12/15/2020—December 15 Release Notes

Wintersday

Come join us in celebrating Wintersday—Toymaker Tixx has made his annual visit to Divinity’s Reach to spread seasonal cheer and festivity! Bring the cheer of Wintersday to the distant north in the Secret Lair of the Snowmen, complete daily achievements to earn fanciful holiday weapons, save Wintersday for the orphans around Divinity’s Reach by giving them wrapped gifts, and test your snow-throwing skills against other players in Snowball Mayhem. You can also experience the joy of jumping in Winter Wonderland, defend against waves of toys in Toypocalypse, and help keep Tixx’s airship, the Infinirarium, in order! Keep an eye out for Wintersday Gifts appearing all around Tyria, too.

• The Wintersday annual meta-achievement, Wintersday Traditions, has been updated with a new armor reward: the Festive Winter Hood! Keep your head warm while enjoying the wintry fun. Last year’s meta-achievement reward, the Festive Sweater, can now be purchased from festival rewards vendors.
• A new weapon set upgrade is now available! If you have added Wrapped weapons to your wardrobe by completing Wintersday daily achievements, speak with the festival rewards Charity Corp Seraph in Divinity’s Reach to trade your precious Snow Diamonds for cheerful Sparkling Wrapped weaponry!
• Wintersday toymakers have completed their line of Candy Cane weaponry. The full Candy Cane weapon set is now available as a rare prize from Wintersday Gifts, and the minty Wintergreen variant is available from the final chest in the Secret Lair of the Snowmen.
• New winter-themed guild decorations have been added.
• A number of festival-related bugs have been fixed to ensure a happy holiday for all heroes.

Wintersday will be active until January 5 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-8). See you in Divinity’s Reach!

Living World

• Fixed a bug in which the final boss music would not play in the Metrica Province Dragon Response Mission.

General

• Added local and nonlocal versions to the sound effect for leveling up. Players will continue to hear their own level-up sound the same as before, but the sound of another player leveling up will be much quieter.

Structured Player vs. Player

The antihealing effect used in overtime in Team Deathmatch maps has been adjusted slightly in preparation for future mini-seasons:

• Any active barrier is now removed when overtime begins.
• Any barrier applied during overtime is now instantly removed.
• Illusion of Life and the self-revive component of the Glyph of Renewal (Fire) no longer revive players during overtime.

BLACK LION TRADING COMPANY GEM STORE

New Items and Promotions

• For a limited time, the new Shimmering Aurora Weapon Collection is available from Black Lion Weapons Specialists for 1 Black Lion Claim Ticket per weapon. Tickets can be found in Black Lion Chests. Keys are available in the Utility category of the Gem Store for 125 gems each.
• The Customer Appreciation Package, with one Black Lion Chest and one Black Lion Chest Key, returns for the anniversary at no cost for one week only. Limit one per account. This is not available to players with Play for Free accounts.
• The new Plush Griffon Skin is available in the Style category of the Gem Store for 1,600 gems.
• For a limited time, the Wintersday Wreath Backpack is available on sale in the Style category of the Gem Store for 300 gems, a savings of 40%.
• For a limited time, the Snowflake Gobbler Pack is available in the Utility category of the Gem Store for 400 gems.
• For a limited time, the Season 1 Memory Box—Flame and Festivals and Season 1 Memory Box—Scarlet vs. Lion’s Arch are available in the Utility category of the Gem Store for 200 gems each.

Black Lion Chest

• The Black Lion Chest has been updated to the Shimmering Aurora Chest and can be previewed for a full list of its contents.
  • The Evon Gnashblade Wintersday Gift returns as the guaranteed item for the duration of the Shimmering Aurora Chest.
  • The new Shimmering Aurora Cape and Glider Combo and the Plush Griffon Skin are available as uncommon drops for the duration of this chest.
  • The Vermilion Blaze Greatsword Skin remains in the chest as an uncommon drop for the duration of this chest.
  • The Daydreamer’s and Winter’s Weapon Collections are available for the duration of this chest.
  • Unused versions of the Glyph of Bounty and Glyph of the Scavenger are available as rare drops for the duration of this chest.
• The items available in exchange for Black Lion Statuettes have been updated. Black Lion Statuettes are redeemable by using the statuette itself or by redeeming one at any of the Black Lion Chest Merchants located in every major city.
  • The exclusive Thunderhorse Staff Skin, Watchwork Wings Package, Infinirarium Glider, and Mini Cozy Wintersday Mounts Pack are currently available.
  • The bonus collection has been updated to a selection of weapon skins including but not limited to the Chain-Whip Sword Skin, the Amethyst Aegis, and the Storm Bow.

Source: Guild Wars 2 Official Forums