“Shadow of The Mad King” is an annual Guild Wars 2 Halloween event that has returned for 2015. The event began on October 23rd and will run for 2 weeks, ending on Wednesday, November 4th. This Halloween Event Guide will explain everything there is to do and how to obtain all of the new rewards, skins, and achievements. So let’s get started.

Overview

Lion’s Arch is the central hub of the Halloween Festival. The Mad King has taken it over and redecorated it accordingly. You will need to be in Lion’s Arch to access Halloween events and Rewards.

Candy Corn

Candy Corn is the special Halloween currency that is used to purchase Halloween related items. You receive Candy Corn by completing Halloween events and opening Trick-or-Treat bags. Corn Cobs can be purchased by trading in 1,000 Candy Corn to a Candy Corn Vendor.

Trick-or-Treat Bags

Trick-or-Treat bags drop as loot for defeating Halloween monsters and completing events. They contain a variety of Halloween trinkets, Luck, Consumables, and Candy Corn. They can also contain rare drops.

Candy Corn Vendors

Candy Corn Vendors are located near the Mystic Forge in Lion’s Arch and also in the Grand Plaza. They offer special Halloween skins, items, materials, etc. They also allow you to trade in your Candy Corn for Corn Cobs (1,000/per).

Pumpkin Carving

You can carve pumpkins that are scattered around Lion’s Arch and the event zones. When you find one, simply interact with it to carve the pumpkin. If you carve enough pumpkins you will receive an achievement, a title “Master Carver”, and Trick-or-Treat bags. So be on the lookout if you want this achievement.

Events

Halloween events can be accessed by interacting with one of the 3 event portals in Lion’s Arch. The event portals are visible as “doors”, and each door leads to a separate event. One set of doors is located around the Candy Corn Vendors next to the Mystic Forge, and the other set is located in the Grand Plaza. Each door is labeled for the event it leads to. The exception to this is “Mad King Says…” which is located in the Plaza itself.

Mad King Says…

In the “Mad King Says…” event players must correctly respond to the Mad King in Halloween version of “Simon Says”. The Mad King will ramble and then state a command that corresponds to an emote players must type into the chat box as a “/say” message. However, if the Mad King does not preface the command by saying something similar to “Your Mad King Says…”, then you must make sure to NOT follow the command. Each successful round grants you a stack of “Mad King’s Favor” that determines your rewards. You receive a reward for every 4 stacks of Favor. A perfect game will net you 14 stacks. You can only get three rewards a day, so a perfect game would max out your rewards for that day. The goal is to complete enough rounds to receive Mad King Key Shards that can be used to open the Mad King’s Chest once you have enough to combine into a whole Key. It takes three fragments to make a complete key. Chest rewards usually include a Glob of Ectoplasm and Trick-or-Treat bags, but rare drops are possible.

Mad King’s Clocktower – Red Door

Mad King’s Clocktower is a Jumping Puzzle that involves making your over a path of floating debris as it spirals up and around a giant clocktower. You have to stay on the move almost constantly to avoid the deadly mist that slowly rises, following you all the way to the top. This jumping puzzle has a very high failure rate and is considered to be one of the most difficult jumping puzzles in the game. It’s easy to retry though since you are placed back at the beginning if you happen to fall off. The main reward is Trick-or-Treat bags and bragging rights of course. It should be noted that the first time you complete the clock tower you will receive a Mad King’s Chest.

Mad King’s Labyrinth – Green Door

The Mad King’s Labyrinth is an explorable zone based in a haunted maze. There are enemies everywhere and several tough bosses that drop chests of loot. There are also Trick-or-Treat doors that can be opened to unleash a wave of monsters or a veteran ghoul.

The Labyrinth is a great place to level up because of the large amounts of XP that can be consistently earned. Running around completing door events and defeating bosses will result in a good amount of loot in addition to XP. The main loot dropped is Trick-or-Treat bags. There are also Candy Corn nodes that can be mined, and plenty of pumpkins to be carved. Here is a quick rundown of the bosses:

Labyrinth Horror

A chainsaw wielding skeleton that appears from the maze walls. He’s not too difficult to defeat if you have a decent group and know how to stay mobile.

Grand High Viscount of Candy Corn

A giant candy corn monster that uses candy corn artillery to knock players back. Make sure to stand on top of the candy corn sugar goop that occasionally spawns because it grants resistance to the Viscount’s attacks. For every second you stand in the goop you gain a stack of protection. You want to move away from the goop once you have 8 – 9 stacks because if you go over 9 you lose protection.

Legendary Skeletal Lich

Probably the toughest boss in the Labyrinth. This staff wielding skeleton can summon a hoard of skeletal minions and also inflict damaging conditions. It’s best to go in with an organized group that knows how to stack on the boss and remove conditions when appropriate.

