Guild Wars 2 update dispenses with treats, focuses on Blood & Madness

Next up on the ever whirring Guild Wars 2 update conveyor belt: Blood & Madness. It's a seasonal update, which means either we've nearly arrived at Halloween, or that Canadian Thanksgiving is scheduled to take a dark turn. Perhaps silly, more than dark, with an update announcement page that makes mention of, among other things, the Grand High Viscount of Candy Corn and the Candy Corn Elementals. Good name for a band, that.

Planned events for this update include a face off against Bloody Prince Edrick, the appearance of Mad Realm Doors, the challenge of the Mad King's Labyrinth, and the return of the Mad King's Clocktower. And if you were thinking ArenaNet couldn't extend the update's regressive mental health theme any more, there's also the Lunatic Inquisition, a PvP survival mode between teams of villagers and "lunatic couriers".

As always, the update also tightens up some of the MMOs looser areas. This time, combat ground targeting is getting some attention, along with tooltips for traits and skills. ArenaNet are also taking another balance pass on skills and traits, this time with an eye to helping support builds.

Blood & Madness will begin on October 15th.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.