-world maps, the time remaining before a player who has not manually moved their character or performed any skill inputs is returned to character select is now reduced to 5 minutes if the player enters combat.
- Removed rocks that were blocking access to mursaat tokens 19 and 31 in Ember Bay.
Items
- Fixed an issue that prevented some legendary armor pieces from becoming invisible under the effect of thief stealth skills like Shadow Refuge.
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Updated the Communal Boost Bonfire with the following changes:
- The spawn radius of the wood has been reduced.
- Players can now place the Communal Boost Bonfire, select its boost, and interact with it, even if they are already under the effect of one of its boosts.
- A Locked Bonfire status will now apply to Communal Boost Bonfires for the first two minutes after they are placed, and only the owner will be able to select a boost during that period. When it expires, it will be replaced by a Public Bonfire status, and any player can select a boost if one has not already been selected.
- Players can now interact with a Communal Boost Bonfire multiple times to refresh the boost, up to a maximum of 60 minutes. The boost will not be refreshed if the maximum time limit has already been reached.
Structured Player vs. Player
Automated Tournament Updates
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The frequency of daily automated tournaments has been reduced from 8 to 4 per day.
- All EU server tournaments will occur during their standard prime-time player activity period.
- On North American servers, 3 tournaments will occur during NA's standard prime-time player activity period. One tournament is timed to occur during Oceanic (OCX) prime time.
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A new weekly automated tournament has been added. This tournament happens every Sunday at the following regional times:
- EU: 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7)
- NA: 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7)
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A new monthly variety automated tournament will happen every second Saturday of each month at noon Pacific Time (UTC-7).
- This tournament will alternate between 2v2 and 3v3 modes.
- Tournament of Legends will occur every 6 months on the third Saturday of each month at noon Pacific Time (UTC-7).
Structured PvP Titles
- The "Champion Brawler" title awarded for winning 10,000 rated arena games is now colored pink.
- Added a new colored tournament title, "Champion of Champions," for consistent high placement in the Kormir's Clash monthly automated tournament. Players accrue points by placing in the top 4 teams. First place awards 30 points, second place awards 15 points, and third and fourth place both award 10 points. The title is earned upon reaching 120 points.
Djinn's Dominion Objective Update
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The lamp map objective has received several updates:
- The objective now requires channeling, rather than being awarded by standing within a capture circle boundary.
- The special action skill is no longer granted to the entire team. Only the player who channeled the lamp will gain access to it.
- Leaving the lamp arena now causes subsequent uses to apply Weakened Soul for longer durations. The maximum penalty lasts for 30 seconds, refreshing when you enter or exit the lamp.
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Special action skills have been updated:
- Giant Meteor is no longer ground targeted, and it is now unblockable and requires a targeted enemy. The meteor will be attached to the target upon casting.
- Disenchantment Field has been replaced by Waters of Life, a ground-targeted area of effect that revives allies and finishes downed enemies within its radius.
- Waxing Doom has been replaced by Starfall, which damages and launches enemies in a radius around the player. Using Starfall on an enemy capture point will instantly neutralize it.
- Fixed an issue that prevented jumping players from being counted as present in the Market (middle) capture circle.
World vs. World
General
This update focuses on changing some aspects of WvW scoring, as well as some siege updates and various WvW quality-of-life improvements.
These next few changes are part of an effort to make scoring feel healthier and to make fighting for structures feel more valuable. We will monitor the impacts of these changes and adjust as needed to maintain healthy scoring as play patterns evolve.
- The victory point values from skirmishes will now be weighted based on player activity during the skirmish.
- The war score awarded for capturing objectives has been increased and will additionally increase based on the objective's tier when it is captured.
- The war score awarded for defeating an enemy player in WvW is increasing from 2 to 3.
These changes are focused on making gameplay in and around sieging structures feel healthier, paying particular attention to the tools defenders have available. We continue to strive to make both attacking and defending feel good for players.
- Objective-contesting conditions are changing. Objectives will now become contested if the lord is put into combat or if a gate or wall is damaged below 98% health.
- The Emergency Waypoint tactic now spawns 3 waypoints in various locations near the lord's room in Stonemist Castle and keeps.
- Alacrity can no longer be applied to players using siege equipment and will be removed from players when activating siege equipment.
- Boons other than swiftness can no longer be applied to siege golems.
- Flame ram health has been lowered by 50%. Iron Hide will be applied to flame rams when they are operated.
- Guild siege golem supply cost has increased from 50 to 75.
- Arrow cart supply cost has been reduced from 40 to 25.
- Superior arrow cart supply cost has been reduced from 50 to 35.
- Trebuchet supply cost has been reduced from 100 to 50.
- Superior trebuchet supply cost has been reduced from 120 to 60.
Rewards
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Added a new Corrupted Hero weapon set to WvW.
- Exotic versions of the weapons have been added to the Mist-Hardened Lockbox.
- Ascended versions of the weapons can be acquired from a new Mystic Forge recipe utilizing rare Hero weapons, which are acquired from the Hero Weapon Reward Track.
- Added varietal seeds to herb synthesizers.
June 24, 2024 at 09:54 pm
06/25/2024—June 25 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.
Land Spear Beta Event
The land spear beta event begins this Thursday! The event runs from June 27 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) until June 30 at 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7). Every Guild Wars 2 account in good standing, including Play-for-Free accounts, will automatically get character slots marked "Beta" when the beta event begins. Clicking on one of these slots will allow you to create a character using any of the nine Guild Wars 2 professions.
General
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Added an option to hide or unhide aquabreathers in the equipment panel.
- When the aquabreather is hidden and the player's equipped head armor is not hidden, the head armor will be shown when underwater.
- The aquabreather's attributes will still be used when underwater.
- Fixed an issue that caused some vendors' interfaces to scroll down when purchasing items from them.
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Updated the Sunken Treasure Hunter content in anticipation of an upcoming weekly event:
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Sunken chests have been added to the end of the Aquatic Ruins fractal and Siren's Reef fractal.
- Deadly piranhas will now subside after the Siren's Reef boss encounter is completed.
- In addition to resetting when the Master Diver achievement is completed, sunken chests will now also reset upon logging in or your first time entering a map after the weekly reset.
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The locations of some sunken chests have been adjusted within the map they are located in, primarily where they overlapped with quaggan villages.
- Hint cinematics for the chests have been updated.
- Ornate rusted keys can now be double-clicked to show a hint cinematic for the next available sunken chest in the Master Diver achievement.
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Dive Master Astora's merchant inventory has been updated.
- Swim-speed infusion upgrades have been condensed to encourage upgrading in increments of 5; single-point upgrades are still available.
- An account-based swim-speed infusion is now available. This infusion begins at +15 increased swimming speed and can be permanently improved for all characters on your account by purchasing upgrade items from Dive Master Astora.
- Infusable, exotic-quality aquabreathers are now available so that players can enjoy their swim-speed infusions before they have earned an ascended aquabreather.
- A limited number of extra ornate rusted keys can be purchased for karma each week, and excess keys can be exchanged for karma.
- Some of the new items will be available as prizes in an upcoming weekly event.
- Made various functionality improvements to opening and resetting sunken chests.
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Sunken chests have been added to the end of the Aquatic Ruins fractal and Siren's Reef fractal.
- Lowered the difficulty of the "Help Lucretia get back to Garenhoff" event to make it easier for one player to complete.
- Fixed an issue that caused players to become trapped in the catapults near Garrison Waypoint.
- Fixed an issue that could prevent the rockslides encountered in the Missing Brood collection from being in the proper animation state.
Fractals
Lonely Tower Fractal
- Reduced the boon corruption Eparch causes with Envy Empowerment.
- Eparch's Consume skill will only absorb emotion globules that are 5 or more seconds old.
- Reduced Eparch's health.
- Fixed an issue that prevented Wave of Envy from hitting enemies if they were standing too close to Eparch.
- Reduced the boon corruption dealt by Wave of Envy. The skill no longer corrupts boons on players who evade the attack.
- Reduced the health of the rift guardian champions summoned during the encounter in challenge mode.
Strike Missions
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Some balance adjustments have been made to the Temple of Febe challenge mode encounter to make it more accessible. These changes do not apply to the legendary version of the encounter.
- Reduced the duration of the Insatiable effect applied by Empowered Insatiable Hunger to 3 minutes.
- Reduced the number of stacks of Empowered that Cerus gains from Empowered Smash to 2.
- Reduced the health and toughness of Malicious Shadows.
- Reduced the penalty for failure during Empowered Crushing Regret. Failure to have enough people to absorb an attack will cause players to be downed instead of defeated, as will being hit by two of the attacks. Multiple failures or being hit by the skill more than two times will still cause players to be defeated.
Player vs. Player
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The number of ascended shards of glory required to purchase ascended gear from PvP vendors has been decreased.
- The cost for a set of ascended armor has been lowered from 1,200 ascended shards of glory to 800 ascended shards of glory.
- The cost for a two-handed ascended weapon has been lowered from 400 ascended shards of glory to 200 ascended shards of glory.
- The cost for a one-handed ascended weapon has been lowered from 400 ascended shards of glory to 100 ascended shards of glory.
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The following changes will apply to ranked reward tracks starting with the next PvP league season, Season 42, which begins on July 2.
- The total number of boxes of grandmaster marks obtainable from the reward track has been increased from 3 to 9. The repeatable byzantium chest also contains a box of grandmaster marks.
- Instant reward track potions have been added to each tier at a rate of 3 potions per 10 pips.
- Vials of karma have been added to each tier at a rate of 3 vials per 10 pips.
Personal Story
Secrets of the Obscure
- Additional messaging has been added to chapter 18, The Eleventh Hour, to recommend completion of the Into the Spider's Lair meta-event in Inner Nayos before proceeding into the story instance.
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A new achievement, True Ending: The Eleventh Hour, has been added to "The Midnight King" story achievements. Successfully completing the Into the Spider's Lair meta-event with The Eleventh Hour as your active story step before entering the instance will award the achievement.
- This achievement has been added to the list of achievements that award progress toward completing the Secrets of the Obscure: The Midnight King Mastery meta-achievement.
Items
- Players who misplaced their Saga's End Draconic Core or would like extras can now purchase additional copies from Sarettokk in Lion's Arch after completing all requirements to earn the item.
- Suffused Obsidian armor skin consumables' rarity has been updated from legendary to exotic to prevent the deletion confirmation from requiring players to type out the name.
- Fixed an issue that prevented Eparch's Empowered Greatsword and Eparch's Empowered Sword skins from being unlocked in the wardrobe.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Saryx Backpiece, the Midnight King Backpiece, and the infused versions of both to grant exotic attribute values instead of ascended attribute values.
Profession Skills
Below are changes to the balance preview notes we previously shared. You can see the original balance preview notes here.
Elementalist
Catalyst
- Elemental Celerity: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to fail when the user was holding a conjured weapon in WvW and PvP.
Guardian
- Leap of Faith: Increased the radius from 180 to 240.
Firebrand
- Mantras now automatically charge in combat in PvE only.
- Mantra of Solace: Increased the arc angle from 60 degrees to 160 degrees.
- Mantra of Lore: Increased the arc angle from 60 degrees to 160 degrees.
- Mantra of Potence: Increased the arc angle from 60 degrees to 160 degrees.
- Mantra of Liberation: Increased the arc angle from 60 degrees to 160 degrees.
Willbender
- Rushing Justice: Increased the Justice effect duration from 6 seconds to 8 seconds in PvE only.
Necromancer
Reaper
- Blighter's Boon: Increased the base healing from 85 to 101.
Ranger
- Stalk (Juvenile Jaguar): This skill now applies stealth to the ranger in addition to the pet. Increased the cooldown from 20 seconds to 35 seconds in WvW and PvP.
Revenant
Herald
- Facet of Darkness: Reduced the cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvP only.
- True Nature (Legendary Dragon): This skill now cleanses 3 conditions from nearby allies when used.
June 03, 2024 at 06:13 pm
06/04/2024—June 4 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.
Prepurchase Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds
Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds arrives on August 20! Preorder the Standard, Deluxe, or Ultimate Edition of Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds before release to unlock the Whispering Serpents Pauldrons Skin, a Serpent's Wrath weapon skin, and a new title, "Homesteader." You can learn more about our latest expansion here.
Dragon Bash Festival
It's time for Dragon Bash! It wouldn't be a proper celebration without your attendance. Join me in Hoelbrak for another moot for the ages! There will be tests of strength, racing, food, song, and—most importantly—ale.
I'll see you there. Unless, of course, you don't enjoy fun.
—Knut Whitebear
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Join the celebration in Hoelbrak! Celebrate Tyria's resistance against the Elder Dragons while engaging in a variety of festive games, including:
- Dragon Arena: Show off your dragon-fighting prowess against lifelike holograms in the Dragon Arena, or challenge a more difficult gauntlet in Dragon Arena Survival.
- Hologram Stampede: The fighting continues in the Hologram Stampede, a map-wide scramble to clear the Hoelbrak countryside of deadly enemies.
- Piñata Bashing: Master the tradition of destroying dragon piñatas in the Piñata Bashing adventure.
- Dragon Bash Rally: Speed around Hoelbrak in the Dragon Bash Rally mounted race.
- Moa Race: Tigg's famous racing moas return in a moa race event. Put your zhaitaffy on the line and cheer on the winner!
- The festival meta-achievement, Annual Dragon Bash Feats, has been updated with a new reward, the Holographic Dragon Cuisses. Last year's reward, the Holographic Dragon Plate chest armor, can now be purchased from the Dragon Bash Merchant [Prizes].
- A new Sacred Crystal weapon set crafted by the Crystal Bloom is now available! You'll receive your choice of a weapon by progressing the Dragon Bash Feats meta-achievement, and you can acquire additional weapons from the Dragon Bash Festivities weekly achievement. Last year's weapon set, the Dragonrender weapons, are now available from the Dragon Bash Weekly Trader.
- Three new Bonfire weapons are now available as a rare drop from Dragon Coffers. They can also be purchased from Sparking Stone [Weapons], a Dragon Bash vendor in Hoelbrak.
- A new mini, the Mini Mystical Blue Orb, has been added to the Dragon Bash rewards vendor.
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New guild decorations have been added:
- Wrought Iron Dragon Statue
- Wrought Iron Dragon Body
- Wrought Iron Dragon Tail
- Skyscale Rental Post
- The Dragon Arena has been updated with a sixth round and new champion to face, the holographic saltspray dragon!
- Dragon Arena Survival has been changed to Dragon Arena (Private), with a selectable difficulty modifier rather than needing to play through each difficulty in order.
- The (Annual) Going the Distance achievement now awards extra credit for finishing the full race event, reducing the number of race laps needed to complete it.
- Braham and Myrun are now updated with new conversations in the festival for players who have completed the Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons story.
- Tidied up small issues to ensure a friendly atmosphere for festivalgoers.
- The party rages for three weeks, from June 4 until June 25 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-7). Get bashing!
General
- The Master of Masteries: Secrets of the Obscure achievement now properly updates progress when players log in.
- The Tier 2 Legendary Armor: Suffused Obsidian achievement has been updated to count completion of the Road to Heitor and the Fangs That Gnash event chains.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Tier 2 Legendary Armor: Suffused Obsidian achievement tracking effect to incorrectly display the number of world bosses defeated.
- Fixed an issue that prevented the "Defeat the enraged grawl rampaging through Martyr's Woods" event in Plains of Ashford from restarting.
- Fixed an issue that prevented the event UI from displaying the boss's name in the "Defeat the Risen and free Agent Raia from her broken battlesuit" event in Straits of Devastation.
- Fixed an issue that prevented the map from properly revealing in the Temple of Febe Strike Mission.
- One-Handed Skyscale Weapon Box: Fixed an issue that caused the Skyscale Shield skin to continue to appear as an option after the player had already unlocked the skin.
- What Was Before Achievement: Fixed an issue that caused players who hadn't started the achievement's collection to see visual effects relating to it. Fixed an issue that prevented players from receiving the special action skill needed to locate relics if they were defeated while the collection was active.
Amnytas
- Fixed issues in the "Help Lyhr bring order to the debate hall" and "Engage the avatars and free the Bastion of Balance" events.
- Fixed an issue that caused two ley lines in the Amnytas Supply Run adventure to ignore the "Disable Ley-line Riding" effect.
- Fixed an issue that caused players to get stuck between two intersecting ley lines.
Inner Nayos
- A new achievement, Inner Nayos Explorer, has been added. Completion of this achievement will progress the Skyfarer achievement.
- Adjusted the balance of the "Defend the turrets from being destroyed" event.
- The Fangs That Gnash: Added a voice-over callout when the colosseum begins to fall under enemy control.
- Fixed an issue that prevented the Malignant Fog effect from being properly applied after revival if a player was still inside of Eparch's barrier.
- Updated the processing of voice-over dialogue at the end of the Into the Spider's Lair meta-event.
- Fixed an issue in the "Disrupt Apprentice Scyllan's ritual" event that caused the Temple of Charybda roof to prevent players from accessing top floor via the stairs.
- Fixed an issue that caused players to be suddenly teleported when navigating outside the Lost Altar.
Skywatch Archipelago
- Fixed an issue in which Ward Technician Ranald's voice over did not have proper processing during the "Burn grubs and insects with your skyscale" event.
Echovald Wilds
- Fixed an issue with the Forever Tree event chain.
- Adjusted the Temple of the Dredge event and the Igne Mossheart event chains to not depend on each other for restarting in order to allow easier access to the Temple of the Dredge mastery point.
Fractals
- The Lonely Tower: Added an in-world chest for completing the Cerus and Deimos encounter on both normal and challenge modes.
- The Lonely Tower: Essence orbs spawned during the final encounter will now display their names when moused over and will no longer be targeted by player skills as if they were hostile.
Personal Story
- Added limited skyscale access in chapter 19 of Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure for players who don't have skyscales unlocked.
Items
- Guild weaponsmiths and guild armorers now sell Guild Kites. Guilds need to have Guild Armorer 1 or 2 or Guild Weaponsmith 1 or 2 to access this exchange.
- Fixed an issue in which the legendary relic was not using the legendary relic icon when selecting relics from Secrets of the Obscure Set 3.
World vs. World
- The World Restructuring beta will be activated as the full-time World vs. World team creation system beginning with WvW Resets in each region on Friday, June 14. Be sure to choose your guild before 11:45 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) on Thursday, June 13 to be sorted into your desired team. You can do this by using the "Set as WvW Guild" option in the Guild Panel.
May 20, 2024 at 05:05 pm
05/21/2024—May 21 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.
Release Highlights
- The final major release of Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure is here, bringing the commander deeper into the world of Nayos, to the Citadel of Zakiros, where the indomitable Midnight King himself resides.
- The Wizard's Vault has been updated with new rewards and objectives.
- A new fractal dungeon has been added: the Lonely Tower.
- A challenge mode difficulty tier for Convergences has been added, as well as a new Convergences boss.
- A new Mastery tier, the Wayfinder Mastery, has been added to the Astral Ward Mastery track.
- New events and adventures have been added to Inner Nayos and Amnytas.
- A sixth guild slot has been unlocked for all accounts.
- Six new relics have been added.
- The second tier of the legendary Obsidian armor set has been added.
- Quality-of life updates have been made, including custom reticles for the action camera.
- A new ranger pet, the juvenile spinegazer, is now available.
- Updates have been made to World vs. World.
The Midnight King
After Peitha's failed gamble at the coliseum, turmoil grips Inner Nayos. Eparch hunkers in the spires of Zakiros, amassing unfathomable power. Isgarren has yet to commit the full might of the Astral Ward, but the time for Peitha's forces to strike runs short. Shoulder to shoulder with an unlikely alliance of soldiers, wizards, and demons, the wayfinder spearheads a desperate attempt to overthrow the Midnight King and take the throne of the Realm of Dreams.
Wizard's Vault
- The Wizard's Vault's inventory has been updated for the new season! Last season's unique rewards are now available in the Legacy shop.
- New Special Objectives for the season have been added, and more will appear over the course of the season, including Special Objectives associated with Bonus Events and Festivals.
Shop Inventory Updates
- The Legendary Weapon Starter Kit has been updated to set 4, with two new kits and two returning kits available.
Fractals
The Lonely Tower
Immediately following the foundation of the Astral Ward, Eparch finally returned to Tyria to strike back against Isgarren's "betrayal"—this time with a full entourage. Help Isgarren, Mabon, and Dagda navigate the crumbling halls of the Wizard's Tower and push the Kryptis back to where they came from.
- In order to make room for the new fractal, the fractals found on the following levels have been adjusted: 21, 25, 43, 50, 66, 75, 93, 96, 97, 98, 99, and 100.
General
- A new ranger pet, the juvenile spinegazer, is available to tame inside of Inner Nayos.
- Squad messages under a certain length can now be viewed on the minimap by hovering over a commander tag icon.
- The maximum number of guild membership slots has been increased from 5 to 6 for all players.
- Reduced the number of correct channels required to open both lesser and greater arcane chests.
- Fixed an issue that prevented charge time from being properly reduced if a player with both Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire and Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure skyscale Masteries unlocked held the key to charge the Wall Spring ability before clinging to a wall.
- Kryptis rifts will now attract more enemies than before, and when enemies are defeated, reinforcements will arrive sooner. This change applies to all Kryptis rifts except those found in Inner Nayos.
- Fixed an issue that caused the list of active rifts accessed by using Scan for Rift to display Mount Maelstrom's map when viewing rift activity in Seitung Province and Seitung Province's map when viewing rift activity in Mount Maelstrom.
- Fixed an issue that prevented certain tier 2 Kryptis rift events from scaling properly.
- The bird whistle required to complete the Skyscale Toys collection is now available for purchase from Ohtrogg, Bird Whisperer, who is in Grostogg's Kraal near Ebbing Heart Run in Iron Marches.
- The Rising Spirits Mastery now activates upon entering most ley lines outside the Horn of Maguuma region.
- All lounge passes available for purchase from the Black Lion Trading Company now provide an option to teleport to the Wizard's Tower. To see this option, players must first unlock access to the Wizard's Tower by completing the sixth Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure story chapter, Tower of Secrets.
- Fixed an issue that could cause progress toward completing the Defeat the Fire Elemental World Boss or Complete Events in Metrica Province objective in the Wizard's Vault to be awarded when events in Iron Marches were completed.
- Chapters 4 and 8 of the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure story will now properly award credit toward completing rift events in the following maps: Desert Highlands, Bloodstone Fen, Jahai Bluffs, Straits of Devastation, Auric Basin, Fireheart Rise, Dry Top, Amnytas, Inner Nayos, Frostgorge Sound, Cursed Shore, Bitterfrost Frontier, Iron Marches, Ember Bay, Crystal Oasis, Southsun Cove, Verdant Brink, Seitung Province, and New Kaineng City.
- Fixed an issue that prevented multiple updrafts in Skywatch Archipelago, Amnytas, and Inner Nayos from properly recognizing Mastery progression.
- Fixed an issue that prevented the Qinkaishi Falls point of interest icon on the Echovald Wilds map from flashing when a player who had not discovered it moved their mouse over it.
- Unified the icon colors used in the Skyscale Target Practice adventures.
- Jade tech offensive and defensive protocols' effect cooldowns have been reverted to 30 seconds, down from 90 seconds. Note that the issue that allowed these effects to trigger more frequently than every 30 seconds remains fixed. This is in line with the original intent of these effects—to provide a temporary boost of power at the start of combat—and prevents the unintended behavior of using them to permanently maintain boons.
- Sons of Svanir in Bjora Marches will now count toward the Sons of Svanir's Bane achievement and the Defeat 100 Void Enemies or Sons of Svanir objective in the Wizard's Vault.
- Sons of Svanir enemies in the Dragonstorm event will now count as Sons of Svanir instead of icebrood for achievement progress.
- Fixed an issue that prevented the Lady Shamshir bounty event in Domain of Istan from restarting properly.
- Fixed an issue that prevented Ballistician Dexa from moving, halting progress in the "Collect scrap metal to help Ballistician Dexa build her siege weapon" event in Cursed Shore.
- Fixed an issue that caused an enemy in the "Clear Broken Spit of the Risen sea creatures replicating themselves" event in Straits of Devastation to be inaccessible, preventing event completion.
- Fixed an issue that could cause Captain Fa to become stuck during the Battle for the Jade Sea meta-event, halting event progress.
- Ramses and Arina will now display markers to indicate that optional conversation dialogue is available during chapter 11 of the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure story, Duress.
- In chapters 11, 12, and 13 of the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure story, party members will now be able to see conversations when the instance owner initiates them.
- A new achievement for collecting minis from Secrets of the Obscure has been added. Entering the Wizard's Tower or Lion's Arch will retroactively update progress.
Action Camera Reticle Settings
The ability to customize the shape and color of action camera targeting reticles has been added. This feature can be found in the General Options tab of the Options panel, below Cursor Contrast settings. This setting applies to all action camera uses, including aiming the skyscale's Fireball skill.
Skywatch Archipelago
- Lowered the difficulty of the "Protect the injured Rift Hunters" event to make it easier to complete with one player.
Amnytas
- Additional events and adventures that can be completed solo have been added to Amnytas.
- Decreased the number of ritual moves needed to complete the "Mimic Dagda's ritual moves to lend power to the summoning" objective during the "Defeat Nourys, the Eyes of the Abyss" stage of the Defense of Amnytas meta-event.
- The starlight lantern previously located in Cellar of Arcana in Amnytas has been moved outside, west of the point of interest, to make it available even when players cannot access the cellar.
- The Great Debate Hall's point of interest radius has been adjusted, and it can now be unlocked by standing near the main gate while it is closed.
- Fixed an issue that caused Forro's dialogue to play from their character model instead of the player's communication device during the "Help Forro purge corruption from the animals and return them home" event in Amnytas.
- Fixed an issue that caused the creatures in the "Help Forro purge corruption from the animals and return them home" event in Amnytas to display odd pathing behavior when moving into their kennels.
Inner Nayos
- The Road to Heitor and the Fangs that Gnash event chains have been rebalanced to allow shorter overall run times with the introduction of the Into the Spider's Lair meta-event.
-
Inner Nayos map completion rewards have been updated to standard map completion rewards. The Gift of Inner Nayos is not included in this reward.
- The number of starlight lanterns that must be lit to complete the Illuminating Inner Nayos achievement is unchanged and will persist regardless of map completion progress.
- The Inner Nayos explorable zone's first waypoint will now be unlocked upon entering the map for the first time if a player has access to Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure and has completed chapter 11 or has started chapter 14 or chapter 17 of the story on any character.
- Added a fishing supplies vendor to the Astral Ward camp.
- New fishing holes will appear in bodies of water around Nyedra Surrounds and the Citadel of Zakiros following successful completion of the Into the Spider's Lair meta-event.
- Added a cooldown to the hint that appears when running out of loose vegetation during the "Use your skyscale to pick food and deliver it to the starving Kryptis" event.
- Fixed an issue that caused loose vegetation to remain visible after completing the "Use your skyscale to pick food and deliver it to the starving Kryptis" event.
- Reduced the cooldown of the Throw Food special action skill from 5 seconds to 3 seconds in the "Use your skyscale to pick food and deliver it to the starving Kryptis" event.
- Fixed an issue that prevented Frode and Emund's dialogue from playing properly over the player's communication device during the Fangs That Gnash event chain.
- During the "Defeat the Champion Avatar of Envy" event, encounters with Nereidum, Chosen of Charybda or Vespera, Scribe of Charybda will now alternate instead of the chance to encounter them being randomly determined.
- Reduced the frequency of dialogue lines heard while destroying Kryptis turrets in the "Use your skyscale to intercept magic around the extractor" event.
- Fixed an issue that caused some moving Kryptis turrets to have higher health compared to other turrets in the "Use your skyscale to intercept magic around the extractor" event.
The Wizard's Tower
- A laurel vendor, guild bank, and Black Lion Chest merchant have been added northeast of the Empyrean Plaza point of interest.
- Jade tech offensive and defensive protocols, a charging station, and a jade bot workbench have been added west of the Empyrean Plaza point of interest.
Items
- Stealth now correctly affects players wearing Perfected Envoy armor.
- The World Boss Portal Device available from the Black Lion Trading Company now includes notifications and teleporting options for Convergences. To access this option, players must first unlock the Wizard's Tower by completing chapter 6 of the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure story.
- Purchasing the Saryx Backpiece or Possession Infusion from Nikki the Lost in the Wizard's Tower now correctly requires completion of the Legendary Temple of Febe achievement.
- Drakkar's Hoard containers are now stackable.
- Fractal Weapon Crate containers are now stackable.
-
The recipe components for the following enhancement stations have been updated:
- Sharpening Stone Station
- Tuning Crystal Station
- Maintenance Oil Station
- Fixed an issue that prevented players from teleporting back to their previous map from the Noble's Folly lounge.
World vs. World
- Attack and defend events will now display the health bars of tower, keep, and castle lords.
- Siege disruptors are now unblockable.
- The Chilling Fog tactic has been renamed Healing Mist. This tactic will now deploy a healing mist throughout objectives that pulses healing to allied forces inside the objective for the duration.
- The amount of supply provided by the Supply Drop tactic has increased from 100 to 200.
- Keeps' base supply amount has increased from 400 to 450. Their supply increase at tier 3 has increased from 200 to 250.
- The capture boundaries for Stonemist Castle and the northern camp in Alpine Borderlands have been slightly increased.
- A new one-time purchase container has been added to Legendary Commander War Razor's Titles tab. This container will allow all players to select a title representing the current WvW world names in preparation for their retirement with World Restructuring.
- Added the Next Team Creation Lockout timer to the Guild Panel UI. Once the countdown timer is complete, players will be unable to change their WvW guild membership until the next WvW reset for their region.
Profession Skills
Engineer
- Holosmith: Fixed an issue that caused some players to use the engineer version of certain sword weapon skills instead of the holosmith version, even when the holosmith elite specialization was equipped.
- Surprise Shot: Increased the cooldown from 8 seconds to 12 seconds in PvP only.
- Particle Accelerator: Increased the cooldown from 10 seconds to 15 seconds in PvP only.
- Aim-Assisted Rocket: Fixed an issue that caused this trait to begin its internal cooldown when a missile struck an ally.
- Flashbang: Reduced the dazed duration from 1 second to 0.5 seconds in PvP only.
- Lock On: Reduced the revealed duration when striking a stealthed target from 6 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP only. Reduced the revealed duration when disabling a target from 6 seconds to 4 seconds in PvP only.
Mesmer
- Mantra of Recovery: Increased the cooldown from 15 seconds to 24 seconds in PvP only.
- Time Warp: This skill no longer inflicts chilled.
- Effervescence: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to be easily cancelled early.
Ranger
- Force of Nature: Reduced the damage bonus from 15% to 10% in PvP and WvW. Reduced the stability stacks from 5 to 1 in PvP only. Reduced the mace-skill recharge reduction from 100% to 20% in PvP only.
- Rampant Growth: Reduced the damage coefficient from 1.0 to 0.91 in PvP only.
- Heavy Shot (Juvenile Siege Turtle): Reduced the damage coefficient from 1.0 to 0.5 in PvP and WvW.
Revenant
- Coalescence of Ruin: Reduced the damage coefficient from 1.75 to 1.45 in PvP only. Increased the height of the damage hit box.
- Field of the Mists: Reduced the damage coefficient from 1.35 to 1.1 in PvP and WvW.
- Urn of Saint Viktor: Reduced the strike damage reduction and the condition damage reduction from 50% to 33% in PvP only. Increased the cooldown from 2 seconds to 10 seconds in PvP only.
Thief
- Venomous Volley: Reduced the poison duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in PvE only.
- Harrowing Storm: Reduced the torment duration from 4 seconds to 2 seconds in PvE only.
- Cunning Salvo: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to restore profession-mechanic resources when reflected by a non-thief player.
- Malicious Cunning Salvo: Reduced the bleeding stacks from 2 to 1 in PvE only.
April 12, 2024 at 07:44 pm
Game Update Notes: April 16, 2024
04/16/2024—April 16 Release Notes
Note to users of third-party programs: Due to possible incompatibilities, the game may not launch or work properly after we release a new build if you use a third-party program. 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.
