Game updates:April 2010

April 2010 updates

• Friday 30^th of April (talk)
• Thursday 29^th of April (talk)
• Friday 23^rd of April (talk)
• Wednesday 21^st of April (talk)
• Friday 16^th of April (talk)
• Thursday 15^th of April (talk)
• Thursday 8^th of April (talk)
• Monday 5^th of April (talk)
• Friday 2^nd of April (talk)
• Thursday 1^st of April (talk)

Update #2 - Friday, April 30, 2010

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug that prevented Inquisitor Bauer from executing his duties.

Update - Friday, April 30, 2010

Bug Fixes

• Removed unintended buff from monsters in some elite missions.

Update #2 - Thursday, April 29, 2010

Bug Fixes

• Fixed several incorrect skill descriptions.

Update - Thursday, April 29, 2010

Tyrian Events

With the recent declaration of war, there's been an upsurge of activity on both sides. Incidents with White Mantle Inquisitors have been reported from Scoundrel's Rise to Nebo Terrace. These interrogations and acts of oppression are likely a response to increased support among the populace for Princess Salma and the Shining Blade.

Automated Tournaments

• Updated the 2010 Automated Tournament Series Trophy in the Great Temple of Balthazar.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug that caused Lesser Flame Sentinels in the Burning Isle guild hall to suffer excessive Health degeneration.
• Fixed a bug that prevented the "Limited Release minipets" option from displaying at the Monument to Devotion in the Hall of Monuments.

Guild Wars Wiki notes

• New White Mantle enemies were added to Watchtower Coast for characters that have beaten Eye of the North or Prophecies and viewed the three scenes in Talmark Wilderness.

Update - Friday, April 23, 2010

Party Maintenance

• Made miniature changes to the celebration.
• Restocked the festival tickets.
• Pressed more victory tokens.
• Tasked the grounds crew with sweeping the rollerbeetle racetrack.
• Successfully delivered ribbons and wrapping paper to Tyria.

Update - Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Party Decorations

• Preparations have been made for the week-long anniversary celebration.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug that prevented Livia's dialogue in the Talmark Wilderness from being displayed.

Update - Friday, April 16, 2010

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug that prevented Livia from behaving normally in the Talmark Wilderness.
• Fixed a bug that caused text in speech bubbles to display incorrectly during the Trial of Zinn.

Update #2 - Thursday, April 15, 2010

Tyrian Whispers

As hostilities escalate, speculation on coming events can be heard on every corner. Those loyal to Princess Salma speak of bold measures being conceived in the Talmark Wilderness.

Bug Fixes

• Made minor fixes to Shining Blade Uniform and White Mantle Disguise.

Guild Wars Wiki notes

• Added two new dialogues in Shining Blade camp.
• Added four new Peacekeeper encounters.
  • With Farmer Dirk and Inquisitor Bauer in Ascalon Settlement, North Kryta Province.
  • East of Beetletun in Nebo Terrace.
  • Southwest of Ascalon Settlement.
  • East of Divinity Coast in Watchtower Coast.

Update - Thursday, April 15, 2010

Uniforms

During these times of conflict, the Shining Blade invites all recruits to proudly display their affiliation by purchasing an official uniform. Thanks to some brave members, the brotherhood has also recently acquired a number of White Mantle uniforms. Both are available through the official uniform supply outlets. For more details about these garments, read this leaflet.

Update - Thursday, April 8, 2010

Tyrian Events

To better serve the Krytan people and maintain order, the White Mantle has formed the Peacekeepers. You'll find these friendly and polite volunteers all through Kryta, offering assistance to common folk and searching for rebel sympathizers. Say hello to a Peacekeeper today!

Bear witness to the trial of the century! The renowned asuran artificer Zinn will stand before the judgment of the Arcane Council for orchestrating an assassination scheme using golems of his design. Speak with Chark outside of Vlox's Falls to attend the trial.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug that prevented players from accepting the quest The Stolen Artifact from Necromancer Munne.

