Greetings Heroes of Tyria,

Last weekend we released our free Lost Shores mini-expansion, which introduced a new level 80 map, a brand new PvP map, over 400 new items and rewards,  as well as The Fractals of the Mists—an infinite dungeon that increases in difficulty the deeper you progress.

We’re very excited about the new content, and from the reactions we have seen, so are many of you. Players have already spent an incredible amount of time in the new Fractals dungeon, and their reaction to it has been phenomenal. A lot of players really enjoyed the trailblazing aspect of unveiling the new Southsun Cove map, specifically the feeling of discovery and being part of the land grab.

Having said that, we’re also aware that there were certain aspects of the event that could have worked better than they did, and thanks to your excellent feedback we’ll be working toward strengthening this type of content moving forward. At ArenaNet, we always try to push the boundaries of how we build online worlds, and we thank you for your patience and collaboration as we pioneer into unknown territories. We’ve seen people saying that they really liked the principle of using events to unveil new content, but we need to tighten up the methods by which they are deployed. We take these comments to heart, as it is our goal to always deliver content of the highest quality.

We want to extend a huge “thank you” to all of the players who attended the Lost Shores event over the weekend. We really enjoyed playing with you all and we learned a great deal about the broad spectrum of content we offered. Our sincere thanks for all your feedback and for being part of the journey as we continue to build upon the world of Guild Wars 2.

Here’s a general rundown of what we are working towards over the upcoming months:

- Revamping all of our existing dungeons (Story and Explorable versions) through rebalance and overhauled encounters.
- Adding new dungeons to the Fractal of the Mists.
- Adding more variation to creatures, enhancing our open world scaling system, as well as evolving many events and experiences across Tyria.
- Fixing and improving existing content throughout the game, and better tying it into the overall sense of player progression within Guild Wars 2.
- Building on the Southsun Cove’s persistent content.
- Adding new Guild content and Guild progression features.
- Continuing to evolve PvP into an E-sport as outlined here: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/structured-pvp-iceberg/
- Adding brand new content to World vs. World as well as adding new reward progression.
- Continuing to build upon the story and adventures of Guild Wars 2.

Greetings citizens of Tyria! My name is Linsey Murdock. Some of you may remember me as the Guild Wars Live Team Lead before the lovely and talented John Stumme took up the cause so I could work on other projects. As a game designer for Guild Wars 2, I primarily work on crafting and items, which is why I am here to talk to you today about some exciting new features coming up for items progression that my team has been working on.

We have always worked hard to create a sense of satisfying progression rather than gear grind and this new item progression initiative is no exception. By adding challenging new combat mechanics to end-game content and ways to mitigate those mechanics through gear progression for high-end players, we can add personal progression without making the game feel like an endless treadmill of gear that is just out of your reach. Original Guild Wars fans may recognize that we took a familiar approach to our new progression. The first end game mechanic we will introduce is Agony, which will be encountered in the Fractals of the Mists dungeon, and is mitigated by Infusions.

New Condition: Agony

In the upcoming Fractals of the Mists dungeon, we’ll introduce a new monster condition called Agony.

This extremely dangerous condition ticks percentages of player health away and can’t be cleansed by normal means. Players who wish to delve deep into the Fractals will find that Agony makes progress increasingly difficult, until they reach the point where some defense against this condition is a must. The only way to mitigate Agony damage is by building up resistance through Infusions, a new type of upgrade component that can be acquired in the Mystic Forge.

New Upgrades: Infusions

Infusions are a special new type of Upgrade Component that can only be slotted into special Infusion slots on gear.

There are multiple types of Infusions and Infusion slots. In November, we’ll introduce Offensive, Defensive, and Omni Infusions of Fine rarity from new Mystic Forge recipes. Infusion upgrade types must be paired with their like slot, with the exception of the rare and versatile Omni Infusions which can be slotted into any type of Infusion slot.

For now, Infusions slots can only be found in gear of a new rarity type: Ascended.

New Rarity Type: Ascended

In November we’ll unveil the first Ascended items. This new rarity type falls between Exotic and Legendary on the spectrum of rarity and has slightly higher stats than Exotics.

Ascended gear works a little bit differently than other gear types. The stats and functionality normally added to gear through upgrade components are actually built into Ascended items. Instead of upgrade slots, Ascended gear has Infusion slots, and rarer versions of the items also come with additional Agony Resistance built into them. Players will be able to acquire Ascended Rings in the Fractals of the Mists dungeon, and Ascended items worn on the back can be acquired through special Mystic Forge recipes.

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The Mad King hasn't been seen in Tyria for 250 years, which means it's about time for a reappearance! Guild Wars 2 is on the verge of its first major content update, and ArenaNet just shared a schedule for the Halloween story. Act one will begin on October 22nd, with the subsequent acts following on the 26th, 28th, and 31st. To whet your appetite for this spooky update, there's also a new video with a content tease, so head on over to the content page or check it out past the break.

If Guild Wars is more your speed, remember that traditional Halloween festivities will be commencing Friday, October 19th.

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