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<h3>Regal Moth Skyscale Skin</h3>
<p>Stumble your way into an enchanted glade where loving, mothlike skyscales dwell; their fluffy necks and amicable sweetness will make your heart swell with happiness. Just be sure to steer them away from open flames! The Regal Moth Skyscale Skin is now available in the Gem Store for 1,600 gems.</p>
<h3>Black Lion Chest Update: Arcane Feathers</h3>
<p>Inside each chest, you’re guaranteed to find a redeemable Black Lion Statuette, a Mini Yellow Jackal Pup, and two common items. You also have a chance to find something rarer in the fifth slot, including special items, glyphs, and skins from the Red Crane Weapon Collection and the Magical Weapon Collection.</p>
<p><strong>Exclusive Item: Arcane Sigil Backpack and Glider Combo</strong></p>
<p>Arcane rings radiate with power; control the weave of magic around you with your psionic dexterity. This sorcerous combo item contains skins for your backpack and glider!</p>
<p class="screenshot"><a href="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/125edRegalMoth-1920X1080-BlogAlt.jpg"><img src="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/125edRegalMoth-1920X1080-BlogAlt.jpg" alt="A dark, hooded figure floats on top of a glider made of magical purple runes" width="590" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-50957" /></a></p>
<h3>What’s in Stock</h3>
<p>Starting on January 12 and over the next few days, we’re refreshing our seasonal selection of gathering tools with a 20% discount. The incredible discounted items will include the Fused Molten Logging Axe, Fused Molten Sickle, Butterfly Harvesting Flute, Firefly Mining Flute, Infinite Vermillion Gathering Tools, and many more!</p>
<p><strong>Returning This Week</strong></p>
<p>Bank Tab Expansions and permanent lounge passes are 20% off until January 23. Grab these hot deals while they last!</p>
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<h3>Available Now in the Gem Store!</h3>
<p>Log into <em>Guild Wars 2</em> and press 'O' to access the Black Lion Trading Company for these great offers and more!</p>
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<h3>Giant Folding Fan Backpack and Glider Combo</h3>
<p>The dream of incarnadine autumn is eternal. Glide through the canopies of Tyria followed by a beautiful trail of maple leaves. When not in use, this elegant glider folds up neatly and can be stored on your back.</p>
<h3>Welcome Pack and Elite Jump-Start Package</h3>
<p>These bundles are the perfect way to give your adventures a kick-start, and they are both 20% off until January 1. The <em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2&reg;</em> Welcome Pack includes two Bag Slot Expansions, two 20 Slot Black Lion Satchels, five Experience Boosters, and ten Account-Bound Unidentified Dyes. This package is normally 800 gems, but with the 20% discount you can get this bundle now for only 640 gems!</p>
<p>The <em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2</em> Elite Jump-Start Package is currently priced at 1920 gems (normally 2400 gems) and includes the following items: Copper-Fed Salvage-o-Matic, Shared Inventory Slot, Unbreakable Gathering Tools Container, Character Slot Expansion, and Royal Terrace Pass. That’s over 5500 gems in value!</p>
<p class="screenshot"><a href="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/0f5dcFolding-Fan-AltBlog.jpg"><img src="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/0f5dcFolding-Fan-AltBlog.jpg" alt="A hero from Tyria gliding in the air while standing on a giant white folding fan adorned with red maple leaves. The fan has golden accents, and a trail of leaves can be seen behind it." width="590" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-50957" /></a></p>
<h3>What’s in Stock</h3>
<p>We’re refreshing our seasonal selection of gliders and backpack-and-glider combos with a 20% discount until January 12. The incredible discounted items include the Frostfire Glider, Fox Spirit Glider, Sylph Wings Backpack and Glider Combo, Cryomancer Glider, and many more!</p>
<h3>Black Lion Wintersday Sale</h3>
<p>We’re in the final week of our major Gem Store sale with scads of items returning to the shop at a 20% discount! If you’ve been waiting for your favorite skiff skin or outfit to return to the store, be sure to grab it before this sale ends on January 1. Happy holidays!</p>
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<h3>Available Now in the Gem Store!</h3>
<p>Log into <em>Guild Wars 2</em> and press 'O' to access the Black Lion Trading Company for these great offers and more!</p>
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<p>Hey, Guild Wars community,</p>
<p>I’m Josh Davis, Game Director for <em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2&reg;</em>. Before we close up shop for the studio’s annual holiday break, I’d like to take a moment to express my deepest appreciation to you for making this another great year. The team and I couldn’t be more grateful for your passion and ongoing support.</p>
<p>In August, alongside our 11th anniversary, we launched <em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2:&nbsp;Secrets&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Obscure&trade;</em>. This brought some long-overdue changes to how we develop and release expansion content. These changes, born from our desire to better serve our players, involve adopting a more consistent release cadence and eliminating extended content droughts. This new approach not only ensures a more predictable development cycle but also allows us to make strides toward improving work/life balance for our developers.</p>
<p>Big changes like this are just as nerve-racking for us as they are for you, but it’s safe to say that we’re breathing a lot easier these days. I’m incredibly proud of what the team delivered with <em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2:&nbsp;Secrets&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Obscure</em>. In addition to being a great content update, it was also a financial success for us. Given the uncertainty in the economy as a whole and the gaming industry in particular right now, we’re feeling very blessed and grateful to our fans for the level of stability we’ve been able to maintain through this change.</p>
<p class="screenshot"><a href="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/597c3gw2-ex4-soto-merry-kryptis-full-sizerun-peitha-1920x1080.jpg"><img src="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/597c3gw2-ex4-soto-merry-kryptis-full-sizerun-peitha-1920x1080.jpg" alt="Peitha wishing everyone happy holidays" width="590" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-50957" /></a></p>
<p>Another benefit of our new expansion model is that we’re able to take a much more proactive and long-term approach to planning, which has been challenging to do since 2019. We’ve been able to apply a lot of the lessons we’ve learned to our fifth expansion in very meaningful ways&mdash;lessons that impact both the developer and player experiences. Additionally, not only is the fifth expansion in active development, but we’re also already having conversations about what comes after that! We’re not ready to share any new details today, but what I can say is that we have plenty of thrilling adventures, captivating stories, and exciting updates ahead of us. We can’t wait to embark on this next chapter with you next year! </p>
<p>But first, we have two major updates for <em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2:&nbsp;Secrets&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Obscure</em> coming in the first half of next year. In February, you’ll get new story chapters, the Temple of Febe Strike Mission challenge mode, nine new weapon proficiencies, the ability to unlock new legendary armor, a Wizard’s Vault reward refresh, and more. We’ll also be running a World vs. World Restructuring Beta event from January 12 until February 2. You’ll hear more about these updates early next year on the forums and in our blogs.</p>
<p>Before we sign off for the holidays, please enjoy this musical <em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2:&nbsp;Secrets&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Obscure</em> interlude composed and performed by one of our amazing coworkers, Paul Kwinn, to celebrate the release of the expansion earlier this year.</p>
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<p><strong>Thank You, adventurers!</strong></p>
<p>Whether you’ve been with us since the beginning or joined the adventure more recently, know that you are an integral part of this incredible journey, and we are honored to have you by our side. Your passion, boundless creativity, and unwavering support are the pillars upon which this community stands.</p>
<p>On behalf of the entire ArenaNet team, thank you for being the heart and soul of <em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2</em>. We’ll see you in 2024.</p>
<p>Happy Wintersday,</p>
<p>Josh Davis, Game Director</p>