More info from @Adelas:

The skeleton lich does a RANGED health steal. If you are within melee range, he will not steal health. The baby skeletons place retaliation on themselves about once every second, so you need mesmers with null field, necros with well of corruption, etc, continual boon removal. The reason for stacking (usually in a corner so he won’t move) is so that everyone can easily stay on top of the boss, remove boons from the babies while they are grouped instead of spread out, and of course, rez each other.

Any stack location is fine – I have participated in successful runs where the group stacks inside his house, around the “corner” of the maze in the next hallway, up against the tombstone next to his house, around the wall where there is a pumpkin between the lich and the multi-foe door to his south… and right out in the middle of the open ground.

Ascent to Madness – Purple Door

Ascent to Madness is a special Halloween dungeon where players team up to defeat the Mad King himself. Players must attack the Mad King at several stages, while moving down the map’s vertical layers. This dungeon is not particularly difficult and can be completed by players of all skill levels. The time it takes to complete the dungeon can range from 15-20 minutes to well under 10 minutes by experienced groups. The final chest rewards you with up to 10 Trick-or-Treat bags and a small chance for a Tattered Bat Wing.

Achievements

Halloween achievements can be tracked from the normal achievements panel under “Festivals” and then “Shadow of The Mad King”. There are 10 possible achievements including one meta achievement for completing 8 other achievements.

“A Sweet Friend” – 25 Points

Complete 8/9 Halloween achievements.

Reward: Candy Corn Cob

“Pumpkin Carving” – 17 Points

Carve 150 pumpkins.

Reward: “Master Carver” Title, 10 Trick-or-Treat bags

“Something Good To Eat” – 2 Points

Open 50 Trick-or-Treat bags.

Reward: 5 Trick-or-Treat bags

“A Royal Tradition” – 3 Points

Complete one round of Mad King Says.

Reward: 3 Trick-or-Treat bags

“New Afterlife For Quaggan” – 3 Points

Give 1000 candy corn to Drooburt near the Mystic Forge/Candy Vendors.

Reward: Nan’s Candy Corn Cookie

“Stomping Good Time” – 3 Points

Use 20 Mad King/Scarecrow stomp finishers in PvP or WvW.

Reward: 10 Trick-or-Treat bags

“Bone Breaker” – 2 Points

Defeat the Labyrinth Horror.

Reward: 5 Trick-or-Treat bags

“Candy Corn Crusher” – 2 Points

Defeat the Grand High Viscount of Candy Corn.

Reward: 5 Trick-or-Treat bags

“Death To The Undying” – 2 Points

Defeat the Legendary Skeletal Lich.

Reward: 5 Trick-or-Treat bags

“Shut The Doors” – 5 Points

Complete 50 Trick-or-Treat Door events in the Mad King’s Labyrinth.

Reward: 5 Trick-or-Treat bags

“Tricks and Treats” Collection

“Tricks and Treats” is a basic collection achievement that involves consuming 19 different Halloween treats. The reward is 3 achievement points and a Miniature Candy Corn Ghoulemental. While it’s not specific to Halloween, this is a great time to complete this achievement. Check out our collection guide for more info.

Rewards

Here is a list of the possible rewards this Halloween:

Loot Drops

• Mini Devil Dog
• Mini Fwynefyrdd
• Mini Zuzu, Cat of Darkness
• Karka Helm Skin
• Nest (Exotic Scepter)
• Nightwing (Exotic Pistol)
• Pumpkin Smasher (Exotic Hammer)
• Vassago (Exotic Axe)
• Oontz’s Necklaces (Cat, Pumpkin, Ghoul)
• Gift of Moon/Souls/Spider
• Tier 6 Crafting Materials
• Unopened Endless Bottle of Batwing Brew

Candy Corn Vendors

Miniatures:
Husk-o-Lantern	4 Cobs
Candy Corn Elemental	6 Cobs
Bloody Prince Thorn	9 Cobs
Ghost Carlotta	9 Cobs
Zuzu, Cat of Darkness	18 Cobs
Gwynefyrdd	100 Cobs
Skins/Outfits:
Hex Outfit	3 Cobs
Shackles of Madness	6 Cobs
Other:
4 Essence of Halloween	1 Cob
20 Slot Halloween Pail	3 Cobs
Gift of Candy Corn	5 Cobs

Halloween Black Lion Skins

NightFury

NightFury is an Ascended shoulder piece that provides a bat swarm effect when worn. Players must collect Tattered Bat Wings to craft this item. The complete recipe to craft this item is not yet known, but you can track the progress here.

That’s it for this Halloween Event Guide. Have a spooky Halloween, and good luck!