“Once again, the gates of the Mad Realm have opened, and Kryta’s most infamous monarch, Mad King Thorn, has returned to hold court in Lion’s Arch!” ArenaNet announces in today’s patch notes. “Loyal vassals of the king are strongly encouraged to enjoy the festivities: meet the denizens of the Mad Realm in events across Kryta, tour the Mad Realm itself in the labyrinth and fearsome clock tower, compete with your fellow mortals in Lunatic Inquisition, Reaper’s Rumble, and the Mad King’s Raceway, attend to the king’s whims in his notorious pastime of Mad King Says, or match wits and blades against royalty in Ascent to Madness.”
The patch notes include some new tidbits for the festival this year: updates to achievements, a “new visitor” and boss encounters in the labyrinth, new weapons, a new mini, a new recipe, new guild deco, and a rebalance for existing bosses. Plus, ArenaNet “adjusted the timing of the Mad King’s Clock Tower to reduce tragic miscalculations on the final jump.”
And even if you’re not a Halloween person, there’s a double-experience event running for the next week too.
“As a special kickoff to the festivities, adventurers will enjoy bonus experience, magic find, and reward-track progress across Tyria! In addition, adventurers at or above level 10 who seek out the Mist Stranger in their starting map during the Halloween Bonus Bash event can receive a once-per-account choice of class-appropriate main-hand weapons that scale in power as they gain levels. Whether you’re a new player or a veteran, it’s a perfect chance to jumpstart an adventuring career!”
There are a few additional non-Halloweeny tweaks in today’s update, including the dye update we mentioned this morning, plus touch-ups for the ongoing DirectX 11 beta, Druids’ Celestial Energy, bugged boon stacking, and perfectage reduction effects.