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Celebrate the Wintersday spirit and treat your friends and family—or yourself—to the gift of Guild Wars 2®. Our first three expansions, Guild Wars 2—The Complete Collection, and the Elder Dragon Saga Collection are all heavily discounted from now until January 4, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8).

In addition to our time-limited discounts, there’s also a new option available for gem increments. Starting today, the web and in-game stores offer gem packages of 400 for .00!

The following discounted items are available now on the official Guild Wars 2 website, with similar deals on Steam!

Guild Wars 2—The Elder Dragon Saga Complete Collection

Experience the entire dragon cycle saga from beginning to end with Guild Wars 2—The Complete Collection. This bundle contains an entire decade’s worth of content! Included are Guild Wars 2 Living World® Seasons 2–5 and the first three expansions: Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns®, Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire®, and Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons®.

If you haven’t already purchased one of the expansions in the collection, you’ll also get two Level-80 Boosts, allowing you instantly level up two characters and jump straight into our latest content, with two Shared Inventory Slots to easily share items with every character on your account. Players who already own one or both expansion products will have already received the associated Shared Inventory Slots and Level-80 Boosts at the time of first purchase.

This collection is available now at a 50% discount until January 4. For players only interested in the expansions, the Standard and Deluxe editions of the Elder Dragon Saga Collection are discounted by 60%.

Expansions 1 and 2—Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns and Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire

Unlock mounts, gliding, and more with the first two expansions for Guild Wars 2. This package grants you access to a new profession, the revenant, as well as eighteen elite specializations to change the way you play. Experience the joy of movement with the best mounts in MMOs.

This expansion bundle is available now at a 75% discount!

Expansion 3: Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons

The future of Cantha is now. The dragon cycle that has sustained and blighted Tyria for ages is collapsing. Mortal hearts and choices will define this moment in history—and echo in the future forever. Unlock new elite specializations, Masteries, and more, including access to fishing and skiffs.

The Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons expansion is available now at a 50% discount!

