Mad King Thorn hasn’t been seen in Tyria for 250 years, and that’s the same amount of time that has passed between Guild Wars and its recently released sequel. It appears that the pumpkin-headed trickster only likes to make an appearance when there are actual players to experience it. ArenaNet has put out a preview of their first major game update, Shadow of the Mad King, which is scheduled for release on October 22. A week-long Halloween event will transform Tyria with decorations, mini-games, and new dynamic events in what the devs are calling an “epic adventure in four acts”.
The Black Lion Trading company will be stocked with all new items, including costumes and transforms that allow players to compete in the Costume Brawl. Fans of Guild Wars 1 will recognize this event, which was a PvP mini-game that allowed two teams of 5 to square off disguised as famous characters from Tyria. These brawls were great fun as they randomly assigned you a new costume every round and your skills changed with it. So you never knew what kind of mayhem you’d find in the Costume Brawl and I’m eager to see how this will work in Guild Wars 2.
Also coming in this update is the paid PvP tournaments that were teased last week. Make sure you practice and get ready for these ultra-competitive events and remember, if you do well enough you can win gems and tournament tickets to fuel your new addiction.
Finally, ArenaNet ended the announcement with a bit of a tease saying, “The world continues to evolve with new events, jumping puzzles, bosses, mini-dungeons, and achievements appearing across a variety of maps.” They have stated on the forums that some of their added content would be announced and some of it will be snuck into the game for the players to discover on their own. Looks like we need to revisit some old zones come October 22.
What do you think of the Shadow of the Mad King update? Let us know in the comments below!