Super Adventure Festival
Moto's world-renowned Super Adventure Box returns again! Explore two worlds (and one test zone) of excitement, peril, and educational entertainment to earn holographic weapons and a variety of loot. Travelers can visit the Super Adventure Box in Rata Sum—temporary portals have been placed in each major city to facilitate easy travel to the scenic hub of asuran culture!
- Complete the festival's meta-achievement, (Annual) Super Adventure Box Nostalgia, to earn the new Powered Shoulders armor! Last year's reward, the Powered Gloves, are now available from the Super Adventure Box traders.
- The new Golem Buster weapon set is now available! You'll receive your choice of a weapon by progressing the Super Adventure Box Nostalgia meta-achievement, and you can earn additional choices through weekly festival achievements.
- New weapons have been added to the Retro-Forged set! You can purchase these weapons directly from a festival vendor or find them as rare drops in Super Loot Bags.
- The (Annual) Super Adventure Box Nostalgia meta-achievement has been updated with additional goals, including the box's prototype level, the World 3 Test Zone!
- The weekly Super Adventure Festival achievements have been combined into a single achievement, (Weekly) Super Replay.
-
New updates have been added to the Test Zone:
- Shops!
- Blue oozes!
- Secret caves!
- A coin-collecting adventure!
- And new achievements to go along with them. Delve into the caves of the Test Zone, aid the miner choya, and gain never-before-seen tools for your super adventure!
- The Mega Bomb has been updated to use ammunition charges rather than consuming baubles on use.
-
New Super Adventure Box-themed guild decorations have been added! Turn your hall into the cavernous level of your dreams.
- Super Grand Gate
- Super Owl Statue
- Super Red Crystal
- Jackal Rental Post
- Special objectives are available in the Wizard's Vault to earn extra astral acclaim as you enjoy the festival.
- A number of super adventure-related bugs have been fixed to ensure a safe education for all heroes.
- Festivities begin on April 16 and continue until May 7 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-7).
Cosmetic Inspection
-
The new cosmetic inspection feature has been added. You can use it to view a targeted player's equipped outfit, armor skins, weapon skins, and dyes.
- You can bring up the inspection option by right-clicking on a player's portrait or by typing "/inspect" with a player targeted. If no player is targeted, you'll see your own character's information.
- Weapon information is hidden in competitive maps.
-
Many skins will now include information about the primary source for obtaining them when viewed in the Wardrobe or Inspect panels.
- Due to the number of weapon and armor skins in the vast world of Tyria, the source descriptions are a work in progress that will be completed over time.
World Polish
-
Jade Tech Offensive Protocol and Jade Tech Defensive Protocol have received the following updates:
- Increased the duration of jade tech offensive and defensive overcharge effects per activation from 15 minutes to 45 minutes.
- Increased the maximum stack duration for jade tech offensive and defensive overcharge effects from 2.25 hours to 3 hours.
- Removed the time-out period for applying additional jade tech offensive and defensive overcharge effects and shortened the duration of interactions.
- Increased the internal cooldown for jade tech offensive and defensive overcharge application when entering combat from 30 seconds to 90 seconds.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Defeat the Claw of Jormag World Boss or Complete Events in Frostgorge Sound weekly objective in the Wizard's Vault to only progress by one point when the Claw of Jormag itself was defeated, rather than instantly completing.
- Fixed a client crash in Convergences.
Items
- Hero's choice chests will now appear in a clickable pop-up UI chest instead of being manually obtained from a chest object in the world.
World vs. World
The following changes are part of an ongoing effort to make fighting for—and in—objectives feel better for attacking groups, as the defenders' advantage inside their own structures was previously too strong. While we don't want to swing that advantage completely in favor of attacking groups, we also want to encourage player interaction so that large portions of attacks against structures don't feel like a slog with little payoff. We feel that these changes will help to incentivize more player vs. player interactions while still allowing for defensive tactical gameplay. We will continue to monitor how these changes affect sieges and structure attacks.
- Across all objective tiers, walls and gates will now be rebuilt when 50% of their health has been restored.
-
Several objectives' capture boundaries have been resized in all four maps:
- Resource camp capture boundaries are now the same size in all four maps, with two outliers: Rogue's Quarry (the green world's northern camp in Eternal Battlegrounds) and Hamm's Lab (the northern camp in Desert Borderlands) remain unchanged. Generally, this is a reduction in capture boundary size for Alpine Borderlands and Eternal Battlegrounds camps and an increase for Desert Borderlands camps.
- Capture boundaries in O'del Academy, Crankshaft Depot, and Parched Outpost (northwest, southwest, and southeast Desert Borderlands towers) have been reduced.
- Stonemist Castle's capture boundary has been reduced and centered.
- Capture boundaries for Green World Keep, Red World Keep, and Blue World Keep in Eternal Battlegrounds have all been reduced.
- Capture boundaries for garrisons in Alpine Borderlands have been reduced and centered.
- Capture boundaries for Dreadfall Bay and Ascension Bay in Alpine Borderlands have been reduced and now match those of Shadaran Hills and Askalion Hills.
- Synthesizer and tactivator locations have been moved in most camps to ensure that they are still inside the capture boundaries.
- Presence of the Keep and Guild Objective Aura bonus effects now provide +25 power, precision, toughness, and vitality instead of +100.
- The Empower healing skill that was added to keep lords in Alpine Borderlands and Eternal Battlegrounds will now grant stability to allies it affects.
- Siege golems no longer cause capture objectives to be contested in WvW.
- Flame rams' Iron Will skill now shares a cooldown between players.
- The Siege Disabled effect marker has been removed from siege weapons affected by siege disruptors.
The next few changes continue from a recent update that added new bag options with grandmaster mark shards included in the price. Our goal for this, and for updates from last year, is to give WvW players more options for spending their WvW currencies and improve quality of life for currency exchange in WvW. We felt that a surplus of memories of battle, specifically, brought the price down too far and that there were not enough opportunities to spend them. We will continue keeping an eye on this vendor and other new purchase options to determine whether we need to make further updates.
- Proofs of heroics and testimonies of desert heroics can now be traded to heroics notaries in exchange for testimonies of jade heroics. All items offered by heroics notaries have been updated to require testimonies of jade heroics.
- Memories of battle are no longer available for purchase from Dugan, and some of the merchant's purchasing options have been updated.
- An option to exchange boxes of grandmaster marks for grandmaster mark shards has been added to the skirmish supervisor.
Profession Skills
Engineer
- Gleam Saber: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to reduce the recharge time of Radiant Arc by 3 seconds when the holosmith elite specialization was not equipped.
- Photonic Blasting Module: Reduced the damage coefficient from 3.5 to 2.5 in WvW only.
- Prime Light Beam: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to strike 10 targets instead of the intended 5.
- Essence of Animated Sand: Reduced the barrier healing power coefficient from 1.0 to 0.5 in WvW only. Reduced the initial might from 5 stacks to 2 stacks in WvW and PvP.
- Essence of Living Shadows: Reduced the initial conditions cleansed from 2 to 1 in WvW only.
- Essence of Liquid Wrath: Fixed an issue that caused the tooltip to display longer durations than intended in WvW only.
- Bulwark Gyro: Increased the cooldown from 20 seconds to 30 seconds in WvW only. Reduced the base initial barrier from 1,620 to 1,140 and the base pulsing barrier from 810 to 560 in WvW only. Reduced the initial barrier healing power coefficient from 0.8 to 0.5 and the pulse barrier healing power coefficient from 0.4 to 0.25 in WvW only.
Guardian
- Symbol of Protection: Reduced the symbol damage coefficient from 0.4 to 0.25 in WvW only.
Mesmer
- Fixed an issue that prevented the shimmering visual effect from appearing on the skill bar for characters using the mirage elite specialization.
- Chaotic Transference: This trait no longer shares chaos aura with nearby allies. It now grants regeneration to nearby allies when you apply chaos aura to yourself.
- Mender's Purity: Lesser Power Cleanse no longer triggers Restorative Mantras.
- Journey: Reduced the base healing from 911 to 719 and reduced the healing power coefficient from 0.67 to 0.4 in PvP only.
- Abstraction: Reduced the base healing from 1,930 to 1,610 and reduced the healing power coefficient from 1.0 to 0.8 in PvP only.
Ranger
- Live Vicariously: This trait is no longer activated by pulsing healing effects, such as regeneration.
- Flourish: Reduced the base healing from 970 to 509 in PvE only. Reduced the healing power coefficient from 0.4 to 0.25 and reduced the regeneration duration from 4 seconds to 3 seconds in PvP only.
- Invigorating Bond: Reduced the base healing from 1,020 to 820. Reduced the healing power coefficient from 1.0 to 0.5 and reduced the protection duration from 4 seconds to 3 seconds in PvP only.
Revenant
- True Nature: Fixed an issue that could cause this skill to be accidentally cast immediately after activating Facet of Nature.
Warrior
- Path to Victory: Reduced the damage coefficient from 1.25 to 0.91 in PvP only. Reduced the base healing from 975/1,950/2,925 to 559/1,742/2,925 based on adrenaline level in PvP only. Increased the healing power coefficient from 1.0/1.25/1.5 to 1.33/1.67/2.0 in PvP only.
- Line Breaker: Reduced the base healing from 2,203 to 1,320 and increased the healing power coefficient from 1.25 to 1.75 in PvP only.
- Snap Pull: Increased the casting time by 0.15 seconds.
- Bullet Catcher: Increased the cooldown from 25 seconds to 30 seconds in PvP only.
- Scorched Earth: Reduced the number of targets from 5 to 3 in WvW only.
March 18, 2024 at 04:49 pm
03/19/2024—March 19 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
- Added new custom postprocessing options to the Graphics Options menu. This allows new, finer control over what postprocessing effects are active.
- Optimized loading times between starting the game and getting to the character selection screen. Load times are improved by approximately 3 seconds, depending on your hardware configuration.
-
Updated 11 item converters to use the vendor interface, allowing these to draw directly from players' banks in addition to their inventories:
- Candy Corn Gobbler
- Herta
- Mawdrey II
- Princess
- Star of Gratitude
- Sentient Aberration
- Sentient Anomaly
- Sentient Oddity
- Shards of Glory Converter
- Memory Gobbler
- Spearmarshal's Plea
- Fixed an issue that could cause fashion prompts during the April Fools' fashion shows in Lion's Arch to end if the show went for long enough.
- Prospective contestants will now be moved to the audience area between fashion shows.
- Cheering skills in fashion shows now grant the contestant on stage an escalating amount of approval from the judges based on the skill used.
- The Noblesse Oblige Mastery, which increases revive speed and removes downed penalties on a successful revive, will no longer remove downed penalties in Strike Mission and raid challenge mode encounters. This will help maintain the intended difficulty level of these encounters by reinstating some penalties for ignoring encounter mechanics.
Amnytas
- Moved the Starlight Lantern from inside the Great Debate Hall to outside the Great Debate Hall.
- Removed the experience and karma consumables from the silver map meta-event progress chests awarded during the Defense of Amnytas meta-event. The rewards have been adjusted to compensate for this change.
Inner Nayos
- Moved a Greater Arcane Chest in Nyedra, Dreamer's Sanctum, to a location where players would not get stuck.
- Fixed an issue that could occasionally cause hylek to join the Kryptis.
Strike Missions
Temple of Febe Challenge Mode
We reduced the overall enemy health of the Temple of Febe Challenge Mode to make the fight accessible to more players. We will be monitoring the Strike Mission to ensure that this brings it to the desired level of challenge, and we are ready to make more changes if it still remains more difficult than intended. To give players the ability to experience and try to defeat the fight in its original form, we have added an option to the challenge mote to activate a legendary challenge. Players who had defeated Cerus before this change, or players who defeat him with the legendary challenge mode active, will earn a new Legendary Conqueror of Cerus title to demonstrate this feat.
- Changed the empowered Envious Gaze skill to not steal quickness and alacrity.
- Fixed an issue that could cause projectiles to be obstructed when attacking an embodiment in the split phase if that embodiment was active during the phase transition.
- Fixed an issue in which selecting an option from the challenge mote did not reset the encounter if the event was already in progress.
Cosmic Observatory Challenge Mode
- Fixed an issue that could cause the Precision Anxiety achievement to be rewarded even if the entire party did not meet the requirements.
Structured Player vs. Player
- A new achievement category, Profession Achievements, has been added to the PvP section of the Achievements panel.
- New tiers of champion Profession Achievements have been added to the Profession Achievements category in the PvP section, each with a new title. Players can progress these achievements with their current PvP ranked wins by traveling to the Heart of the Mists.
- A new achievement named True Dragon has been added. Players who are PvP Rank 469 or higher will complete this achievement upon entering the Heart of the Mists.
World vs. World
- Nine new tiers of the Realm Avenger achievement have been added to the WvW section of the Achievements panel. Each tier comes with a new variant of the Ultimate Dominator title that reflects the number of players that you've defeated (e.g., Ultimate Dominator II). Players can progress these new achievements with their current kill counts by traveling to Eternal Battlegrounds, Alpine Borderlands, or Desert Borderlands maps.
- The Siege Disabler trick has been updated and renamed to Siege Disruptor. Siege Disruptors will now reduce outgoing siege damage by 66%, and they will cause affected siege devices to take 66% increased damaged for the duration. Golems will still have their skills disabled for the duration.
- We're modernizing the loadouts of keep lords with the addition of a new healing skill that aids objective defenders in combat, giving the lord a more active role in battle. Keep lords in Alpine Borderlands and Eternal Battlegrounds will now have a channeled healing skill at 75% and 25% health thresholds. Their defiance bars will only be available at these health thresholds and can be broken in order to prevent the skill from being fully channeled. We will be closely monitoring player feedback to determine if the skill should be introduced to castle and tower lords as well.
- New 24, 28, and 32 slot bags can be purchased from outfitters in WvW. These bags have also been added to the Ascended League Vendors in PvP.
Items
- Removed the April Fools' event requirement from the Chatoyant Elixir.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Expedition Cape to not have an upgrade slot.
- The items needed to progress the Astral Ward Arsenal achievement sold by the Heroics Notary vendor no longer require the player to type out the name of the items to safely discard them.
Profession Skills
General
New Changes
- Relic of Fireworks: Fixed an issue that could cause some projectile skills to not trigger this relic.
- Relic of Ice: This relic can now only strike the intended missile targets. Reduced the power coefficient from 1.0 to 0.5 in WvW only.
Elementalist
This release includes some updates to arcane skills. Arcane Blast and Arcane Wave have a bit too much overlap with each other, and we wanted to give Arcane Wave a more unique identity by adding a movement component. We've also reworked and renamed the Elemental Surge trait, giving it some more powerful bonuses to individual skills instead of all of them inflicting bonus conditions.
New Changes
- Pistol: Fixed an issue that caused skills to not properly use legendary weapon effects. Elemental bullets are no longer lost when using a conjured weapon or while gliding.
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Water Trident: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.25 in PvP and WvW.
- Updraft: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to display a warning area for allies.
- Flame Uprising: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to inflict less burning than intended in PvP and WvW.
- Polaric Leap: Reduced the cooldown from 15 seconds to 12 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Earthen Vortex: Reduced the cooldown from 18 seconds to 15 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Rust Frenzy: Players can now move while casting this skill.
- Arcane Brilliance: This skill now grants additional healing when used as a combo finisher.
- Arcane Power: This skill no longer grants bonuses to allies. This skill now grants a flat amount of ferocity for 5 seconds instead of the ferocity bonus being linked to the critical-strike stacks. Reduced the cooldown from 35 seconds to 30 seconds.
- Arcane Wave: This skill now leaps to the targeted area before dealing damage and now dazes enemies that it strikes. Reduced the range from 900 to 600. Reduced the attack radius from 360 to 240. Increased the power coefficient from 0.6 to 1.7 in PvP and WvW. Reduced the ammunition recharge time from 30 seconds to 25 seconds in PvE only.
-
Elemental Surge: This trait has been renamed to Arcane Lightning. This trait no longer causes arcane skills to inflict conditions and instead enhances each arcane skill as follows:
- Arcane Brilliance: Grants protection to the user.
- Arcane Wave: Immobilizes enemies that it strikes.
- Arcane Shield: Grants stability to the user when the shield expires.
- Arcane Power: Grants additional critical-strike stacks to the user.
- Arcane Blast: Blinds enemies that it strikes.
- One with Air: Increased the superspeed duration from 1.5 seconds to 3 seconds in PvP. This trait still grants a reduced superspeed duration in PvP when the Fresh Air trait is equipped.
- Aquamancer's Training: Increased the outgoing healing modifier from 15% to 20%.
Tempest
New Changes
- Tempestuous Aria: Lowered the condition-damage increase from 10% to 5% in PvE only.
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- "Wash the Pain Away!": Increased the radius of the first pulse from 180 to 240 and the radius of the second pulse from 240 to 360.
- Lucid Singularity: This trait now applies might instead of alacrity in PvP and WvW.
- Elemental Bastion: Increased the healing coefficient from 0.8 to 1.0 in WvW only.
Weaver
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Bolstered Elements: This trait now causes stances to grant protection instead of barrier.
Engineer
In this update, we've made improvements to power-based holosmith builds in PvE to make them a bit more competitive, alongside some reworks of less-used traits in the inventions specialization and some minor improvements to rifle in PvP.
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Glue Shot: Increased the cooldown from 12 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Increased the power coefficient from 1.5 to 2.5 in PvE only.
- Blunderbuss: Reduced the cooldown from 8 seconds to 6 seconds in PvP only.
- Jump Shot: Reduced the cooldown from 18 seconds to 16 seconds in PvP only.
- Gleam Saber: Reduced the cooldown reduction from 3 seconds to 1 second.
- Refraction Cutter: Reduced the cooldown from 9 seconds to 6 seconds in PvE only.
- Radiant Arc: Reduced the cooldown from 14 seconds to 12 seconds in PvE only. Increased the power coefficient from 1.8 to 2.5 in PvE only.
- Med Blaster: This skill can now autoattack allies. Increased the angle of the skill.
- Bandage Blast: Increased the missile velocity and the angle of this skill. Fixed an issue that caused missile angles to be incorrect when shooting at allies with full health.
- Infusion Bomb: Fixed an issue that caused the boons from this skill to have a lower duration than intended in PvE.
- Grenade Barrage: Fixed an issue that prevented this skill from triggering Relic of Fireworks.
- Automated Medical Response: This trait has been reworked. Grant regeneration to nearby allies when you use your healing skill's toolbelt skill.
- Mecha Legs: This trait has been reworked. Gain resistance on dodging.
- Bunker Down: This trait now triggers when disabling an enemy instead of when critically striking. The mine now spawns at the enemy's location instead of near the player. Reduced the internal cooldown from 4 seconds to 1 second. Increased the mine power coefficient from 0.77 to 0.95. The bandage now cleanses a condition, and its base healing has been increased from 502 to 598.
Holosmith
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Laser Disk: Increased the damage bonus when above 100% heat from 10% to 50% in PvE only.
- Blade Burst: Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only.
- Photon Wall: Reduced the cooldown from 35 seconds to 25 seconds in PvE only.
- Launch Wall: Increased the damage increase when above 100% heat from 10% to 50% in PvE only.
- Particle Accelerator: Increased the power coefficient from 0.7 to 1.0 in PvE only, and increased the damage increase when above 100% from 20% to 50% in PvE only.
- Prismatic Converter: This trait now triggers when swapping from Photon Forge to a kit.
- Solar Focusing Lens: This trait now triggers when swapping from Photon Forge to a kit.
Mechanist
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Mechanical Genius: Reduced the recharge penalty for Mech Command skills when far away from the mech from 50% to 20%.
Guardian
The guardian changes for this update are focused on improving some underutilized skills and traits for both core guardian and willbender.
New Changes
- Symbol of Ignition: Reduced the burning duration from 2 seconds to 1 second in PvE only.
- Through the Heart: Increased the bleeding duration from 6 seconds to 8 seconds in PvE only.
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Zealot's Defense: You can now move while using this skill. Adjusted the projectile behavior to interact better with gaps in terrain.
- "Feel My Wrath!": This skill now grants superspeed in addition to its other effects.
- Vigorous Precision: This trait now triggers when dodging instead of when critically striking and no longer has an internal cooldown. Reduced the vigor duration from 5 seconds to 3 seconds.
- Focus Mastery: Protection from this trait will now apply when Shield of Wrath expires instead of when it activates.
- Redemption: Increased the duration of Lesser Litany of Wrath from 3 seconds to 4 seconds.
- Glacial Heart: This trait no longer chills and damages enemies that you disable and instead heals the user when disabling, immobilizing, or chilling an enemy.
Willbender
New Changes
- Flash Combo: You now gain access to Repose as long as you complete the skill, even if you do not land all five hits. Increased the power coefficient per hit from 0.3 to 0.4 in WvW and PvP.
- Repose: This skill is no longer an attack. This skill now heals and removes conditions from you after shadowstepping back to your original position.
- Heaven's Palm: This skill now evades attacks and finishes your targeted foe if they are downed and no other enemies are nearby. You can now move while using this skill.
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Roiling Light: Increased roll distance from 300 to 450. Reduced roll duration from 0.75 seconds to 0.5 seconds.
- Quick Retribution: Increased range from 300 to 450.
- Deathless Courage: This trait no longer removes aegis from Courage triggers, reduces the duration of courage, or causes enemy deaths to increase the duration of Courage. This trait now grants the guardian strike damage and condition damage reduction while Courage is active.
Mesmer
We made some adjustments to mesmer support builds in WvW in the January update, but it's clear that they're still a bit stronger than we'd like them to be, and we're making additional changes to reduce their effectiveness. We've also made some small improvements to power-based mirage builds in PvE.
New Changes
- Dazzling: Fixed an issue that caused this trait to not affect certain stuns.
- Dimensional Aperture: Fixed an issue that could allow multiple people to take the portal.
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Null Field: Reduced the field duration from 5 seconds to 2 seconds in WvW only. Reduced the number of pulses from 6 to 3 in WvW only.
- Mantra of Concentration: Increased the cooldown from 15 seconds to 25 seconds in WvW only.
- Power Break: Reduced the stability duration from 5 seconds to 3 seconds in WvW only.
- Desperate Decoy: This trait has been reworked. Gain vigor when you evade an attack.
- Master Fencer: This trait now gives increased personal fury duration.
- Chaotic Transference: Reduced the shared chaos aura duration from 4 seconds to 2 seconds in WvW only.
- Temporal Enchanter: This trait no longer increases the duration of glamour skills.
- Sympathetic Visage: This trait no longer affects nearby allies and only pulls conditions from the player.
Chronomancer
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Well of Precognition: This skill now grants allies 3 stacks of stability for 5 seconds on its first pulse.
Mirage
New Changes
- Sand through Glass: This skill no longer creates a mirror and now grants Mirage Cloak at the end of the evade.
- Effervescence: Fixed an issue that prevented clones from healing with this skill.
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Phantom Razor: Increased the power coefficient from 0.8 to 1.0 in PvE only.
- Split Surge: Increased the power coefficient from 0.45 to 0.85 in PvE only.
- Mirage Thrust: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 3.0 in PvE only.
- Dune Cloak: This trait has been reworked. Gain Mirage Cloak when you shatter 2 or more clones.
Virtuoso
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Sword of Decimation: This skill now applies its bonus damage and inflicts additional defiance damage on defiant foes.
- Infinite Forge: This trait now refunds two blades after casting a Bladesong skill with 5 blades in addition to its previous effect.
Necromancer
Support scourge in WvW also received a hit to power in the January update with the change to Transfusion, but we feel that the build is still overperforming, so we're increasing the cooldown of some of its barrier sources to make them a bit less potent. We've also tuned up power-based harbinger builds in PvE to bring them more in line with other DPS builds.
New Changes
- Satiate: Reduced the health cost from 8% to 5% of base health in WvW and PvP.
- Gorge: Reduced the health cost from 12% to 8% of base health in WvW and PvP.
- Hungering Maelstrom: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to be unaffected by quickness and slowness.
- Gormandize: Reduced the health cost from 8% to 5% of base health in WvW and PvP.
- Consume: Reduced the health cost from 10% to 5% of base health in WvW and PvP.
- Lesser Spinal Shivers: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to deal more damage than intended in PvP.
- Transfusion: Fixed an issue that prevented this skill from healing the user when they are a harbinger.
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Plague Signet: This skill no longer passively transfers conditions from nearby allies to the user and instead grants reduced incoming condition damage to the user.
- Signets of Suffering: This trait now also causes signet skills to steal life from enemies they strike.
- Well of Power: Reduced the cooldown from 35 seconds to 30 seconds in PvP and WvW.
Scourge
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Serpent Siphon: Increased the cooldown from 20 seconds to 30 seconds in WvW only.
- Sandstorm Shroud: Increased the cooldown from 30 seconds to 35 seconds in WvW only.
- Sand Cascade: Increased the cooldown from 12 seconds to 18 seconds in WvW only.
- Desert Empowerment: This trait now grants vigor instead of alacrity in PvP and WvW.
Harbinger
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Vile Vials: This trait has been reworked. This trait now causes elixir skills to grant protection. This protection can be shared with Twisted Medicine.
- Wicked Corruption: Increased the damage modifier per blight stack from 0.5% to 1% in PvE only. Increased the critical-strike damage modifier from 10% to 12.5% in PvE only.
- Cascading Corruption: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.5 in PvE only.
Ranger
Condition-based druid has been overperforming in PvP, and we've brought down some of its defensive tools with the goal of making it a bit easier to take down. We're keeping an eye on the strength of Evasive Purity, but we want to see how the reductions to Healing Spring and Glyph of the Stars impact the build's susceptibility to conditions before making further adjustments. We've also made a few improvements to the wilderness survival specialization to make it a more appealing defensive option for power-based builds as well as condition-based builds.
New Changes
- Evasive Purity: This trait has been reworked. Cleanse a condition when you dodge. Heal if you cleansed a condition this way.
- Force of Nature: Reduced the outgoing damage bonus from 25% to 10% and reduced the outgoing healing bonus from 25% to 10% in PvE only.
- Flourish: Reduced the initial power coefficient from 1.0 to 0.85 and the delayed power coefficient from 1.5 to 1.275 in PvE only.
- Wild Strikes: Reduced the power coefficient from 1.0 to 0.85 and the final power coefficient from 2.0 to 1.7 in PvE only.
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Wild Swing: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.5 in PvE and from 0.8 to 1.1 in WvW and PvP.
- Overbearing Smash: Reduced the casting time of the second hit by 0.2 seconds.
- Unleashed Overbearing Smash: Reduced the casting time of the second hit by 0.2 seconds.
- Savage Shock Wave: Increased the power coefficient per hit from 0.2 to 0.45 in WvW and PvP.
- Thump: Increased the radius from 180 to 240.
- Unleashed Thump: Increased the radius from 180 to 240. The first enemy struck by this skill will grant a greater number of boons.
- Healing Spring: Reduced the duration from 10 seconds to 5 seconds and reduced the pulse interval from 2 seconds to 1 second. Reduced the number of conditions cleansed per pulse from 2 to 1 in WvW and PvP.
- Refined Toxins: This trait has been removed and replaced with Survival Instincts. Gain increased outgoing strike damage and reduced incoming strike damage. Increased outgoing strike damage when above 50% health and increased incoming strike reduction when below 50% health.
- Empathic Bond: This trait has moved to the master tier, replacing Shared Anguish. This trait now cleanses conditions when swapping pets instead of when using a Beast skill.
- Carnivore: This trait has been added to the grandmaster tier slot previously held by Empathic Bond. Steal health from enemies when you or your pet disables them.
Druid
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Grace of the Land: This trait now applies might instead of alacrity in WvW and PvP.
- Natural Balance: This trait no longer reduces incoming strike damage. This trait now grants boon duration.
- Glyph of the Stars: Increased the cooldown of this skill from 48 seconds to 60 seconds in WvW and PvP. Reduced the number of conditions cleansed per pulse from 2 to 1 in WvW and PvP. Reduced the revival percentage from 12% to 8% in WvW only.
Untamed
New Changes
- Rampant Growth: This skill now tracks the intended target better.
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Unleashed Ambush skills will no longer be automatically used when autoattack is enabled.
- Unnatural Traversal: This skill now grants quickness instead of might. Increased the vulnerability stacks applied from 2 to 10.
Revenant
Our major initiative for revenant in this update is a rework for the legendary renegade stance. While the stance is actively used in PvE modes, it has struggled to exist in a healthy state in competitive modes due to the underlying mechanics. Our goal for this rework is to reduce some of the visual clutter and increase the counterplay of many of these skills, while still maintaining its viability in PvE. Soulcleave's Summit will still have a potentially long duration due to being an upkeep skill, but the other legendary renegade stance skills have all been adjusted to have more immediate impact, granting an immediate effect on summon and having quicker secondary skills instead of long channels. These skills can also quickly combo with a mechanic that we're calling Band Together: using a skill other than Soulcleave's Summit will cause your next renegade stance skill to activate instantly with a bonus effect.
New Changes
- Hammer Bolt: Reduced the casting time by approximately 0.4 seconds. Reduced the power coefficient from 1.35 to 0.9 in PvE and from 0.633 to 0.5 in WvW and PvP.
- Blossoming Aura: Reduced the final power coefficient from 1.0 to 0.5 in WvW and PvP.
- Otherworldly Bond: Reduced the initial damage increase from 10% to 5% and the bonus increase from 5% to 2.5% in WvW and PvP.
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Energy Expulsion: Lowered the stability duration from 5 seconds to 3 seconds in WvW only. Increased the cooldown from 2 seconds to 15 seconds in WvW only.
- Serene Rejuvenation: Reduced the Energy Expulsion resistance duration from 4 seconds to 2.5 seconds in WvW only.
- Drop the Hammer: This skill now has a shorter casting time to summon the mist hammer, which still strikes after a delay. This skill now also recharges Coalescence of Ruin if it hits.
Renegade
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Legendary Renegade summons are no longer targetable.
- Soulcleave's Summit: Reduced the casting time from 1 second to 0.5 seconds. Reduced the energy cost from 10 to 5. Reduced the energy upkeep cost from 6 to 5. In addition to its current effects, Lieutenant Ofela Soulcleave will now strike nearby enemies and heal nearby allies whenever another warband member is summoned.
- Breakrazor's Bastion, Darkrazor's Daring, Razorclaw's Rage, and Icerazor's Ire have been reworked. These skills will now grant an initial effect when summoned, then they perform a new skill. Activating these skills also triggers Band Together.
- Band Together: Your next Legendary Renegade skill activates instantly and is enhanced. Activating a Legendary Renegade skill in this way does not trigger Band Together again.
-
New skill behavior is as follows:
- Breakrazor's Bastion: Grants resolution to nearby allies when summoned, then performs a skill that heals nearby allies with three small pulses and one large pulse. The final pulse grants resolution to nearby allies and additionally grants barrier to nearby allies when enhanced.
- Darkrazor's Daring: Grants protection to nearby allies when summoned, then performs a skill that dazes nearby enemies. This skill also grants resistance to nearby allies when enhanced.
- Razorclaw's Rage: Enhances nearby allies' attacks with bleeding when summoned, then performs an attack that inflicts bleeding on enemies in the area. This attack also inflicts torment when enhanced.
- Icerazor's Ire: Inflicts vulnerability on nearby enemies when summoned, then performs an attack that throws three projectiles at nearby enemies, inflicting torment, vulnerability, and immobilize. These projectiles also inflict chilled when this skill is enhanced.
Vindicator
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Imperial Impact: This skill no longer extends boons on allies. Increased the protection duration from 4 seconds to 5 seconds in PvE and from 0.5 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP and WvW. Increased the might duration from 9 seconds to 10 seconds in PvE and from 5 seconds to 8 seconds in PvP and WvW. Increased the might stacks from 2 to 3 in PvP and WvW.
Thief
Quickness deadeye was significantly overtuned when it was introduced but got brought down a bit too far from that point. This update includes a few tune-ups for the build's damage to hopefully bring it more in line with other options. We've also made usability improvements to some traits in the critical strikes and daredevil specializations along with some minor improvements to acrobatics.
New Changes
- Meld with Shadows: Reduced the superspeed duration from 1.5 seconds to 0.75 seconds when the Silent Scope trait is equipped in PvP only.