Guild Wars Wiki notes

• A new dialogue was added to the Shining Blade camp between a Shining Blade Scout and Princess Salma, to reflect the appearances of the Peacekeepers.
• There are three new scenes related to the Peacekeepers:
  • The first new scene can be seen outside of the Temple of the Ages between Brother Mizar and Greves the Overbearing.
  • The second new scene is north of Bergen Hot Springs between Farmer Milton and a White Mantle Zealot.
  • The third new scene is directly west of Beetletun between Farmer Fanella and a Peacekeeper Enforcer.

Update - Monday, April 5, 2010

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug that prevented players from being able to vanquish Talmark Wilderness.

Update - Friday, April 2, 2010

Automated Tournaments

• Updated the 2010 Automated Tournament Series Trophy in the Great Temple of Balthazar.
• Updated the Automated Tournament map rotation.

Miscellaneous

• Fixed the size constants of the world.

Guild Wars Wiki notes

• The Shining Blade camp and some new NPCs were added to the Talmark Wilderness.
• Added additional dialogue for Gwen and Keiran Thackeray in Hall of Monuments.
• Introduced the Paper Wrapped Parcel, Sack of Random Junk, Votive Candle, and a new skin for Salma.
• This update introduced a bug that makes it impossible to take the quest The Stolen Artifact from Necromancer Munne.

Update - Thursday, April 1, 2010

Note: This update was never implemented. It is a fake update in the spirit of April Fools' Day. However, this update did cause all player characters to shrunk to the size of a miniature, and all miniatures to grow to the height of normal characters.

Skill Updates & Additions

Assassin

• No changes for Assassins.

Dervish

• Mysticism: this attribute now returns 1 Energy for every rank of Mysticism.
• Avatar of Grenth: now removes an enchantment with every attack.
• Balthazar's Rage, Grenth's Fingers, and Staggering Force now deal their damage when removed.

Elementalist

• Added friendly fire to all Elementalist area-of-effect attacks.
• Conjures now work regardless of the weapon's elemental mod and can stack.
• Deep Freeze, Earthquake, Lightning Storm, and Rodgort's Invocation now affect foes within radar range.

Mesmer

• Blackout: now a ranged skill; doesn't blackout the caster.
• Distortion: added the following functionality: "You have +10 to your Politics and Reporting attributes."
• Diversion: spell duration is now infinite; effect on target foe is increased to 120 seconds.
• Price of Pride: now deals 5...40 damage for each title track the target foe has maxed.
• Sympathetic Visage: changed functionality to: "While you have this skill equipped, pick-up groups must let you join."

Monk

• Amity (PvP): increased casting time to 60 seconds. If this spell completes, the match ends in a draw.
• Banish: changed functionality to: "Target foe may not return to this map for 1...8...10 years."
• Pacifism: changed functionality to: "For 8...18...20 seconds, target foe cannot play Guild Wars. It has 'war' in the name."
• Smiter's Boon (PvP): increased casting time to 5 seconds.
• Spirit Bond: removed restriction on the maximum number of hits.
• Supportive Spirit: changed functionality to: "Create a level 1...12...15 Supportive Spirit. Whenever an ally in range has a skill fail, the Supportive Spirit casts Words of Comfort on that ally."
• Words of Comfort: now heals for 15...51...60, and removes Anguish.

Necromancer

• All vampiric skills, when equipped, now cause your character to sparkle in sunlight.
• Rigor Mortis: added the following functionality: "Must target a dead foe."
• Rising Bile: added the following functionality: "Any effects from consumables are negated."

Paragon

• Chants and Shouts can now be activated by voice command.
• Echoes can now be cast on Ritualist spirits.