Our expansion sales are also available from the following third-party retailers:

Americas:

• Amazon
• Steam
• Nuuvem
• Hype Games (Brazil)

Europe:

• CDgalaxis (Hungary)
• Gameliebe (Germany)
• Gamecardsdirect (EUROPE)
• Gamecardsdirect (France)
• Gamecardsdirect (Netherlands)
• Key4you (Czech)

The ward set up camp with the greatest of care,
In hopes that the wayfinder soon would be there.

We ran straight to the gate, tied up Heitor in knots,
And began to celebrate and count congealed clots!

Then we heard Peitha exclaim, as she strode out of sight,
‘Happy Kryptis to all, and to all a good night!'”

The holiday season is in full swing in Tyria as our annual Wintersday festival has officially begun! You’ll have three merry weeks (until January 2) to participate in your favorite wintry activities and collect the new seasonal rewards. Check out the full release notes for all the details.

This festival is accessible to players of any level, so even if you’re brand new to the game, you can head over to Divinity’s Reach and take part in our Wintersday activities!

Wintersday activities award Wintersday Gifts containing an assortment of holiday treats and surprises. Festival currency includes snowflakes, snow diamonds, and karma, which you can exchange for minis, new Wintersday-themed guild hall decorations, recipes, tonics, and more. The new Mini Plush Cuckoo is simply adorable!

Complete Wintersday achievements and you will be rewarded with a choice of weapons from the Sacred Solstice collection and a Winter Fur Shoulders skin to keep you warm on those frigid nights. There are also three Ornamented weapons (staff, shield, and focus), which can be found by opening Wintersday gifts or purchased from a vendor. You’ll find more information on the Wintersday achievements and their rewards in your Hero panel under the Daily and Festivals categories.

The Wizard’s Vault also has new special objectives directing you toward all sorts of Wintersday activities. Earn that astral acclaim and collect your rewards!

Divinity’s Reach is the hub for Wintersday festivities. Check your mail for a letter from Tixx containing an Invitation to Wintersday, which you can use to travel instantly to Divinity’s Reach. Portals leading to Divinity’s Reach will also be available in Lion’s Arch, the Black Citadel, Hoelbrak, Rata Sum, and the Grove.

Visit locations marked by peppermint candies on your map to participate in Wintersday activities. Don’t forget to visit Wintersday trees and Toymaker Tixx himself each day to collect gifts.

You’ll also receive a letter from Orphan Laine, who needs your help with a scavenger hunt. The hunt will require you to travel to some areas intended for level 80 players, but once you’ve unlocked it you can complete it at any time, even after Wintersday ends.

For the duration of the festival, massive Mysterious Presents will appear in the open world in Central Tyria maps. They explode when unwrapped, so take care! Fight off hostile skritt and collect the Wintersday Gifts that fall out.

Speak to the Bell Maestro near the Royal Terrace in Divinity’s reach to enter the Enchanted Snow Globe and take part in the bell choir ensemble! In this rhythm game, work together with your fellow Tyrians to reproduce songs from Guild Wars 2® and earn karma, Wintersday Gifts, and more!

Speak with the Charity Corps Seraph in the Crown Pavilion to purchase Rolls of Wrapping Paper. These rolls can be combined with various items earned from Wintersday activities to create Wrapped Gifts. Give these gifts to orphans throughout Divinity’s Reach and get some well-earned karma for your good deeds.

Race around Divinity’s Reach! You don’t need to have any mounts unlocked to take place in this race—a nearby rental service is available to rent a raptor for just 10 silver.

Use a unique set of snow-themed skills to defeat other players in this capture-the-flag-style game mode! Speak with the Festive Lionguard near the Royal Terrace in Divinity’s Reach to enter, then choose from three professions: supporter, heavy gunner, or scout. The first team to bring 500 points worth of Wintersday Gifts back to their base wins!

This content has no level requirement and can be enjoyed by players of all skill levels.

Enter the portal southwest of the Crown Pavilion to take on the legendary Freezie! Form a squad of up to 10 players and mend Freezie’s frozen heart. This content is exclusively available to players who have reached level 80.

Enter Toymaker Tixx’s airship from the candy cane portal just west of the Crown Pavilion to assist the asuran craftsman in producing enough Wintersday presents for every resident of Tyria. Take on the haywire machinery and malfunctioning toys throughout the workshop with a party of up to 5 players. This Wintersday-exclusive dungeon is accessible to players of any level and will dynamically adjust your attributes to those of a level 80 player if you are below that level.

Defend the gift dolyaks from Tixx’s malfunctioning toys! Speak to the Toy Captain just south of the Crown Pavilion in Divinity’s Reach to enter this tower-defense-style game mode with a party of up to 5 players. This Wintersday-exclusive activity is accessible to players of any level and will dynamically adjust your attributes to those of a level 80 player if you are below that level.