- Shadow's Rejuvenation: Reduced the initiative gain on enter from 2 to 1 when the Silent Scope trait is equipped in PvP only.
- Death's Retreat: Increased the initiative cost from 6 to 7 in PvP only.
- Death's Advance: Increased the initiative cost from 4 to 5 in PvP only.
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Double Tap: This skill now pierces.
- Three Round Burst: This skill now pierces.
- Tactical Strike: This skill now dazes for 1 second instead of blinding when striking from the front. Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.33.
- Larcenous Strike: Increased the power coefficient from 1.3 to 1.4 in PvP and WvW.
- Shadow Portal: This skill no longer breaks stun.
- Keen Observer: Reduced the health threshold from 75% to 50% in PvE only. This trait now gives base critical chance that is increased above the health threshold.
- Twin Fangs: Reduced the health threshold from 90% to 50% in PvE only. This trait now gives base critical damage that is increased above the health threshold.
- Deadly Aim: This trait no longer reduces damage and now increases damage from pistol and harpoon gun attacks by 10%.
- Vigorous Recovery: This trait has been reworked and renamed to Pumping Up. Gain might when you dodge.
- Upper Hand: This trait now additionally restores initiative when you dodge.
Daredevil
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Havoc Specialist: This trait now gives a flat damage bonus when your endurance is not full instead of scaling with remaining endurance.
Deadeye
New Changes
- Malicious Tactical Strike: This skill now dazes for 1 second instead of blinding when striking from the front. Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.33.
- Malicious Cunning Salvo: This skill can no longer consume malice when recalled.
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Stolen Skills: Increased the power coefficient from 0.5 to 1.25 in PvE only.
- Shadow Meld: Reduced the count recharge from 45 seconds to 25 seconds in PvE only.
- One in the Chamber: Increased the damage bonus from 10% to 25% in PvE only.
- Mercy: Increased the ammunition count from 1 to 2 in PvE only.
- Collateral Damage: Increased the damage coefficient from 1.5 to 2.5 in PvE only.
Warrior
In this update, we've tuned up a few of the warrior's lesser-used options in competitive modes. We'll also be keeping an eye on how support builds perform with the introduction of the staff and may rework some underutilized traits in a future update to give them additional tools if necessary.
New Changes
- Inspiring Whirl: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to center its attack around your target.
- Line Breaker: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to grant fewer unblockable stacks than intended.
- Bullet Catcher: Fixed an issue that could cause this skill to be canceled early.
- Path to Victory: Fixed an issue that could cause the level 2 and level 3 versions of this skill to heal for more than intended.
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Arcing Slice: Increased the power coefficient from 1.213 to 1.36 in PvP only. The power coefficient when striking a low-health target is unchanged.
- Hundred Blades: Increased the power coefficient per strike from 0.35 to 0.4 in PvP only. Increased the final strike power coefficient from 0.8 to 1.0 in PvP only.
- Rush: This skill now tracks moving targets better.
- Savage Leap: Increased the power coefficient from 1.15 to 1.35 in PvP and WvW. Reduced cooldown from 8 seconds to 7 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Final Thrust: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.5 in PvP and WvW. The power coefficient when striking a low-health target is unchanged.
- Last Stand: Increased the base barrier from 1,715 to 1,960.
Berserker
New Changes
- Slicing Maelstrom: Increased the power coefficient from 1.25 to 1.5 in PvP only. Reduced the aftercast of this skill by 0.9 seconds.
(March 19 Balance Update Preview)
- Wild Blow: This skill is now unblockable and inflicts dazed instead of knockdown. Increased the power coefficient from 0.01 to 1.7 in PvP and WvW.
- Rupturing Smash: Increased the power coefficient from 1.14 to 1.3 in PvP only.
- Skull Grinder: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.33 in PvP and WvW.
April 01, 2024 at 02:44 pm
04/04/2024—April Fools 2024
Heights of Glory
With pretty much every secret unobscured, the commander finds themselves facing a tall new order. Even if they defeat the nefarious forces at Tyria's doorstep*, have they made their own grim bargain with higher forces looming above in the process? A long-overdue reckoning begins when Tyria's loftiest hero receives a mysterious letter. Could a heretofore overlooked asuran professor really have uncovered the truth of those events two years ago?
Stand tall and shake the higherarchy of Tyria in the Heights of Glory weekly experience, starting now and extending until April 9 at noon.
General
- Removed all gathering nodes from Tyria for polishing.
- Diessa Plateau: Fixed an issue that caused NPC dialogue and event text around the village of Butcher's Block in Diessa Plateau to refer to nearby activities as "meata-events."
- Options for the character-select background have been expanded. Players may now choose from all future character-select backgrounds, as well as current and previous backgrounds.
- Added hint text to clarify that Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons should not impact dragon-like creatures such as wyverns.
- Players can now block NPCs who send them unwanted whisper messages.
- Rewards from roller beetle racing events have been decreased to fund repairs to streetlamps and other objects damaged by racers.
-
Updated the name of Duchess
ChrysthansisaChrysthseheChrysthansystheaMasked Duchess C during the Fashion Wars meta-event.
Raids n' Strikes
- Lowered the rate at which achievements and items are awarded after an encounter is complete to allow for a more leisurely appreciation of each player's individual rewards.
- Fixed an issue that could prevent Cerus from entering the talent demonstration phase of the encounter after his health is reduced to 1% in the Temple of Febe Strike Mission challenge mode.
- Updated instrument assignment during Cerus's talent demonstration phase to be randomized, rather than based on players' distance from Cerus when the phase initiated.
- To reduce the impact of start-up times for condition damage-based characters, all boon effects remaining on a raid boss when it is defeated will be transferred to the next boss in the map, if any remain.
Personal Story
- Characters speaking in languages that the player character has not yet learned (Canthan, Kryptis, choya, etc.) will now be subtitled or dubbed in your selected localized language to add immersion.
- Certain personal story instances have been rewritten and recorded as operatic performances.
Items
- Jade bots can now be remotely paired with compatible devices after installing the latest firmware update.
- Master chef trainers now offer recipes that incorporate Nayosian cabbages.
- Unused food items in player inventories will now have a chance per item to attract various animals.
- Walnuts in bulk have been added to various existing recipes as a required component.
Profession Skills
Elemen-tall-ist
- The Large Hydra Collider Krewe has announced that a new element has been discovered and can be attuned to: Fermmium.
- Deploy Jade Sphere: This skill is now categorized as a well.
- Unravel: This skill can now be used on bolts of cloth to convert them into scraps.
Engineer
- Grenade Kit: This skill has been reworked and is now named Nayosian Cabbage Kit.
- Turrets can now be named.
-
Several engineer skills will now add leftover screws and bolts to the inventory when used.
- Those probably weren't important.
- We probably just gave you a few extra ones in case you dropped some.
Guardian
- The dragonhunter elite specialization, having fulfilled a lifelong oath following the final update for Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons, has retired to a well-deserved slow life tending the old family farm.
- Symbols are now categorized as wells.
- "Hold the Line!": This skill now has 50% increased effectiveness when used in combination with Line of Warding.
Mesmer
Virtuoso
- Chaotic Persistence: This trait is unchanged.
- Illusions can now name themselves.
- Chronomancer wells are now categorized as wells.
Necromancer
- "Rise!": Reduced the target cap from 1 to 0.9 (repeating).
- After saving Tyria at least seven times, social disapproval of the necromancer profession has been reduced in PvE and WvW.
- "You Are All Weaklings!": This skill has been renamed "Ur Weak!" to better match its casting time.
Revenant
- The herald elite specialization is now categorized as a well.
- Impossible Odds: This skill is now named Improbable Odds.
Ranger
Soulbeast
- Increased longbow range to 2,000 if the winds are favorable.
- Soulbeasts' pets can now form and represent their own guilds.
Thief
-
Stealth: To reduce visual overlap with Steal, combat the increasing availability of stealth applied by other professions, and add new verbs to stealth gameplay, stealth has been significantly reworked:
- The stealth effect has been renamed and is now the obscured effect.
- Applying stealth as a thief is now a new gameplay verb: "secret."
- Well of Bounty: In addition to its current effects, this skill now increases gold find for allies within range.
- Lowered the number of thieves in PvP only.
Warrior
- Fixed an issue that prevented some bladesworn projectiles from manifesting their blue sword-spirit.
- Banner skills are now categorized as heraldic.
World vs. World
- Added additional purple, yellow, and silver team options.
- Map population caps have been temporarily removed to reduce server load.
- The alleged discovery of a dragon in the Mists has brought the dragonhunter elite specialization out of retirement for one last job.
*Stay tuned for the final release of Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure, fearless readers!
February 26, 2024 at 07:27 pm
Release Notes:
The Realm of Dreams
Heitor's barrier has finally fallen, and Peitha's army prepares to march further into the heart of Nayos. But what dangers await beyond the veil, and how much attrition can her forces survive? Peitha and the wayfinder will need new allies to bolster their ranks if they hope to bring the war to Eparch's gates. But who will they be able to convince to step out from the shadow of the Midnight King?
Release Highlights
- New story chapters that take players deeper into the mysterious Inner Nayos have been added.
- A new region of the Inner Nayos explorable zone, Nyedra Surrounds, is now accessible.
- The Wizard's Vault has been updated with a new rotation of exciting rewards, including three new armor pieces. The Wizard's Vault has also received a number of quality-of-life improvements to address player feedback.
-
A new weapon proficiency has been added for each profession.
- Elementalist: Pistol (main hand)
- Mesmer: Rifle
- Necromancer: Sword (main and off hand)
- Engineer: Short Bow
- Ranger: Mace (main and off hand)
- Thief: Axe (main hand)
- Guardian: Pistol (main and off hand)
- Warrior: Staff
- Revenant: Scepter (main hand)
- The first tiers of the legendary Obsidian armor sets are available to craft for all armor weight classes. A second tier will be added as an optional upgrade in the next major update to Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure.
- The legendary relic is now available to craft. More information about the legendary relic can be found here.
- Two new final bosses, the Dreadwing and the Hell Sister, have been added to Convergences. These two will cycle on a weekly cadence with Sorrow and the Demon Knight as the possible final encounters of a Convergence.
- A challenge mode option has been added to the Temple of Febe Strike Mission.
- The sky-chak striker has been added as a ranger pet.
World Polish
General
-
Added new achievements for binding legendary runes and legendary sigils to the player's Legendary Armory.
- Players with existing legendary runes and sigils can visit Lion's Arch or the Wizard's Tower to update their progress.
- Reduced the rank of training golems in the Special Forces Training Area from legendary to elite. Their attributes and performance are unchanged.
- Reduced the rank of the conjured weapons during the Conjured Amalgamate encounter from champion to elite. Their attributes and performance are unchanged.
- Reduced the rank of the Target Golem - Heavy training NPCs in the Heart of the Mists from champion to elite. Their attributes and performance are unchanged.
-
A sky-chak infestation has been reported in Skywatch Archipelago.
- A new ranger pet, the sky-chak striker, can be tamed after discovering its location.
- Meta-achievements now display progress bars in the list of sub-achievements to better track completion goals.
- Adjusted the Oneiros-Spun armor shader to optimize performance.
- Removed non-essential character equipment panel notifications, such as prompts to apply upgrades to empty slots, for characters below level 80.
Amnytas
- Reduced the number of silver map meta-event progress chests awarded during the Defense of Amnytas meta-event and adjusted rewards to compensate.
Inner Nayos: Heitor's Territory
- Added ley-looms and an updraft generator to Heitor's Territory in Inner Nayos.
- Inner Nayos faction provisioners now provide five provisioner tokens in exchange for Consecrated Saryx weapons instead of for Stormforged weapons.
Wizard's Vault
The Wizard's Vault's inventory has been updated for the new season! Last season's unique rewards are now available in the Legacy Rewards shop.
New special objectives for the season have been added, and more will appear over the course of the season, including special objectives associated with bonus events and festivals.
Additionally, a number of daily and weekly objectives have been updated. New options have been added to some objectives so they can be completed in multiple ways. Some objectives have been shelved for the time being. The intent of these changes is to improve the overall feel of the objective selection, reduce friction with required times for global-timer events, and reduce the number of expansion-only objectives that caused players to have different weekly objective lists.
Daily Objectives
- Retired activity participation from the daily objective rotation.
- Retired minidungeon completion from the daily objective rotation.
- Updated the ordering of some daily objectives to increase day-to-day selection variety.
Weekly Objectives
- Objectives to defeat 100 of a specific enemy type have had an additional enemy type added.
- Objectives to defeat a specific world boss now additionally award partial progress when events that occur in the same map that the world boss appears in are completed.
- Objectives to complete a specific meta-event now additionally award partial progress for any event in the same map, as well as partial progress from events in one alternate region in core Tyria.
- The Complete 7 Rift Hunts objective now additionally awards progress for any group event, with extra progress for group event rift hunts.
- Objectives to complete 3 bounty missions in a specific map now additionally award progress from any group event, with extra progress from group event bounties. The event requirements for these objectives have been raised from 3 to 5.
- Retired the Complete 3 Group Events, Complete the Highest Gear Jumping Puzzle, and Complete the Wind through the Walls Jumping Puzzle objectives from the weekly objective rotation.
- The Complete Meta Event: The Jade Crisis objective has been updated to require Gyala Delve's final meta-event, "Destroy the ravenous wanderer," as its main objective.
- Updated the ordering of some weekly objectives to increase week-to-week selection variety.
Shop Inventory Updates
- The legendary starter kit has been updated to Set 3, with two new kits and two returning kits available.
- Raised the astral acclaim cost of bags of coins (unlimited purchase) from 30 to 35.
- Lowered the astral acclaim cost of Build Template Expansions from 425 to 350.
- Added Black Lion Salvage Kits to the shop at a cost of 50 astral acclaim, limited to 3 purchases per season.
- Reduced the vendor sale value of Black Lion Mastery Coffers available from the Wizard's Vault from 1 gold to 10 silver.
Wizard's Vault API
-
Endpoints have been added to the Public API for the Wizard's Vault:
-
Astral Rewards
- /v2/wizardsvault/listings
-
Objectives in the Wizard's Vault
- /v2/wizardsvault/objectives
-
Account's Daily Objectives (requires API key)
- /v2/account/wizardsvault/daily
-
Account's Astral Rewards (requires API key)
- /v2/account/wizardsvault/listings
-
Account's Wizard's Vault Special Objectives (requires API key)
- /v2/account/wizardsvault/special
-
Account's Wizard's Vault Weekly Objectives (requires API key)
- /v2/account/wizardsvault/weekly
-
Astral Rewards
Dungeons
- Lowered the respawn rate of the lava elementals in Twilight Arbor's explorable Aetherblade path.
Strikes
- Post-victory achievements will now be rewarded much faster in Icebrood Saga Strike Missions to prevent the achievements from being missed if a player left the map too quickly after receiving their first rewards.
Items
- The Recharging Teleport to Friend's cooldown timer has been reduced from 1 hour to 10 minutes.
Profession Skills
General
- Relic of Karakosa: Fixed an issue that caused this relic to heal less than intended in WvW.
Elementalist
- Mount skills that occupy profession skill slots (such as the ley-line riding toggle) will no longer start with a 10-second cooldown when used by elementalists.
- Active elemental bullets now display a corresponding effect on the player's effect bar.
- Active elemental bullets will now be restored after mounting and dismounting.
- Scorching Shot: Reduced the burning duration from 3 seconds to 1.5 seconds in PvE only. Reduced the power coefficient from 0.6 to 0.3 in PvE only.
- Raging Ricochet: Reduced the burning from 2 stacks for 7 seconds to 1 stack for 8 seconds in PvE only.
- Searing Salvo: Reduced the initial burning from 2 stacks for 8 seconds to 1 stack for 7 seconds in PvE only. Reduced the secondary burning from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in PvE only. Increased the missile velocity.
- Glacial Shot: This skill has been renamed to Frozen Fusillade. The explosion from this skill can no longer strike more than 5 targets.
- Dazing Discharge: Reduced the casting time from 0.4 seconds to 0.267 seconds.
- Piercing Pebble: This skill now pierces.
- Purblinding Plasma: This skill is now a projectile finisher.
- Enervating Earth: This skill is now a projectile finisher.
- Flowing Finesse: This skill now also grants stability.
- Elemental Unload: This skill has been renamed to Elemental Explosion.
- Fiery Frost: Fixed an issue that could cause this skill to fail in melee range.
Engineer
- Engineer's short-bow mechanics have been reworked. Arrows now explode on impact automatically, have a larger area of effect, and leave a chain-reaction field for a short duration. The next arrow that explodes in the chain-reaction field will consume the field, augmenting the arrow with a bonus effect.
- Essence of Animated Sand: This skill has been reworked. Fire an arrow equipped with a payload that explodes with enchanted sand on impact, granting barrier and might to allies. Chain Reaction: The next short-bow skill in the radius will grant additional might to allies.
- Essence of Living Shadow: This skill has been reworked. Fire an arrow equipped with a device that spreads shadow magic across the ground on impact, healing and removing conditions from allies with the initial detonation and healing allies with each pulse afterward. Chain Reaction: The next short-bow skill in the radius will remove additional conditions from allies.
- Essence of Liquid Wrath: This skill has been reworked. Fire a volley of arrows equipped with a payload that spreads magical flames across the ground on impact, granting protection and aegis to allies on the initial detonation and leaving a fire field. Chain Reaction: The next short-bow skill in the radius will grant additional protection to allies.
- Essence of Borrowed Time: Fire a row of arrows equipped with a device that envelops an area with chronal magic on impact, stunning enemies and applying superspeed to allies. Chain Reaction: The next short-bow skill in the radius will daze enemies hit.
Guardian
- Symbol of Ignition: This symbol now grants might every pulse.
- Hail of Justice: Increased the bleeding duration from 6 seconds to 8 seconds in PvE only.
- Jurisdiction: Adjusted the timing for charge level 2 from 1 second to 0.9 seconds. Adjusted the timing for charge level 3 from 1.6 seconds to 1.4 seconds. Adjusted the timing at which the skill automatically fires from 2 seconds to 1.6 seconds. Reduced the reactivation delay after casting charge level 3 from 0.25 seconds to 0.1 seconds.
- Fixed an issue that could cause new instances of a trap to refresh old instances' durations.
- Spear of Justice: Fixed an issue that caused this skill's reactivation window to sometimes be longer than intended.
- Renewed Focus: This skill now properly recharges all virtues underwater.
Mesmer
- Journey: Reduced the casting time from 0.9 seconds to 0.5 seconds. Reduced the time from cast to impact from 0.5 seconds to 0.2 seconds. This skill can now be re-aimed during the cast. Increased the cooldown from 8 seconds to 10 seconds in WvW only. Reduced the base heal from 1,800 to 1,295 in PvE only and reduced the healing power coefficient from 0.9 to 0.67 in PvE only.
- Inspiring Images: Increased the cooldown from 15 seconds to 20 seconds in WvW only.
- Abstraction: Removed the delay before the explosion. Reduced the conditions cleansed from 2 to 1 in WvW only. Reduced the base heal from 3,210 to 1,930 in PvE only and the healing power coefficient from 2 to 1.5 in PvE only.
- Phantasmal Sharpshooter: Reduced the phantasm's casting time from 1.2 seconds to 0.8 seconds. The phantasm's attack now strikes targets in a radius of 240 around the impact. This skill now has 2 charges in PvE only.
- Singularity Shot: Reduced the resistance duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in WvW only. Increased the cooldown from 20 seconds to 30 seconds in WvW only and reduced the cooldown increase from 100% to 33% in WvW only.
- Dimensional Aperture: Added a visual effect when the portal is opened.
- Effervescence: Increased the total base heal from 916 to 1,300 in PvE only. Increased the healing power coefficient from 0.2 to 0.3 in PvE and from 0.125 to 0.25 in WvW and PvP. Increased the power coefficient from 0.5 to 0.625 in PvE and from 0.25 to 0.3 in WvW and PvP.
Necromancer
- Enervation Blade: Reduced the aftercast of this skill and improved the projectile tracking. Increased the power coefficient from 0.9 to 1.1 in PvE only.
- Enervation Echo: Reduced the aftercast of this skill and improved the projectile tracking. Increased the power coefficient from 0.9 to 1.1 in PvE only.
- Deathly Enervation: Sped up the casting time by 15% and improved the projectile tracking. Increased the power coefficient from 1.3 to 1.4 in PvE only.
- Ravenous Wave: Reduced the aftercast of this skill and increased the speed of the wave. Increased the life-force gain from 10% to 12%. Reduced the power coefficient from 1.4 to 1.2 in PvP only.
- Satiate: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 2.0 in PvE and from 0.8 to 1.2 in PvP. Lowered the low-health damage modifier from 100% to 50% in PvE and from 50% to 20% in PvP and WvW. Reduced the health cost from 15% to 8% in PvE.
- Path of Gluttony: This skill now begins movement immediately. Increased the power coefficient from 1.75 to 2.0 in PvE and from 1.0 to 1.25 in PvP. Increased the first-hit healing from 1,610 to 2,410. This skill is now a leap finisher.
- Gorge: This skill now begins movement immediately. Increased the power coefficient from 1.75 to 2.0 in PvE and from 1.0 to 1.25 in PvP. Increased the first-hit healing from 1,610 to 2,410. This skill is now a leap finisher. Reduced the health cost from 20% to 12% in PvE.
- Hungering Maelstrom: Sped up the casting time by 15% and reduced the aftercast of this skill. Reduced the time from casting to damage by 0.25 seconds. Increased the power coefficient from 1.5 to 2.75 in PvE only.
- Gormandize: Increased the power coefficient from 2.0 to 2.5 in PvE and from 1.0 to 1.33 in PvP. Reduced the heal cost from 20% to 12% in PvE only.
- Devouring Visage: This skill has been reworked. It now throws a projectile at your target that explodes on impact, inflicting fear on enemies hit.
- Consume: This skill has been reworked. It now siphons strength from targets hit by Devouring Visage, damaging them and inflicting weakness. Gain might for each target affected.
Ranger
- Oaken Cudgel: Increased the protection application radius from 240 to 360. This skill now applies a heal-over-time effect to your pet when used. This effect is reduced when merged as a soulbeast.
- Thistleguard: Reduced the casting time from 0.5 seconds to 0.34 seconds.
- Wild Strikes: Reduced the total power coefficient from 3.0 to 2.4 and reduced the dazed duration from 2 seconds to 1.5 seconds in WvW and PvP. Fixed an issue that prevented this skill from working with the Quick Draw trait.
- Rampant Growth: This skill now heals nearby allies when cast. Fixed an issue that prevented this skill from interacting with the Let Loose trait.
- Nature's Strength: Increased the duration from 15 seconds to 25 seconds. Reduced the number of stacks needed to trigger Force of Nature from 6 to 5.
- Force of Nature: Reduced the damage bonus from 25% to 15% in WvW and PvP.
- Tapped Out: Reduced the duration from 15 seconds to 10 seconds.
- Blood Moon: Fixed an issue that could cause this trait to affect the player when being dismounted.
- Fixed an issue that caused some spirits to have higher cooldowns than intended underwater in PvE.
Revenant
- Serene Slash: Reduced the power coefficient from 0.533 to 0.475 in WvW and PvP.
- Acerbic Cut: Reduced the power coefficient from 0.533 to 0.475 in WvW and PvP.
- Motivating Whirl: Reduced the base barrier from 476 to 251. Reduced the healing power coefficient from 0.6 to 0.3 in PvE and from 0.6 to 0.15 in WvW and PvP. Reduced the power coefficient from 1.0 to 0.667 in WvW and PvP.
- Blossoming Aura: This skill can now target allies. The amount of bonus barrier and damage granted by this skill are no longer tied to scepter auto-attacks; instead, barrier and damage increase the longer the aura is placed on the target. The aura can be detonated early with the new follow-up skill, Detonate Blossoming Aura. Increased the cooldown from 5 seconds to 8 seconds in PvE and from 7 seconds to 8 seconds in WvW and PvP. Reduced the healing power coefficient from 1.0 to 0.3 in PvE and WvW and from 1.0 to 0.4 in PvP. Increased the barrier per pulse from 20% to 33% in PvP only.
- Detonate Blossoming Aura: Allows the revenant to detonate Blossoming Aura manually.
- Otherworldly Bond: This skill no longer requires an upkeep cost. Bonus effects granted by this skill are no longer tied to scepter auto-attacks; instead, their effects strengthen the longer the target remains tethered. Interval ticks of boons and conditions decreased from 3 seconds to 1 second. Decreased the maximum tether duration from 100 seconds to 7 seconds. Increased the cooldown from 6 seconds to 8 seconds in PvE only; the cooldown will only begin once the tether is broken. Increased the vulnerability duration from 5 seconds to 8 seconds in WvW and PvP. Reduced the might duration from 9 seconds to 4 seconds in WvW and PvP. Reduced the fury duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in WvW and PvP.
- Otherworldly Attraction: Both the ally and enemy versions now cost energy to activate. Reduced the base barrier from 3,840 to 1,615. Increased the healing power coefficient from 0.5 to 1.0.
Thief
- Axe skills that cost initiative will now correctly trigger Lead Attacks and Assassin's Reward.
- Deadly Ambition: This trait will now function as expected with axe dual-wield skills.
- Cunning Salvo and Malicious Cunning Salvo: Axes created by this skill will now properly gain bonuses when being recalled by dual-wield skills. Axes created by this skill will no longer always inflict revealed when being recalled by dual-wield skills. This skill is now a blast finisher. Reduced the bleeding stacks from 3 to 2 in PvE only.
- Malicious Cunning Salvo: Reduced the poison stacks from 3 to 1 in PvE only.
- Harrowing Storm: This skill will now recall axes to the targeted enemy instead of to the user. Reduced the inflicted torment from 2 stacks for 6 seconds to 1 stack for 4 seconds in PvE only.
- Venomous Volley: Reduced the poison duration from 6 seconds to 3 seconds in PvE only.
- Spinning Axe: Reduced the bleeding duration from 6 seconds to 3 seconds in PvE only.
- Improved missile-targeting behavior for all axe skills.
- Increased missile velocity for all axe skills.
- Fixed an issue that could prevent preparation skills from cleaning up properly at the start of a PvP match.
Warrior
- Valiant Leap: This skill is now a leap finisher and grants 5 adrenaline when it affects another ally.
- Line Breaker: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to be affected by quickness. This skill is now ground targeted. When arriving at the ground-target location, the user will weaken enemies and heal nearby allies while granting them stacks of protection, aegis, and unblockable.
- Snap Pull: This skill now displays a warning effect to enemies during the casting time.
- Bullet Catcher: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to be immediately interrupted when auto-attack was enabled. This skill no longer grants boon duration to the user while channeling.
- Defiant Roar: This skill now grants 5 adrenaline, plus an additional 2 adrenaline per attack blocked by Bullet Catcher (up to 6 bonus adrenaline).
- Rampart Splitter: Reduced the power coefficient from 1.25 to 0.5 in PvP and WvW.
January 29, 2024 at 05:18 pm
01/30/2024—January 30 Release Notes
Lunar New Year
Another new year dawns on Tyria—join the festivities in Divinity's Reach! The Year of the Dragon is once more upon us, and the Lunar New Year Festival returns with new rewards. Collect and open Lucky Envelopes to earn Essences of Luck, delicious foods, fireworks, valuable items, and a chance to find the new Lucky Dragon Lantern and Lucky Great Dragon Lantern backpacks!
- The Lunar New Year annual meta-achievement, Lunar New Year Customs, has been updated with a new reward, the Dragon Descendant's Helm! Last year's meta-achievement reward, the Embellished Rabbit Vest, can now be purchased from the Lunar New Year rewards vendors.
- The new Fortunate weapon set is now available! You'll receive your choice of a weapon by progressing the annual Lunar New Year Customs meta-achievement, as well as the weekly Lunar Festivities achievement.
- Three new Lucky Dragon weapons are now available as rare drops from Divine Lucky Envelopes. They can also be purchased from Sparking Stone in Divinity's Reach.
- Lucky Envelope rewards have been updated with new items for the Year of the Dragon, including a new backpack to celebrate the Year of the Dragon in style.
- A new Mini Amnytas Stormscale has been added to the festival reward vendors.
-
New guild decorations have been added to commemorate the Year of the Dragon:
- Dragon Statue
- Golden Dragon Statue
- Special objectives are available in the Wizard's Vault to earn extra astral acclaim as you enjoy the festival.
- A number of festival-related bugs have been fixed to ensure a happy holiday for all heroes.
Lunar New Year will be active until February 20 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-8). See you in Divinity's Reach!
General
- New options to change the game-mode balance of guild halls have been added. In order to change which rule set you want to use, speak to Castor Shoutsman once you've unlocked the arena in the guild hall.
- A new NPC has been added to guild halls when the arena is unlocked. They will allow you to change which team you are on without entering the arena itself and keep your team while moving around the entirety of the guild hall.
- When receiving currencies, hovering over the tooltip will now display the quantity in your wallet.
- Fixed an issue that prevented the "Spar with Xunlai Jade's guard mechs" event in New Kaineng City from succeeding.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Growing Anxiety effect to persist in rare circumstances during the final fight in the Defense of Amnytas meta-event in Amnytas.
- Fixed an issue that caused Zizel to sometimes stay in the room and throw potions after players successfully completed the "Help Zizel prepare concoctions for the fight against the Kryptis" event in Amnytas.
Profession Skills
In this update, we're trying out a new process for the skills and balance update notes. Instead of combining new notes and preview notes into one continuous block and highlighting changes to the preview notes, we'll be separating the new changes into their own section. These new notes will be considered the most up-to-date version of the release notes, so if a change to a skill or trait exists in both sections, the new change will take precedent.
In some cases, the new note may say, "This skill is unchanged" to communicate that a proposed change from the preview was removed from the final update. Our goal with the new process is to make clearer what has changed between the balance preview and the final release while also streamlining the transition from balance previews to final release notes.
General
New Changes
- Relic of Resistance: This relic now triggers when using a healing skill instead of when using an elite skill. Reduced the resistance duration from 5 seconds to 2.5 seconds. Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 10 seconds. The resistance from this relic is now only applied to the user instead of in an area around the user.
(January 30 Balance Update Preview)
As with the November update, this update also includes improvements for some underperforming relics.
- Relic of Karakosa: Lowered the healing multiplier from 0.8 to 0.5 in PvE and WvW.
- Relic of the Flock: This relic now heals instead of granting barrier. Excess healing is converted to barrier.
- Relic of Resistance: This relic now triggers when using a healing skill instead of when using an elite skill. Reduced the resistance duration from 5 seconds to 2.5 seconds. Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 10 seconds.
- Relic of the Pack: This relic now also grants might and fury to affected allies.
- Relic of Durability: This relic now also grants resolution.
- Relic of the Weaver: This relic no longer has an internal cooldown.
- Relic of Dagda: The projectile fired by this relic now dazes enemies that it strikes. Reduced the warmup duration from 1.5 seconds to 1 second.
- Relic of the Citadel: Reduced the warmup duration from 2 seconds to 1 second.
- Relic of the Krait: Reduced the warmup duration from 2 seconds to 1 second.
- Relic of the Nightmare: Reduced the warmup duration from 2 seconds to 1 second.
- Relic of the Wizard's Tower: Reduced the warmup duration from 2 seconds to 1 second.
Elementalist
(January 30 Balance Update Preview)
The changes to hammer in November pushed condition builds for tempest and weaver a bit higher than we like to see, so we're making a few tweaks to bring those builds back in line.
- Singeing Strike: Reduced the burning duration from 3 seconds to 1.5 seconds in PvE only.
- Surging Flames: Reduced the burning duration from 9 seconds to 3 seconds in PvE only.
- Ground Pound: Reduced the bleeding duration from 10 seconds to 6 seconds in PvE only.
Engineer
(January 30 Balance Update Preview)
Condition holosmith and power scrapper are both a bit overtuned in PvE and are getting brought down in this update. We've also slightly reworked Bulwark Gyro to be more reliable for supporting allies, and Adaptive Armor has been reworked to be an effective grandmaster trait for support builds to prepare for the introduction of the short bow.
- Blowtorch: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to inflict more burning than intended.
