Halloween is returning to Tyria next week and this time the Mad King is not alone!

Next week's content patch for Guild Wars 2, Blood and Madness, features the return of Halloween to Tyria. Once again, players will meet the Mad King Thorn, but this time he will be joined by his son, the Bloody Prince Edrick. With the return of the Mad King and the introduction of the Bloody Prince, players will get to experience both returning and brand new Halloween themed content.

• Mad Realm Doors: Haunted doors will appear across Tyria for players to partake in some trick-or-treat. This year, the Mad King Doors will be joined by Bloody Prince doors. Just beware, not every door is a treat!
• Mad King's Labyrinth: Bloody Prince Edrick has taken over parts of the Labyrinth and controlling the undead armies within the Mad King's Realm. The Skeletal Lich, Grand high Viscount of Candy Corn and the Labyrintine Horror lie in wait.
• Lunatic Inquisition: This returning PvP activity will have players filling the role of villagers or lunatic coutiers. The villagers are trying to survive the night while the coutiers are doing everything in their power to prevent their survival.
• Mad King's Clock Tower: This returning favorite is back and "returns better than ever!" Can you ascend the Clock Tower in time?

A new meta achievement is coming with Blood and Madness and will award players with a Mini Candy Corn Elemental. Following the new storyline will also award players with a Candy Corn node for their home instance.

Candy Corn will also be finding a new use as a commodity for players to trade. Among the items that can be traded for Candy Corn are the Mini Bloody Prince, a 20-slot Halloween Pail and special crafting items needed for Halloween weapons.

Lastly, players who prove they will obey their maniacal monarch in rounds of Mad King Says will be awarded with the Mask of the Night.

Halloween is not the only thing being added to Guild Wars 2 with next week's patch as a spread of new fixes and updates will come with the content patch.

• Quality of Life Combat Fixes: Better targeting, new ground targeting options and a new, optional way to display condition damage numbers.
• Trait and Skill Tooltips Update: Traits will now show numbers related to their effect and skills will show how they are affected by equipped traits.
• Class Balance Updates: A balance pass for existing skill and traits. This pass focuses on improving support builds for all parts of the game and all professions.

Matt "Mattsta" Adams

Follow me @MattstaNinja