Game updates:May 2009

May 2009 updates

• Thursday 14^th of May (talk, feedback)
• Thursday 7^th of May (talk, feedback)
• Friday 1^st of May (talk, feedback)

Update 2 - Thursday, May 14, 2009

Bug Fix

• Fixed a crash bug.

Update - Thursday, May 14, 2009

Skill Updates

PvE and PvP

Assassin

• Heart of Shadow: functionality changed to: "You are healed for 30...126...150, and you Shadow Step to a nearby location directly away from your target."
• Shadow Fang: added an after-cast delay.
• Viper's Defense: functionality changed to: "All adjacent foes are Poisoned for 5...17...20 seconds, and you Shadow Step to a nearby location, directly away from your target."

Elementalist

• Mirror of Ice: functionality changed to: "For 5 seconds, plus 3 additional seconds for every rank of Energy Storage, you deal an additional 5...29...35 cold damage whenever you cast a Water Magic hex."
• Steam: functionality changed to: "Target foe is struck for 5...41...50 cold damage. If target foe is on fire, Steam Blinds that foe for 5...9...10 seconds."

Mesmer

• Illusionary Weaponry: decreased Energy cost to 5.

Monk

• Castigation Signet: increased recharge to 20 seconds.
• Peace and Harmony: decreased duration to 1...3...3 seconds; increased recharge to 12 seconds.
• Word of Healing: decreased non-conditional healing to 5...81...100; increased conditional healing to 30...98...115.

Necromancer

• Foul Feast: increased recharge to 5 seconds.
• Lingering Curse: decreased healing reduction to 20%.

Ranger

• Hunter's Shot: functionality changed to: "If this attack hits, your target bleeds for 3...21...25 seconds."
• Melandru's Shot: functionality change to: "If this attack hits, your target bleeds for 5...21...25 seconds. If it hits a foe that is moving or knocked down, that foe takes +10...22...25 damage and is crippled for +5...13...15 seconds."
• Keen Arrow: decreased conditional damage to 5...21...25.

Ritualist

• Protective Was Kaolai: increased recharge to 25 seconds.

PvP

Monk

• Strength of Honor (PvP): decreased damage to 1...4...5.
• Aegis (PvP): reduced casting time to .25. Functionality changed to: "For 1...3...3 seconds, hostile spells and attacks against 'target other ally' fail."

Warrior

• Warrior's Endurance (PvP): this skill is now a stance.

PvE

Dwarf

• Low Blow: functionality changed to: "Strike target foe for 45...65...70 damage. If target foe is knocked down, that foe takes an additional 30...46...50 damage and suffers from Cracked Armor for 14..20 seconds."

Faction Skills

• Elemental Lord: functionality changed to: "For 40...56...60 seconds, your elemental attributes are boosted by 1, you gain 1 Energy for every 10 ranks of Energy Storage, and you are healed for 100...260...300% of the Energy cost each time you cast a spell."
• Summon Spirits: decreased recharge time to 5 seconds.

Mesmer

• Fragility: this skill now also affects adjacent foes.

Monk

• Strength of Honor: increased damage to 5...21...25.

Vanguard

• Tryptophan Signet: this skill no longer requires touch range.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug that prevented pet names from displaying properly in some languages.

Miscellaneous

• Master Architect Gunther in Fort Aspenwood now destroys any masterless Minions within earshot.
• A Xunlai Agent and Chest has arrived in the Zaishen Menagerie.
• Ai Tei [Merchant] has arrived in the Great Temple of Balthazar.
• Moss Spiders and Black Moas now grow appropriately as they evolve.
• Adjusted the amount of dishonor points given out by the Dishonorable Combatant System.

Guild Wars Wiki notes

• A bug with Heart of Shadow disconnected everyone in the same instance when used. It was fixed in a subsequent update.
• This update also removed the activation time of Hunter's Shot and increased its' recharge time to 10 seconds.
• This update also lowered the energy cost of Aegis (PvP) from 15 to 10.
• This update also lowered the activation time of Sharpen Daggers from 2 seconds to 1 second, and changed its duration from 30 seconds to 5...25...30 seconds.
• For more information about these skill updates, see the developer update.
• Gunther destroys masterless minions with a new NPC skill, Gunther's Gaze.

Update - Thursday, May 7

Xunlai Tournament House 2.0

• The Xunlai Tournament House has received a variety of exciting improvements!
  • Players will now log in to the Xunlai Tournament House with their Guild Wars username and password.
  • The interface and functionality of the Xunlai Tournament House has been greatly improved. To read about the changes, see this article.

Updated Zaishen Rewards

• Updated the Zaishen Chest drops to replace the Unseen Tonic with the Phantasmal Tonic for the month of May. More information on Zaishen Rewards can be found here.

Automated Tournaments

• Updated Automated Tournament map rotations.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug that prevented some players from turning in collectible items to Nicholas Sandford.
• Fixed a bug that allowed some pets to evolve at level 14.
• Fixed a bug that prevented some pets from being added to the Fellowship monument.

Miscellaneous

• Xunlai Tournament Agents now offer prizes for the April tournament. These agents can be found in the Great Temple of Balthazar, Lion's Arch, Kaineng Center, and Kamadan.
• Zaishen Combat Quests are now repeatable.
• When multiple quests have been completed, players are now able to select which quest they would like to turn in.
• Reduced the cost of Zaishen Summoning Stones from 5 Silver Zaishen Coins to 3.

Guild Wars Wiki notes

• Removed the Rainbow Phoenixes from the heroes that could charm them due to a previously fixed bug.

Update - Friday, May 1, 2009

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug that incorrectly awarded credit for a Zaishen Combat Quest.

Guild Wars Wiki notes

• This bug fix refers to the Fort Aspenwood quest, you would be awarded credit for a win regardless of the outcome of the battle.
• This update also removed the possibility to have multiple instances of the same Zaishen Quest on a single character.