- Bulwark Gyro: This skill no longer redirects damage from nearby allies to the user, and it now grants barrier to nearby allies upon activation and on each pulse.
- Adaptive Armor: This trait has been reworked. Your function gyro has two ammunition and grants barrier to allies when cast. Function Gyro no longer has an increased recharge when creating additional gyros but has a higher base recharge.
- Applied Force: Reduced the bonus power per might stack from 35 to 30 in PvE only.
Guardian
New Changes
- True Shot: Reduced the power coefficient from 2.0 to 1.7 in PvP only.
- Test of Faith: Reduced the pass-through power coefficient from 2.8 to 2.5 in PvP only.
- Hunter's Premonition: Fixed an issue that caused traps to grant aegis without this trait.
(January 30 Balance Update Preview)
Support firebrand still isn't quite at the level we'd like to see in PvP, so we've made a few more improvements to it in this update. We've also reworked the Radiant Fire trait to be less dependent on always having a torch equipped to make room for condition builds to swap between off-hand torches and pistols.
- Radiant Fire: This trait no longer grants Zealot's Flame when critically striking an enemy, and instead it grants an additional ammunition to Zealot's Flame. This trait also causes Zealot's Flame to inflict additional burning to enemies in PvE only.
- Soaring Devastation: The movement speed granted by this trait is no longer removed when Wings of Resolve is on cooldown.
- Mantra of Solace: Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in PvP only.
- Mantra of Liberation: Reduced the ammunition recharge time from 45 seconds to 35 seconds in PvP only.
- Chapter 3: Azure Sun: This skill now also heals affected allies. Increased the cooldown from 8 seconds to 15 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Chapter 2: Igniting Burst: This skill is now a blast finisher. Reduced the casting time from 0.86 seconds to 0.68 seconds.
- Chapter 4: Shining River: Reduced the casting time from 0.86 seconds to 0.68 seconds.
- Merciful Intervention: Reduced the cooldown from 32 seconds to 25 seconds. Increased the radius from 180 to 240. Reduced the base healing from 2,344 to 2,024 in PvP and WvW. Reduced the healing coefficient from 1.1 to 0.8 in PvP and WvW.
- Reversal of Fortune: Fixed an issue that prevented this skill from healing while in the air. Fixed an issue that prevented this skill from triggering on-heal effects.
Mesmer
New Changes
- Chaotic Persistence: This trait is unchanged.
- Imaginary Axes: Reduced the clone torment duration from 4 seconds to 3.5 seconds in PvE only.
(January 30 Balance Update Preview)
Condition mirage's damage output is getting toned down after it landed too high with the changes in the November update. The November update also pushed mesmer support builds a bit over the top in WvW, and we're starting with some reductions to its alacrity and quickness access. We'll be keeping a close eye on the effectiveness of these builds once the rifle is available, and we will make additional adjustments as needed to bring them in line with other support builds. Supportive mantras are also getting minor usability improvements to prepare for the release of the rifle.
- Lingering Thoughts: Reduced the number of whirl finishers from 4 to 2.
- Lacerating Chop: Reduced the clone condition durations from 3 seconds to 1 second in PvE only.
- Imaginary Axes: Reduced the clone torment duration from 4 seconds to 3 seconds in PvE only.
- Mantra of Pain: Increased the radius from 240 to 360. This mantra no longer requires a target.
- Mantra of Recovery: Increased the radius from 240 to 360.
- Mantra of Resolve: Increased the radius from 240 to 360.
- Mantra of Distraction: This mantra no longer requires a target.
- Split Second: Increased the cooldown from 12 seconds to 15 seconds in WvW only.
- Illusionary Membrane: Reduced the condition damage bonus from 10% to 7% in PvE only.
- Chaotic Persistence: Reduced the expertise from 250 to 150 in PvE only.
- Restorative Mantras: This trait now triggers when using a mantra ammunition skill instead of when charging a mantra. Reduced the base healing from 1,640 to 820. Reduced the healing coefficient from 1.0 to 0.5.
- Escape Artist: Reduced the distortion duration from 5 seconds to 1.5 seconds in WvW only.
- Improved Alacrity: Reduced the alacrity recharge speed from 50% to 35% in WvW only.
- Flow of Time: Reduced the alacrity per clone from 1.5 seconds to 0.75 seconds in WvW only.
- Seize the Moment: Reduced the quickness per clone from 1 second to 0.75 seconds in WvW only.
Necromancer
(January 30 Balance Update Preview)
Necromancer is currently in a pretty good spot in PvE. We considered some improvements for power harbinger builds, but we want to see where the build lands with the introduction of swords before making any additional changes. Transfusion is a trait that overperforms in support scourge builds in WvW, so we're making a change similar to what we did with Path of Corruption, in which the trait will increase the cooldown of its related scourge skill in WvW only.
- Transfusion: This trait now increases the cooldown of Garish Pillar to 60 seconds in WvW only.
Ranger
New Changes
- Lingering Magic: Fixed an issue that caused this trait to grant pets more boon duration than intended.
(January 30 Balance Update Preview)
Condition-based quickness untamed is another build that's overperforming in terms of damage and is getting a few adjustments to bring it more in line. Quickness untamed builds can struggle with might generation for their allies, so we've added might to the Let Loose trigger in PvE to improve this. Greatsword is also getting a handful of tune-ups with the goal of making it a more competitive option for power builds.
- Slice: Increased the power coefficient from 0.8 to 1.0 in PvE only.
- Enduring Swing: Increased the power coefficient from 1.4 to 1.6 in PvE only.
- Maul: Increased the power coefficient from 1.75 to 2.0 in PvE only.
- Swoop: Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 2.18 in PvE only.
- Counterattack Kick: Increased the power coefficient from 1.3 to 2.25 in PvE only.
- Hilt Bash: Increased the power coefficient from 0.72 to 2.25 in PvE only.
- Barrage: Increased the ammunition count from 1 to 2 in WvW only.
- Twin Darts (Devourer Family): Reduced the power coefficient per hit from 0.25 to 0.15 in PvE only.
- Poisonous Cloud (Carrion Devourer): Increased the cooldown from 20 seconds to 30 seconds in PvE only.
- Sundering Volley: Reduced the bleeding stacks per hit from 3 to 2 in PvE only.
- Let Loose: This trait now grants 5 stacks of might for 10 seconds in addition to its previous effects in PvE only.
Revenant
(January 30 Balance Update Preview)
In addition to toning down the damage of power vindicator in PvE, we've made some minor adjustments to axe to improve its usability for condition builds.
- Frigid Blitz: This skill no longer inflicts slow. This skill now also inflicts torment.
- Temporal Rift: Reduced the time the rift takes to collapse from 0.9 seconds to 0.75 seconds.
- Echoing Eruption: Reduced the number of blast finishers from 3 to 1. This skill now also grants might to the user.
- Leviathan Strength: Reduced the damage bonus from 15% to 10% in PvE only.
Thief
(January 30 Balance Update Preview)
Deadeye has been growing in popularity in PvP over the last few months, and we've seen that it can be a bit too difficult to lock down for the damage it's capable of dealing. We're increasing the initiative cost of Death's Advance to require a larger resource investment for the survivability that it provides.
- Skirmisher's Shot: Reduced the power coefficient from 0.8 to 0.7 in PvP only.
- Death's Advance: Increased the initiative cost from 2 to 4 in PvP only.
Warrior
(January 30 Balance Update Preview)
Power-based quickness berserker is the final overperforming build that we're tackling in this update, shifting a bit more of the power away from Bloody Roar and into Blood Reaction to create a larger damage tradeoff for the quickness build.
- Blood Reaction: Increased the precision to ferocity conversion from 10% to 12% in PvE only.
- Bloody Roar: Reduced the damage bonus from 20% to 15% in PvE only.
January 03, 2024 at 07:18 pm
01/09/2024—January 9 Release Notes
General
- Updated a tooltip that listed the incorrect value for astral acclaim rewarded by the daily Wizard's Vault meta-achievement.
- Postprocessing options have been moved to a dedicated section in the Options menu's Graphics tab.
- Fixed an issue that caused Evon Gnashblade's movement to stall in the Escape from Lion's Arch mission.
-
The Contacts and LFG panel has been updated to include options for the following:
- Within the Secrets of the Obscure expandable category, a new option for Rift Hunting & Convergences has been added.
-
A new expandable category for Living World Season 1 has been added.
- Each Season 1 chapter has its own option within the category.
-
A new expandable category for Living World Season 2 has been added.
- Dry Top and the Silverwastes, the two explorable zones associated with Season 2, have their own option within the category.
- Fixed an issue that affected jade bot consoles in capital cities.
Items
- Fixed an issue that prevented the Mini Plush Cuckoo from being displayed in the preview window.
- Fixed an issue that prevented some transformation tonics from properly transforming players.
December 11, 2023 at 04:20 pm
12/12/2023—December 12 Release Notes
Wintersday
Come join us in celebrating Wintersday—Toymaker Tixx has made his annual visit to Divinity's Reach to spread seasonal cheer and festivity! Bring the cheer of Wintersday to the distant north in the Secret Lair of the Snowmen, complete daily achievements to earn fanciful holiday weapons, save Wintersday for the orphans spread around Divinity’s Reach by giving them wrapped gifts, test your snow-throwing skills against other players in Snowball Mayhem, experience the joy of jumping in Winter Wonderland, defend against waves of toys in Toypocalypse, and help keep Tixx's airship, the Infinirarium, in order! You will also see Wintersday gifts appearing all around Tyria.
- The annual Wintersday Traditions meta-achievement has been updated with a new armor reward, the Winter Fur Shoulders. Look your best for the festivities while warding off winter chill! Last year's meta-achievement reward, the Wintersday Snow Boots, can now be purchased from a Charity Corps Seraph festival rewards vendor.
- The new Sacred Solstice weapon set is now available! Earn progress toward completing the annual Wintersday Traditions meta-achievement or the weekly Wintersday Festivities achievement to receive a weapon of your choice.
- Three new weapons are now available as rare drops from Wintersday Gifts. They can also be purchased from Sparking Stone in Divinity's Reach.
- A new mini has been added to the items offered by a Charity Corps Seraph festival rewards vendor.
- New winter-themed guild decorations have been added.
- Updated Freezie's event timer in the Secret Lair of the Snowmen to indicate that Freezie will become enraged when the timer ends.
- Fixed an issue that caused enemy toys in Toypocalypse to occasionally teleport directly to their destination.
- A number of festival-related issues have been fixed to ensure a happy holiday for all heroes.
Wintersday will be active until January 2 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-8). See you in Divinity's Reach!
General
- Removed the Enable Stereoscopic Rendering option from the graphics menu. This was a DirectX9 only option, and the DirectX9 renderer is no longer available. Stereoscopic rendering is no longer supported by the major graphics vendors.
- Removed the Refresh Rate option from the graphics menu. This was a DirectX9 only option, and the DirectX9 renderer is no longer available. The Frame Limiter option, which works similarly, is still available.
- Fixed an issue that could allow passengers on siege turtles to earn achievements related to completing races without using a mount.
- Fixed an issue that could cause nonparticipants in a race event to receive race timer enhancements when the event began.
- Added further messaging when a player tries to start Chapter 11 of the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure story without having completed Chapter 6 with any character.
- Fixed an issue in Molten Furnace that allowed players to interact with the exit lever and depart before the quest was completed.
- Fixed an issue in the Battle for Cragstead that swapped Ornan and Haslo.
- Fixed an issue in the Ignaxious encounter that caused the rubble piles to sometimes break sooner than intended.
Items
- The Arcane Flow Infusion has been added to Sarettokk's wares in Lion's Arch for players who have previously acquired the infusion from the Wizard's Vault.
Convergences
We are updating some of the repeatable achievements in Convergences to better reward players who split off to deal with the threats on the outer sections of the instance.
- Convergence Creature Crusher: Progress for this achievement no longer gives a fixed amount when at 200% player participation. Adjusted the amount of progress granted when crushing different kinds of Kryptis. The achievement text will be updated in a future release.
- Siege Engine Stomper: Adjusted the amount of progress granted when stomping siege engines.
Profession Skills
General
- Relic of the Monk: Fixed an issue that caused this effect to have an internal cooldown.
- Telluric Wrath: Fixed an issue that caused Ignaxious's first attack to do no damage.
Elementalist
- Fixed an issue that caused hammer orbs to be incorrectly removed when swapping to a conjured weapon.
Mesmer
- Lingering Thoughts: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to have a higher cooldown than intended for players in PvE and for virtuosos in all game modes.
- Axes of Symmetry: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to have a higher cooldown than intended for virtuosos.
- Ego Restoration: Fixed an issue that caused this trait to cleanse a condition from allies when shattering.
- Malicious Sorcery: Fixed an issue that caused this trait to interrupt the player when activated.
Warrior
- Heat the Soul: Fixed an issue that caused this trait to give less might than intended in PvP and WvW.
November 27, 2023 at 09:34 pm
11/28/2023—November 28 Release Notes
General
- Updated the icon for the Kryptis Essence Extractor effect.
- Removed an unintended character model from Inner Nayos.
- Fixed an issue that prevented tier 3 Kryptis rift enemies from spawning properly around Equilibrium Glade in Amnytas.
- Chapters 12 and 13 of the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure story will now only be displayed in the Story Journal after completing the respective previous chapters.
- Fixed an issue that prevented two story instances in Chapter 11: Duress and one story instance in Chapter 12 of the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure story from rewarding experience to Secrets of the Obscure Mastery tracks.
- Updated Chapter 8: Into the Obscure to require completion of any Kryptis rift tier instead of being limited to tiers 2 or 3.
- Fixed an issue that could block players from progressing if they started Chapter 8: Into the Obscure for the first time, accepted Kamilla's uncommon Kryptis motivation, swapped to other Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure story chapters, and then swapped back to Chapter 8 and reached that story step again. Players who were in this blocked state can interact with Kamilla to continue progressing through the story.
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The requirements for beginning Chapter 11: Duress of the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure story have been updated.
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Chapter 11 now requires completion of the Chapter 6: Tower of Secrets story achievement, which is awarded per account.
- Previously, this required each character to complete Chapter 10: Treachery of the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure storyline
- This change means that once any character has finished Chapter 6, all characters on that account can start Chapter 11, as it assumes players have the Heart of the Obscure, rift hunting, and the skyscale unlocked.
- Further in-game messaging for this progress requirement will come in a future update.
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Updated the portals in Skywatch Archipelago and Lion's Arch that transport players to the Wizard's Tower to appear for all characters on an account once the owner has completed the Chapter 6: Tower of Secrets story achievement.
- Previously, this required each character to complete Chapter 6: Tower of Secrets of the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure storyline.
- This change means that once any character has finished Chapter 6, all characters on that account can travel to the Wizard's Tower via either Skywatch Archipelago or Lion's Arch.
- These changes bring the story content added in the "Through the Veil" update more in line with previous expansions and their subsequent story updates while still ensuring that the player is not blocked by limited access to features that are obtained through the core Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure story chapters.
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Chapter 11 now requires completion of the Chapter 6: Tower of Secrets story achievement, which is awarded per account.
Fishing
The fishing experience in Guild Wars 2: Secrets of Obscure has been updated to be more accessible to players.
Recommended Fishing Power
The recommended fishing power levels for Horn of Maguuma have been adjusted for the following explorable zones:
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Skywatch Archipelago
- Open Water: From 500 to 450.
- Fractured Lake Fish: From 550 to 250.
- Fractured Freshwater Fish: From 600 to 500.
- Fractured Desert Fish: From 600 to 550.
- Fractured Channel Fish: From 650 to 250.
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Wizard's Tower
- Deep Tower Fish: From 750 to 600.
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Amnytas
- Open Water: From 650 to 500.
- Astral Fish: From 700 to 550.
- Spire Fish: From 750 to 600.
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Inner Nayos
- Open Water: From 750 to 550.
- Nayosian Fish: From 800 to 600.
Skywatch Archipelago
- Increased the number of active fishing holes.
- Increased the drop rate of Fractured Fish.
- Increased the drop rate of Queen's Flipper.
- Increased the drop rate of Primal Maguuma Trout.
- Increased the drop rate of Codmander.
- Increased the drop rate of Jokopu.
- Increased the drop rate of Empress Fish.
Amnytas
- Increased the number of active fishing holes.
- Increased the drop rate of Obscure Fish.
- Adjusted the drop rate of Celestial Fish to be more consistent with other legendary fish.
Inner Nayos
- Increased the number of active fishing holes in some locations.
- Increased the drop rates of Daydream and Phantom Pollock caught in open water.
Items
- The costs of Gift of Persistence and Gift of Stormy Skies have been updated to include Inner Nayos currency and materials.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Mini Corrupted to be displayed underwater.
- Updated the failure text for using a Concealed Unstable Kryptis Essence Coffer without an unstable Kryptis motivation.
Profession Skills
General
As part of this balance update, we're tuning up some of the less impactful relics. We're also using this update as an opportunity to update all relics with the "fact" system used for skill tooltips, meaning that relevant information such as range, radius, and other numerical values will now be shown for all relics.
- Relic of Leadership: Increased the number of conditions converted to boons from 3 to 5 in PvE and from 2 to 3 in PvP and WvW.
- Relic of the Water: Increased the number of conditions removed from 1 to 2.
- Relic of the Centaur: Increased the stability stacks granted from 1 to 2 in all game modes. Increased the stability duration from 2 seconds to 3 seconds.
- Relic of Resistance: This relic now grants its effect to allies in a radius of 360.
- Relic of the Herald: This relic now also grants its bonus when applying boons to yourself. Increased the concentration per stack from 15 to 25. This relic no longer has an internal cooldown.
- Relic of the Monk: This relic no longer has an internal cooldown.
- Relic of the Zephyrite: Increased the base duration from 3 seconds to 4 seconds.
- Relic of Vass: This relic no longer has an internal cooldown when triggered by an elixir skill. Reduced the stack duration from 30 seconds to 10 seconds. Stacks are now expended when striking an enemy and when attacks are negated. Increased the poison duration from 3 seconds to 5 seconds in PvE only.
- Relic of the Citadel: Fixed an issue that caused this relic to have infinite range.
- Relic of the Sunless: Fixed an issue that caused this relic to have infinite range.
- Relic of Peitha: The dagger is now launched from the ending location and fires faster. The damage increase now remains for a duration instead of ending after the first hit. Reduced the duration of the damage increase from 10 seconds to 4 seconds. Increased the torment duration from 4 seconds to 7 seconds in PvE only.
- Relic of the Ice: This relic now shoots ice at the nearest 5 enemies three times. Projectiles now inflict vulnerability. Increased the chill duration from 1 second to 1.5 seconds. Increased the damage coefficient from 0.5 to 1.0 in PvE only.
- Profession skills that are not dependent on your equipped weapon will now default to the hammer weapon's strength.
Elementalist
The effectiveness of power-based catalyst builds relies on Empowered Empowerment, which either grants the user the full bonus or none at all. We think that this disparity is a bit too large, so we're updating the trait to always grant a lesser bonus, making it less punishing to drop below the maximum number of stacks. Sword skills in the third weapon-skill slot are also getting some improvements in competitive modes to make the weapon more appealing to players who aren't using the weaver elite specialization.
- Flame Wheel: Increased the damage and condition damage bonus from 10% to 15% in PvE only.
- Crescent Wind: Increased the critical strike chance bonus from 10% to 15% in PvE only.
- Ground Pound: Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Increased the power coefficient from 1.3 to 2.0 in PvE only.
- Ring of Fire: Increased the power coefficient from 1.2 to 2.0 in PvE only.
- Tidal Surge: Reduced the cooldown from 35 seconds to 30 seconds.
- Water Globe: Reduced the cooldown from 35 seconds to 30 seconds.
- Cauterizing Strike: Increased the power coefficient against burning enemies from 1.6 to 1.8 in PvP and WvW.
- Aqua Siphon: Increased the base healing from 1,150 to 2,255 in PvP and WvW.
- Quantum Strike: Reduced the cooldown from 18 seconds to 16 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Glyph of Elemental Power: Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 25 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Arcane Shield: Reduced the cooldown to 35 seconds in all game modes.
- Tornado: Reduced the cooldown from 150 seconds to 60 seconds in PvE only.
- Whirlpool: Reduced the cooldown from 150 seconds to 60 seconds in PvE only.
- Hammer: Fixed an issue that caused circular projectiles to occasionally lose their ability to strike enemies when their duration was refreshed.
- Hammer: Orbs will now be removed when swapping weapons.
- Cauterizing Strike: Increased the angle of this skill's hit box.
- Aqua Siphon: Increased the angle of this skill's hit box.
- Quantum Strike: Increased the angle of this skill's hit box.
- Twin Strike: Increased the angle of this skill's hit box.
- Pyro Vortex: Increased the angle of this skill's hit box.
- Gale Strike: Increased the angle of this skill's hit box.
- Lightning Orb: Fixed an issue that prevented this skill from targeting large bosses such as Conjured Amalgamate.
Weaver
- Aquatic Stance: This skill now also grants endurance. Increased the base healing on activation from 2,640 to 4,000. Increased the base healing when striking an enemy from 573 to 650.
- Woven Stride: This trait now additionally removes a condition when gaining superspeed or swiftness, with a 3-second internal cooldown in PvE and a 5-second internal cooldown in PvP and WvW.
- Weave Self: Reduced the cooldown from 90 seconds to 75 seconds in WvW and PvP.
Catalyst
- Empowered Empowerment: This trait will now cause Elemental Empowerment to always be 50% more effective. Effectiveness at the maximum number of stacks is unchanged.
Engineer
Rifle and pistol are both receiving some general improvements to make them more compelling options, with pistol filling the role of a hybrid damage off-hand weapon to play alongside both sword and pistol main hands. We've also made some improvements for support-focused scrapper builds and reworked some of the passive trait triggers in alchemy for more active gameplay.
- Net Shot: Increased the casting time from 0.24 seconds to 0.62 seconds. This skill now inflicts vulnerability in addition to immobilizing enemies. Increased the power coefficient from 0.5 to 1.25 in PvE only.
- Jump Shot: This skill will now evade for 0.5 seconds at the start of the animation.
- Static Shot: Reduced the casting time from 0.4 seconds to 0.2 seconds. Reduced the cooldown from 12 seconds to 10 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Blowtorch: Increased the minimum power coefficient from 0.33 to 1.0 in PvE only. Increased the maximum power coefficient from 1.0 to 2.0 in PvE only.
- Glue Shot: Increased the missile velocity from 900 to 1,200. This skill is now a blast finisher and deals strike damage to enemies in the impact area with a power coefficient of 1.5. Reduced the cooldown from 20 seconds to 12 seconds in PvE only.
- Bandage Blast: This skill will now directly target up to 5 allies with bandages instead of firing them in a fan-shaped area. Bandages will now only hit their intended target unless that target is at full health.
- Elixir B: Reduced the cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Toss Elixir B: This skill no longer has a chance to grant swiftness.
- Toss Elixir U: Reduced the cooldown from 32 seconds to 25 seconds.
- Soothing Detonation: Increased the healing coefficient from 0.2 to 0.5 in PvP only.
- Health Insurance: Increased the outgoing healing bonus from 7% to 10% in PvP only.
- Invigorating Speed: This trait will now also activate when gaining superspeed.
- Transmute: This trait will now activate after using a healing skill instead of upon reaching a threshold of conditions.
- Emergency Elixir: This trait will now activate after using an elite skill instead of when being struck below a health threshold.
- HGH: Adjusted the might from 3 stacks for 6 seconds to 2 stacks for 10 seconds in PvP. Increased the might duration from 6 seconds to 8 seconds in WvW.
- Grenade: Reduced the power coefficient from 0.33 to 0.25 in PvP only.
Scrapper
- System Shocker: The barrier granted by this trait is now also applied to nearby allies.
- Mass Momentum: Increased stability stacks from 1 to 2. Increased the number of targets from 3 to 5.
- Expert Examination: This trait has been reworked. Your function gyro grants protection to allies when summoned. Using a healing skill's associated toolbelt skill grants protection to nearby allies.
- Rapid Regeneration: Increased the swiftness base healing from 88 to 101 in PvP and WvW. Increased the superspeed base healing from 176 to 214 in PvP and WvW.
- Blast Gyro: Reduced the cooldown from 20 seconds to 15 seconds in PvE only. Reduced the power coefficient from 3.5 to 2.75 in PvE only.
- Applied Force: The condition damage penalty from this trait has been removed. Increased the bonus power per stack of might from 20 to 35 in PvE only.
- Bypass Coating: Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only.
Holosmith
- Spectrum Shield: This skill no longer has a reduced recharge when used above a heat threshold and now grants stability when used. Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only.
- Flash Spark: Reduced the cooldown from 40 seconds to 25 seconds.
Mechanist
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When equipped, the following relics' effects will now activate when the mech's abilities fulfill their requirements but affect the mech and the engineer separately:
- Relic of the Herald
- Relic of the Brawler
- Relic of the Scourge
- Relic of the Aristocracy
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When equipped, the following relics' effects will now activate when the mech's abilities fulfill their requirements, but cooldowns are shared with the engineer:
- Relic of the Monk
- Relic of Antitoxin
- Mechanical Genius: For a short period of time, the effect will remain active even after the mech moves out of range of the engineer.
- Rectifier Signet: Reduced the base pulse healing from 142 to 115 in PvP only.
- Superconducting Signet: Reduced the burning duration from 3 seconds to 1 second in PvP only.
Guardian
Support-focused firebrand is receiving a few smaller improvements in PvP to make it a competitive pick. We've also tuned up a few of guardian's defensive tools alongside some improvements to the hammer, including additional burst damage potential with Banish now refreshing Mighty Blow when striking an enemy.
- Symbol of Protection: Reduced the casting time from 0.9 seconds to 0.7 seconds.
- Zealot's Embrace: Reduced the casting time from 1.2 seconds to 0.94 seconds. Increased the additional-hit barrier from 225 to 625. Increased the power coefficient from 1.5 to 2.25 in PvE only.
- Banish: This skill now recharges Mighty Blow when striking an enemy. Increased the number of targets from 1 to 3.
- Strength in Numbers: This trait has been reworked and renamed Redemption. Cast Lesser Litany of Wrath when you use virtue skill 3. Lesser Litany of Wrath lasts for 3 seconds.
- Might of the Protector: Increased the might duration from 6 seconds to 9 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Executioner's Calling: Increased the power coefficient of the initial strike from 0.75 to 1.25 in PvE only. Increased the angle of this skill's hit box.
- Advancing Strike: Increased the power coefficient per hit from 0.75 to 1.25 in PvE only. Increased the angle of this skill's hit box.
Dragonhunter
- Shield of Courage: Reduced the cooldown from 50 seconds to 45 seconds.
- Piercing Light: This trait has been reworked and renamed Hunter's Premonition. Gain aegis when you use a trap skill.
- Defender's Dogma: This trait now also grants 180 vitality.
- Pure of Sight: Increased the minimum damage bonus from 5% to 10% in PvP only.
Firebrand
- Loremaster: Decreased the page generation interval from 6 seconds to 5 seconds in PvP only.
- Swift Scholar: This trait no longer has an internal cooldown. Increased the quickness duration from 1.5 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Chapter 1: Searing Spell: Increased vulnerability stacks from 2 to 4 in PvP only.
- Ashes of the Just: This skill now also applies 5 stacks of might to nearby allies for 8 seconds.
- Chapter 2: Daring Challenge: Increased the cooldown from 8 seconds to 15 seconds and reduced the page cost from 2 to 1 in PvP only.
Willbender
- Conceited Curate: This trait now grants 180 vitality instead of healing power.
- Roiling Light: This skill now grants resistance instead of swiftness.
- Whirling Light: Increased the power coefficient per hit from 0.75 to 1.0 in PvE only.
- Flash Combo: Increased the power coefficient per hit from 0.45 to 0.9 in PvE only.
- Holy Reckoning: This trait now grants might to nearby allies. Reduced the might duration from 8 seconds to 4 seconds in WvW only.
Mesmer
Our goal for mesmer in this update was to improve the set of tools available to support builds. We've made larger changes to the chaos and inspiration specializations to provide better access to certain boons and improve healing capabilities.
- Axe clones no longer perform an attack chain and instead will only use Lacerating Chop.
- Lacerating Chop: This skill now applies bleeding and torment for 3 seconds when used by a clone.
- Lingering Thoughts: Reduced the ammunition recharge from 8 seconds to 6 seconds in PvE and from 12 seconds to 10 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Axes of Symmetry: Reduced the cooldown from 10 seconds to 8 seconds in PvE and from 15 seconds to 12 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- The Prestige: Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE.
- Phantasmal Mage: Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE and from 30 seconds to 25 in WvW.
- Phantasmal Warlock: The phantasm summoned by this skill now inflicts torment instead of vulnerability.
- Ether Bolt: Increased the torment duration from 2 seconds to 4 seconds in PvE only.
- Ether Blast: Increased the torment duration from 3 seconds to 6 seconds in PvE only.
- Illusionary Counter: Reduced the cooldown from 8 seconds to 6 seconds in PvE only.
- Counterspell: This skill now inflicts 5 stacks of confusion for 7 seconds in PvE only.
- Confusing Images: Reduced the cooldown from 12 seconds to 9 seconds in PvE only.
- Null Field: Increased the cooldown from 35 seconds to 45 seconds in WvW only.
- Phantasmal Disenchanter: Reduced the number of boons removed from 2 to 1 in WvW only.
- Metaphysical Rejuvenation: This trait has been reworked. Grant regeneration to nearby allies after using a healing skill, with a 10-second internal cooldown.
- Illusionary Defense: This trait has been reworked. Grant protection to nearby allies when you use a shatter skill. Protection duration scales based on the number of shattered clones.
- Chaotic Transference: This trait has been reworked. When you grant chaos aura to yourself, also grant it to nearby allies. When you grant chaos aura to an ally, also grant them regeneration.
- Illusionary Membrane: This trait has been reworked. Gain chaos aura when you use Shatter skill 2. Deal increased condition damage when you have chaos aura.
- Bountiful Disillusionment: The additional boon based on which Shatter skill you use is now also granted to nearby allies. Distortion now grants stability instead of regeneration.
- Sympathetic Visage: This trait now also transfers conditions from nearby allies to summoned phantasms.
- Illusionary Inspiration: This trait has been moved to the minor grandmaster slot, replacing Healing Prism. This trait now increases outgoing healing in addition to its previous effect.
- Restorative Illusions: This trait has been moved to the grandmaster tier, replacing Illusionary Inspiration. The healing and condition removal now also affect nearby allies.
- Ego Restoration: This trait fills the master tier slot previously held by Restorative Illusions. Create a clone after using a healing skill.
- Temporal Enchanter: Increased the superspeed duration from 2 seconds to 3 seconds. Increased the resistance duration from 2 seconds to 3 seconds in PvE and PvP. Increased the area of effect.
- Mental Defense: This trait has been reworked. Distortion grants resistance and breaks stuns for nearby allies.
- The Pledge: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of torch skills. Increased burning stacks from 1 to 2.
- Compounding Power: This trait no longer increases the condition damage attribute and instead increases outgoing damage from conditions by 2% per stack.
- Malicious Sorcery: This trait has been reworked. Confusion you inflict has increased duration. When you evade an attack, inflict confusion on the attacker.
- Unstable Bladestorm: Fixed an issue that prevented this skill from targeting large bosses such as Conjured Amalgamate.
Mirage
- Mirrored Axes: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of axe skills and will no longer generate phantasmal spinning axes with Mirror Strikes. Increased the torment inflicted by phantasmal seeking axes from 1 stack for 4.5 seconds to 2 stacks for 3 seconds.
- Sand through Glass: This skill now also removes the immobile condition.
Necromancer
We've focused on improving some of necromancer's less utilized skills and traits. We've also swapped the position of the Terror and Parasitic Contagion traits in the curses specialization to allow more trait selection flexibility for fear-focused condition builds.
- Well of Blood: Increased the base pulse healing from 280 to 496 in PvP and WvW.
- Life Transfer: This skill now also inflicts bleeding when striking an enemy.
- Signet of Vampirism: Increased the base active healing from 4,950 to 5,750. Increased base active life-steal healing from 470 to 600.