Ranger

• When using a pet skill, your character will now shout out what skill the pet should use. For example, if your pet is named Moachu, and you use Bestial Pounce, your character will shout, "Moachu! Use Bestial Pounce!"
• Apply Poison: this skill no longer works on bow attacks.
• Fertile Season: changed functionality to: "If two or more animals of the same type, level 5 or higher, are adjacent to each other, a level 1 animal of that type is created."
• Nature's Renewal: this skill can now be used only when standing near flowers.
• Otyugh's Cry: added the following functionality: "All nearby neutral pets attack the target foe."
• Point Blank Shot: reduced to touch range.
• Sloth Hunter's Shot: added the following functionality: "+10...25 damage vs. sloths."

Ritualist

• Weapon spells can now be cast on spirits.
• Disenchantment: all skills used by players in its area of effect automatically fail.
• Mighty Was Vorizun: changed functionality to: "While you hold the Ashes of Vorizun, you have 50% more 3G coverage, but you cannot use the item you really want to."
• Vengeful Was Khanhei: changed functionality to: "While you hold Khanhei's ashes, skills used on you are interrupted, but are allowed to finish when you drop his ashes. This skill is the best item spell of all time. OF ALL TIME."

Warrior

• Changed base armor to be 100, but -60 against lightning damage.
• "For Great Justice!": added the following functionality: "Every zig takes off."
• Disarm: now causes target foe to drop any currently equipped weapon to the ground.
• Griffon's Sweep: changed functionality to: "Summons a Griffon ally to your location. This ally fights for you for 30 seconds. You may have more than one Griffon ally at one time."
• Healing Signet: now usable by all professions.
• Leviathan's Sweep: changed functionality to: "Summons a Leviathan ally to your location. This ally fights for you for 30 seconds. You may have more than one Leviathan ally at one time."

Classic Skills

By popular demand, the Guild Wars Classic Skill Pack has been added to the Guild Wars In-Game Store. Now, players can relive the days of yore with this exciting selection of skills that function as they did when they were released. The Classic Skill Pack includes the following:

• "I Will Avenge You!"
• Aegis
• Mantra of Recovery
• Order of the Vampire
• Shadow Form
• Signet of Ghostly Might
• Smiter's Boon
• Ursan Blessing
• And many more!

Heroes

• The Great Betrayer Shiro Tagachi now joins your party as the third Assassin hero. He's been killed twice already, but he got better!

Durability

• Weapons and armor now have durability. Durability decreases whenever you take damage or use a skill. When the durability for an item reaches 0, that item is destroyed. Repair Kits (100 uses) are available from the Guild Wars In-Game Store.

PvP

Added support in the PvP character-creation process for the following playable races:

• Centaurs
• Charr
• Elves
• Forgotten
• Orcs
• Tengu
• Titans

Hard Mode Adjustments

• Now called Hard-Core Mode.
• All player deaths in Hard-Core Mode are permanent.
• Permanently dead characters can still log in, but they may only visit the Underworld map and cannot trade, access account storage, or interact with merchants.

Creature AI Updates

A number of refinements have been made to more closely simulate PvP play:

• Monsters now intelligently pre-kite opponents.
• Monsters now retreat when hurt.
• Monsters with shields will now swap shields based on player damage type.
• Monsters sometimes cancel spells when fighting Mesmers and Rangers to draw out interrupts.
• Many monsters now copy their builds from a wiki.
• Monsters now have a chance to resign if they do not have a monk.
• Several new monster-only shouts have been added.
  • "Lolwut!?": used after an ally dies.
  • "Noob!": used after killing any foe.
  • "That's imba!": used after dying at the hands of any foe.

Miscellaneous

• Enlarged the world to provide greater opportunity for exploration.
• Playable characters can now swim.
• Reset all players' Cartographer titles due to new world size and accessibility.
• Updated Alliance Battles in Factions so the battle line is now affected by a third supportable faction: Ninjas.
• Integrated some features of the Guild Wars 2 graphics engine to enhance gameplay experience:
  • Updated grass texture.
  • Tightened up the graphics on level 3.
  • Added support to the Hall of Monuments to teleport Guild Wars characters into Guild Wars 2.