LIVING WORLD
Dragon Bash

The Ship’s Council of Lion’s Arch is sponsoring Dragon Bash, a celebration of the Tyrian spirit and resolve to defeat the elder dragons. Bash on dragon piñatas in cities and shoot fireworks at the giant holographic Shatterer dragon projected over Lion’s Arch. Revel in activities such as the Dragon Ball Arena and bet on moa racing. Across the countryside, players will discover mini-projectors that will test their mettle versus holographic dragon minions!

The celebration includes two must-see events: The fireworks show during the first weekend repeats every two hours, and attendees who watch the finale will receive a dragon helm. Then the week after, players can enter the effigy ceremony and witness the cultural representatives as they join the Captain’s Council in burning the dragon effigies in the Grand Piazza of Lion’s Arch. It promises to be an exciting time for all.

“Bash the dragon! Smash the dragon! May it never rise up again!”

General

• Dragon Coffers have been added to the list of potential loot drops for all creatures in the world.

Lion’s Arch

• Lion’s Arch has been decorated with Dragon Bash decorations. A projector has been set up, where the Lion’s statue normally resides, to display the holographic Shatterer dragon that will circle the city. Zommoros has dressed up for the occasion, and various kites, posters, torches, and targets have been placed throughout the city. Firework launchers have also been added for players to join in the celebration.
• Players can enter the new Dragon Ball Arena activity, which takes place in the sewer beneath the city, by talking with Finolla in the Mystic Court.
• In Farshore Ward, players can bet on their favorite moa to win in the moa race and win various prizes.
• The Captain’s Council will appear in the Grand Piazza to inform and direct players to all of the Dragon Bash festivities.

Explorable Areas Leading to Lion’s Arch

• The explorable areas leading up to Lion’s Arch (Queensdale, Kessex Hills, Brisbane Wildlands, Caledon Forest, Metrica Province, Plains of Asford, Diessa Plateau, Wayfarer Foothills, Snowden Drifts and Gendarran Fields) has been seeded with mini hologram projectors that will create hologram minions to bash. In addition to normal loot drops, these minions have a greater chance of dropping Dragon Coffers and candy.
• A new rock formation now appears in the Gendarran Fields.

All Major Cities

• Heralds have been updated to announce the arrival of the Dragon Bash festival.
• Dragon piñatas can now be found in all of the major cities for players to bash and collect festival candy.

Fireworks Event

• During the first weekend, between 9am PDT June 14 and 9am PDT June 17th, a grand fireworks show will repeat every two hours. Players who witness the finale will be awarded a container holding three account-bound commemorative dragon helms, one for each armor class in the game.

Achievements

• A new Dragon Bash category has been added for achievements involving the Dragon Bash festivities.
• The Dragon Bash Experience meta-achievement will reward a set of Holographic Shattered Dragon Wings back item skin for players who have completed 10 out of the 14 total Dragon Bash achievements (Case Closed not included).
• Fourteen new Dragon Bash festival achievements have been added. Please note that The Big Boom in the Big City, Case Closed, the Ceremony and Acrimony achievement line, and Burn Down The Dragons cannot be completed until additional Dragon Bash content is unlocked at a later time.

BALANCE, BUG-FIXING, POLISH

General

• Added a new combat/movement toggle option: “Right-Click to Attack/Interact”.

World Polish

• Living World
  • The chest that spawns after the Crazed Karka Queen is defeated is no longer limited to once a day.
• Bloodtide Coast
  • Living Covington Pirates should no longer respawn when the player helps Bill and Hekja fight Risen Pirates.
• Straits of Devastation
  • The Champion Ooze in the Zho’qafa event has been demoted to a veteran.

Personal Story

• “Bad Blood”:
  • There is now a slight delay between the time the wind starts up and when it knocks the player off the wall. The audio cue has also been cleaned up to make it clearer.
• “They Went Thataway”:
  • The Ministry guard now appears at the base of the stairs.