Jumping puzzle lovers rejoice! Dodge exploding Wintersday gifts and jump across giant melting snowflakes in this holiday-themed jumping puzzle. Speak to the Festive Youth at the Crown Pavilion to enter the Winter Wonderland and take on one of three available paths through the snow, each offering its own difficulty. This content is available to players of any level.

Greetings, Tyrians!

For the past few weeks, we’ve been teasing information about our expanded weapon proficiency feature, which will be arriving early next year for everyone who owns Guild Wars 2™ : Secrets of the Obscure™. Each of our nine professions will have access to at least one new weapon and a smattering of new skills, which you can preview today!

The Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta event begins today and runs until 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) on December 3. Please keep in mind that since this is a beta test, there will be placeholder UI, art, and audio for some of the weapon skills.

Today we have also introduced a host of balance updates for all of the professions, which you can read all about in our update notes.

Every Guild Wars 2 account in good standing, including Play-for-Free accounts, will automatically get character slots marked “Beta” when the beta event begins. Clicking on one of these slots will allow you to create a character using any of the nine Guild Wars 2 professions.

From there, explore the open world or try a game mode dedicated to group play. You’ll find options to join World vs. World and structured Player vs. Player in the bar located at the top-left corner of your UI. To tackle the Fractals of the Mists instanced group content, visit Fort Marriner in Lion’s Arch and enter the portal.

Please note that the beta characters will disappear on December 3 at 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) at the end of the event, and any gameplay progress earned while playing on them—including rewards and currency—will not be saved.

We’ve created a thread in each profession’s subforum for feedback from this beta. After you’ve had a chance to play, we’d like to hear what you think—what you enjoyed, what you think could be improved, and what you liked or disliked about the beta. Please visit the threads for elementalist, engineer, guardian, mesmer, necromancer, ranger, thief, revenant, and warrior to share your feedback.

Here is a handy list of the new weapons you can try out in the beta event. These will be fully released when the second major update for Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure goes live early next year. Click the links below if you missed any of our recent expanded weapon proficiency preview blogs:

• Guardian: Pistol (main and off hand)
• Revenant: Scepter (main hand)
• Warrior: Staff
• Engineer: Short bow
• Ranger: Mace (main and off hand)
• Thief: Axe (main hand)
• Elementalist: Pistol (main hand)
• Mesmer: Rifle
• Necromancer: Sword (main and off hand)

Until next time: be safe, have fun, and game on!

<p>Greetings, gamers! My name is Taylor Brooks, and I am a designer on the Skills and Balance Team here at ArenaNet. I hope you are all hungry for another look at a new weapon, because today I’ll be giving you a taste of necromancer swords!</p>
<p>Expanded weapon proficiencies are coming in 2024 during the second major update for <em>Guild&nbsp;Wars&nbsp;2:&nbsp;Secrets&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Obscure&trade;</em>, bringing a new weapon and skills for each profession. Don’t forget that you’ll be able to try out all these new skills, along with the new weapons for other professions, during our Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta event, starting on November 28 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8).</p>
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<h3>Insatiable Appetites</h3>
<p>Necromancer sword skills focus on dealing powerful strike damage in an area while consuming enemies’ vital energy to sustain the wielder. The main-hand sword skill 3, Path of Gluttony, will allow the necromancer to leap to their enemy, healing themselves for each enemy struck. Hungering Maelstrom, off-hand sword skill 4, will damage and steal health from enemies in a targeted area.</p>
<p>With so much healing, a necromancer might find themselves with a surplus of health! Luckily, their swords always hunger. Each sword skill has a secondary ability that can be activated by sacrificing health to sate your swords. Path of Gluttony can be reactivated to cast Gorge. You leap again, repeating the effects of the first leap while also corrupting boons on enemies struck. Hungering Maelstrom’s reactivation is Gormandize. Gormandize will damage and chill enemies struck by Hungering Maelstrom. </p>
<p class="screenshot"><a href="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/03b79NecroSwords-Blog.jpg"><img src="//d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/03b79NecroSwords-Blog.jpg" alt="A necromancer wielding two swords" width="590" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-50957" /></a></p>
<p>Necromancer swords will allow you to sustain yourself through fights while also increasing your offensive capabilities at the price of your own health. Will the risk be worth the reward, or will you find yourself eaten alive?</p>
<p>As mentioned above, you’ll be able to try out all of the upcoming new weapon and profession combos during the Expanded Weapon Proficiency beta event starting at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) on November 28 and ending at 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8) on December 3. <strong>Please note that since this is a beta test, there will be placeholder UI, art, and audio assets for some of the weapon skills.</strong> Be sure to tune in to the Expanded Weapon Proficiency preview <a target="_blank" href="http://www.twitch.tv...>livestream</a>on November 27 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-8) to get a more in-depth look at all the new weapons.</p>

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