Game Update Notes - February 23, 2016

Game Update Notes - February 23, 2016

in Game Release Notes

Posted by: Gaile Gray

Gaile Gray

ArenaNet Communications Manager

Next

BALANCE, BUG-FIXING, POLISH

World Polish

  • Iron Marches
    • Fixed a bug that caused the “Protect Sentinel Whiptail while he finds and tames a siege devourer” event to stall.

Graphics

  • Fixed an issue in which light adaptation stopped working when the player started or stopped swimming.
  • Fixed an issue in which certain norn male hair accessories lost their color settings.

Personal Story

  • Fixed a bug in “The Dredge Hideout” story step that prevented Agent Ifwyn from completing the “Speak to the order reps” objective.

Items

  • Runes and Sigils: Fixed a bug that caused some rune and armor activations to fail when airborne or underwater.
  • Meteorlogicus III—Grawl Devotion: Fixed a bug that would cause the “Escort the Order of Whispers team to the grawl camp” event to stall.
  • Nevermore IV—Bring the Ancient Dwarven Texts to Rest: Fixed a bug that allowed this collectible to be collected before completing “Ancient Dwarven Texts.”
  • Nevermore: Fixed an issue that would cause Scholar Mossi to attempt to take more obsidian than she needed.

Profession Skills

General

Elementalist

  • Flame Burst: Fixed a bug that caused this skill to go on interrupt recharge if it was attempted on an enemy outside the max range of the skill.
  • Cyclone: Removed the erroneous unblockable skill fact.
  • Water Globe: Removed the unblockable skill fact from this ability, as this is a skill fact that’s normally reserved for abilities with attacks. Added a water-combo skill fact.

Engineer

  • Final Salvo: Updated skill facts to remove stability from gyro self-destruct skills.
  • Thunderclap: Updated the area-of-effect rings to show combo rings to allies and red rings to enemies.

Guardian

  • Shield of Courage: Fixed a bug that prevented aegis from refreshing when it was stolen by a thief using the Bountiful Theft trait.
  • Symbol of Energy: Updated this ability to display a red ring to enemies rather than a combo ring.
  • Hunter’s Determination: Updated the initial aegis application to last the full 8 seconds as indicated in the skill fact.

Ranger

  • Wilting Strike: Fixed a bug that prevented this trait from functioning with Heart of Thorns pets.
  • Companion’s Might: Fixed a bug that prevented this trait from functioning with Heart of Thorns pets.
  • Primal Echoes: Fixed a bug in the skill fact that indicated an incorrect duration when using the Moment of Clarity trait.
  • Astral force is now cleared at the beginning of a PvP match.

Revenant

  • Elemental Blast: Updated this skill to properly display its red circle to enemies.
  • Energy Expulsion: Updated this skill to create an extra energy fragment when using the Natural Abundance trait.
  • Soothing Bastion: Fixed a bug that prevented this trait from properly extending boon durations.
  • Embrace the Darkness: This skill will now deliver an attack instead of piercing all defenses. The skill remains unblockable and will ignore blindness, but it will no longer pierce evasion.
  • Diabolic Inferno: This skill will now deliver an attack instead of piercing all defenses. The skill remains unblockable and will ignore blindness, but it will no longer pierce evasion.

Thief

  • Impairing Daggers: Fixed a bug that prevented this ability from functioning as a projectile finisher.
  • Pistol Whip: Fixed a bug that caused this ability to display incorrect damage values in PvP. The initial strike of this ability has been combined between PvP and PvE (dealing the PvE damage values) and will no longer deal increased damage to crippled enemies.

Warrior

  • Brutal Shot: Fixed a bug that prevented the roll-back portion of this skill from functioning if the player was in midair. Fixed a bug that prevented the audio of this ability from playing.

Structured Player vs. Player

General

  • Reward track progress that extends past the end of the current track wraps into the next available track.
  • Added standard enemy models for the revenant profession.
  • Added a revenant sparring partner to the combat training area in the Heart of the Mists.
  • Updated matchmaking to prevent a full party from facing a team of individual players.
  • Updated matchmaking to lower the average queue times.
  • Fixed an issue with the trebuchet on the Battle of Khylo map that didn’t inform players when a trebuchet was targeting their location.

