Deadly pranks and corny jokes. This is what you’ll experience when you spend a day with the Mad King Thorn. In fact, if it weren't for his size and the flames that surround his head, the Mad King wouldn't seem to be a very terrifying being. Halloween is a big event for many of us, and in the world of Guild Wars 2, it's no different. I just wish ArenaNet would give me real candy while playing the game.
Last Wednesday the final patch was released, and the Mad King Thorn made his way into the realm of the living. He made his appearance well known in Lion's Arch as he marched around the town telling jokes, each funnier than the last. At least in my opinion they were funny. It was fun to follow him around just to try and hear them all. Aside from that, he didn't do much else. In the end, it was more of a way to find some players to face off in a costume brawl.
After some time the Mad King felt it was necessary to bring the focus back on him, so he would start a nice game of Mad King Says. The game is still fun after all these years, with it appearing in the original. For those of you who don't know this game, it's just Simon Says. It was slightly different this time around, with the Mad King teleporting around, and the time to react to his demands decreasing to make things tougher. I’m sure he also enjoyed knocking players down as they failed to carry out his commands. The Mad King can be a jerk! Once the event was over, a chest of goodies would appear. You could receive a witches hat, and a possibly some trick or treat bags. What's a Halloween celebration without trick or treat goodies?
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A nice addition to the town clothes, though I’m sure some players would like this to be a skin for armors.
Besides the Mad King walking about Lion's Arch spreading Halloween terror, what other changes were made? While other patches added to the experience, the final act for the Halloween celebration actually took away some of the fun. The portal from the 3rd act to the dungeon was closed preventing us from beating up the Mad King just a few more times before he would disappear for a year. But if they hadn't closed the dungeon up, how could the Mad King be at two places at once?
For those that still needed to finish off some of the event achievements, nearly every Haunted Door in the world was a portal to the Mad King's realm. This made it a lot easier for players to get into the labyrinth and have one last shot at climbing the clock tower. Even though I already had the achievements, I went ahead and had fun in the Mad King's realm one last time.
To be honest I was expecting a bit more for the finale of the event. It was fun to play Mad King Says, and the Witches Hat continued the tradition of holiday hats. Maybe another area of the Mad King's realm could have been added in for us to explore. It may have been neat to have another mini game to play. Either of these would have satisfied me. I just feel like act 4 was missing something.
In the end I think the event was the best I have ever played through in an MMO. It started off strong giving players a nice scavenger hunt with a reward in the form of a usable item. To venture into the Mad King's realm to conquer a touch jumping puzzle, and fight other players with the forces of the undead was a real treat. New crafting recipes were added to the mix, offering players a way to show off their love for Halloween all year round. It was an impressive amount of content.
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What new adventure awaits us in November? Only time will tell. But as you can see by the looks of my sketch, my character’s body is ready!
With the Halloween event behind them, what will ArenaNet have in store for us in the future? Already we have something to be excited about. ArenaNet has announced that in November a major event is going to take place, and it should change the very face of Tyria. What will happen in this event? I wish I knew, but the details are few other than what we learned from Colin’s interview with Pokket. It’ll definitely keep us busy until we see the winners of the Halloween Diorama contest. I can't wait to see the crazy things other fans have come up with.