- Plague Signet: Reduced the cooldown from 35 seconds to 25 seconds in PvP and WvW. Reduced the number of conditions transferred from 4 to 3 in PvP and WvW.
- Well of Power: Reduced the cooldown from 40 seconds to 35 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Terror: This trait has been moved to the grandmaster tier. Increased the base damage from 444 to 555, and increased the condition damage scaling from 0.4 to 0.55.
- Parasitic Contagion: This trait has been moved to the master tier.
- Master of Corruption: This trait now applies vulnerability instead of blindness when using Consume Conditions.
- Soul Comprehension: This trait now also grants life force upon entering a shroud form based on the number of active Death's Carapace stacks.
- Deadly Strength: This trait now also grants condition damage per stack of Death's Carapace.
Reaper
- Augury of Death: Increased the base life-steal damage from 138 to 172. Increased the life-steal power coefficient from 0.01 to 0.0125. Increased the base life-steal healing from 125 to 156. Increased the life-steal healing coefficient from 0.02 to 0.025.
- Blighter's Boon: This trait now always heals and grants life force regardless of whether the necromancer is in a shroud form. Reduced the base healing from 197 to 85.
Scourge
- Feed from Corruption: Reduced the base barrier from 1,000 to 750 and the healing coefficient from 0.5 to 0.25 in PvP only.
- Demonic Lore: Reduced the torment damage bonus from 33% to 20% in PvP only.
- Sand Cascade: Reduced the healing power coefficient from 2.0 to 1.0 in WvW only.
- Sandstorm Shroud: Reduced the pulse healing power coefficient from 0.65 to 0.35 and the final healing power coefficient from 1.3 to 0.7 in WvW only.
- Desert Empowerment: Reduced the healing power coefficient from 1.2 to 0.65 in WvW only.
Harbinger
- Elixir of Bliss: Reduced the cooldown from 32 seconds to 25 seconds in PvP and WvW.
Ranger
Pets are the focus of this update's ranger changes. We've made changes to many underperforming pet skills to better solidify the identity of each family and increase the number of viable pet choices, such as adding a stun to the polar bear's Icy Roar and causing the bird family's Quickening Screech to remove movement-impairing conditions.
- Unleashed Wild Swing: This skill is no longer interrupted early by other skills.
- "Strength of the Pack!": Reduced the cooldown from 75 seconds to 60 seconds.
Soulbeast
- Dolyak Stance: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to grant a longer stability duration than intended in PvP.
General
- All basic pet attacks are now affected by quickness.
- Pet skills that affect allies do not count the pet they originate from in their target cap.
Bear Family
- Members of this family now have 1,200 healing power.
- Slash: Increased the power coefficient from 0.3 to 0.51 in PvE only.
- Bite: Reduced the cooldown from 20 seconds to 10 seconds. Increased the base healing from 417 to 1,607. Increased the healing power multiplier from 0.28 to 0.5.
- Defy Pain: Reduced the cooldown from 45 seconds to 30 seconds. The pet now uses this skill more frequently.
- Poison Cloud (Murellow): Reduced the cooldown from 35 seconds to 25 seconds.
- Enfeebling Roar (Black Bear): Reduced the cooldown from 40 seconds to 25 seconds. Increased the power coefficient from 0.25 to 0.5. Reduced the weakness duration from 10 seconds to 4 seconds. Reduced the radius from 600 to 360.
- Icy Roar (Polar Bear): Reduced the cooldown from 45 seconds to 30 seconds. This skill now stuns in addition to its previous effects. Reduced the radius from 600 to 360.
- Rending Maul (Arctodus): Increased the power coefficient from 0.5 to 0.67. Increased the bleeding per hit from 1 stack to 2 stacks.
- Bite (Soulbeast): Increased the power coefficient from 0.7 to 1.0. Increased the base healing from 417 to 1,607. Increased the healing power multiplier from 0.28 to 0.5.
Bird Family
- Swoop: Increased the stacks of vulnerability from 1 to 5. Decreased the vulnerability duration from 12 seconds to 6 seconds.
- Quickening Screech: This skill now removes crippled, chilled, and immobile conditions from affected allies.
- Blinding Slash (Raven): Increased the power coefficient from 0.66 to 1.0 in PvE only.
- Chilling Slash (Owl): Increased the power coefficient from 0.66 to 1.0 in PvE only.
- Lacerating Slash (Hawk): Increased the cooldown from 6 seconds to 20 seconds. Increased the power coefficient from 0.33 to 1 in PvE and from 0.33 to 0.475 in WvW and PvP. Increased the bleeding stacks per hit from 1 to 3 in PvE and from 1 to 2 in WvW and PvP.
- Brash Slash (Eagle): This skill replaces Lacerating Slash. Slash at your foe, inflicting weakness.
- Swoop (Soulbeast): Increased the power coefficient from 0.86 to 1.2.
- Quickening Screech (Soulbeast): Increased the cooldown from 12 seconds to 15 seconds. This skill now removes crippled, chilled, and immobile conditions from affected allies.
Canine Family
- Juvenile Hyena: Increased power from 934 to 1,868. This pet now has a ferocious archetype.
- Juvenile Krytan Drakehound: This pet now has a versatile archetype.
- Bite: Increased the power coefficient from 0.24 to 0.335 in PvE only.
- Brutal Charge: Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 18 seconds in PvE only.
- Intimidating Howl (Krytan Drakehound): Increased the power coefficient from 0.2 to 0.5.
- Chilling Howl (Alpine Wolf): Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds. Increased the power coefficient from 0.2 to 0.5.
- Regenerate (Fern Hound): Reduced the cooldown from 25 to 20 seconds. Reduced the regeneration duration from 10 seconds to 6 seconds. Increased the base healing from 1,000 to 2,600.
- Howl of the Pack (Hyena): Reduced the cooldown from 45 seconds to 30 seconds. Increased the number of summoned allies from 1 to 2. Reduced the ally duration from 40 seconds to 15 seconds. Summoned allies can no longer use Brutal Charge.
- Terrifying Howl (Wolf): Reduced the cooldown from 45 seconds to 30 seconds in PvE and from 45 seconds to 35 seconds in WvW and PvP. Increased the power coefficient from 0.2 to 0.5 in PvE only.
Devourer Family
- Twin Darts: Increased the power coefficient from 0.15 to 0.25 in PvE only. This skill no longer has a chance to poison and now bleeds enemies it strikes. Increased the velocity.
- Devourer Retreat: Reduced the cooldown from 20 seconds to 15 seconds. The activation time of this skill has been greatly reduced. This skill will no longer be used at full health.
- Poisonous Cloud (Carrion Devourer): Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds. Increased the poison duration from 4 seconds to 6 seconds. Increased the velocity.
- Rending Barbs (Lashtail Devourer): Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds. Increased the power coefficient per hit from 0.2 to 0.3. Increased the bleeding duration from 5 seconds to 8 seconds. Increased the velocity.
- Poison Barbs (Whiptail Devourer): Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds. Increased the power coefficient from 0.5 to 0.65. Increased the poison stacks from 1 to 4 and poison duration from 2 seconds to 6 seconds. This skill now pierces and can only hit a target once.
Drake Family
- Members of this family now have 600 healing power.
- Bite: Increased the power coefficient from 0.24 to 0.3425 in PvE only. This skill now causes the pet to move slightly from its initial position.
- Chomp: Increased the base healing from 965 to 1,285. Increased the healing power scaling from 0.15 to 0.5. Increased the number of targets from 3 to 5.
- Tail Swipe: Reduced the cooldown from 24 seconds to 16 seconds in PvE only.
- Fire Breath (Salamander Drake): Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE and from 30 seconds to 25 seconds in WvW and PvP. Increased the burning duration from 1 second to 3 seconds.
- Insect Swarm (Marsh Drake): Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE and from 30 seconds to 25 seconds in WvW and PvP. Reduced the power coefficient from 0.25 to 0.2 in WvW and PvP. Increased the poison duration from 3 seconds to 4 seconds.
- Frost Breath (Ice Drake): Reduced the cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Increased the chilled duration from 1 second to 1.5 seconds.
- Lightning Breath (River Drake): Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE and from 30 seconds to 25 seconds in WvW and PvP. Reduced the power coefficient from 0.33 to 0.275 in WvW and PvP.
- Sonic Shriek (Reef Drake): Reduced the cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Increased the confusion stacks per hit from 1 to 2.
- Chomp (Soulbeast): Increased the power coefficient from 0.65 to 1. Increased the base healing from 965 to 1,285. Increased the healing power scaling from 0.15 to 0.5. Increased the number of targets from 3 to 5.
- Tail Swipe (Soulbeast): Increased the power coefficient from 1.1 to 1.3.
Feline Family
- Slash: This skill no longer applies vulnerability.
- Bite: This skill now applies 5 stacks of vulnerability for 6 seconds.
- Maul: Increased the power coefficient per hit from 0.2 to 0.4.
- Mighty Roar (Jungle Stalker): Reduced the cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds. Increased the might stacks from 5 to 8 in PvE only. Reduced the radius from 600 to 360. Decreased the casting time.
- Rending Pounce (Lynx): Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds. Reduced the bleeding duration from 10 seconds to 6 seconds.
- Icy Pounce (Snow Leopard): Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Furious Pounce (Tiger): Increased the cooldown from 10 seconds to 20 seconds. Increased the power coefficient from 1.0 to 2.0 in PvE only.
- Stalk (Jaguar): Reduced the cooldown from 24 seconds to 20 seconds. This skill now applies stealth rather than the Stalking effect. Damage bonuses from this skill still last 6 seconds, even if the pet is revealed.
- Phase Pounce (White Tiger): Decreased the cooldown from 20 seconds to 16 seconds. Increased the bleeding stacks per hit from 1 to 2, and increased the bleeding duration from 5 seconds to 10 seconds.
- Savannah Strike (Cheetah): Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds. Increased the power coefficient from 0.45 to 0.5. Increased the swiftness duration from 4 seconds to 5 seconds.
- Blinding Roar (Sand Lion): Reduced the cooldown from 35 seconds to 20 seconds.
Moa Family
- Members of this family now have 1,200 healing power.
- White Moa: This pet now has a supportive archetype.
- The casting times of moa cries have been reduced.
- Peck: Increased the power coefficient from 0.28 to 0.315 in PvE only.
- Harmonic Cry: Reduced the cooldown from 40 seconds to 25 seconds. Increased the base healing from 1,340 to 1,660. Increased the healing power scaling from 0.2 to 1.0.
- Frenzied Attack: Increased the power coefficient per hit from 0.2 to 0.4 in PvE only.
- Protecting Screech (Blue Moa): Reduced the cooldown from 24 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Icy Screech (White Moa): This skill has been reworked and now grants Frost Aura to nearby allies.
- Dazing Screech (Pink Moa): Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 25 seconds. This skill now dazes enemies in a circular area around the moa instead of a frontal cone. Increased the dazed duration from 2 seconds to 3 seconds in PvE only.
- Furious Screech (Red Moa): Reduced the cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Harmonic Cry (Soulbeast): Increased the base healing from 1,300 to 1,940. Increased the healing power scaling from 0.5 to 0.75. Increased the radius from 240 to 360.
Porcine Family
- Members of this family now have 600 healing power.
- Pig: This pet now has a ferocious archetype.
- Jab: Increased the power coefficient from 0.25 to 0.41 in PvE only.
- Maul: Reduced the cooldown from 12 seconds to 10 seconds.
- Brutal Charge: Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in PvE only.
- Forage (Boar): This skill now only forages a rock. Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 25 seconds.
- Forage (Warthog): This skill now only forages a scale. Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 25 seconds. Reduced the weakness duration from 10 seconds to 6 seconds. Increased the bleeding and poison stacks from 1 to 3. Reduced the poison duration from 20 seconds to 6 seconds and the bleeding duration from 10 seconds to 6 seconds.
- Forage (Siamoth): This skill now only forages feathers. Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 25 seconds.
- Forage (Pig): This skill now only forages a greatsword. The greatsword can be thrown at enemies. Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 25 seconds.
Spider Family
- Spit: Increased the power coefficient from 0.44 to 0.57 in PvE only. Increased the velocity.
- Entangling Web: Reduced the duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP and WvW. Increased the velocity.
- Poison Gas: Reduced the cooldown from 20 seconds to 15 seconds in PvE only. Increased the poison duration from 4 seconds to 6 seconds in PvE only. Increased the number of targets from 3 to 5. Increased the velocity.
- Deadly Venom (Forest Spider): Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds. Increased the poison stacks from 1 to 2. Reduced the poison duration from 12 seconds to 6 seconds. Reduced the venom duration from 30 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Weakening Venom (Cave Spider): Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds. Increased the vulnerability stacks from 3 to 5. Reduced the vulnerability duration from 10 seconds to 6 seconds in WvW and PvP. Reduced the weakness duration from 5 seconds to 3 seconds. Reduced the venom duration from 30 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Paralyzing Venom (Jungle Spider): Reduced the cooldown from 45 seconds to 25 seconds. Reduced the immobilize duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in WvW and PvP. Reduced the venom duration from 30 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Entangling Web (Soulbeast): Reduced the immobilize duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in WvW and PvP. Increased the velocity.
- Poison Gas (Soulbeast): Reduced the cooldown from 20 seconds to 15 seconds in PvE only. Increased the poison duration from 4 seconds to 6 seconds in PvE only.
Bristleback
- Spike Shoot: Increased the power coefficient from 0.3 to 0.31 in PvE only.
- Rain of Spikes: Increased the power coefficient from 0.4 to 0.5. Increased the bleeding stacks from 1 to 2. This skill can now only hit a target once.
- Sharpen Spines: Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Spike Barrage: Increased the cooldown from 15 seconds to 20 seconds. This skill now inflicts bleeding when striking an enemy.
- Rain of Spikes (Soulbeast): Increased the power coefficient from 0.4 to 1 in PvE and from 0.4 to 0.8 in WvW and PvP. Increased the bleeding stacks from 1 to 2. This skill can now only hit a target once.
Smokescale
- Bite: Increased the power coefficient from 0.25 to 0.56 in PvE only.
- Takedown: Reduced the cooldown from 20 seconds to 10 seconds. This skill no longer knocks down enemies. Increased the power coefficient from 0.01 to 0.5 in WvW and PvP.
- Takedown (Soulbeast): Reduced the cooldown from 20 seconds to 10 seconds. This skill no longer knocks down enemies. Increased the power coefficient from 0.7 to 1.0 in PvE and from 0.01 to 1.0 in WvW and PvP.
Wyvern Family
- Wing Buffet: This skill now properly indicates that it applies the launch control effect.
- Consuming Flame (Fire Wyvern): Reduced the cooldown from 35 seconds to 25 seconds. Increased the burning duration from 2 seconds to 3 seconds.
- Tail Lash (Soulbeast): Increased the power coefficient from 0.66 to 1.2.
- Wing Buffet (Soulbeast): This skill now properly indicates that it applies the launch control effect.
Fanged Iboga
- Consuming Bite: This skill now only scales with a maximum of 5 conditions on the target. Increased the base power coefficient from 0.2 to 0.45 in PvE only. Reduced the bonus power coefficient from 0.03 to 0.025 in PvE only.
- Crippling Anguish: Increased the cooldown from 5 seconds to 10 seconds. Increased the power coefficient from 0.1 to 0.3. Increased the torment stacks from 1 to 3 in PvE and from 1 to 2 in WvW and PvP. Reduced the torment duration from 10 seconds to 6 seconds in WvW and PvP only. Increased the confusion duration from 2 seconds to 3 seconds in WvW and PvP. Increased the velocity.
- Narcotic Spores: This skill is now an ethereal field.
- Crippling Anguish (Soulbeast): Increased the cooldown from 5 seconds to 10 seconds. Increased the power coefficient from 0.1 to 0.75. Increased the torment stacks from 1 to 2 and the torment duration from 3 seconds to 6 seconds. Increased the velocity.
- Narcotic Spores (Soulbeast): This skill is now an ethereal field.
Jacaranda
- Juvenile jacarandas now have 1,200 healing power.
- Fixed an issue that caused this pet to have more health than intended.
Rock Gazelle
- Headbutt: Increased the power coefficient from 0.32 to 0.415 in PvE only.
- Charge: Increased the cooldown from 15 seconds to 20 seconds in PvP and WvW. This skill now tracks its target more accurately and stops upon reaching the target.
Phoenix
- This pet's health has been increased.
- Wicked Bite: Increased the power coefficient from 0.4 to 0.43 in PvE only. This skill now causes the pet to move slightly from its initial position.
- Gale Breath: This skill now only performs one sweep. Increased the power coefficient from 0.5 to 0.8.
- Dash (Soulbeast): This skill replaces Wicked Bite when merged.
Wallow
- This pet's health has been increased.
- Vampiric Bite: Increased the power coefficient from 0.4 to 0.42 in PvE only. Increased the attack range.
- Undead Plague: Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Bloodthirsty Charge: Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 25 seconds.
- Maul (Soulbeast): This skill replaces Vampiric Bite when merged.
- Undead Plague (Soulbeast): Reduced the cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds.
Siege Turtle
- Jade Cannon: Increased the rate of fire and projectile speed. Reduced the power coefficient from 0.75 to 0.53 in PvE only.
- Heavy Shot: This skill replaces Snap. Shoot a jade missile at your target that dazes nearby enemies on impact.
- Slam (Soulbeast): This skill replaces Jade Cannon when merged.
- Heavy Shot (Soulbeast): This skill replaces Snap when merged.
Revenant
This update is focused on improving revenant's short bow, shield, and hammer weapons. We've made piercing part of the short bow's base attacks to make it more appealing to non-renegade users. The shield changes improve its usability as a support weapon, while hammer has gotten some improvements to both its damaging and defensive capabilities.
- Hammer Bolt: Increased the power coefficient from 1.15 to 1.35 in PvE only.
- Coalescence of Ruin: Adjusted the damage areas to begin at the player's location instead of being offset from it. Increased the power coefficient from 1.75 to 2.0 in PvE only. Reduced the cooldown from 10 seconds to 7 seconds in PvP only.
- Phase Smash: Increased the power coefficient from 2.0 to 2.2 in PvE only.
- Field of the Mists: This skill now grants aegis to the user on activation and will fire a projectile at up to 5 enemies around the target. The projectile destruction wall will now activate immediately.
- Drop the Hammer: Increased the power coefficient from 2.3 to 2.7 in PvE only. Increased the knockdown duration from 2 seconds to 3 seconds in PvE and PvP.
- Envoy of Exuberance: This skill now grants protection to allies at its impact point instead of when the projectile passes through them. The impact now also grants aegis to allies. Increased the missile velocity from 900 to 1,200. Increased the healing coefficient from 0.5 to 1.0.
- Crystal Hibernation: This skill now also heals allies in a radius of 360 around the user.
- Shattershot: This skill now pierces.
- Bloodbane Path: This skill now pierces.
- Sevenshot: This skill now pierces.
- Inspiring Reinforcement: Increased the duration of the initial stability from 1 second to 1.5 seconds in PvP only. Increased the duration of the pulsing stability from 1 second to 1.25 seconds in PvP only.
- Spiritual Resolution: This trait now activates when invoking a legend instead of when using an elite skill.
- Set in Stone: This trait replaces Eye for an Eye. Gain protection when you use profession skill 2.
- Contained Temper: This trait has been reworked. Gain energy when you break out of stun.
Herald
- Forceful Persistence: Increased the bonus damage from 15% to 20% in PvE only. Increased the bonus damage per herald upkeep skill from 5% to 7% in PvE only.
Renegade
- Bold Reversal: This trait has been reworked. Gain resistance when you use a healing skill.
- Heartpiercer: This trait no longer causes short bow skills to pierce.
Vindicator
- Reaver's Curse: This trait has been reworked. Reduce the recharge of Energy Meld. Energy Meld enhances the effects of your next dodge.
- Angsiyan's Trust: This trait has been reworked. Energy Meld no longer has an energy cost and grants energy when used.
- Song of Arboreum: This trait has been reworked. Energy Meld grants more endurance and also grants endurance and vigor to nearby allies.
- Dodging will no longer activate confusion damage.
Thief
The improvements to staff are focused on Debilitating Arc and Dust Strike to give these skills a more unique identity and application. Pistol is also being tuned up to make it a more viable option for condition-focused builds in PvE.
- Vital Shot: Increased the bleeding duration from 4 seconds to 6 seconds in PvE only.
- Shadow Strike: Increased the torment stacks from 2 to 4 in PvE only. Increased the Repeater effect duration from 4 seconds to 10 seconds in PvE, and from 4 seconds to 5 seconds in PvP and WvW. Increased the Repeater effect stacks from 1 to 3 in PvE and from 1 to 2 in PvP and WvW. The effect now causes the Repeater skill to cost one less initiative, and one stack of the effect is consumed when using Repeater.
- Unload: Reduced the initiative cost from 5 to 3 PvE only.
- Bountiful Theft: This trait now grants additional might to allies when stealing from a target with no boons.
- Haste: Reduced the cooldown from 24 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE and from 35 seconds to 30 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Blinding Powder: Reduced the cooldown from 40 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only.
- Punishing Strikes: This skill no longer reflects projectiles.
- Debilitating Arc: This skill now grants access to Helmet Breaker for a duration of time.
- Helmet Breaker: Leap at your foe, dealing damage and inflicting the dazed effect.
- Dust Strike: This skill now reflects projectiles and strikes foes in a circular area instead of in a frontal cone. Increased the total power coefficient from 0.6 to 1.8 in PvE only.
- Sniper's Cover: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to grant access to Death's Advance when within the barrier and not kneeling.
- Death's Advance: Fixed an issue that could prevent this skill from granting stealth.
Deadeye
- Impact Strike: This skill now evades attacks. Increased the cooldown from 25 seconds to 30 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Fixed an issue that caused stolen skills to grant more stealth than intended.
Specter
- Well of Gloom: Increased the base pulse healing from 336 to 520 in PvP and WvW.
- Well of Silence: Reduced the cooldown from 35 seconds to 30 PvP and WvW.
Warrior
Berserker's improvements will make it slightly easier to maintain berserk mode in PvE encounters, and a lower cooldown will make it a bit less punishing to fall out of berserk mode. We've also improved the critical-hit-focused side of the arms specialization and tuned up a handful of underperforming skills and traits.
- Crushing Blow: Increased the power coefficient from 1.5 to 2.25 in PvE and from 1.5 to 1.75 in PvP and WvW. Increased the might stacks from 3 to 5. Reduced the cooldown from 15 seconds to 12 seconds.
- Tremor: Reduced the cooldown to 18 seconds in all game modes. Increased the power coefficient from 0.8 to 1.25 in PvE only.
- Dolyak Signet: Increased the base healing from 1,640 to 2,870.
- Signet of Stamina: This skill now also grants 10 endurance per condition it removes.
- Vengeance: Increased the chance to rally from 25% to 100% in PvE only.
- Opportunist: This trait will now also trigger when disabling an enemy. Reduced the cooldown from 10 seconds to 1 second. Reduced the fury duration from 10 seconds to 3 seconds.
- Furious Burst: This trait no longer grants fury when using a burst skill and instead grants fury when swapping weapons. Reduced the cooldown from 15 seconds to 4 seconds. Reduced the fury duration from 5 seconds to 2.5 seconds.
- Deep Strikes: This trait now also grants 5% increased critical strike chance against bleeding enemies in PVE and 10% increased critical strike chance against bleeding enemies in PvP and WvW.
- Burst Precision: This trait now also grants 100% critical strike chance and 150 ferocity for 2, 3, or 4 seconds based on adrenaline level when striking with a burst skill.
- Aggressive Onslaught: This trait now also grants 2 stacks of might for 6 seconds. Increased the movement speed bonus from 25% to 33%. Increased the quickness duration from 2 to 3 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Soldier's Comfort: Increased the heal attribute scaling from 0.8 to 1.0. Increased the protection duration from 2.5 seconds to 4 seconds in PvE and from 2.5 seconds to 3 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Vengeful Return: This trait has been reworked and renamed to Stalwart Focus. Increased the incoming healing effectiveness and outgoing healing to allies.
- Heightened Focus: This trait will now also recharge all burst skills when it activates. Reduced the cooldown from 15 seconds to 12 seconds.
- Gunstinger: Reduced the aegis duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP only.
Berserker
- Berserk: Increased the duration from 15 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Reduced the cooldown from 15 seconds to 8 seconds in PvE only.
- Smash Brawler: This trait no longer extends berserk duration by a flat amount and instead causes Primal Burst skills to extend berserk duration by 2 seconds in PvE and 1 second in PvP and WvW when striking an enemy, once per skill. Decapitate will extend berserk mode by 1 second in PvE.
- Heat the Soul: This trait no longer has an internal cooldown. Reduced the quickness duration from 4 seconds to 3 seconds in PvE only. Decapitate grants 2 seconds of quickness.
Bladesworn
- Blooming Fire: Reduced the aftercast of this skill.
- Artillery Slash: Reduced the aftercast of this skill.
- Cyclone Trigger: Reduced the aegis duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP only.
- Flicker Step: Reduced the cooldown from 40 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only.
- Dragon Slash—Boost: Increased the delay before the dash from 0.25 seconds to 0.5 seconds.
- Unyielding Dragon: This trait no longer causes Dragon Slash to stun foes in WvW and PvP.
November 06, 2023 at 05:13 pm
11/07/2023—November 7 Release Notes
Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure
Through the Veil
Cerus of House Nephus is defeated and Isgarren rescued. Tyria has been greeted by a temporary peace. However, the denizens of Nayos haven't had the same luxury. Lady Peitha has finally beckoned the wayfinder to join her across the Mists in the demon realm: the march against Eparch begins now. As the Midnight King hides away in his palace of blood and fear, the wayfinder must travel through the outskirts of an unfamiliar world to collect their allies and carve a path forward. Only when Heitor's Gate has fallen can they march onward.
This content is unlocked for free for all owners of Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure.
Release Highlights
- New Story: The Secrets of the Obscure story continues with three new chapters.
- New Map: Explore the newly released Inner Nayos map.
- New Mastery Line: Master new skills with the Inner Nayos Mastery track.
- Convergences: Introducing squad-based rifts with legendary enemies.
- Cosmic Observatory Strike Mission: Introducing the challenge mode version of this Strike Mission.
- Wizard's Vault: Seasonal rewards and objectives have been refreshed.
- New Rewards: Work to earn the new Oneiros-Spun Armor set and three new relics.
- Rift Hunting: The rotation for rift hunting has been expanded.
- Improvements: New quality-of-life improvements have been implemented.
General
- An option has been added to allow players to choose which character-select background is displayed.
- New menus to expand all groups and collapse all groups within the Account Vault dialogue have been added.
-
Added three collection achievements for relics.
- For the Relics—Secrets of the Obscure Set 1 achievement, players can load into Lion's Arch or any Secrets of the Obscure map to retroactively check for progress.
-
An option to disable griffon and skyscale mounts from flying on ley lines has been added. This function is toggled via the default F1 skill while mounted on either the griffon or skyscale mounts if the player has the Ley-Line Acclimation Mastery unlocked in the Secrets of the Obscure Flight Training Mastery track.
- Disabling or reenabling flying mounts on ley lines persists permanently and is a shared setting for both flying mounts. (For example, if you disable it on your griffon and log out, the next time you log back in and mount your griffon or skyscale, it will be disabled until you reenable it.)
- Fixed a bug that caused the Avatar of Regret's Crushing Regret skill to not properly detect if players were stacked in the green circle telegraphs. The damage of the skill will now be appropriately divided between players who stack in the telegraph. Reduced the number of attacks created based on the number of nearby players.
- Fixed a bug that could cause oni to become untargetable and unkillable after their ambush event timed out in Cantha.
- Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause Zizel to stand around throwing potions in the Concocter's Lab if the Defense of Amnytas meta-event started during his event chain in Amnytas.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Banish mechanic to leave residual effects for players who had used Continuum Split before getting teleported during the Defense of Amnytas meta-event in Amnytas.
- Fixed a bug in which Efi could have an incorrect dialogue state based on the player's progression of the Olmakhan Bandolier collection.
- Fixed a bug that caused Slabs of Wurm Meat to drop during the "Kill the giant plains wurm" event when the "Kill wurms and collect their meat for Sharpwit" event had already been completed.
- Fixed a bug in which unbound magic experience wasn't affected by Bloodstone Empowerment.
- Fixed a bug in which an interact prompt was being displayed while the corresponding event wasn't active in Amnytas.
- Archivist of Whispers: Fixed a bug that could cause this trait to incorrectly set the player's max pages upon starting a PvP game.
Wizard's Vault
The Wizard's Vault's trove of rewards has been refreshed! All-new seasonal rewards can be found in the Astral Rewards section of the Wizard's Vault, and purchase limits on other items have been reset. Last season's Sanctified armor pieces, the Sanctified weapon set, the /bless Emote Tome, and the Enchanted Owl griffon skin can now be found in the Legacy Rewards section of the Wizard's Vault. New Special Objectives have also been added to the Wizard's Vault, with more to appear over the coming season.
- The Wizard’s Vault Daily Completion Chest will now give instant WvW and PvP Reward Track progress for completed daily WvW and PvP tasks.
Fishing
Inner Nayos
- New fish can be caught in Inner Nayos.
- Fish from both Skywatch Archipelago and Amnytas can be caught at Inner Nayos fishing holes without needing the correct bait, but fishing during the correct time of day is still required. These have lower drop rates than fish exclusive to Inner Nayos.
Dungeons
Ascalonian Catacombs
- Fixed an issue that caused a Disarm Traps lever to be out of the reach of players.
- Fixed a bug that caused King Adelbern, as well as various immobile enemies across Tyria, to be knocked down despite an active defiance bar when struck by knockback attacks.
- Fixed a bug that could cause markers on active traps to not clean up after the patriarch's defeat.
- Fixed a bug that could cause Tzark to interrupt himself while resetting essence collectors.
- Fixed an incorrect marker on the cave troll encounter.
Caudecus's Manor
- Fixed a bug that allowed Sigfast to be attacked by Separatists and potentially knocked around the area while sleeping.
- Fixed a bug that caused Zojja to not be wearing her headgear during a cinematic.
- Fixed an issue that allowed the “Search for the captured sergeant” objective and goals to appear before the “Overwhelm the bandit defenses” objective was completed.
- Several houses no longer close their doors after the nearby gate is destroyed, to prevent players from being trapped inside.
- Bandit archers now apply confusion, matching their description.
- Fixed an incorrect marker on the Bridgette encounter.
- Fixed an incorrect marker on the Prototype Golem encounter.
Twilight Arbor
- Fixed an issue that caused the Ooze Font Waypoint's name to appear incorrectly.
- Fixed a bug that could cause the Unstable Nightmare Husk to fail to become vulnerable after being hit by four Nightmare Essences.
- Fixed a bug that could cause Sparki's Ground Bloom skill to continue launching fireballs after Sparki finished spinning.
- Fixed a bug that could cause an airship to be untargetable with EMP skills during the bonus objectives of the Aetherblade path.
Sorrow's Embrace
- Fixed a bug that could cause the Elite Dredge Resonator near the beginning of the dungeon to not retreat when players approached after choosing a path.
- During the "Help Rasolov free workers by defeating foremen" event, the last four foremen will not reveal themselves until Foreman Kreutzerova has been defeated.
- Fixed a bug that could cause Tarleov to fail to begin working during his event.
- Fixed a bug that could cause an Elite Dredge Rifleman to overzealously announce the presence of intruders.
- Fixed health bar and marker display issues during the final confrontation with General Zadorojny.
- Fixed an incorrect marker on the General Molradovich encounter.
Citadel of Flame
- Gaheron Baelfire no longer resets his health when the party wipes during the finale battle in story mode, preventing a desync between his health and attack pattern.
- Collision has been removed from a number of flame turrets to prevent players from being stuck inside them.
Honor of the Waves
- Fixed a setting that caused Honor's Voice to move erratically during combat.
- Fixed a bug that caused Kulag the Fallen's Ice Storm attack to not drop ice crystals if the target was out of Kulag's line of sight.
- Lowered the level of some enemies that exceeded level 80 in explorable mode.
- Fixed an incorrect marker on the Champion Icebrood Goliath encounter.
- Fixed an incorrect marker on the Kodan's Bane encounter.