PvP Leagues

  • The PvP Leagues term “points” has been replaced with “pips.”
  • All match victories now only result in a one-pip gain.
  • All match defeats now only result in a one-pip loss.
  • Added a postmatch pip breakdown that explains how and why players gain or lose pips in each match.
  • Added a win-streak mechanic that awards players with an extra pip for each subsequent win after 3 consecutive wins.
  • Added a comeback mechanic that awards players with an extra pip on their next win after losing 3 (or more) consecutive matches.
  • Changed the size of Amber division tiers from 5 pips to 3 pips each.
  • Changed the number of tiers in Amber division from 3 to 5.
  • Changed the size of Emerald division tiers from 5 pips to 4 pips each.

Daily Achievement Adjustment

  • Daily PvP Capture and Daily PvP Defender have been removed from the daily rotation.
  • Daily Top Stats and Daily PvP Matches Played in Unranked or Ranked Arena have been added to the daily rotation.

World vs. World

General

  • The score tick countdown timer in the top-middle of the screen is no longer 1 minute ahead in WvW maps.

Eternal Battlegrounds

  • The asura gates leading to other WvW maps now function properly again.
  • Lowlands Keep: Removed the hostile drakes that sometimes caused the keep to become contested.
  • Stonemist Castle: Shifted a mortar on the outer southern walls off a breakable wall so it would not be floating in the air when the wall beneath it was destroyed.
  • Klovan Gully: The blue team “Defend Klovan Gully” event no longer displays an erroneous 0/1 event objective.
  • Langor Gulch: The green team “Defend Langor Gulch” event no longer displays an erroneous 0/1 event objective.

Guild

  • Griffon Fountain and Lion Fountain guild hall decorations now have collision.

BLACK LION TRADING COMPANY GEM STORE

New Items and Promotions

  • A new Electromagnetic-Descender Glider is now available in the Upgrades category of the Gem Store for 400 gems.
  • A new Crystal Savant Outfit is now available in the Style category of the Gem Store for 700 gems.
  • Belinda’s Greatsword Skin has returned to the Gem Store for a limited time. It’s available for purchase in the Style category for 600 gems.

Improvements

  • The Captain’s Airship Pass and Royal Terrace Pass can now be used from the PvP lobby, WvW, dungeons, and raids. Using these passes will cause you to lose your progress in those instances.
Gaile Gray
Communications Manager
Guild & Fansite Relations; In-Game Events
ArenaNet

(edited by Gaile Gray.6029)

Game Update Notes - February 23, 2016

in Game Release Notes

Posted by: Mark Katzbach

Previous

Mark Katzbach

Content Marketing Manager

Bug Fixes:

  • Removed two amulets from PvP, the Vigilant Amulet and Crusader Amulet.
  • Fixed a client crash.
  • Fixed a server crash.
  • Fixed a bug in which the player’s position would not save correctly when players transitioned between map versions or logged out.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented LFG descriptions from being updated on initial posting.
  • Fixed a bug that caused the LFG search bar to overlap the Refresh button.

Late Notes:

World Polish
Southsun Cove

  • The “Reclaim the settlement by burning out the karka nests” event now broadcasts correctly to the area indicated by the world map event circle.

Fireheart Rise

  • Fixed a bug that blocked progress in the “Defeat Scaldmaw of the Flame Legion to gain the help of the grawl” event.

Dry Top

  • Rare boss events have had their spawn cycle updated.
    • Five minutes into each dust storm, one of the rare bosses will spawn with a map-wide marker.
    • The five bosses spawn one at a time in a set, repeating the rotation of Sol Eater, Sand Savage, Bloodscale, Grit, and Dune Soarer.

Profession Skills
Ranger

  • Spike Barrage (Bristleback Pet F2 skill): Reduced the damage of this skill by 25%.

Necromancer—Reaper

  • Deathly Chill: Reduced the condition damage multiplier for this trait by 15%.