Items

• Globs of Ectoplasm can now be salvaged into Piles of Crystalline Dust. This change should help Globs of Ectoplasm maintain a strong value in the economy and lower the cost of Crystalline Dust.
• Master Tuning Crystals, Master Maintenance Oil, and Superior Sharpening Stone recipes now take more Piles of Crystalline Dust to craft. This change is to help these consumables maintain a high value with the new influx of dust.

Profession Skills

General:

• Fixed a bug that caused sigils to be removed when the player died while transformed.
• Fixed a bug that let teleport skills teleport players through certain walls, most notably the clock tower’s walls in The Battle of Khylo.
• Fixed a bug that made line-of-sight checks frequently succeed when they shouldn’t.
• Fixed a bug where skills that draw allied conditions would instantly cure any condition that was self-inflicted.

Elementalist:

• Signet of Restoration:
  • This skill now has its cooldown reduced by the Signet Mastery in PvP.

Necromancer:

• Parasitic Bond:
  • The healing from this trait will now display properly in the combat log.
• Reaper’s Might:
  • Removed misleading text.
• Reaper’s Touch:
  • Fixed a bug with this ability’s damage that caused an inconsistency when not traited with Spiteful Talisman. Damage while un-traited has been increased by 50%.
• Spectral Grasp:
  • This ability will now pull the full 1200 range, instead of 900.
• Spiteful Talisman:
  • This trait now works with Reaper’s Touch in PvE.

Ranger:

• Coral Shot:
  • This ability now lists bleeding dealt at different ranges. Bleeding damage has been increased from a maximum of 2 to a maximum of 4 at a range of 900.
• Signet of the Hunt:
  • This ability now displays a skill fact for the damage increase of its active effect.
• Quicksand with Stone Spirit:
  • This skill’s facts will now display properly.

Warrior:

• Counterblow:
  • This skill now has a range fact.
• Endure Pain:
  • Updated the text of this skill and its buff to make it clearer.
• Versatile Rage:
  • The effects of this trait will now only trigger once every 5 seconds.

Guardian:

• Strength of the Fallen:
  • Fixed a bug with this trait that makes it lose health 33% slower while downed instead of the previous 11%.

Engineer:

• Explosive Powder:
  • This trait now functions with detonating turrets.
• Reserve Mines:
  • This trait now functions with other traits, such as Shrapnel, Steel Packed Powder, and Forceful Explosives. In addition, fixed a bug that caused the mines to not strip boons correctly. Explosive radius has been increased from 60 to 120.
• Rifled Turret Barrels:
  • This trait no longer makes Rocket Turret fire invisible rockets.
• Toss Elixir R:
  • All of the effects of this skill are now normalized to the correct radius of 180 units. Previously, some actions were only effective at 120 units.
• Toss Elixir U:
  • This profession skill now functions with Acidic Elixir.

Mesmer:

• Blurred Frenzy:
  • Updated the duration tooltip to indicate the actual duration of the evasion.

Structured Player vs. Player

• Added a menu for custom arenas to reset to standard or tournament defaults from the configuration UI.
• Added a name and owner search box to the game browser.
• Added a default filter to the game browser to search for recently joined custom arenas.
• Fixed a bug with ratings that caused inaccurate updates when players left before the end of a match.
• Updated the matchmaking algorithm to better match new players.
• Updated the ratings algorithm to reduce volatility.
• Updated the profession icons on the map to use brighter team colors.

World vs. World

• World Ability Points have been refunded to all players who earned them. Changes were made to Arrow Cart Mastery, allowing players to reallocate their points. This is a one-time reset.
• Arrow Cart Mastery skills have had their range reduced to be better in balance with other siege weapons.
• The WvW Ranks and Abilities tab now displays how many bonus rank-up chests a character has remaining.
• Superior Siege and Omega Golem blueprints now have different icons from regular siege blueprints.