Crucible of Eternity
- Fixed an issue that allowed players to enter the Crucible of Eternity dungeon from Mount Maelstrom even while the dungeon was contested.
- Fixed an issue with the front door and teleporter exits that allowed them to be used before the dungeon was completed, allowing players to escape to Mount Maelstrom before receiving rewards.
The Ruined City of Arah
- Added poison aura to Risen Defilers that were missing it.
- Added a teleport mote that will let players join their party if they fell behind before Alphard, Serpent of the Waves was engaged.
- Adjusted Simin, High Priestess of Dwayna’s heal skill to start its recharge when her heal effect ends instead of potentially being able to immediately restart a healing phase.
October 17, 2023 at 02:43 pm
10/17/2023—October 17 Release Notes
Halloween
The gates to the Mad Realm have opened once again, 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 fearsome Mad King's Clock Tower jumping puzzle; 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 Mad King Says game; or match wits and blades against royalty in Ascent to Madness.
The Lion's Arch Captain's Council wishes to remind citizens that they are not affiliated with the Krytan monarchy and cannot guarantee the safety of any individuals who choose to dabble in dangerous realms, mad or otherwise.
- A new variant of the long-feared Mad King's Clock Tower has appeared! Normally unavailable to visitors during maintenance, guests are now welcome to enter the Stopped Clock Tower, an incarnation of the tower's daunting climb with less time pressure. Existing achievements have been updated to reflect which version of the tower they can be completed in, and new achievements have been added for players conquering each variant.
- The Annual Halloween Rituals meta-achievement has been updated with a fashionable new reward, the Clawing Shadow Greaves! Earn this spooky new armor piece by completing a variety of Halloween activities, and show your allegiance to the Mad King's court with pride. Last year's meta-achievement reward, the Clawing Shadow Gloves, can now be purchased from Halloween vendors if you missed it.
- The new Grim Machine weapon set is now available. You'll receive your choice of a weapon by progressing the annual Halloween Rituals meta-achievement or the weekly Halloween Festivities achievement.
- Four makeshift Paper Bag Helm Skins are now available for heroes to show their Halloween spirit on a budget. To earn these helms, you'll need to bring your materials to a mysterious craftsraven atop the Stopped Clock Tower.
- Three new weapons are now available in the Courtly Weapon Chest, which can be rarely found by opening Trick-or-Treat Bags. They can also be purchased from Sparking Stone in Lion's Arch.
- The long-awaited Mini Derlitz the Candy Raven is now available from Halloween vendors.
- New Halloween-themed guild decorations have been added.
- Many small issues have been addressed to ensure a more polished festival experience for all visitors to the Mad Realm.
The gates to the Mad Realm will be open for three weeks, from October 17 until November 7. Have a happy Halloween!
World Polish
- Added a proper name for one of the Legendary Ley-Line Anomaly's attacks.
- Fixed an issue that could prevent the Legendary Bandit Executioner's orbiting projectile from correctly following the bandit.
- Fixed a scaling issue in the "Defeat the giant Destroyer troll" event in Timberline Falls.
- Fixed an issue that could cause the instance owner to be stuck behind a door during the Silence story mission.
- Fixed a stalling issue that could occur during the story mission The Battle for Cragstead.
- Fixed a stalling issue that could occur when reaching the Eye of the North while replaying the Voice in the Deep story mission.
- Fixed an issue that caused a looping conversation with Hal the Hermit.
- Removed an invalid interaction prompt in Seitung Province.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Jahai Bluffs Griffon Expert achievement to be awarded when completing other adventures.
Items
- Fixed an issue that caused chickens to be slightly embedded in the ground when viewing a preview of the Endless Mystery Fowl Tonic.
- Trick-or-Treat bags have an extremely rare chance to drop Enchanted Music Boxes.
- Fixed an issue that prevented the Gentle Garden Swing Chair animations from being displayed to other players.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Pocket Jade Armor to disappear earlier than intended.
Profession Skills
General
- Relic of Leadership: Fixed an issue that caused this relic to convert more conditions than intended.
Mesmer
Chronomancer
- Split Second: Reduced the total power coefficient from 1.33/2.132/2.8 based on number of active clones to 1.0/1.65/2.3 based on number of active clones in PvP only.
Necromancer
- Death Nova: Increased the minion summoning interval from 3 seconds to 15 seconds in WvW only. Reduced the power coefficient from 0.6 to 0.3 in WvW only.
- Summon Madness: Reduced the number of minions summoned from 8 to 4 in WvW only.
Reaper
- "Rise!": Reduced the maximum number of targets from 2 to 1 in WvW only.
Ranger
- Signet of the Hunt: Increased cooldown from 25 seconds to 30 seconds in PvP only.
Soulbeast
- One Wolf Pack: Reduced the duration from 8 seconds to 6 seconds in WvW only. Increased the strike interval from 0.25 seconds to 0.5 seconds in WvW only. Reduced the power coefficient from 0.63 to 0.5 in WvW only.
Untamed
- Natural Fortitude: Reduced life siphon damage from 1,764 to 1,000 in PvP only.
- Let Loose: This trait no longer grants fury in PvP and WvW.
- Multishot: Fixed a bug that allowed this skill to be fired behind the user.
Revenant
- Mist Swing: Reduced the maximum number of targets from 5 to 3.
- Mist Slash: Reduced the maximum number of targets from 5 to 3.
- Arcing Mists: Reduced the maximum number of targets from 5 to 3.
- True Strike: Reduced the power coefficient per block stack from 0.3 to 0.05 in WvW only.
Thief
- Swindler's Equilibrium: Fixed an issue that prevented this trait from properly reducing the recharge of Steal.
Specter
- Endless Night: Reduced the slow duration from 0.5 seconds to 0.25 seconds in PvP only. Reduced the torment duration from 6 seconds to 5 seconds in PvP only.
Warrior
Berserker
- Savage Instinct: Reduced the duration from 2 seconds to 1 second in PvP only.
- Blood Reaction: Reduced the precision-to-ferocity conversion from 10% to 5% in WvW only.
- Fatal Frenzy: Reduced the power bonus from 300 to 150 in WvW only.
- Eternal Champion: Reduced the stability duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP only.
- Sundering Leap: Increased the cooldown from 15 seconds to 18 seconds in PvP only.
Bladesworn
- Unshakable Mountain: Reduced base barrier from 1,003 to 800 in PvP only.
- Combat Stimulant: Reduced base healing from 3,260 to 2,760 in PvP only.
- Stim State: Reduced base healing from 3,580 to 3,080 in PvP only.
- Gunstinger: Increased the ammunition recharge from 15 seconds to 18 seconds in PvP only.
World vs. World
- Added an exotic back item and heavy, medium, and light aquatic headgear to the TEID-07 Unified Vendor System vendor in WvW.
September 26, 2023 at 03:41 pm
09/26/2023—September 26 Release Notes
World Polish
- Reduced the amount of healing twisted mender enemies applied to their allies. It is now a flat value rather than a percentage of the target's maximum health.
- Fixed an issue that could cause a mismatch between the Priority Strike rotation and related achievements at the Eye of the North asura gate during certain time frames.
- Fixed an issue that prevented players from joining party members who entered a home instance or Sun's Refuge via the asura gate in the Eye of the North.
- Fixed an issue that could cause meta-event entries in the Eye of the North to be available for a longer period than expected.
- Zizel and Galrath the Undying have been promoted to legendary rank.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Kaineng Blackout meta-event in New Kaineng City to occasionally stall while players were capturing the breaker boxes.
- Kryptis rifts have been reported in additional locations. Ember Bay, Frostgorge Sound, Iron Marches, Seitung Province, and Verdant Brink have been added to the Kryptis rift weekly rotation pool.
- Additional achievements have been added for the new rift hunting locations.
Skywatch Archipelago
- Increased the duration of active checkpoints for the Rise and Shrine achievement.
- The junior archivist's position in Wizard's Ascent is now marked on the map.
- Fixed an issue that caused chest icons to persist on the compass after the chests were opened.
- Fixed an issue that could cause players using bellows to retain their bundles after completing the "Gather essence of awe around Droknar's Light" event.
- Fixed an issue that could prevent players from obtaining the special action skill to cleanse corruption at the end of the Unlocking the Wizard's Tower meta-event.
The Wizard's Tower
- Added a fishing hole at the Wizard's Respite point of interest.
- Fixed an issue that caused the targets in the Skyscale Target Practice adventure to disappear too early for players who began the adventure shortly before it became unavailable.
Amnytas
- Adjusted the location of the Spellcrafting Workshop's starlight lantern to be closer to the point of interest.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Museum of Curiosities: Main Gallery's starlight lantern to be positioned inside a wall.
- Fixed an issue that caused chest icons to persist on the compass after the chests were opened.
- Updated Dagda's astral projection visual effects during the finale of the Defense of Amnytas meta-event.
- Reduced the movement speed of the Nova Launch skill in Amnytas to fix an issue that caused players to clip through walls.
- Fixed an issue that caused the "Escort Zizel and the concoctions to the greenhouse" event to fail before the final concoction dropped.
- Fixed an issue that caused some ambient dialogue to continue playing during the Defense of Amnytas meta-event.
- Coconut's level has been corrected.
- Fixed an issue that allowed players to kill cats in the Bastion of Knowledge.
- Fixed an issue that caused the player to become stuck in action camera mode during the "Help Livia escort the relics by shooting at Kryptis from the magic platforms" event.
General
- Wurm enemies below champion rank now correctly drop the item needed to progress the Skyscale Medicine Masker achievement.
Skywatch Archipelago
- "Protector of" achievement objective text has been updated to match the respective events. Additionally, if an event is part of an event chain, it will be listed as part of the objective.
Amyntas
- The hint text for the Fantastic Flying Foxes achievement has been updated.
Fractals
Silent Surf
- Fixed an issue that caused all party members to be defeated when engaging the first boss in challenge mode.
Sunqua Peak
- Fixed an issue that could cause the final boss to get stuck repeating an animation during the first phase of the encounter.
Shattered Observatory
- Fixed an issue that could cause Artsariiv to be interrupted by damage after phase transitions at 66% and 33% health in challenge mode.
Personal Story
- Fixed an issue that blocked sylvari players from completing the Hearts and Minds story step in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns if they disconnected from the game or re-entered the instance after the Mordremoth fight.
- Updated the requirements for progressing the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure Fractal Push story achievement. Rather than successfully completing the final stage of the meta-event in Skywatch Archipelago, progress will be awarded for participating in any of the meta-events.
- Fixed an issue that prevented Second Hunter Kamilla from skipping certain dialogue steps for players who had already received the one-time gift of an uncommon Kryptis motivation.
- Adjusted players' downed behavior in the Treachery story step in Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure to prevent issues during the cinematic.
Profession Skills
The goal of these changes is to address a number of builds that are overperforming in PvE. We'll keep a close eye on the impact of these changes and may make additional tuning adjustments as needed to bring any overperforming builds back in line before the next regular balance update.
General
- Relic of Akeem: Reduced torment and confusion stacks from 3 to 2 in PvE only.
- Relic of Fireworks: Reduced the damage bonus from 10% to 7% in PvE and WvW.
- Relic of Mabon: Fixed an issue that caused this relic to affect might stacks applied by the user instead of might stacks applied to the user. Reduced the internal cooldown from 3 seconds to 2 seconds.
Elementalist
- Wildfire: Reduced power coefficient from 0.66 to 0.44 in PvE only.
- Elements of Rage: Reduced the damage bonus from 10% to 7% in PvE only.
- Weaver's Prowess: Reduced the damage bonus from 10% to 5% in PvE only.
- Empowering Auras: Reduced the damage bonus per stack from 3% to 2% in PvE only.
- Deploy Jade Sphere: Reduced power coefficient from 0.4 to 0.35 in PvE only.
Engineer
- Poison Dart Volley: Reduced poison duration from 9 seconds to 7 seconds in PvE only.
- Blowtorch: Reduced burning stacks from 4 to 3 in PvE only.
- Corona Burst: Reduced burning duration from 5 seconds to 3 seconds in PvE only.
- Photon Blitz: Reduced burning duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in PvE only.
Mesmer
- Jagged Mind: Reduced bleeding duration from 5 seconds to 4.5 seconds in PvE only.
Necromancer
- Devouring Darkness: Reduced torment duration from 6 seconds to 4 seconds in PvE only.
- Dhuumfire: Reduced burning duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds when the scourge elite specialization is equipped in PvE only.
- Sadistic Searing: Reduced burning from 2 stacks for 5 seconds to 1 stack for 4 seconds in PvE only.
- Demonic Lore: Reduced burning duration from 3 seconds to 1 second in PvE only.
- Desert Shroud: Reduced torment duration from 10 seconds to 5 seconds in PvE only.
- Sandstorm Shroud: Reduced torment duration from 10 seconds to 5 seconds in PvE only.
- Voracious Arc: Reduced torment duration from 10 seconds to 7 seconds in PvE only.
Ranger
- Furious Strength: Reduced the damage bonus from 15% to 10% in PvE only.
- Neurotoxin Burst: Reduced bleeding stacks from 3 to 2 in PvE only. Reduced poison stacks from 5 to 2 in PvE only.
Revenant
- Mist Swing: Reduced power coefficient from 1.0 to 0.7 in PvE only.
- Mist Slash: Reduced power coefficient from 1.1 to 0.8 in PvE only.
- Arcing Mists: Reduced power coefficient from 1.3 to 1.2 in PvE only.
- Mists Unleashed: Reduced power coefficient from 2.0 to 1.6 in PvE only.
- Bloodbane Path: Reduced bleeding duration from 8 seconds to 6 seconds in PvE only.
- Sevenshot: Reduced torment duration from 6 seconds to 4 seconds in PvE only.
- Elemental Blast: Reduced burning from 3 stacks for 5 seconds to 2 stacks for 4 seconds in PvE only.
- Leviathan Strength: Increased damage bonus from 10% to 15% in PvE only.
- Forerunner of Death: Increased damage bonus from 15% to 25% in PvE only.
Thief
- Malicious Shadowsquall: Reduced bonus poison duration per stack of malice from 25% to 20% in PvE only.
- Twilight Combo: Reduced poison and torment duration from 8 seconds to 5 seconds in PvE only.
- Strength of Shadows: Reduced torment damage bonus from 25% to 20% in PvE only.
Warrior
- Fan of Fire: Reduced burning duration from 5 seconds to 3 seconds in PvE only.
- Flaming Flurry: Reduced burning duration from 5 seconds to 2.5 seconds in PvE only.
- Scorched Earth: Reduced burning duration from 4 seconds to 2.5 seconds in PvE only.
- Flames of War: Fixed an issue that caused this skill's pulses to inflict an additional stack of burning for 1 second in PvE.
- Blood Reaction: Increased the power to condition damage conversion from 10% to 15% in PvE only.
World vs. World
- A new merchant has been added to Eternal Battlegrounds, Desert Borderlands, Alpine Borderlands, and Armistice Bastion. This merchant sells exotic equipment with selectable attributes in exchange for gold and badges of honor.
- The armorsmith, weaponsmith, and karma equipment merchants in WvW maps have been removed.
Improvements and Updates
- Fixed an issue that caused duplicate daily WvW objectives to occasionally be displayed in the Wizard's Vault.
September 11, 2023 at 03:30 pm
09/12/2023—September 12 Release Notes
Fractal Rush
The Fractal Rush bonus event is underway this week! To promote Tyria's hottest historical-simulation getaway, your friends at the Consortium are sweetening the deal with extra loot and achievements for just one week. You'll find Fractal Rush trophies in your favorite fractals' final reward chests at any difficulty level; these will automatically progress the Fractal Rush Champion achievement. Complete Fractal Rush Champion tiers to earn various useful items and currencies for your fractal journey!
To get started, speak with Assistant Subdirector Rannu in Lion's Arch to learn more about the event. Fractal Rush will be available for one week and end on September 19.
World Polish
Skywatch Archipelago
- Added more traversal options between western Skyward Marches and Shattered Atoll, Droknar's Light, and Jade Mech Habitation Zone 03.
- The timer duration before players are removed from the area after completing the Unlocking the Wizard's Tower meta-event has been increased from five minutes to ten minutes to allow more time for listening to optional conversations, reading books, and looting chests.
- Fixed an issue that allowed Alchemist Briella to enter a conversation from an unintended location.
- Fixed an issue that caused Alchemist Briella's dialogue to be displayed throughout the entire map.
Amnytas
- Fixed an issue that caused bundles of concoctions to fall on the floor if the player was already holding a bundle while mounted during the "Escort Zizel and the concoctions to the greenhouse" event in Amnytas.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Sticky Concoction special action skill to display the wrong skill facts for applied conditions in Amnytas.
- Updated the icon for the Reinforced Armor effect to better represent the mechanic's overall functionality and help distinguish it from other enhancements.
- Fixed an issue that caused some informative dialogue lines to repeat frequently during Amnytas events that require players to defeat tentacles and close rifts.
- Fixed an issue that prevented the boss's name from displaying properly in the "Defeat the avatar before it steals the relics" event.
- Fixed an issue that could cause possessed researchers in the "Exorcise the possessed researchers" event to be killed by damage in excess of their health threshold.
- Fixed an issue that prevented Kryptis turrets from awarding participation during the "Help Livia escort the relics by shooting at Kryptis from the magic platforms" event.
- Fixed some visual issues in the "Prepare for the Kryptis assault on the gates" event.
- Fixed an issue that caused Head Cartographer Pavish to spawn twice.
- Fixed an issue that caused Peitha to repeat dialogue lines during the "Fight off the Kryptis ambush" event.
General
- Updated an Extra Life pet to display the correct species model.
- Gortho, Son of Mailk, will now offer to sell the player bird whistles for skyscale collection progress if none of his related events are active in Iron Marches.
- Improved enemy placements in Skywatch Archipelago, Wizard's Tower, and Amnytas.
- Added one new achievement to Skywatch Archipelago.
- Fixed an issue that prevented Dadga's initial dialogue from playing for the Sorrow's Lost collection.
- Added new conversations to Dadga in the Wizard's Tower.
- Added new hints for the Sorrow's Lost collection.
General
- New Expand All and Collapse All recipe group options have been added to the Search Filters menu in the crafting interface.
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Fixed crashes related to the improved crafting functionality and re-enabled the following changes:
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The crafting interface has been revamped to better serve its intended purpose as a library of crafting recipes.
- The category menu now includes an All Professions category, which is selected by default and will display all the recipes currently available to your character, regardless of their active crafting discipline. Selecting one of the nine disciplines from the menu will filter the results to only display recipes from that discipline.
- Selecting one of the nine disciplines from the menu will filter the results to only display recipes from that discipline. The menu will show which disciplines are currently active.
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Two new options are available from the menu that appears when right-clicking any material that can be used in a crafting recipe.
- The Open Crafting Preview with Item option will open the Crafting tab in your Hero panel.
- The Open Crafting Station with Item option is available when you are near a crafting station, and it will open the station's crafting interface.
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Both options will display recipes that require the item. For example, when right-clicking mithril ingots in your inventory and selecting one of the new options, the available crafting recipes will be automatically filtered to those requiring mithril ingots as an ingredient.
- The options will not display crafting recipes that are unavailable at your current crafting level or that you have not learned.
-
The crafting interface has been revamped to better serve its intended purpose as a library of crafting recipes.
Dungeons
- Added a universal access point for dungeons in Lion's Arch outside the Aerodrome, and moved the dungeon weapon and armor vendors to a location nearby.
Personal Story
- Fixed an issue in the "From the Ashes" story instance in Living World Season 4 that caused the Deadeye Priestess to become stuck in an invulnerable state when attacked with especially high amounts of burst damage.
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Fixed several issues in the "Prisoners of the Dragon" story instance in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns:
- Fixed an issue that prevented Rytlock from moving or following the player, blocking story progress.
- Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented the other key story characters from following the player.
- Fixed an issue that allowed players other than the instance owner to advance the story without the instance owner present.
- Fixed an issue that prevented several of the Mordrem cell prisoners from appearing.
- Fixed pathing behavior that caused Beigarth the Smith to abruptly teleport back to his starting location or prevented him from moving to his intended destination if the player completed certain objectives out of order.
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Added nine new achievements for the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure story:
- A Shadow in the Night: Sneak through the camp without being caught.
- Written Ward: Find and read the Astral Ward communiques.
- Astral Gofer: Complete the optional tasks for your allies.
- Tower Snoop: Find and read all of the confidential literature hidden throughout the Wizard's Tower.
- Asthenes Acrobatics: Defeat the chapter boss without being downed.
- Compassion for a Friend: Use /sit next to Zojja to comfort her in her time of need.
- Going the Extra Mile: Complete a tier 3 hunt in Amnytas instead of a tier 2 hunt.
- Manifestation Mayhem: Defeat Isgarren's manifestations without being downed.
- Emotional Fortitude: Defeat all of the embodiments of the chapter boss.
Items
- Updated the individual legendary starter kit icons to more accurately depict their corresponding legendary weapons.
- Updated the generic legendary starter kit selection box icon.
- Gifts of Fortune can no longer be salvaged to recover base materials.
Profession Skills
General
- Relic of the Afflicted: Reduced the damage coefficient from 1 to 0.3 in WvW only. Reduced the number of stacks of bleeding and poison from 2 to 1 in WvW only.
- Relic of Antitoxin: Increased the internal cooldown from 5 seconds to 10 seconds.
Guardian
Firebrand
- Overwhelming Celerity: Fixed an issue that prevented quickness from being displayed in the skill fact in PvE.
Mesmer
- Axes of Symmetry: Fixed an issue that prevented this skill from functioning properly with axe-shield clones.
Ranger
- Serpent Strike: Reduced the damage coefficient from 1.5 to 1.2 in PvP and WvW.
Soulbeast
- Maul (Porcine): Reduced the damage coefficient per strike from 1.1 to 0.775 in PvP and WvW.
- Prelude Lash: This skill no longer immobilizes in PvP only.
- One Wolf Pack: Increased the strike interval from 0.25 seconds to 0.5 seconds in PvP only. Reduced the damage coefficient from 0.63 to 0.5 in PvP only.
Warrior
- Fast Hands: Fixed an issue that prevented this trait from interacting properly with Relic of the Warrior in PvP.
- Breaching Strike: Fixed an issue that caused this skill to use PvE values in WvW when activated by a spellbreaker.
August 21, 2023 at 03:12 pm
08/22/2023—August 22 Release Notes
Secrets of the Obscure
With the end of the final dragon cycle, new threats and archaic secrets emerge from deep within the Mists to challenge Tyria.
The Wizard's Tower has floated above the small hamlet of Garenhoff for generations—a silent sentinel watching over the town and its residents. With the tower's sudden disappearance—marked by the arrival of a mysterious group calling themselves the Astral Ward—rifts appear across the world, spilling out unfamiliar horrors.
While resting from the grueling ordeals they've faced over the past several years, the commander is pulled into the mysteries surrounding these events. They will come face-to-face with the Kryptis, a coalition of demonic beings with desires and malevolence far above what they've encountered before, and meet the ancient Wizard's Court—unearthing a millennia of conflict and facets of Tyrian history long protected by Isgarren and his bevy of fantastical magi.
Sky-bound and headed into the fractured magic lining the Tyrian horizon, the commander must harness the power of the Heart of the Obscure, master new abilities, and make new allies as they combat Tyria's latest menace and uncover secrets of the obscure.
New Masteries
Heart of the Obscure Research
Once the Heart of the Obscure is obtained, you will begin to master its abilities, allowing you to deal with the Kryptis by finding and closing rifts. It will also allow you to interact with useful objects in the Wizard's Court to create updrafts, activate ley lines, and open treasure chests.
The first Mastery tier grants a new Mastery skill that allows you to scan for Kryptis rifts and guides you to them, even while mounted on your skyscale. You can use your standard Mastery skills key bind to activate this new skill, or you can set a specific key binding for it in your settings.
Flight Training
As you will be using a skyscale extensively in this expansion, new Masteries are available to enhance the capabilities of your skyscale and griffon. Your skyscale will be able to spit fireballs to deal with threats in the air. Both aerial mounts will gain the ability to use updrafts and ley lines across all of Tyria. Previous skyscale Mastery skills such as Air Rescue and Wall Launch will be available through this Mastery line for players who don't have it unlocked, and the skills will be further upgraded for players who already have them unlocked.
Combat Launch will allow you to use your mount button to leap into the air out of combat and onto your skyscale. This skill is also available in the Mastery skills panel if you wish to use it out of combat.
The Astral Ward makes extensive use of skyscales, granting players who have not previously unlocked their own skyscale mount access to temporary use of skyscales as well as a new route to unlocking it permanently. Progressing the new Flight Training Mastery line will offer a new series of collections for unlocking the Skyscale mount. Completing this new collection will then unlock an additional collection to earn a unique skyscale skin.
Astral Ward
Working with the Astral Ward will gradually provide you with access to their provisions and amenities. Unlocking the Astral Ward Mastery line will give you a new home away from home with restful experience bonuses, new crafting recipes to help your fight against the Kryptis, and a unique armor set. Finishing this Mastery will also be essential to earning the new legendary Obsidian armor that will become available in a future release.
Wizard's Vault
The Wizard's Vault is a new streamlined rewards system for level 80 players that combines the best elements of the daily login and daily achievement systems, allowing you to play Guild Wars 2 the way you want to—whether it's PvE, Player vs. Player, World vs. World, or a mix—and earn a wide variety of exciting rewards for doing so.
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New objectives will appear daily and weekly.
- Players may choose which game modes they'd like their objectives to be generated from. Any mix of PvE, WvW, and PvP is available.
- Additionally, there will be one-time special objectives that will appear to everyone.
- Completing objectives will grant astral acclaim, which players can spend directly in the Wizard's Vault panel to select from a large variety of rewards.
- Rewards include Wizard's Vault–exclusive cosmetics such as armor and weapon skins as well as items that were formerly exclusive to the Gem Store, like mount skins and Build Template Expansions.
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Wizard's Vault rewards will reset with each quarterly release.
- Wizard's Vault–exclusive rewards will be available forever in the legacy shop, which will open in the future alongside the Wizard's Vault's first update.
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General daily achievements and daily login rewards have been retired.
- This does not include any game mode–specific daily achievements (e.g., fractal dailies).
- Progress toward the Daily Completionist achievement is preserved and will continue to be awarded when claiming the meta reward for daily Wizard's Vault objectives.
- Allowing for some minor balance changes, the rewards available from the daily login are now part of the Wizard's Vault.
- Rewards that were previously earned from daily login rewards can be purchased from the Wizard's Vault using astral acclaim.
Relics
The effects of the end of the dragon cycle have reverberated throughout Tyria. In Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure, this has created a new class of magical artifacts called relics. Relics are a new equipment type that can grant a large variety of special effects in combat, with each one aimed at augmenting a particular style of gameplay. Most can be acquired through crafting and trading, but some can only be acquired through achievements in Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure. Try a few out and see which relics fit your playstyle!
Relics will be updated further during our quarterly releases with the release of legendary relics. We'll provide more details on this in the future, but any player possessing legendary runes will be granted progress toward their legendary relics for each legendary rune they've acquired.
Along with the emergence of relics, some of the magic that once powered runes has changed into something different. Equipping a complete set of runes will now grant you bonus attributes instead of a special effect.
Weaponmaster Training
Early in the Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure story, players will gain access to ancient knowledge preserved by a weaponmaster long ago. Weaponmaster Training allows players to equip weapons that were previously only usable by their profession's elite specializations, opening up many more options for your character's combat style.
Strike Missions
Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure brings with it two new Strike Missions: Cosmic Observatory and the Temple of Febe. These are based on epic encounters from the expansion story and are unlocked by completing their related story chapters.
Fractals
Mistlock Instabilities
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Vengeance
- Fixed an issue that caused players to become afflicted with weakness when their own boons were removed. This fix prevents aegis from applying weakness when it blocks a strike.
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Toxic Trail
- Fixed an issue that prevented the exposed effect from being applied when a toxic trail attack was blocked.
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No Pain, No Gain
- Fixed an issue that caused boon duration to affect the duration of boons applied to enemies by No Pain, No Gain.
- Stripping might applied by No Pain, No Gain now grants 10 stacks of might for 6 seconds. Stripping might from other sources still only grants one stack.
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Toxic Sickness
- The warning for Toxic Sickness now includes a shrinking ring around the player to help indicate when the vomit attack will fire.
Bug Fixes
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Aetherblade Fractal
- Fixed an issue that allowed a large amount of content in the fractal to be skippable.
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Shattered Observatory
- In the final boss encounter, Curved Shot (normal mode) and Solar Bolt (challenge mode) projectiles are now destroyed when blocked.
- Fixed an issue that could cause the final boss's determined effect to be removed earlier than intended during reactor phases.
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Underground Facility
- Fixed an issue that could cause the legendary dredge powersuit's fixated effect to swap targets more frequently than intended.
Profession Skills
Elementalist
- Cyclone: This skill can no longer strike the same enemy more than once per use.
- Lightning Orb: Reduced the number of projectiles fired per interval from 2 to 1. Increased power coefficient from 0.36 to 1.0. This skill now deals 10% less damage on each subsequent hit against the same target, down to a minimum power coefficient of 0.05.
Tempest
- Transcendent Tempest: Increased damage bonus from 15% to 25% in PvE only.
Weaver
- Swift Revenge: Reduced damage bonus from 15% to 10% in PvE only.
Catalyst
- Deploy Jade Sphere: Reduced power coefficient from 0.5 to 0.4 in PvE only.
Engineer
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Engineers without the holosmith elite specialization equipped will now use separate versions of sword skills. Those skills have been adjusted as follows:
- Sun Edge: Increased power coefficient from 0.88 to 0.96 in PvE, and from 0.586 to 0.61 in PvP and WvW.
- Sun Ripper: Increased power coefficient from 0.93 to 1.02 in PvE, and from 0.62 to 0.65 in PvP and WvW.
- Gleam Saber: Increased power coefficient from 1.5 to 1.65 in PvE, and from 1.0 to 1.05 in PvP and WvW.
- Refraction Cutter: Increased number of blades fired from 1 to 2.
- Radiant Arc: Increased quickness duration from 2 seconds to 3 seconds.
Mesmer
- Unstable Bladestorm: Fixed an issue that would sometimes prevent this skill from dealing damage if two bladestorms were active at the same time.
Necromancer
- Nightfall: Increased cooldown from 20 seconds to 30 seconds in WvW only.
- Grasping Darkness: Increased cooldown from 25 seconds to 30 seconds in WvW only.
Reaper
- Infusing Terror: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in WvW only.
- Soul Spiral: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in WvW only.
Ranger
- Solar Beam: Reduced power coefficient per strike from 0.3 to 0.25 in WvW only.
- Vine Surge: This skill can now strike a maximum of 5 enemies.
- Pounce: Reduced power coefficient from 2.2 to 2.0 in PvE only.
Untamed
- Unleashed Wild Swing: Reduced power coefficient from 2.16 to 2.0 in PvE only.
- Unleashed Savage Shock Wave: Reduced power coefficient per strike from 1.2 to 0.8 in PvE only.
- Relentless Whirl: Increased power coefficient per strike from 0.7 to 1.0 in PvE only.
- Deft Strike: Increased power coefficient from 2.2 to 3.0 in PvE only.
- Savage Slash: Increased power coefficient from 2.2 to 3.0 in PvE only.
- Multishot: Increased power coefficient from 2.0 to 2.5 in PvE only.
- Neurotoxin Burst: Increased power coefficient from 1.0 to 2.0 in PvE only.
- Toxic Shot: Increased power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.8 in PvE only. Increased torment stacks from 3 to 4 in PvE only.
- Ferocious Symbiosis: Increased damage bonus per stack from 4% to 5% in PvE only.
- Natural Fortitude: Increased base life-steal damage from 1,764 to 3,517 in PvE only. Increased base life-steal healing from 1,764 to 3,517 in PvE only. Increased additional-hit life steal from 294 to 586 in PvE only.
Thief
- Death's Judgment: Increased power coefficient from 1.65 to 2.67 in PvE and from 1.11 to 1.339 in PvP and WvW.
Deadeye
- Malicious Death's Judgment: Increased power coefficient from 1.65 to 2.67 in PvE and from 1.11 to 1.339 in PvP and WvW. Reduced damage bonus per malice to 10% in all game modes.
