User:Endrosz/noteworthy updates 2009

Update - Thursday, April 23, 2009

Equipment Pack

Each character has been given a 5th bag slot reserved for the Equipment Pack. These new bags will save you oodles of storage space and give you a way to keep your weapons and armor divided from your other loot. These bags:

• Hold only weapons and armor.

Xunlai Storage

To provide you with access to even more storage space, Xunlai Storage Panes are now available for purchase in the In-Game Store and the NCsoft Store.

Zaishen Challenge Quests

• Pick up your Zaishen Challenge Quests in the Great Temple of Balthazar.
• Your Quest Log can only hold three of each type of Zaishen Challenge Quests.
• Three quest types are offered each day:
  • Mission completion. Finish storyline missions for the Zaishen.
  • Bounties. Hunt down and kill evil bosses from around the world!
  • Combat. Battle it out in different arenas and triumph over other players.
• Each quest has one Base Objective, which is required to complete the quest and rewards you with experience, gold, faction, title points, and Zaishen Coins. Quests may also have one or more optional Bonus Objectives, which reward extra Zaishen Coins.

• Zaishen Coins:
  • Come in copper, silver, and gold denominations.
  • Are only awarded for completing Zaishen Challenge Quests.
  • Are not tradeable to other players, but can be passed to other characters on your account through the Xunlai Storage Vault.
  • Can be used to buy items like the Equipment Packs from Zaishen Rewards NPCs in the Great Temple of Balthazar.
  • Can be used to unlock pets for your Zaishen Menagerie collection.

See the gameplay article for more details about Zaishen Challenge Quests and Coins.

Zaishen Menagerie

• The Zaishen Menagerie is an outpost, located in the Battle Isles next to Heroes' Ascent. Speak with Gate Guard Hirvela to enter the Menagerie Grounds.
• All characters on your account share a Menagerie collection.
• Unlock seven different tiers of level and evolution for every charmable animal in the game.
• Unlock a pet by bringing your charmed animals to Emryd the Tamer, or visit Helena [Zaishen Keeper] to unlock them with Balthazar Faction or Zaishen Coins.
• Only charmable animals from campaigns you own are unlockable via the Zaishen Keeper.
• The menagerie is your own area--only you and your Heroes can enter.
• Once you've unlocked a pet, you'll see charmable level 5 versions of that pet roaming the grounds. Higher-level versions and special evolutions of your pets are also available from Wynn [Zaishen Training Captain].
• Purchase an unlock pack from our In-Game Store or the NCsoft Store. The unlock pack adds the non-prestige pets from all campaigns to your collection.

See the gameplay article for more details.

Nicholas The Traveler

• The Traveler changes location at the end of each weekend.
• Each account can get up to 5 Gifts of the Traveler each week.
• The Traveler gives his Gifts in exchange for the items he desires that week. The item he seeks will change depending on his location in the world.
• Gifts of the Traveler hold many new and exclusive items, but you'll just have to open one to see what they are.

See the gameplay article for more details.

Hall of Monuments: Now Account-Wide

Our previously announced plans for the Hall of Monuments to be an account-wide feature have come to fruition, and then some!

New Character Customizations

• Preview your new look! Speak with Anatomical Engineer Llye [Stylist] in the Great Temple of Balthazar to check out all the options for redoing your character.
• The Stylist allows you to mix and match aesthetic features from different campaigns, creating hundreds of combinations which are not available at character creation.
• Change your character's hair style, hair color, face, skin color, and/or body scale with Makeover Credits, or all of those plus gender with Extreme Makeover Credits, at the Stylist.
• Buy your Makeover Credits and Extreme Makeover Credits at the In-Game Store and the NCsoft Store. Makeover Credits are sold in packs of 5, and Extreme Makeover Credits are sold individually.
• Each Makeover Credit allows you to change one character's hair style, hair color, face, skin color, and/or body scale.
• Each Extreme Makeover Credit allows you to change one character's gender, as well as the Makeover options of hair style, hair color, face, skin color, and/or body scale.
• Character Name Changes are now available at the In-Game Store and the NCsoft Store.

See the gameplay article for more details.

Update - Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Miscellaneous

• Fixed a bug that allowed teams to sync join in random PvP.

Guild Wars Wiki notes

• It's still possible to sync in random PvP, but it is more difficult than it was before the update.

Update - Thursday, October 22, 2009

Codex Arena

• The Codex Arena is officially open.
• The new Codex title track is available for competing in the Codex Arena. This title track is not cumulative with the Commander title track.
• Team Arena[sic] and Hero Battles are officially closed.
• Winning matches is no longer required to unlock PvP outposts.
• Progress made in the Commander title track will be saved and cannot advance any further.

Update - Thursday, December 17, 2009

Costumes

• Grenth and Dwayna costumes are available for purchase from the In-Game Store and the NCsoft Store.
• Costume slots have been added to the Character panel.
• Hats given by Festival Hat NPCs have been updated to work with the new costume slots.
• For more details about costumes and costume slots, see the costume gameplay article.

Update - Monday, December 21, 2009

UI

• Log-in screen now contains additional security to protect players from unauthorized access.