BLACK LION TRADING COMPANY GEM STORE

New Items and Promotions

• The Rich Dragon Coffer is now available in the Consumable category of the Gem Store for 100 gems each, or 5 for 400 gems and 25 for 2,000 gems. This special festival box always contains Dragon Bash candy and also has a chance to contain fireworks, a Mini Holographic Risen Knight, and rarely a Dragon’s Jade Weapon Skin Ticket. Rich Dragon Coffers contain all the same items as the Dragon Coffers that drop commonly from Dragon Bash enemies, but have better chances at rare items.
• The Dragon Bash Mini Pack is now available in the Minis category of the Gem Store for 500 gems. The Dragon Bash Mini Pack contains three exclusive holographic minis to commemorate the Dragon Bash festival. If you place all three minis from the Dragon Bash Mini Pack in the Mystic Forge along with the Mini Holographic Risen Knight (which can be obtained from either Rich Dragon Coffers or Dragon Coffers), you will receive a Mini Holographic Colossus.
• Polla, Biviane’s doll, is now available in the Upgrades category of the Gem Store. This special doll commemorating Cobiah’s sister can be equipped in the accessory slot and is available for free to all players.
• Named after Lion’s Arch’s founder, Cobiah Marriner, the Marriner’s Horn is a permanent instrument themed for spreading festive tunes.

Hello, fellow Dragon Bashers! Want to know where to go and how to get started with the celebration? Read on!

• Spoiler-Free Mini Guide
• Spoiler-Free New Items and Rewards
• Spoiler-Free New Achievements

Spoiler-Free Mini Guide

Starting Tuesday, June 11:

• Upon logging into Guild Wars 2, you’ll receive a mail from your racial iconic mentor directing you to check out the Dragon Bash festivities in Lion’s Arch and to speak with the Captain’s Council gathered in the Grand Piazza. Heralds will also be around to point you in the proper direction.
• Once in Lion’s Arch, you’ll see Captain Magnus marked on your map with a yellow star icon, which is what we use to denote Living World content. Talk with him and the other members of the Captain’s Council to finish the Meet the Hosts achievement. They will direct you to all of the Dragon Bash activities.
• In every major city, you can bash dragon piñatas to get Zhaitaffy candy. Bash enough piñatas and you’ll earn the Paper Dragon achievement. Eating the candy dropped from piñatas will progress the Zhaitasty achievement track.
• You can also find firework mortars along the beaches and cliff edges of Lion’s Arch. Use these consumable items to progress the Color the Sky achievement.

  

• To enter the Player vs. Player activity of Dragon Ball arena, talk to Finolla in the Mystic Plaza. This is a team competition where players use dragon skills to defeat the opposing team and reach 500 points first.
  • Run over the jump pad in the starting area to bounce into the arena.
  • Pick up new dragon skills by running over them. One of the skills will enhance your default dragon ball skill.
  • There is no falling damage in the arena, and you’ll find that you run faster than normal. You can restore health by touching the blue ankh power-ups in the map. Power-ups of different sizes grant different amounts of healing.
  • On the suspended platform at the top of the arena, there is an invisibility power-up.
  • Atop the middle rock outcrop in the middle of the pit is the deadly Dragon Damage power-up.
  • The winning team is awarded a Dragon Coffer, while the losing team gets a piece of Zhaitaffy. Play games to advance the Dragon Ball Devotee achievement, and win games for the Dragon Ball Boss achievement.
• If you head to Farshore Ward and talk with Tigg, you can bet on moa. Betting on each race costs 50 silver. Four regular moas and one of three mystery moas will race around the track. Betting on the first place moa will win you seven vouchers and progress toward the Winner’s Circle achievement, second place wins three vouchers, and third place wins one voucher. Vouchers can be redeemed with the merchant next to Tigg. During Dragon Bash, you can buy a Mini Helmed Moa Racer with your winnings.
• Out in the explorable areas, there are holo-projectors that will spawn holographic dragon minions for you to fight. Defeating these holograms will often earn you a Dragon Coffer. Not only will you work towards the So Lifelike achievement, the Coffer itself has a chance for Zhaitaffy and fireworks, with a very rare chance for a Holographic Risen Knight mini or a ticket for Dragon’s Jade weapon skins.

  

Available Friday June 14 to Monday June 17

• A grand fireworks show will repeat every two hours during the first weekend of Dragon Bash, from 9AM on Friday June 14 to 12PM on Monday June 17. Watch fireworks pelt the Holographic Shatterer Dragon over the skies of Lion’s Arch. Players who attend the finale will receive one Horns of the Dragon helm of each armor class.

