Game Update: November 1, 2012

Here's some good news for those who missed the Halloween party for one reason or another! NPC's will stay around until November 15th to grant the "Attend the Party" achievement, so if you missed out you have plenty of time to take advantage. However, all of the other Halloween events have disappeared until next year.

In addition, paid PvP tournaments have been added to the game, and you can find several fixes to World Vs World and dungeon instances as well. Be sure to read the full notes below!

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Holiday

Halloween has come and gone. You put Mad King Thorn back in his place with as much skill and enthusiasm as we’d hoped. We on the Halloween Team would like to thank you for participating with such gusto. It did our hearts good to know so many of you were enjoying the pumpkins of our labors (so to speak).

Thank you!

Unfortunately, Hurricane Sandy has made these past few days very hard for some of our players on the east coast of the United States. We would like to extend our condolences to all those affected by the storm. We recognize that because of power failures and the general situation, many players have been unable to meet Mad King Thorn in Lion’s Arch.

One of the fake Mad King Thorn actors has decided to stick around until 11/15 to ensure that those who couldn’t play due to the storms still receive the “Attend the Party” achievement. If you missed the final event, you will be able to speak to him at the Grand Piazza in Lion’s Arch and receive both your achievement and a Halloween hat.

• The Mad King is gone, and he has taken his chest with him. The Mad King Chest can no longer be created.

Paid SPvP Tournaments

In addition to free sPvP tournaments, you can now play in paid sPvP tournaments! You can join them by going to the Heart of the Mists (using the crossed-swords icon in your quick-launch icons) and speak to the Tournament Master. You will need Tournament Tickets to play, which you can get through reward chests or the Gem Store! To see more info on the rewards for paid tournaments, look here.

WvW

• Closed a number of exploits that inappropriately allowed access to keeps.

• Orbs of power have been removed from WvW to address hacking and balance issues. They tended to strengthen teams already in the lead and were irresistible targets for hackers and cheaters, both of which could have an unfortunately large impact on any given WvW game. Orbs or some similar mechanic may return in the future, but only if we’re confident that they won’t create similar issues.

Personal Story

“The Battle of Fort Trinity”—Fixed a bug that could prevent progress on the “Defend the gate” objective.

Dungeons

Sorrow’s Embrace

• Fergg’s Chain: The Grenadiers found a way back into the ranks. We have now adjusted their numbers to match. Waves have been adjusted to have a more reasonable spawn time.

Caudecus’s Manor

• Story Chain: Fixed an issue that could prevent Separatist guards from spawning properly.

Reminder

On October 22nd, we added new minidungeons, jumping puzzles, and events to several areas.

• Mount Maelstrom—A jumping puzzle has been added.

• Fireheart Rise—A minidungeon has been added.

• Dredgehaunt Cliffs—A minidungeon has been added.

• Various Maps—Modus Sceleris events now appear in several maps.

• There is a skritt burglar on the loose in Tyria! Adventurers that encounter this thieving rodent are encouraged to confiscate whatever loot they can shake out of her.