Game updates:October 2008

October 2008 updates

• Thursday 30^th of October (talk)
• Friday 24^th of October (talk)
• Thursday 23^rd of October (talk)
• Thursday 9^th of October (talk)

Update - Thursday, October 30, 2008

Miscellaneous

• Adjusted the Mad King's sound effects.

Update - Friday, October 24, 2008

Miscellaneous

• Increased faction given for kills while under the effects of the Blessing of the Kurzicks or the Blessing of the Luxons to 10 faction per kill in Normal Mode and 20 faction per kill in Hard Mode.
• Adjusted the Ritualist's attributes in the Costume Brawl to better reflect that character's equipped skills.

Update - Thursday, October 23, 2008

Halloween Hullabaloo or the King's Kerfuffle

A petulant lord

Belligerently bemoans

And sobbingly roams.

Helpless ornate shriek

And serenely giggling knives

You'll laugh for your lives!

Glumly impatient

Smiling with menacing grace

Maniacal face.

Halloween Event

• Made preparations for the Halloween events.

Guild Battle Changes

• The brief damage immunity that players have when resurrecting at the shrine now protects against lifestealing effects.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug that caused Glyph of Immolation to not affect some targeted spells.

Miscellaneous

• Moved Durmand and the other Bonus Mission Pack NPCs so they do not interfere with the Halloween celebrations.

Guild Wars Wiki notes

• Blessing of the Kurzicks and Blessing of the Luxons give double faction for each kill (10 in normal mode, 20 in hard mode). - This note was included in the update notes for the following day
• The poem included in this update is in haiku verse.
• Amber Chunks and Jadeite Shards from the Factions Rewards NPC indicated that they cost 5,000 faction each. If option selected, would show that each Amber/Jadeite granted 5,000 points to title. - This was corrected in the update the following day

Update - Thursday, October 9, 2008

Updated Zaishen Rewards

• Updated the Zaishen Chest drops to replace the Macabre Tonic with a new tonic for the month of October. More information on Zaishen Rewards can be found here.

Automated Tournaments

• Updated Automated Tournament map rotations.

Guild Battle Changes

• The number and placement of NPCs have been changed in all Guild Halls.
• Removed Cyclone Axe from the Guild Lord.

Skill Updates

For more information on these changes, please see the Developer Updates page.

PvE and PvP

Assassin

• Hidden Caltrops: reduced hex duration to 1...8...10 seconds; reduced Crippled duration to 1...12...15 seconds.

Elementalist

• Immolate: increased damage to 20...64...75.
• Meteor: reduced casting time to 2 seconds.

Mesmer

• Lyssa's Aura: increased Energy regeneration to 0...4...5.

Ranger

• Burning Arrow: increased Burning duration to 1...6...7 seconds.
• Incendiary Arrows: increased recharge to 5 seconds.
• Melandru's Shot: reduced recharge to 8 seconds.

Warrior

• Backbreaker: functionality changed to: "Deals +1...16...20 damage. Causes knock-down (2...4...4 seconds)."

PvP

Warrior

• "For Great Justice!" (PvP): reduced duration to 8 seconds.

Open Travel: Territory and District UI Changes

• This is the final update to language districts.
• In this update, restrictions to Japanese language districts will be removed and players of all language districts will be able to travel back and forth without restrictions.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a sound issue which may be affecting some specific on-board audio chipsets.
• Fixed a bug that caused some high-end weapons to be created without an inscription slot if they had the Deathbane property.
• Fixed a bug in the Nightfall quest "Last of the Breed" that could cause Mirza Veldrunner to take more Giant Tusks from the player than the quest required.
• Fixed a bug that could cause Unyielding Aura to fail to resurrect a dead ally in range if other dead allies were out of range.
• Fixed a bug that caused Muddy Terrain to occasionally not affect Dark Escape.
• Fixed a bug that allowed a group to register for a Guild-versus-Guild Automated Tournament without an officer from the group leader’s guild.
• Fixed a bug that could occasionally cause the Spear of Archemorous [sic] to duplicate itself.
• Fixed a bug that caused Stout-Hearted to not display the damage it deals.
• Fixed a bug that could cause players to have two elite skills while riding a Junundu Wurm.
• Fixed a bug that caused the /zaishen and /rank emotes to not play if the user was running, but still set their cooldown timer.
• Fixed a bug in the Underworld quest "The Four Horsemen" that sometimes caused horsemen's deaths to not be counted for quest completion.
• Fixed a bug that caused Heroes to occasionally start casting and canceling skills repeatedly when their target was moving away from their position.
• Fixed a bug that sometimes caused Leah Stone to disappear before reaching her final resting place.

Miscellaneous

• Xunlai Tournament Agents now offer prizes for the September tournament. These agents can be found in the Great Temple of Balthazar, Lion's Arch, Kaineng Center, and Kamadan.
• When any of these skills complete, the target will now resurrect quicker: Rebirth, Sunspear Rebirth Signet, and dismissal of Unyielding Aura.
• Tormented Weapons can now be placed in the Hall of Monuments.
• Removed Iron Mist from Gadd.
• Streamlined Leah Stone's path and increased her speed for the bonus in Abaddon's Mouth

Guild Wars Wiki notes

• This month's tonic is the Skeletonic
• Corsair Prisoners were replaced with Sunspear Volunteers in Churrhir Fields due to concerns about the use of torture.