New Items and Rewards

Besides the aforementioned Horns of the Dragon helm given to attendees of the Dragon Bash Fireworks show, there are new items and rewards.

• Be sure to pick up your free Polla doll from the Black Lion Trading Post. This free accessory item was the good luck charm for Cobiah Marriner, the founder of Lion’s Arch.
• Zhaitaffy will rain from bashed dragon piñatas and will grant sugar rush.
• Dragon Coffers have a chance to drop in all world loot. These festive boxes can contain Zhaitaffy, fireworks, and a very rare chance for a Holographic Risen Knight mini, a ticket for Dragon’s Jade weapon skins, or the Holographic Dragon Wings back item skin.
• Rich Dragon Coffers have greater chances for the rare Dragon Coffer drops.
• The Holographic Risen Knight mini can be thrown in the Mystic Forge along with the three minis from the Dragon Bash Mini Pack to create a special Holographic Colossus mini.
• Winning enough tickets in Moa Racing will allow you to redeem them for the Dragon Bash Moa Racer Minipet.
• Finishing the meta-achievement, The Dragon Bash Experience, will award players with the Holographic Shattered Dragon Wings back item skin. These projected wings will draw the praise of fellow dragon bashers.

New Achievements

With the June 11 release, eight new Dragon Bash achievements are available, in addition to the The Dragon Bash Experience meta-achievement, which requires 10 of the possible 14 achievements to complete.

Over the next two weeks, two more festival achievements will become obtainable, The Big Boom in the Big City for attending the fireworks show and Burn Down the Dragons for burning effigies. Additionally, four story achievements for Dragon Bash will become available.

Dragon Bash is almost here! We made some real-world versions of the dragon piñatas you’ll find in Guild Wars 2 tomorrow and shared them with our friends at various gaming sites for their very own Dragon Bash. Everyone filmed the bashing, and the results were as epic as they were varied. Thanks to everyone for sharing their videos, and we’ll see you tomorrow at Dragon Bash!

• Curse: Dragon Bash – Guild Wars 2 Festival
• MMOHuts: MMOHut Slays a Dragon – Guild Wars 2 Dragon Bash Event
• MMORPG: Celebrating Dragon Bash with Piñata-Slaying Epicness
• Massively: Guild Wars 2 Celebrates Dragon Bash Festival by Giving Us Stuff to Break
• Ten Ton Hammer: Dragon Bashing, Ten Ton Hammer style
• Buffed: buffed kloppt Pinata zum Drachengepolter-Festival im Video – Monty Python lassen grüßen!
• Power Unlimited: PU Live Gemist: de E3, Mario Picross en een kapotte Piñata
• 4gamers: Rude de Draak slachtoffer van Yoni de Hooligan

Hello! I’m Allie Murdock, the PvP Community Coordinator here at ArenaNet. With the beta release of Custom Arenas and Spectator Mode, we’ve seen a huge amount of tournaments spring up; many with great quality shoutcasting. It’s truly been a blast to listen to these Guild Wars 2 PvP shoutcasts, and that positive experience is one we will help perpetuate with our new Authorized Shoutcaster Program.

In the Guild Wars 2 Authorized Shoutcaster Program, when highly rated teams are matched-up in rated play, authorized shoutcasters will receive a notification and be allowed to enter that match as a live spectator to bring you all the action. Since the shoutcasters will be watching the matches live, their video streams will be delayed so that it doesn’t impact the results of the match.

In addition to being given the special privilege of entering into rated play, authorized shoutcasters will be given a Custom Arena to assist them in hosting matches and or creating their own shows.

The first set of authorized shoutcasters was selected based on their contributions to the PvP community via shoutcasting and a current list can be found on the Guild Wars 2 forums.

We’re all really excited about the Authorized Shoutcaster Program and its potential to highlight the best PvP players and their strategies. We’re always on the lookout for talented new shoutcasters to help entertain and educate new and professional players alike. If you’re interested in participating in the program, start shoutcasting, post a link to your live stream on the forums, and if we like what we see, we’ll contact you!

Thanks, and we’ll see you in-game!