24-Hour Stronghold Public Beta Now Live

ArenaNet kicked off a new Stronghold public beta event today at 12PM Pacific. The event will run a full 24 hours through to 12PM Pacific tomorrow (19:00 UTC) and includes a host of changes for the upcoming PvP game mode.

• Map Changes
  • A number of crates/boxes have been added inside the strongholds around the lord gate to provide opportunities for line-of-sighting.
  • Made a number of terrain changes.
  • Realigned the trebuchets to be able to hit the “Mist Essence” summoning areas.
• Lord Updates
  • You can no longer resurrect the lord after the match ends.
  • You can no longer kill the enemy lord after the match ends.
  • When an opposing team’s lord is defeated, the winning team’s lord will now celebrate the victory with a cheer.
  • New skill: The lord will now execute an attack that pulls nearby enemies in, knocks them down, and then does a devastating 360 degree spin. Don’t let it hit you.
• Lord Room Defending NPCs
  • The locations for the defending NPCs in each stronghold are now identical.
  • The defending NPCs in each stronghold have had their health increased by 10%.
• Stronghold Guards
  • One set of guards (between the inner and outer gate) have been removed for a total of 4 guards.
• Mist Essence
  • Mist Champions now spawn at the following minute marks: 12:00, 9:00, 6:00, and 3:00.
  • The 12:00 Mist Essence will now spawn nearest to the side that is behind on score.
• General
  • Defending Npc names have been simplified from archer, soldier, ect. to all be called “Guards”
  • NPCs that cannot be resurrected lose their icon on the map after being defeated
  • The objective icons appear on the mini map upon entering the map, rather than when the match begins.
  • Trebuchets has been adjusted to make hitting important objectives easier
  • Red-side doorbreakers can no longer be summoned before dropping down from spawn.
  • Players holding max (2) supply can no longer pick up player dropped supply.
  • Players will drop any supply they were carrying when they are defeated
    • This means that if you have 2 supply and die you will drop 2 supply!