- Fixed an issue that prevented scepter skills from granting malice.
- Fixed an issue that prevented Malicious Intent from interacting properly with Malicious Shadowsquall.
World Polish
- Cats and other pets associated with 2022 Extra Life charity donation incentives have appeared across Tyria. They are visible only while under the effects of the Chatoyant Elixir or Chatoyant Lens.
July 17, 2023 at 07:23 pm
07/18/2023—July 18 Release Notes
Festival of the Four Winds
On behalf of Queen Jennah of Kryta and the Lion's Arch Captain's Council, you are cordially invited to participate in the return of the Festival of the Four Winds!
High atop the Labyrinthine Cliffs, our Zephyrite friends have been working in tandem with Lion's Arch to host an incredible variety of fun vendors and events to entertain visitors from all across Tyria. This celebration of unity and peace between our cultures is more important than ever before, and we hope that you will join us in the festivities.
In this spirit of cooperation, Queen Jennah has personally overseen the reopening of the Crown Pavilion, featuring a variety of challenges for Tyria's finest to test their mettle!
Transportation to the festivities couldn't be easier! Special hot air balloons are now stationed in each nation's capital city. Visitors can also sail directly from the ship from Lion's Arch.
We look forward to seeing you at the festival!
— Captain Ellen Kiel
-
New updates and prizes this year include:
-
Complete the Annual Four Winds Customs meta-achievement to earn the Zephyrite Headband, a new head armor piece crafted in the Zephyrite tradition.
- Last year's meta-achievement reward, the Zephyrite Shawl, can now be purchased from the festival reward vendors.
- A new Sun-Grown weapon set is now available! You'll receive your choice of a weapon by progressing the Annual Four Winds Customs meta-achievement and the weekly Four Winds Festivities achievement.
- Contents of Zephyrite Supply Boxes have been updated, including a new cosmetic infusion and three new weapons crafted by a traveling weaponsmith.
- Added a new miniature and a new cooking recipe to the festival reward vendors in Labyrinthine Cliffs and Crown Pavilion.
- Updated trade prices at the Zephyrite bazaar.
- Added new guild decorations drawn from Canthan architecture.
- Various bugs and glitches have been fixed to ensure a safer and more pleasant festival for all participants.
-
Complete the Annual Four Winds Customs meta-achievement to earn the Zephyrite Headband, a new head armor piece crafted in the Zephyrite tradition.
- The Festival of the Four Winds will be available for three weeks, from July 18 to August 8. Enjoy the festivities!
General
- Fixed multiple issues involving fishing tonics.
- Fixed an issue that allowed players to use the Rusted Necklace of the Mists to negate boss mechanics and attacks. The item can no longer be used while in combat.
Fractals
Silent Surf
The Silent Surf challenge mote is now visible to players who have completed Silent Surf on the Master tier.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue that caused the final boss to create fewer Rending Storm area-of-effect attacks than intended.
- Fixed an issue preventing several Mistlock Instabilities from functioning correctly.
- Fixed an issue that allowed players to dodge World Cleaver.
- Fixed an issue that allowed players to dodge Frightening Speed.
- Fixed an issue that caused the telegraphs for Frightening Speed to disappear sooner than intended.
- Fixed an issue that could sometimes cause players to fail to enter a wind cannon or fail to launch when exiting.
- Fixed an issue that sometimes caused players to be stuck in Phantasmagoria longer than intended.
- Fixed an issue that prevented players from interacting with more than one Mistlock Singularity.
- Fixed an issue that sometimes caused zip-line ropes to detach from the pitons.
- Fixed an issue that caused the final zip-line platform to be offset from its rope.
- Fixed an issue that sometimes caused Aspects to take longer than intended to apply Phantasmagoria during World Cleaver's windup.
- Fixed an issue that caused all Aspects to use Aspect of Death's skills instead of the variants of those skills associated with their Aspect type.
- Fixed an issue that prevented players from being able to interact with the portal after defeating the final boss in normal mode.
- Fixed an issue that caused parachute ammunition to not be consumed in some circumstances.
- Added a name and description to the Flare skill on the survey gear bundle.
- The final boss now has descriptors under his health bar.
- Fixed an issue affecting the Jade Sea Legs and Peace and Quiet achievements.
General
- Increased the recharge times for Dread Visage, Frightening Speed, and Rending Storm.
- Breaking the final boss's defiance now reduces the recharge speed of his skills for several seconds.
- Added on-screen messaging and visual effects to better communicate some mechanics during the final encounter.
- Defeating the final boss grants maximum ammunition for all survey gear skills.
- Gorrik will no longer send in-game mail to characters about Silent Surf.
- Captain Thess now has access to several support skills. He now wields a scepter instead of a sword.
Profession Skills
Elementalist
- Flamestrike: Reduced initial burning duration from 1.5 seconds to 1 second and the secondary burning duration from 2.5 seconds to 1.5 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Shatterstone: Increased cooldown from 3 seconds to 6 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Water Trident: Reduced power coefficient from 1.25 to 1.0 in PvP and WvW. Reduced the bonus damage from 50% to 33% in WvW only.
- Hurl: Reduced power coefficient from 0.33 to 0.26 in WvW and PvP.
- Churning Earth: Reduced power coefficient from 1.75 to 1.5 in WvW and PvP. Reduced bleeding from 8 stacks to 4 stacks in WvW and PvP.
- Signet of Restoration: Increased cooldown from 20 seconds to 25 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Signet of Earth: Increased cooldown from 20 seconds to 25 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Signet of Water: Reduced condition duration reduction from 20% to 10% in PvP and WvW.
- Written in Stone: Reduced frost aura duration from 4 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP and WvW.
Catalyst
- Deploy Jade Sphere (Fire): Reduced might duration from 8 seconds to 5 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Energized Elements: Reduced might duration from 6 seconds to 3 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Spectacular Sphere: Reduced might stacks from 5 to 1 in PvP and WvW. Reduced vigor duration from 5 seconds to 3 seconds in PvP and WvW. Reduced fury duration from 5 seconds to 3 seconds in PvP and WvW. Reduced resistance duration from 4 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Elemental Epitome: Reduced frost aura duration from 4 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Staunch Auras: Reduced stability duration from 2 seconds to 1 second in PvP only.
Engineer
- Vital Burst: Increased heal attribute scaling from 1.03 to 1.7 in PvP and WvW.
- Infusion Bomb: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in PvP and WvW. Reduced boon duration from 10 seconds to 6 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Super Elixir: Increased initial heal attribute scaling from 0.4 to 0.8 in PvP and WvW.
Scrapper
- Blast Gyro: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Increased might duration from 8 seconds to 15 seconds in PvE only.
Guardian
- Symbol of Resolution: This skill can now be interrupted by other skills.
- Ray of Judgment: Reduced aftercast
- Binding Blade: This skill will now use a different animation with less aftercast.
Willbender
- Phoenix Protocol: this trait now grants alacrity to the willbender when activating Flowing Resolve (5 seconds in PvE, 3 seconds in PvP/WvW), which can be shared to allies with Battle Presence. Reduced the alacrity duration when resolve triggers from 1.5 seconds to 1 second in PvE only.
- Restorative Virtues: This trait now grants vigor instead of alacrity.
Mesmer
Chronomancer
- Stretched Time: Reduced phantasm alacrity duration from 2 seconds to 1 second in PvP and from 3 seconds to 1 second in WvW.
- Seize the Moment: Reduced phantasm quickness duration from 2 seconds to 1 second in PvP and from 3 seconds to 1 second in WvW.
Mirage
- Chaos Vortex: This skill no longer applies alacrity and now applies fury to nearby allies.
-
Mirage Mantle: This trait has been reworked and now improves ambush skills.
- Imaginary Axes: Also inflicts cripple
- Mirage Thrust: Removes a boon from struck foes
- Ether Barrage: Grants quickness to self (1.5 seconds)
- Split Surge: Deals increased damage (25% in PvE, 10 in PvP/WvW)
- Chaos Vortex: AoE Alacrity (2.5 seconds for the player, 0.5 seconds for clones)
- Ambush Assault: Grants might to self
- Wave of Panic: Also inflicts torment
Virtuoso
- Bladeturn Requiem: Increased power coefficient from 0.2 to 0.3 in PvE and from 0.15 to 0.2 in WvW and PvP.
Necromancer
- Well of Blood: Reduced initial base self-heal from 5,140 to 2,936 in PvE only. Increased base pulse heal from 280 to 664 in PvE only. Increased the pulse heal attribute scaling from 0.4 to 0.5 in PvE only.
Scourge
- Sand Cascade: Increased base barrier from 996 to 1188 in PvE only. Increased barrier attribute scaling from 1.25 to 2 in PvE only.
- Desert Empowerment: Increased alacrity duration from 1 second to 1.5 seconds in PvE only. Increased base barrier from 385 to 572 in PvE only. Increased barrier attribute scaling from 0.75 to 1.0 in PvE only.
- Sandstorm Shroud: This skill now grants 1.5 seconds of protection to nearby allies each pulse, and 3 seconds of protection to nearby allies on detonation.
- Fell Beacon: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of torch skills, and now also increases the damage of burning you inflict by 10%.
- Harrowing Wave: Reduced cooldown from 20 seconds to 16 seconds in PvE only. Increased the life force per target from 3% to 5% in PvE only.
- Oppressive Collapse: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Increased might radius from 240 to 360. Might application per condition is now capped at 7 condtions in PvE only.
- Sadistic Searing: This trait has been reworked, and causes Nefarious Favor to burn nearby enemy targets (2 stacks, 5 seconds in PvE, 1 stack, 4 seconds in PvP/WvW).
- Demonic Lore: Increased torment damage bonus from 25% to 33% in PvE only.
- Sand Sage: This trait has been reworked. Gain expertise and concentration while you have an active sand shade (225 in PvE, 150 in PvP/WvW).
- Blood as Sand: This trait has been reworked. Reduce all incoming damage while you have an active sand shade (15% in PvE, 7% in PvP/WvW)
Ranger
- Spirited Arrival: Increased might stacks from 3 to 6 in PvE only. Increased might duration from 9 seconds to 12 seconds in PvE only.
- Call of the Wild: Increased boon durations from 10 seconds to 12 seconds in PvE only.
- Sun Spirit: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Increased might duration from 12 seconds to 15 seconds in PvE only.
- Water Spirit: Increased the vigor duration per pulse from 1 second to 2 seconds in PvE only.
- Stone Spirit: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 25 seconds in PvE only. Increased protection duration from 1.5 seconds to 2 seconds in PvE only.
- Storm Spirit: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Increased fury duration from 1.5 seconds to 2 seconds in PvE only. Increased power coefficient from 1.0 to 2.0 in PvE only.
Druid
- Grace of the Land: Increased alacrity duration from 0.75 seconds to 1 second in PvE only.
Untamed
- Let Loose: Increased quickness duration from 4 seconds to 5 seconds in PvE only. This trait will now immediately grant access to unleashed ambush skills when swapping weapons while in the unleashed state.
Revenant
Herald
- Elevated Compassion: Reduced quickness pulse interval from 3 seconds to 1 second. Reduced quickness duration from 3 seconds to 1.25 seconds. This trait now converts 13% of the herald’s power into concentration in addition to its other effects.
- Reinforced Potency: Increased concentration from 120 to 240 in PvE only.
- Shared Empowerment: Increased might duration from 8 seconds to 12 seconds in PvE only.
Thief
Deadeye
- One in the Chamber: Reduced bonus damage from 300% to 10% in PvE only.
- Premeditation: Reduced damage bonus per boon from 1.5% to 1% in PvE only.
- Iron Sight: Reduced damage bonus against marked targets from 15% to 10% in PvE only.
- Shadow Flare: Reduced power coefficient from 2.0 to 1.0.
- Shadow Swap: Reduced power coefficient from 2.0 to 1.0.
Specter
- Shadestep: Reduced alacrity duration from 2 seconds to 1.25 seconds in PvE only.
- Strength of Shadows: This trait no longer reduces incoming damage and no longer increases the duration of torment inflicted by Rot Wallow Venom, but instead increases torment damage by 25% in addition to converting vitality to expertise.
- Larcenous Torment: This trait no longer increases torment damage, and instead steals health from an enemy when you apply torment to them.
- Shadow Sap: Increased protection duration from 2.5 seconds to 4 seconds in PvE only.
Warrior
Berserker
- Arc Divider: Increased power coefficient from 2.5 to 3.5 in PvE only.
- Heat the Soul: Increased quickness duration from 3.5 seconds to 4 seconds in PvE only.
June 26, 2023 at 07:42 pm
06/27/2023—June 27 Release Notes
Story
- The dragon cycle has ended. And with that, a new era begins. As the world takes time to heal, and friends and loved ones move on with their lives, Aurene, the Prismatic Elder Dragon, summons her champion to visit her in Seitung Province once more. She has something very important to tell the commander.
Fractals
New Fractal of the Mists: Silent Surf
- A new threat emerges in the aftermath of the Jade Wind. Take on the role of a Serpent Clan salvage crew searching for survivors beneath the petrified sea.
Scale Adjustments
- To accommodate the release of Silent Surf, the associated scales of certain fractals have been changed.
Achievements
- Adjusted the daily fractal rotation to include Silent Surf.
- A new Silent Surf subcategory has been added under the Fractals of the Mists achievement category.
Rewards
- A new rewards tab for Silent Surf has been added to BLING-9009's inventory.
General
- Several new weapon collections are available to unlock. Purchase the collection unlocks from Brotherhood Requisitions Specialists in Gyala Delve.
- Fixed an issue that prevented the Echovald Wilds Daily Spirit Slayer achievement from progressing when slaying spirits. The achievement now counts will-o-the-wisps, unbound spirits, and Canthan spirits (except spirit retainers) toward progress.
- Fixed an issue that caused fishing tournaments in New Kaineng City to award Writs of Seitung Province.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Bladesworn's Ring to require completing a different achievement than specified by the collection in order to purchase it.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Harbinger of Zhaitan achievement to check an incorrect number of Risen kills.
- Fixed an issue that caused a spiderweb prop to render incorrectly when using DirectX 11.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Hide Ally Visual Effects setting to hide the telegraph for Focused Destruction in the Aetherblade Hideout Strike Mission.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Hide Ally Visual Effects setting to hide the telegraph for the key pairing mechanic in the Samarog raid encounter.
- Fixed an issue that caused player dialogue to sometimes play lines for the incorrect character race or gender.
Items
- Endless Aetherblade Mutineer Combat Tonics have been disabled for use in WvW.
Profession Skills
- The balance team has been reviewing your feedback to the balance notes preview and making adjustments based on that. Below are the updated balance notes. We will be making further adjustments on July 18, focusing on damage-focused scourge, alacrity-focused mirage, and alacrity-focused willbender builds, as well as tuning for changes from June as needed.
General
- To make them more reliable in endgame PvE content, all effects that benefit when the player strikes from the flank or from behind now always apply their benefits when striking defiant foes.
-
Confusion damage has been adjusted as follows in PvE only:
- Damage over time: Increased the base damage from 11 to 18.25. Increased condition damage scaling from 0.03 to 0.05.
- Damage on skill activation: Reduced base damage from 49.5 to 16.34. Reduced condition damage scaling from 0.0975 to 0.0325.
Elementalist
Catalyst's quickness isn't provided by utility skills, but we felt like it could still benefit from a usability improvement. We've updated Spectacular Sphere to grant quickness from any jade sphere instead of only the air sphere, which should give catalyst players a bit more flexibility with their skill rotations. We've also made some improvements to tempest damage builds with an update to Tempestuous Aria, as well as some general improvements for offhand dagger and for the weaver in PvP.
Core
- Fire Grab: Increased the attack angle from 60 degrees to 90 degrees.
- Frost Aura: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvP only.
- Cleansing Wave: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 25 seconds in PvP only.
- Updraft: Increased radius from 180 to 240.
- Churning Earth: This skill no longer pulses cripple and bleeding while charging, and now performs a short leap before striking the ground. Reduced total casting time from 2 seconds to 0.8 seconds. Reduced attack radius from 360 to 240. Reduced power coefficient from 3.5 to 3.0 in PvE and from 2.25 to 1.75 in PvP and WvW. Reduced total bleeding stacks from 12 to 10 in PvE and from 12 to 8 in PvP and WvW. Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 25 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Written in Stone: This trait no longer reduces the recharge of signet skills, and it now grants an aura to the elementalist after using a signet skill.
- Signet of Restoration: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Signet of Fire: Reduced cooldown from 15 seconds to 12 seconds in PvE only.
- Signet of Earth: The passive effect no longer grants toughness and instead reduces incoming strike damage. Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 15 seconds in PvE and from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Glyph of Elemental Harmony: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Elemental Surge: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of arcane skills.
- Arcane Brilliance: Increased base healing from 3,560 to 4,840. Reduced bonus healing per strike from 20% to 10%. Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE and WvW.
- Arcane Power: Reduced cooldown from 45 seconds to 35 seconds.
- Inscription: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of glyph skills, and it now always grants resistance in addition to its previous effects.
- Arcane Prowess: This trait now grants fury instead of might in PvP and WvW.
Tempest
- Tempestuous Aria: This trait no longer causes shouts to inflict weakness, and it now also grants the tempest a bonus to outgoing damage for a period of time after applying an aura to an ally.
- Lucid Singularity: Increased alacrity duration from 3 seconds to 4.5 seconds in PvE only.
Weaver
- Shearing Edge: Increased projectile speed.
- Twin Strike: Fixed an issue that prevented this skill from applying the intended amount of burning in PvP.
- Cauterizing Strike: Increased burning stacks from 1 to 2 in PvP only.
- Gale Strike: Increased float duration from 1.25 seconds to 2 seconds.
- Twist of Fate: Reduced ammunition count from 2 to 1 in PvP only. Reduced cooldown from 75 seconds to 30 seconds in PvP only.
Catalyst
- Spectacular Sphere: This trait now grants quickness when deploying your jade sphere in any attunement, in addition to the boons currently granted. Quickness duration reduced from 5 seconds to 2 seconds.
- Energized Elements: This trait now grants might instead of fury in PvP and WvW.
- Wind Storm: This skill no longer moves the player and instead grants the player superspeed.
Engineer
Mechanist's penalty for being too far from its mech is something that we've been keeping an eye on since it was added to the game. We think there's room for improvement, and in this update, we're changing the penalty from a mech stat reduction to an increased cooldown for the mech command skills. We believe that this change will make the penalty more visible and easier to understand. Scrapper is also getting an adjustment to how it applies quickness, with Kinetic Accelerators now triggering when successfully finishing a combo with a leap or blast finisher.
Core
- Med Blaster: Reduced range from 600 to 450. The number of boons that affect this skill has been limited to 4 in WvW and PvP. Improved the visual effect of this skill to better match its radius.
- Fumigate: Reduced cooldown from 20 seconds to 16 seconds in WvW only.
- Super Elixir: Increased the base pulse healing from 163 to 204 in WvW. Increased the pulse healing coefficient from 0.05 to 0.1 in WvW only. Reduced the number of pulses from 11 to 5 in WvW only. This skill is now unblockable.
- Power Wrench: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of tool-kit skills. Increased the elite skill recharge from 1 second to 3 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Pry Bar: Reduced cooldown from 15 seconds to 10 seconds in PvE only.
- Gear Shield: Reduced cooldown from 20 seconds to 15 seconds in PvE only.
- Magnet: Reduced cooldown from 20 seconds to 15 seconds in PvE only.
- Gadgeteer: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of gadget skills.
- A.E.D.: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds.
- Personal Battering Ram: Reduced ammunition recharge from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only.
- Rocket Boots: Reduced ammunition recharge from 20 seconds to 16 seconds.
- Slick Shoes: Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 30 seconds in PvE only.
- Throw Mine: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Utility Goggles: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds.
- HGH: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of elixir skills.
- Elixir H: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Toss Elixir H: This skill is now unblockable. Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Elixir B: Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 25 seconds in PvE and from 30 seconds to 25 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Toss Elixir B: This skill is now unblockable. Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Elixir C: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Toss Elixir C: This skill is now unblockable. Reduced cooldown from 20 seconds to 16 seconds.
- Elixir R: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds.
- Elixir U: Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 32 seconds.
- Toss Elixir U: This skill is now unblockable. Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 32 seconds.
- Elixir X: Reduced cooldown from 105 seconds to 85 seconds.
- Toss Elixir X: Reduced cooldown from 90 seconds to 60 seconds.
- Lesser Elixir B: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds.
- Lesser Elixir C: Reduced cooldown from 100 seconds to 80 seconds in PvP only.
- Toss Elixir S: This skill is now unblockable.
- Elixir Shell: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds. This skill is now unblockable.
- Acid Bomb: Reduced cooldown from 15 seconds to 12 seconds.
- Super Elixir: Reduced cooldown from 20 seconds to 16 seconds.
- Healing Mist: Reduced cooldown from 35 seconds to 28 seconds.
Scrapper
- Speed of Synergy: Reduced ally superspeed from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in WvW only. Reduced personal superspeed from 7 seconds to 4 seconds in WvW only.
- Kinetic Accelerators: This trait has been reworked. Apply boons to nearby allies when you successfully combo with a blast or leap finisher. Your function gyro is now a blast finisher. Increased the power-to-concentration conversion from 10% to 13% in PvE only.
Holosmith
- Prime Light Beam: Fixed an issue that caused burning from this skill to be applied multiple times per pulse to larger enemies.
Mechanist
- Mechanical Genius: This trait has been reworked. Instead of the mech incurring a stat-reduction penalty, command skills now take longer to recharge if activated while the mech is farther than a range of 360 away from the engineer.
- Mech Core: Barrier Engine: Base barrier and healing power coefficient from the automatic pulses are no longer split between modes and will use the PvP and WvW values for PvE as well.
- Barrier Burst: The base barrier granted by this skill has been increased from 260 to 454 in PvE only. The healing power coefficient has been increased from 0.2875 to 0.575.
Guardian
Support firebrand is a build that we've been improving in PvP over the last few balance updates, but it hasn't reached the level it needs to. In this update, we're improving the strength of Mantra of Lore's initial charges to make firebrand's condition removal slightly more reliable. The shout cooldown reduction from Pure of Voice being rolled into the skills' baseline will also allow firebrands to better utilize Force of Will while still being able to equip shout skills. Guardian is also getting cooldown reduction added to many other utility skill types, including signets, meditations, consecrations, and traps. We're excited to see how this increased flexibility affects guardian builds going forward.
Core
- Perfect Inscriptions: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of signet skills.
- Signet of Resolve: Reduced cooldown to 25 seconds in all game modes. Reduced base healing from 8,150 to 7,286 in PvP and WvW.
- Bane Signet: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Signet of Judgment: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Signet of Wrath: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 18 seconds.
- Eternal Armory: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of spirit weapon skills.
- Bow of Truth: Reduced ammunition recharge from 25 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Hammer of Wisdom: Reduced ammunition recharge from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE and from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Monk's Focus: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of meditation skills. Increased base healing from 1,470 to 1,720 in PvP and WvW.
- Litany of Wrath: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE and from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Contemplation of Purity: Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 32 seconds.
- Judge's Intervention: Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 32 seconds.
- Merciful Intervention: Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 32 seconds.
- Smite Condition: Reduced cooldown from 20 seconds to 16 seconds.
- Pure of Voice: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of shout skills.
- "Receive the Light!": Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds.
- "Advance!": Reduced ammunition recharge from 40 seconds to 32 seconds.
- "Hold the Line!": Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds.
- "Save Yourselves!": Reduced cooldown from 50 seconds to 40 seconds.
- "Stand Your Ground!": Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in PvE and WvW and from 60 seconds to 48 seconds in PvP.
- "Feel My Wrath!": Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Master of Consecrations: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of consecration skills.
- Hallowed Ground: Reduced cooldown from 45 seconds to 36 seconds in PvE and from 60 seconds to 48 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Purging Flames: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE and from 35 seconds to 28 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Sanctuary: Reduced cooldown from 50 seconds to 40 seconds. Reduced the number of impacts from 20 to 10.
- Wall of Reflection: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only.
Dragonhunter
- Piercing Light: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of trap skills.
- Purification: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds.
- Fragments of Faith: Reduced cooldown from 45 seconds to 36 seconds.
- Procession of Blades: Reduced cooldown from 20 seconds to 16 seconds in PvE and from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Test of Faith: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds.
- Dragon's Maw: Reduced cooldown from 50 seconds to 40 seconds.
Firebrand
- Weighty Terms: This trait no longer reduces the mantra charge-recovery times. Increased pages granted from 1 to 2.
- Opening Passage: Increased the number of conditions removed from 1 to 2 in PvP only.
- Clarified Conclusion: Reduced the number of conditions converted to boons from 5 to 3 in PvP only.
- Unrelenting Criticism: Increased bleeding duration from 4 seconds to 6 seconds in PvE only.
- Mantra of Solace: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in PvE only. Reduced ammunition recharge from 12 seconds to 10 seconds in PvE only.
- Mantra of Flame: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Reduced ammunition recharge from 12 seconds to 10 seconds in PvE only.
- Mantra of Lore: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Reduced ammunition recharge from 12 seconds to 10 seconds in PvE only. Increased ammunition recharge from 12 seconds to 18 seconds in PvP only.
- Mantra of Potence: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Reduced ammunition recharge from 12 seconds to 10 seconds in PvE only.
- Mantra of Truth: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Reduced ammunition recharge from 12 seconds to 10 seconds in PvE only.
Mesmer
- Mirage evasion has been a major pain point in competitive modes for a long time, and it was something we wanted to address in this update. Mirage will now have 100 endurance in PvP and WvW but will no longer be able to dodge while immobilized or under the effects of crowd control. We believe that this is a good middle ground between the current version of Mirage Cloak and a potentially larger rework, and we'll be keeping a close eye on how it plays out.
- We've also made some adjustments to virtuoso dagger to improve the reliability of its damage in competitive modes.
Core
- Signet of Humility: Reduced cooldown from 120 seconds to 60 seconds in PvE only.
- Null Field: Reduced range from 1,200 to 900.
- Temporal Curtain: Reduced range from 900 to 600.
- Illusionary Membrane: Reduced incoming damage reduction from 10% to 5% in PvP only.
- Chaotic Persistence: Reduced concentration and expertise from 250 to 150 in PvP only.
- Illusionary Defense: Reduced damage reduction per stack from 2% to 1.5% in PvP only.
- Auspicious Anguish: This trait now has an internal cooldown when you become disabled. There is no internal cooldown when you gain distortion.
- Bountiful Disillusionment: Reduced vigor duration from 8 seconds to 5 seconds in PvP only.
- Escape Artist: This trait has been reworked. It now applies distortion to phantasms when they are summoned.
Chronomancer
- Stretched Time: This trait has been reworked. Flow of Time affects nearby allies. Grant alacrity to nearby allies when you summon a phantasm.
- Seize the Moment: This trait no longer causes Tides of Time to grant quickness and instead grants quickness to nearby allies when you summon a phantasm. Increased the quickness per clone from 0.75 seconds to 1.5 seconds in WvW only.
- Well of Senility: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Increased pulse power coefficient from 0.7 to 1.5 in PvE only. Increased the number of boons removed from 2 to 3 in PvE only.
- Well of Action: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. Increased pulse power coefficient from 0.7 to 1.5 in PvE only.
- Flow of Time: Increased the alacrity per clone from 1 second to 1.5 seconds in WvW only.
Mirage
- Mirage can no longer dodge while immobilized or under the effects of crowd control.
- Mirage Cloak: This trait no longer reduces the mirage's endurance in PvP and WvW.
- Chaos Vortex: Reduced clone bleeding and torment duration from 8 seconds to 4 seconds.
- Imaginary Axes: Reduced clone torment duration from 4 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Split Surge: Reduced might stacks from 2 to 1 in PvP only.
- Elusive Mind: This trait now removes conditions when gaining Mirage Cloak instead of when dodging. Reduced the number of conditions removed from 2 to 1 in PvP and WvW.
Virtuoso
- Bladesong Distortion: Reduced distortion duration per blade from 1 second to 0.75 seconds in PvE only.
- Bladeturn Requiem: This skill no longer blocks incoming attacks.
- Bladecall: If the original target of the skill is in range, the returning blades will now lock on to that enemy. If not, the blades will return to the player as normal.
- Unstable Bladestorm: This skill is now a ground-targeted spell instead of a projectile. The spell strikes enemies in range in addition to firing projectiles at nearby enemies.
- Twin Blade Restoration: This skill will now always cleanse conditions when healing. The first blade will now always grant aegis, and the second blade will always grant vigor.
- Psychic Force: Reduced cooldown to 25 seconds in all game modes.
- Sword of Decimation: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 18 seconds.
- Blade Renewal: Reduced channel duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds.
- Jagged Mind: Increased bleeding duration from 1 second to 3 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Psychic Riposte: This trait will now always grant one blade and the unblockable effect when dodging. Reduced the number of blades granted when evading or blocking an attack from 3 to 2.
Necromancer
- Scourge has always been intended to be a viable support option, but the lack of quickness or alacrity has held it back in endgame content outside of specific cases. That won't be an issue anymore, as we've adjusted Desert Empowerment to be that source of alacrity. With scourge support likely becoming more viable in general use, we felt that its reviving power was just a bit too high and have made some adjustments to bring it more in line. We'll be keeping a very close eye on alacrity scourge's performance and will follow up as needed.
Core
- Well of Blood: This skill now applies regeneration with every pulse.
- Ritual of Life: Reduced revive percentage from 7% to 2% in PvE only.
- Quickening Thirst: This trait has been reworked. Gain life force when you strike an enemy with a dagger skill.
- Life Siphon: This skill is no longer channeled and will instead perform a single attack. Enemies struck by the initial attack will be dealt damage over time, and the user will be healed when damage is dealt.
- Life from Death: This trait no longer revives allies and now increases outgoing healing.
- Banshee's Wail: This trait no longer increases outgoing healing.
- Transfusion: This trait now only teleports downed allies when initially activated. Reduced the revival pulse from 2% to 1% when used with the scourge elite specialization in PvE only.
- Unholy Feast: This skill now removes boons instead of converting them into conditions. Increased power coefficient from 1.0 to 1.2 in WvW and from 1.3 to 1.5 in PvP.
- Unholy Burst: Reduced the power coefficient from 0.88 to 0.68 in PvP and WvW.
- Spiteful Spirit: This trait now removes boons instead of converting them into conditions.
- Devouring Darkness: Increased cooldown from 10 seconds to 18 seconds in WvW only.
- Enfeebling Blood: This skill no longer converts boons into conditions. Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 18 seconds in WvW and PvP.
- Lesser Enfeeble: This skill no longer converts boons into conditions.
- Signets of Suffering: This trait has been reworked and causes signet skills to remove boons from affected foes.
- Signet of Vampirism: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds.
- Plague Signet: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE and from 45 seconds to 35 seconds in PvP and WvW. Reduced the number of conditions transferred from 5 to 4 in PvP and WvW.
- Signet of Spite: Reduced cooldown from 60 seconds to 40 seconds in PvE and from 40 seconds to 30 seconds in PvP and WvW. Reduced the duration of cripple, blind, and weakness to 4 seconds in PvP and WvW. Adjusted the duration of bleeding, poison, and torment to 8 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Signet of the Locust: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 25 seconds in PvE only. Reduced the number of boons removed from 2 to 1 in WvW only.
- Epidemic: Fixed an issue that prevented this skill from functioning against downed enemies.
Scourge
- Desert Empowerment: This trait has been moved to the grandmaster tier, replacing Feed from Corruption. The barrier from this trait will now only apply around the shade and will affect 5 targets. This trait now also grants alacrity to allies when you grant them barrier.
- Sandstorm Shroud: This skill now pulses barrier to allies near the scourge before it detonates.
- Abrasive Grit: This trait no longer causes Sand Flare to grant barrier to allies. In addition to its previous effects, this trait now grants might when you apply barrier.
- Sand Flare: This skill now grants a reduced amount of barrier to nearby allies.
