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ArenaNet just posted a video of their own Dragon Bash celebration held in their Bellevue, WA offices. It turns out, they saved one Guild Wars 2 dragon pinata for themselves…

Wooden Potatoes is back with a new video that details the origins of the Asura and a theory that, if true, could point to them betraying us all. Be sure to hit that subscribe button as WP churns out some excellent GW2 content.

In case you were a bit on the confused side about when the Dragon Bash fireworks begin in Lion’s Arch, Martin Kerstein made a quick post in the forums to clear things up for the masses. By the sound of it, you’ll have plenty of chances to catch the festivities.

Let me explain how this works.

The firework event cycle (them happening every two hours) was started at 9:00 AM PDT. The event itself is tied to the ingame time and will happen at dawn (ingame). So your fireworks might not have happened yet, as it is not dawn ingame.

Apologies for us not communicating this more clearly. But the fireworks will happen every two hours over the course of the weekend, so plenty of time to marvel at them and get the achievement.

ArenaNet was kind enough to give players an inside look as to the recording of the Dragon Bash theme song. Which ArenaNet developers can you name?

Learning from ones mistakes is a part of life, and a lesson that parents drill into their children. Not making the same mistake repeatedly is an example of a healthy individual that is competent and open to improving themselves. ArenaNet, sadly, has failed to learn from past gaffes and committed the same mistake they made in previous holidays: being able to exploit the holiday items.

In the most current incarnation of the exploit players were able to put the new Mini Holographic Risen Knight into the Mystic forge and get out an Exotic mini pet that could be worth 200g on the TP. This was most evident in the Mini-Jack-a-lop. Check out the history from GW2spidy.com: (more…)

Holidays in GuildWars 2 have been nothing short of amazing and we’re certain ArenaNet won’t disappoint with this season’s Dragon Bash festival. Starting today, Lion’s Arch honors the defiant spirit of its citizenry with the rousing Dragon Bash festival, a time when revelers laugh in the face of fear! Sponsored by the Captain’s Council of Lion’s Arch, Dragon Bash is a month-long celebration packed with all-new activities, fireworks, exclusive rewards, and surprises galore!

This epic festival begins on today and ends on July 9.

Just look at the stuff they have in store for us!

• Dragon Bash Activities in Lion’s Arch – Begins June 11

  Lion’s Arch is the bustling epicenter of the Dragon Bash festivities. The Captain’s Council has spared no expense in decorating this proud, battered city, as evidenced by the giant holographic dragon harmlessly soaring overhead.

• Bash the Dragon! – Begins June 11

  Look for holographic projectors scattered all across Tyria during the celebration. These mini-projector devices contain hologram minions which can drop a Dragon Bash surprise… a Dragon Coffer! Starting June 18, you’ll also find dragon effigies all across Tyria during Dragon Bash. Perform a ritual dance and light the effigy to receive a temporary boost!

• Developer Livestream – June 10 at 12PM PDT

  Take an inside look at Dragon Bash with ArenaNet devs during the livestream on ourTwitch channel on Monday, June 10 at 12PM PDT.

• Dragon Ball – Begins June 11

  The ancient Tyrian pastime of Dragon Ball returns! Teams of players test their Dragon Ball skills against one another in this fast-paced game of skill and reflexes. Get ready to dodge!

• Moa Racing – Begins June 11

  Pick the fastest moa! Farshore Ward in Lion’s Arch is the site of fast and furious Moa Racing, where you can bet on your favorite moa racers!

• Dragon Piñatas – Begins June 11

  In major cities around Tyria, you’ll find dragon piñatas strung up in honor of the festival. Break these open to receive tasty Dragon Bash candy!

• Dragon Bash Fireworks – June 14-17

  Watch the skies above Lion’s Arch come alive with an explosive fireworks show every night in-game. The fireworks begin at 9AM PDT on Friday, June 14 and will go off every two hours until 12PM PDT Monday, June 17. Stay through the spectacular finale and receive a unique festival helm – The Horns of the Dragon!

• The Dragon Effigy Lighting Ceremony – Begins June 18

  Join the Captain’s Council and other dignitaries as they light dragon effigies in the Grand Piazza of Lion’s Arch starting June 18. Hosted by the jovial Magnus the Bloody Handed, this ceremony will be full of merriment and surprises.

“Narrative Designers Angel McCoy and Scott McGough discuss the lore behind the Flame and Frost storyline and how the characters and events lead into future Living World storylines.” 

Looks like the next area we’ll be moving into is Southsun Cove, let’s hope the karka are far less in abundance. Plus they mentioned that they will have a full years worth of content already planned out!

The latest patch for Guild Wars 2 went live earlier today and, wow, it was a good one. This patch features the final story arc for the Living Story and brings the players face to face with the Molten Alliance. I’ve had a chance to play through the new five player dungeon and it is excellent. Be sure to check it out.

For you PvP fans out there you will be especially pleased with this patch as you finally have spectator mode! This new mode allows players the chance to watch other teams duke it out. You’ll be able to see everything that happens, including the players build and skills, and should provide some much needed tools for the community.

There are also some new items available on the trading post which include Rox’s Quiver and Braham’s mace, which are great skins! All this plus profession changes, event updates, bug fixes, and more. Check out the full list of notes after the break. (more…)

The Living Story is about to reach its ultimate conclusion on April 30th with the release of Retribution! This patch will see some exciting new features being added to the game such as:

• New Dungeon: Molten Weapon Facility! Face off against the combined might of the Dredge and the Flame Legion, and take part in a battle that will “go down in Guild Wars 2 history.”
  
• Custome PvP Arenas and Spectator Mode. These features will still be in a beta type testing phase, but they are the most sought after features for the PvP crowd in the game and it’s good to see some progress being made to add these features.
• New Guild Missions let you become a quaggan. Can’t you just hear the squees of glee now?
• New WvW abilities. This feature will enable you to become a master of the arrow cart, making the enemy fear seeing you take control of this deadly weapon.
• New Guild Back Banners. Not content with just a backpack that displays your guilds emblem? Charge into battle with a banner for all to see instead!

Of course there will be bug fixes and other improvements as well, and we should have the new patch notes soon. This looks to be an exciting patch and one that should mark a turning point in the Guild Wars 2 universe! 

Those logging in to the game today and going to the Trading Post or gem store are going to find some new items worthy of attention: two new dye packs and an unlimited-use mining pick!

When you use the new mining pick, molten environmental effects come out of the node. These effects are visible to all players in the game world.

The mining pick, priced at 800 gems, has an unlimited number of uses and can mine any node in the game. It is account-bound on purchase but becomes soul-bound once you equip it on a character. There is currently no other gathering tools of this kind available on the store.

There are also two new dye kits — the Frost dye kit and Flame dye kit. Each kit includes one of 25 colors aligned with the kit name (frost colors, or flame colors), and each includes six dye colors not available anywhere else. The kits each go for 125 gems apiece or five for 500 gems.

For a breakdown of the new colors, check out this Reddit post from community member I_ate_paintchips.