A large patch was released alongside Heart of Thorns on October 23rd. Aside from new features, the patch included general updates and improvements to the core game. This post will focus on the core game changes and improvements, highlight the most interesting and significant changes, and provide tips to help you make the most of these changes.

Lion’s Arch Jump Pads

Quickly travel from the Bank to the Trading Post in Lion’s Arch by hopping onto the nearby jump pad. You will be sent flying through the air from pad to pad, all the way to the Trading Post. No more mindless walking!

Game Messages Chat Categories

The “Game Messages” setting in the chat panel now allows certain categories to be selected instead of having to see all game messages at once. Now you can select exactly which game messages you want to see.

Action Camera Mode

A new camera mode that allows for mouse aiming and cross-hair targeting. The Action Camera can be activated by assigning it a key binding in the Controls Options menu. For an in-depth look, check out How To Use Action Camera.

Snap Ground Target

A new “Snap Ground Target to Current Target” option has been added to the combat settings.  If enabled, it will place ground target markers at the position of your current target. This means you no longer have to use your cursor to select ground targets.

Skill Re-targeting

Another new combat setting called “Allow Skill Re-targeting” has been added. This setting will allow skills to transfer to a new target after they have been initiated. In other words you can begin attacking a target, switch to another target, and the skill will simultaneously transfer to the new target.

Event Inactivity Timeout

Players who stop completing objectives in an event will now receive a message informing them that they are no longer participating in the event and will not receive loot. Players can still earn rewards if they return to the event before it ends. This is probably a response to players tagging events and then leaving them, while still claiming the rewards.

Consume All

Entire stacks of Luck can now be consumed simply by right-clicking on the item and selecting “Consume All”. This is a quality of life feature that has been one of the most requested.

Fractals

Fractals of the Mists have received a significant update.

• The maximum Fractal scale has doubled from 50 to 100
• Runs now consist of only 1 fractal island instead of 4
• New achievements have been added

Leather and Cloth

Masterwork, Rare, and Exotic inscriptions are now crafted from leather and cloth. The amount of cloth required to craft an insignia has also been reduced. Hopefully this will balance out the large pricing disparity between the 2 materials.

Desert Borderlands (WvW)

The new Desert Borderlands map replaces the existing Alpine Borderlands map.

• Emphasis on vertical map layers and complex terrain
• Distinctive environment and enemy themes
• New strategic elements involving elemental “Shrines”, the golden temple “Oasis” and roaming Dolyaks/Sentries.

Stronghold (PvP)

Stronghold is a new game mode in PvP that includes a new map called “Battle of Champion’s Dusk”.

• Goal is to kill opposing team’s “Lord”
• Infiltrate and storm the enemies’ base
• Hire NPCs for supplies and assistance
• Fight for control of various “Heroes”

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You can find the official update notes here.