- Sadistic Searing: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of punishment skills. Increased burning duration from 2 seconds to 4 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Trail of Anguish: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE and from 50 seconds to 40 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Ghastly Breach: Reduced cooldown from 75 seconds to 60 seconds in PvE and from 90 seconds to 72 seconds in PvP and WvW. Reduced duration from 4 to 3 seconds in WvW only.
- Desiccate: This skill now also grants fury to nearby allies. Increased might from 5 stacks for 8 seconds to 8 stacks for 9 seconds. Reduced cooldown from 20 seconds to 16 seconds.
- Serpent Siphon: This skill has been reworked. It will now send a serpent to a target area that will detonate upon arrival. Allies in the area will gain barrier, regeneration, and aegis. Enemies will be poisoned and one of their boons will be converted into torment. Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds.
- Path of Corruption: This trait now increases the cooldown of Nefarious Favor by 50% in WvW only.
- Sand Cascade: Reduced base barrier from 1,188 to 996 in PvE only. Reduced barrier attribute scaling from 2 to 1.25 in PvE only.
- Manifest Sand Shade: Reduced shade duration from 20 seconds to 8 seconds in PvE only.
- Feed from Corruption: This trait has been moved to the master tier, replacing Desert Empowerment. This trait now grants barrier when you remove or corrupt a boon.
Harbinger
- Vile Vials: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of elixir skills. Increased vulnerability stacks from 5 to 7.
- Elixir of Promise: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Elixir of Anguish: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 25 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Elixir of Bliss: Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 32 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Elixir of Ignorance: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds.
- Elixir of Risk: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Elixir of Ambition: Reduced cooldown from 90 seconds to 72 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Septic Corruption: Reduced the condition damage increase from 0.5% to 0.25% in PvE only.
Ranger
- Spirits won't be granting alacrity moving forward, and we've taken this opportunity to do a larger pass on the skill type. Spirits will now trigger a smaller effect when summoned, slam the ground for a more powerful effect, and finally grant boons for a shorter period of time. Druid was the natural place to slot in an alacrity build, while we decided to give untamed access to quickness. Nature magic is also getting a larger set of changes with to solidify it as a support trait line. Rounding out the ranger changes are some improvements to sword and introducing a condition damage build for druid.
Core
- Pounce: This skill replaces Monarch's Leap. Deliver a leaping strike and gain vigor when striking an enemy. This skill deals increased damage to targets that are movement impaired or disabled.
- Serpent Strike: This skill has been moved to the third slot and has been reworked. You will now leap to your target while evading, applying poison and cripple on hit. This skill will immobilize instead of cripple if the target is movement impaired or disabled.
- Spirits have been reworked. A spirit will now grant an initial effect when summoned, slam the ground for a secondary effect, and then grant boons to nearby allies for a period of time.
- Farsighted: Increased the minimum damage bonus from 5% to 10% and increased the maximum damage bonus from 10% to 15% in PvE only.
- Strider's Strength: This trait replaces Strider's Defense. Gain power and gain additional power when wielding a sword. Gain might when evading an attack.
- Rejuvenation: This trait now triggers when using a beast skill instead of when being struck.
- Instinctive Reaction: This trait no longer grants quickness and instead grants regeneration to nearby allies when you use a healing skill.
- Evasive Purity: This trait no longer has an internal cooldown.
- Spirited Arrival: This trait now grants might instead of vigor.
- Windborne Notes: This trait will now also heal allies to whom you grant regeneration.
- Lingering Magic: This trait now increases the effectiveness of regeneration you apply in addition to its previous effect.
- Protective Ward: This trait has been reworked. Cast lesser "Guard!" when you swap pets.
- Invigorating Bond: This trait now uses the ranger's healing power, heals allies around the ranger, and grants protection and vigor to allies.
- Nature's Vengeance: This trait has been reworked. Spirits will slam the ground a second time before disappearing.
- Trapper's Expertise: This skill no longer reduces the cooldown of trap skills.
- Healing Spring: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds.
- Spike Trap: Reduced cooldown from 45 seconds to 25 seconds in PvE only.
- Resounding Timbre: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of command skills.
- "We Heal As One!": Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- "Sic 'Em!": Reduced cooldown from 35 seconds to 28 seconds.
- "Protect Me!": Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in PvE and from 40 seconds to 32 seconds in PvP.
- "Search and Rescue!": Reduced cooldown from 60 seconds to 48 seconds.
Druid
- Grace of the Land: This trait now grants alacrity instead of might.
- Rejuvenating Tides: This skill now grants might to nearby allies in addition to its previous effects.
- Natural Convergence: This trait now grants might to nearby allies every pulse.
- Blood Moon: This trait replaces Primal Echoes. Daze nearby foes when you become a celestial avatar. Bleed foes you immobilize or disable.
- Natural Balance: This trait replaces Natural Stride. Deal increased damage and take reduced damage for a period of time after entering or exiting Celestial Avatar.
- Eclipse: This trait replaces Ancient Seeds. Your celestial avatar abilities inflict conditions on enemies.
- Glyph of Alignment: Increased bleeding duration from 8 seconds to 10 seconds in PvE only.
- Glyph of Equality: The non-celestial version of this skill now applies stability in PvE only.
- Natural Mender: Increased astral force generation from 5 to 8 in PvE only.
- Cosmic Ray: Increased radius from 120 to 240.
- Lingering Light: This trait no longer grants increased outgoing healing after exiting Celestial Avatar, and it instead reduces the recharge of Celestial Avatar every time another player is healed by a celestial avatar skill.
- Seed of Life: Increased the number of conditions removed from 1 to 3 in PvE only. Increased cooldown from 1 second to 4 seconds in PvE only.
Soulbeast
- Spiritual Reprieve: Reduced casting time from 1.5 seconds to 1 second. Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 35 seconds.
- Instinctive Engage: This skill is no longer an ammunition skill. Reduced cooldown in PvE to 12 seconds, matching WvW and PvP. Increased the damage inflicted to 2.0 in PvE and 1.5 in WvW and PvP. Increased quickness duration from 1.5 seconds to 2 seconds in WvW and PvP. This skill now slows and poisons enemies it strikes.
- Deadly Delivery: Reduced casting time.
- Fixed an issue that caused unmerged players to incorrectly merge after dismounting.
- Fixed an issue that prevented players from unmerging when removing the soulbeast specialization.
Untamed
- Rending Vines: Reduced cooldown from 15 seconds to 10 seconds in PvE only.
- Enveloping Haze: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only.
- Unleashed Power: Reduced internal cooldown from 15 seconds to 9 seconds in PvE only.
- Savage Slash: Increased power coefficient from 2.0 to 2.2 in PvE only.
- Deft Strike: Increased power coefficient from 1.5 to 2.2 in PvE only.
- Relentless Whirl: Increased power coefficient from 0.546 to 0.7 in PvE only.
- Multishot: Increased power coefficient from 1.2 to 2.0 in PvE only.
- Restorative Strikes: This trait no longer passively converts strike damage to healing, and it instead converts strike damage to healing when you or your pet unleash. Increased protection duration from 2 seconds to 3 seconds.
- Let Loose: This trait replaces Fervent Force. Grant boons to nearby allies when you use an unleashed ambush skill. Recharge your unleashed ambush skill when you swap weapons.
Revenant
- Herald's quickness application is being moved to Elevated Compassion and tied to maintaining upkeep skills. In its place, Draconic Echo will now cause facet passive effects to grant additional bonuses to the herald. Vindicator is also getting some adjustments in WvW to bring it more in line with other support builds.
Core
- Banish Enchantment: This skill now has a 5-second cooldown in WvW only.
- Aggressive Agility: This trait no longer removes immobilization, and it instead grants resistance.
- Demonic Defiance: This trait will now also remove a damaging condition when it triggers.
- Forced Engagement: Reduced number of targets from 5 to 1. Increased range from 600 to 900.
- Battle Scars: Increased base healing from 58 to 68 in PvP only.
Herald
- Elevated Compassion: This trait now grants boons to nearby allies while six or more points of upkeep are in use, in addition to its current effect.
- Draconic Echo: This trait no longer grants boons when using a consume skill and instead causes facet passives to grant an additional bonus to the herald.
- True Nature (Centaur): This skill now applies the tranquil effect to the player.
- True Nature (Demon): Added an unblockable skill fact to the tooltip.
- Energy Expulsion: Knockdown duration is no longer increased while tranquil. This skill now grants stability to allies near the tablet when tranquil.
Renegade
- Legendary Renegade Stance: Summoned creatures now have locked defiance bars in PvE only.
Vindicator
- Saint's Shield: Reduced base barrier and healing from 582 to 300 in WvW only. Reduced healing attribute multiplier from 0.33 to 0.2 in WvW only.
- Tree Song: Reduced number of conditions removed from 5 to 3 in WvW only.
- Urn of Saint Viktor: Reduced base pulse healing from 708 to 450 in WvW only. Increased upkeep cost from 5 to 7 in WvW only.
- Drop Urn of Saint Viktor: Increased cooldown from 1 second to 10 seconds in WvW only. This skill will now put Urn of Saint Viktor on cooldown.
-
Alliance Tactics: Reduced cooldown from 10 seconds to 3 seconds in PvE only.
Thief
- In addition to moving alacrity off of wells, we wanted to improve specter's ability to play a support role in larger group situations. Ally-targeted scepter skills will now grant their effects in an area around the target, and Shadestep has been reworked to allow Shadow Shroud skills to affect multiple allies around the tethered target. We're also introducing a quickness build for deadeye. Fire for Effect will cause every stolen skill to become Steal Time, which now grants quickness in an area. We've also bumped up daredevil's staff damage while reducing the damage of the more powerful stolen skills to make the build more consistent.
Core
- Improvisation: This trait now reduces the cooldowns of all utility skills by a certain percentage when you steal, instead of recharging a random skill.
- Endless Stamina: This trait has been reworked and renamed Fluid Strikes. It now grants the thief a damage bonus for a period of time after using a movement skill or completing a shadowstep.
- Pain Response: This trait has been reworked. It now removes a damaging condition from the thief when completing a dodge roll.
- Guarded Initiation: This trait has been reworked. It now grants the thief resistance when using a movement skill, with a 5-second internal cooldown.
- Swindler's Equilibrium: This trait now recharges Steal by 1 second per trigger, with a 1-second cooldown.
- Assassin's Reward: Increased base healing per initiative spent from 102 to 151.
- Upper Hand: Reduced internal cooldown from 5 seconds to 4 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Shadowstep: Reduced the cooldown of this skill from 50 seconds to 30 seconds in PvE only.
Daredevil
- Bound: Increased power coefficient from 1.75 to 3.5 in PvE only.
- Staff Strike: Increased power coefficient from 0.75 to 0.85 in PvE only.
- Staff Bash: Increased power coefficient from 0.8 to 0.9 in PvE only.
- Punishing Strikes: Increased power coefficient from 1.8 to 2.1 in PvE only.
- Brawler's Tenacity: This skill no longer reduces the cooldown of physical skills.
- Channeled Vigor: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Bandit's Defense: Reduced cooldown from 20 seconds to 16 seconds in PvE and from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Fist Flurry: Reduced cooldown from 20 seconds to 16 seconds.
- Impairing Daggers: Reduced cooldown from 18 seconds to 15 seconds.
- Impact Strike: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 25 seconds.
- Detonate Plasma: This skill now deals damage to nearby enemies and no longer grants quickness.
- Throw Magnetic Bomb: Reduced power coefficient from 1.5 to 0.7.
- Throw Unstable Reagent: Increased power coefficient from 1.5 to 2.0.
- Throw Cursed Artifact: Reduced power coefficient from 0.5 to 0.4. Reduced bleeding, torment, and confusion stacks from 5 to 3.
- Time in a Bottle: Reduced duration from 5 seconds to 3 seconds.
Deadeye
- Stolen Skills: Stolen skills now grant their beneficial effects in a radius around the caster. Reduced casting time by approximately 25%.
- Steal Time: Increased quickness duration from 3 seconds to 5 seconds in PvE only.
- Steal Resistance: Increased resistance duration from 3 seconds to 5 seconds in PvE only.
- Malicious Intent: Increased malice gain from 1 to 2 in PvE only.
- Fire for Effect: This trait no longer requires a target to grant boons to allies. Additionally, equipping this trait guarantees that the stolen skill will be Steal Time, regardless of the target's profession.
- Shadow Flare: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only. This skill now only damages once when used instead of pulsing.
- Shadow Swap: This skill now causes an additional strike to occur at your original location when used.
- One in the Chamber: This trait now also increases the damage of stolen skills, in addition to its previous effects.
- Binding Shadow: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE and from 30 seconds to 25 seconds in PvP and WvW. This skill now immobilizes marked targets instead of knocking them down.
Specter
- Ally-targeted scepter skills now also grant a lesser effect to additional allies in a radius around the target.
- Second Opinion: This trait now grants condition damage instead of healing power when equipped and while wielding a scepter.
- Shallow Grave: This trait has been reworked. It now causes Siphon to transfer conditions to a targeted enemy or remove conditions from the specter and their targeted ally.
- Traversing Dusk: This trait's shadow force gain percentage is no longer split in PvP and will use the higher value of 5%. This trait now grants resistance instead of alacrity.
- Shadestep: This trait has been reworked. It now spreads the beneficial effects of your shadow shroud skills to allies around your tethered target, and it additionally grants boons to yourself and those allies when you use a shadow shroud skill.
- Well of Bounty: This skill now grants regeneration instead of resistance.
- Mind Shock: This skill now grants stability on activation instead of detonation. An indicator has been added to better visualize when this skill will detonate.
- All scepter projectiles have had their velocity increased by 66%. Ally-targeted skills will now affect a radius of 240 around their target; secondary targets receive reduced benefits. Updated ally-targeted skill facts to show their unblockable nature.
- Shadowsquall: This skill now heals for the proper amount that is listed on the skill fact. Increased healing from 522 to 625 per hit.
- Haunt Shot: Increased the velocity of this skill by 66%.
- Dark Sentry: Fixed an issue that prevented the internal cooldown of this trait from properly functioning.
- Well of Silence: Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 35 seconds in WvW and PvP.
- Endless Night: This skill no longer applies quickness and instead applies vigor in PvE only.
- Eternal Night: Fixed an issue that prevented this skill from functioning with quickness.
Warrior
- With quickness being removed from banners, we wanted to introduce both a quickness and an alacrity build to warrior elite specializations and have done so for berserker and bladesworn, respectively. We'll be keeping an eye on how these builds perform relative to their counterparts and will make follow-up adjustments as needed. We've also tuned up rifle and off-hand dagger to make them more effective options.
Core
- Crack Shot: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of rifle, longbow, and harpoon gun skills.
- Fan of Fire: Reduced cooldown from 6 seconds to 5 seconds in PvE only.
- Arcing Arrow: Reduced ammunition recharge time from 10 seconds to 8 seconds in PvE only.
- Smoldering Arrow: Reduced ammunition recharge time from 20 seconds to 16 seconds in PvE only.
- Pin Down: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only.
- Flurry: You can now move while channeling this skill. Reduced the overall number of hits and animation time. Increased bleeding duration per hit from 4 seconds to 6 seconds. Increased power coefficient per hit from 0.2222 to 0.33.
- Fierce Shot: Increased power coefficient from 0.403 to 0.46 in PvP and WvW.
- Volley: Reduced cooldown from 5 seconds to 1 second. Reduced ammunition recharge time from 12 seconds to 10 seconds in PvE only.
- Explosive Shell: Reduced cooldown from 6 seconds to 1 second. Reduced ammunition recharge time from 15 seconds to 8 seconds. Increased power coefficient from 0.5 to 1.09 in PvP and WvW. Reduced cripple duration from 5 seconds to 3 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Brutal Shot: Reduced cooldown from 8 seconds to 1 second. This skill will now cause you to evade backward immediately and fire a shot at the end of the roll.
- Berserker Stance: Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 25 seconds in PvP only.
- Balanced Stance: Reduced cooldown from 50 seconds to 40 seconds in PvP only.
- Soldier's Comfort: This trait now also grants protection.
- Martial Cadence: This trait will now grant stability instead of quickness in PvE only.
- Peak Performance: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of physical skills.
- Mending: Reduced cooldown from 20 seconds to 16 seconds in PvE only.
- Bull's Charge: Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds.
- Kick: Reduced ammunition recharge to 20 seconds in all game modes.
- Stomp: Reduced cooldown from 40 seconds to 32 seconds in PvE and from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in PvP and WvW.
- Throw Bolas: Reduced ammunition recharge from 20 seconds to 16 seconds.
- Rampage: Reduced cooldown from 120 seconds to 90 seconds.
- Signet Mastery: This skill no longer reduces the cooldown of signet skills.
- Signet of Fury: Reduced cooldown from 20 seconds to 16 seconds.
- Signet of Might: Reduced cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only.
- Signet of Stamina: Reduced cooldown from 35 seconds to 30 seconds.
- Signet of Rage: Reduced cooldown from 60 seconds to 40 seconds in PvE only.
- Vigorous Shouts: This trait no longer reduces the cooldown of shout skills.
- "To the Limit!": Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds.
- "Fear Me!": Reduced cooldown from 60 seconds to 48 seconds.
- "For Great Justice!": Reduced ammunition recharge from 25 seconds to 20 seconds.
- "On My Mark!": Reduced ammunition recharge from 25 seconds to 20 seconds.
- "Shake It Off!": Reduced ammunition recharge from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE. Reduced cooldown from 30 seconds to 24 seconds in PvP and WvW. Fixed an issue that caused the stun-break radius of this skill to be smaller than intended.
- Doubled Standards: This trait now grants resolution instead of quickness.
- Warrior's Cunning: Reduced the damage increase against high-health foes from 25% to 7% and the damage increase vs. foes with barrier from 50% to 10% in WvW only.
- Banner of Tactics: This skill no longer applies quickness in PvE.
Berserker
- Flaming Flurry: Reduced the number of hits from 8 to 6. Reduced casting time. Increased power coefficient from 0.25 to 0.33. Increased burning duration from 2 seconds to 5 seconds.
- Arc Divider: Reduced the number of strikes from 3 to 1. Reduced the casting time from 1.86 seconds to 0.8 seconds. Reduced total power coefficient from 5.1 to 2.5 in PvE and from 2.112 to 1.82 in PvP.
- Blood Reaction: Increased the base precision-to-ferocity conversion to 10%. This trait now converts 10% of power to condition damage. These bonuses are still doubled in berserk mode.
- Bloody Roar: Reduced the increased damage provided from 25 to 20% in PvE only.
- Heat the Soul: This trait has been reworked. This trait will now grant boons to nearby allies when you strike an enemy with a burst skill.
- Gun Flame: Reduced the power coefficient from 1.54 to 1.4 in WvW only.
- Blaze Breaker: Reduced the cooldown from 15 seconds to 12 seconds in PvE only.
- Flames of War: Reduced the cooldown from 25 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE only.
Spellbreaker
- Winds of Disenchantment: Lowered the duration from 5 seconds to 4 seconds in WvW only.
- Break Enchantments: Increased the number of boons removed from 2 to 4 in PvE only. Reduced the number of boons removed from 2 to 1 in WvW only.
- Wastrel's Ruin: This skill now removes boons when striking an enemy.
- Bladestorm: This skill now grants barrier when striking an enemy.
Bladesworn
- Daring Dragon: This trait has been reworked. Dragon Slash has a lower maximum charge level and consumes more flow per charge, but its damage per charge has been increased. Grant alacrity to nearby allies when you use Dragon Slash.
- "To The Limit!": This skill no longer gives positive flow and instead gives 30 flow when used with the bladesworn specialization.
- Signet of Fury: This skill no longer gives positive flow and instead gives 30 flow when used with the bladesworn specialization.
- Flow Stabilizer: This skill no longer gives additional positive flow when you are under the effect of fury and instead gives 15 flow when used under the effect of fury.
Structured Player vs. Player
World vs. World
- Adjusted the costs for some items sold by Dugan in World vs. World.
- Increased the drop rates of some consumable items from Mist-Hardened Lockboxes.
June 05, 2023 at 03:52 pm
06/06/23—June 6 Release Notes
Dragon Bash Festival
It's time for Dragon Bash! It wouldn't be a proper celebration without your attendance. Join me in Hoelbrak for another moot for the ages! There will be racing, food, song, tests of strength, and—most importantly—ale.
I'll see you there. Unless, of course, you don't enjoy fun.
— Knut Whitebear
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Join the celebration in Hoelbrak! Celebrate Tyria's resistance against the Elder Dragons while engaging in a variety of festive games, including:
- Dragon Arena: Show off your dragon-fighting prowess against lifelike holograms in the Dragon Arena, or challenge a more difficult gauntlet in Dragon Arena Survival.
- Hologram Stampede: The fighting continues in the Hologram Stampede, a map-wide scramble to clear the Hoelbrak countryside of deadly enemies.
- Piñata Bashing: Master the tradition of destroying dragon piñatas in the Piñata Bashing adventure.
- Dragon Bash Rally: Speed around Hoelbrak in the Dragon Bash Rally mounted race.
- Moa Race: Tigg's famous racing moas return in a moa race event. Put your zhaitaffy on the line and cheer on the winner!
- The festival meta-achievement, Annual Dragon Bash Feats, has been updated with a new reward, the Holographic Dragon Plate chest armor. Last year's reward, the Holographic Dragon Greaves, can now be purchased from the Dragon Bash Merchant (Prizes).
- A new Dragonrender weapon set crafted in the norn tradition is now available! You'll receive your choice of weapon by progressing the Dragon Bash Feats meta-achievement, and you can acquire additional weapons from the Dragon Bash Festivities weekly achievement.
- Four new Candy-Packed Dragon weapons are now available as rare drops from Dragon Coffers. They can also be purchased from Sparking Stone, a Dragon Bash weapons vendor in Hoelbrak.
- Two new minis, the Mini Duckling and Mini Mountain Sheep, have been added to the Dragon Bash rewards vendor.
- New guild decorations have been added to help complete your guild race courses: additional holographic track quarter-pipe pieces and a new decoration that offers complimentary roller beetle rentals!
- The party rages for three weeks, from June 6 until June 27 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-7). Get bashing!
General
- A new general game option, Hide Ally Visual Effects, has been added. This allows players to hide many of the visual effects created by other players who are on their team. It has three levels of fidelity: all players, all players outside party, and all players outside squad.
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- It is located in the Options menu under General Options, then Groups.
- This does not hide effects created by enemy players. For example, in WvW or PvP scenarios, players on opposing teams will display all their effects, regardless of these settings.
- Some ally effects are exempted from the option. In particular, any group healing or boon area-of-effect skills will still be visible. Some combo field skills are exempted as well.
- The intent of this option is to improve game performance, accessibility, and visual clarity in high-population gameplay scenarios.
- Loading time to reach character selection has been improved.
- Standardized the achievement background color of the "What Lies Within" achievement list to match the other Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons achievements.
World vs. World
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Added the Mist-Hardened Lockbox. This reward is available from completing WvW dailies, the weekly WvW meta-achievement, and as a drop from tower, keep, and Stonemist Castle lords. Mist-Hardened Lockbox keys, which are required to open the lockboxes, are available from each individual WvW weekly achievement and can be purchased from a new vendor.
- New Officer's Remnant weapons are available as rare drops from Mist-Hardened Lockboxes.
- A new vendor named Dugan has been added to the bases in Eternal Battlegrounds, Alpine Borderlands, and Desert Borderlands and inside the Armistice Bastion lobby. Each week, Dugan will offer WXP Boosters, Mystic Clovers, Memories of Battle, Provisioner Tokens, siege blueprints, ascended feasts, and more in exchange for WvW currencies such as WvW Skirmish Claim Tickets, Emblems of the Avenger, and Badges of Honor.
- A new Mistwalker Infusion has been added to WvW. An account-bound version is available for purchase from Dugan after completing a new Mists Research achievement, which is located in the WvW section of the Achievement tab of the Hero panel. A tradeable Ball of Charged Mists Essence containing the infusion can rarely be found after defeating WvW keep lords and the Stonemist Castle lord, and inside Mist-Hardened Lockboxes.
- Adjusted the method used to award kill credit to support players to make their kill rewards more on par with damage-focused players.
- To reward players for partial progress in the WvW weekly achievements, the WvW weekly meta-achievement has been split into two tiers, awarding 4 gold for each tier completed. Each tier requires three completed achievements, for a total of six.
- The Invulnerable Fortifications guild claiming tactic has been renamed to Siege Dampener. The Structural Integrity effect applied by this tactic now reduces incoming siege damage to walls and gates by 66% for 60 seconds, rather than making them completely invulnerable.
- Reduced the cooldown of the Emergency Waypoint guild claiming tactic from 30 minutes to 20 minutes.
Structured Player vs. Player
- Legacy of the Foefire: Fixed an issue that prevented players from interrupting the guild lord's healing skill. The defiance bar will now only be active while the skill is being cast.
World Polish
- Fixed an issue that caused the jade behemoth to remain stunned and unresponsive after the final meta-event if the ravenous wanderer's final phase lasted longer than the jade behemoth's attack cycle.
- Intensified the damage reduction provided to the ravenous wanderer by its Haze-Made Form protective effect.
- Removed the jade power charge cost from the air filter vendors in Gyala Delve. Text referencing this cost will be updated in a later release.
- Fixed an issue that allowed players to loot the Silent Sands jumping puzzle chest in Gyala Delve without completing the puzzle.
Personal Story
- Taimi will now have a delay when asking for big money or needing a new pair of shocks during the Emotional Release story chapter of "What Lies Within."
- Players who are not the party leader can now view lore conversations at the end of the Full Circle story chapter of "What Lies Within."
- Rama's incantation will now finish fully before the next dialogue plays in "What Lies Within."
- Rama will also beckon players who are not the instance owner during the Full Circle story chapter of "What Lies Within."
- Fixed an issue that caused the story starburst icon to disappear during the Emotional Release story chapter of "What Lies Within."
- The ravenous wanderer now lurks and unlurks properly during "What Lies Within."
- Characters other than the party leader will no longer speak during the Full Circle story chapter of "What Lies Within."
- Story lore conversations are now visible to players who are not the party leader.
- Fixed pathing issues for NPCs using zip lines in "What Lies Within."
- Fixed an issue that caused Canach to display a double story starburst icon during the Full Circle story chapter of "What Lies Within."
Items
- The Special Ops Captain's Helmet Skin consumable item no longer requires name entry for deletion.
- Pyrite dorado are now account bound when acquired, and they properly convert to raw fish when consumed.
- Fixed an issue that prevented Slooshoo from continuing to sell offering baskets after the player completed the Koda's Blessing collection.
May 22, 2023 at 03:34 pm
05/23/2023—May 23 Release Notes
What Lies Within
In the depths of Gyala Delve, a lurking evil has poisoned the Jade Brotherhood and twisted the commander's memories against them. Regroup with Rama, Yao, Taimi, and Gorrik to devise a plan to strike back and force the mysterious ravenous wanderer into the open. Confront your memories, gather your weapons, and harness what lies within.
- Experience the conclusion of the story that began in the "What Lies Beneath" release.
- Finish the fight in the extended Gyala Delve map-wide meta-event, which now continues into the Jade Brotherhood's conclusive battle with the ravenous wanderer.
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Enjoy a relaxing series of adventure activities in Seitung Province, New Kaineng City, the Echovald Wilds, and—if your efforts in the map-wide meta-event succeed—explore a more peaceful Gyala Delve.
- Show off your skiff skills in two new skiff races.
- Team up with a friend for three siege turtle target practice courses.
- Demonstrate your mastery of the jade bot in three target collection adventures.
- Bring roller beetle racing back to its Canthan roots—and down into the deep—in a thrilling downhill course spanning Gyala Delve.
- Complete a series of collections to unlock the new Special Ops armor set.
- Rare Energized Luxon Hunter's Weapon Caches can be acquired while under the effects of new air filters.
General
- The Jade Brotherhood Requisitions Specialists in Gyala Delve now offer Thruster Control Units in exchange for Imperial Favors and Research Notes. The collection must be in progress for the item to appear in the vendors' lists. The Thruster Control Unit is required to unlock the siege turtle mount and previously could only be acquired by completing the Kaineng Overlook Strike Mission.
- Players who participate in the Jade Crisis meta-event will receive a hazard pay enhancement. While this enhancement is active, players will earn more rewards from Cleansed Mining Caches after the end of the Gyala Delve map-wide meta-event added in "What Lies Within."
- Jade bot filters that were previously available for purchase after capturing Jadepillar Point Base and Behemoth's Gap Base are now permanently available at a higher cost. Two new jade bot filter options have been added.
- The "Subdue malfunctioning jade bots and repair downed bots" event in Gyala Delve has received balance updates and adjustments.
- Laurel merchants now stock the Koda's Warmth and Otter's Blessing enrichments. These enrichments will become available from the vendor after completing their respective collections and achievement chains.
- The siege turtle mount's first driver skill, Slam, now allows movement control sooner after executing the attack.
- The Environment Zone Intensity option's value has been reset to 100%. This is to correct an error that set the previous default value to 40% when the option was introduced. If you have changed it to a specific value, you will have to reenter that custom setting again.
- The launcher now responds to double mouse clicks.
Profession Skills
Mesmer
- Stretched Time: Reduced alacrity duration from 5 seconds to 3 seconds in PvP only.
Ranger
- Vow of the Untamed: Reduced outgoing damage bonus from 15% to 10% in PvP only.
- Ferocious Symbiosis: Reduced damage bonus per stack from 3% to 2% in PvP only.
May 02, 2023 at 03:04 pm
Game Update Notes: May 2, 2023
05/02/23—May 2 Release Notes
Items
- All Sandstorm hands and Destabilized Ectoplasm purchases now have a daily limit of 20.
Profession Skills
The balance changes shown in the April 21 preview are now live, with the following updates:
Guardian
Willbender
- Phoenix Protocol: This trait no longer increases the duration of resolve, in PvE only.
Ranger
- Stalker's Strike: Reduced cooldown from 15 seconds to 12 seconds in PvP only.
- Crippling Talon: Increased bleeding from 3 stacks for 6 seconds to 4 stacks for 9 seconds in PvP only.
Revenant
Vindicator
- Death Drop: Increased power coefficient from 3.0 to 3.75 in PvE only.
- Nomad's Advance: Increased power coefficient from 3.5 to 4.0 in PvE only. Reduced energy cost from 15 to 10 in PvE only.
Warrior
Berserker
- Smash Brawler: This trait now grants 15% (5% in WvW) increased critical-strike chance while in berserk mode in addition to its current effect.
April 17, 2023 at 08:47 pm
04/18/2023—April 18 Release Notes
Megaserver Map Queue Beta
- Players can now add themselves to a queue to join party members in open-world maps that are currently at their maximum player capacity.
- The queue can be reached through the party and squad UI by right-clicking on a player in your party that is within the instance you wish to join and selecting "Join Instance."
- If that map instance is full, you will receive a new pop-up that will ask if you’d like to enter a queue for the same instance as your existing party members. Accepting this pop-up will put you into a queue, which will give you the option to travel to that map instance as soon as capacity allows. Refusing the queue will result in the same behavior as before this update.
- This feature is an upgrade to the megaserver system, which was first introduced in April 2014. We are introducing it as a beta while we keep a close eye on live issues and monitor your feedback.
General
- All players have been migrated to using DirectX 11 rendering. The DirectX 9 rendering option has been removed from the Options menu.
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Chromium Embedded Framework has been re-enabled as a replacement to Coherent UI. This technology powers web-based UIs like the launcher and Trading Post.
- Please report any potential issues on the Guild Wars 2 forums.
World Polish
- Harvest Temple Strike Mission: Fixed an issue that could cause the defiance bar for some dragon hearts to be enabled after the heart was pushed to the edge of the platform.
- The fishing nodes at the Celestial Pool in Gyala Delve will now appear after defeating the ravenous wanderer.
Profession Skills
Engineer
- Sneak Gyro: Reduced stealth duration from 1.5 seconds to 1 second in PvP only. Reduced number of pulses from 6 to 5 in PvP only.
- Function Gyro: Reduced power coefficient from 1.0 to 0.5 in PvP only.
- Gyroscopic Acceleration: Reduced superspeed duration from 3 seconds to 2 seconds in PvP only.
Ranger
- Signet of the Hunt: Increased cooldown from 20 seconds to 25 seconds in PvP only.