Nov 10, 2026
View on Guild Wars 2 Forums↗Guild Wars 2: Seared Borderlands and Balance
4/5 Significant
Seared Borderlands enters WvW beta, while profession skills and traits receive broad changes. Fractal Incursion returns and eligible players get new portal tomes.
Key Changes
- 1Seared Borderlands replaces Alpine and Desert Borderlands for a WvW map beta running until December 8.
- 2Profession balance changes include a Firebrand trait rework and new Vindicator grandmaster traits.
- 3Fractal Incursion returns for three weeks, ending at noon on December 1.
- 4Eligible players receive new Lounge Pass Portal and Wayfinder's Portal tomes.
- 5WvW loot now goes directly into inventory whenever possible, replacing the Provisions Master autoloot upgrade.
All Changes
🌀Fractal Incursion(6)
- changeFractal Incursion: Fractal Incursion returns until noon on December 1, with quickplay fractals and open-world incursions awarding Fractalline Dust and achievement progress.
- newEikasia, Mists-Grasper: White and black Agony Lenses for Eikasia can be unlocked for purchase with three completions of Infinite Recursion.
- newFractalline Reinfuser: The Fractalline Reinfuser lets players change existing agony lens colors for a small charge and switch black and white lenses to alternate stats.
- changeWeekly Fractal Incursion: Weekly Fractal Incursion now distributes its Fractalline Dust reward at 3 intervals rather than entirely on completion.
- newWeekly Tyrian Incursion: Weekly Tyrian Incursion adds an achievement for subduing open-world incursion bosses.
- changeFractal Incursion Champion: The Wizard's Vault has a consolidated special objective for completing Fractal Incursion Champion.
💜Extra Life(1)
- changeExtra Life: Extra Life returns until noon on December 1, with a title available through paid Gem Store charity bundles.
📚Portal Tomes(4)
- newLounge Pass Portal Tome: Players who own at least 2 Lounge Passes receive the new Lounge Pass Portal Tome, which combines lounge access in one inventory item.
- newWayfinder's Portal Tome: Players who completed Work Hard for Now receive the new Wayfinder's Portal Tome, with a vendor interface, a Lounges tab and travel options based on collector achievement progress.
- changeWizard's Portal Tome: Wizard's Portal Tome gains a dialogue option for accessing lounges.
- fixWizard's Gobbler: Wizard's Gobbler dialogue transitions have been reorganized, and the Karmic Converter can now be accessed properly through it.
⚔️World vs. World(5)
- newSeared Borderlands: The Seared Borderlands beta replaces Alpine and Desert Borderlands until December 8; its map and gray-box art are not final.
- changePreviously beta-tested skirmish rewards are enabled on release.
- changeProvisions Master: WvW loot now enters players' inventories directly whenever possible, and the autoloot upgrade has been removed from Provisions Master.
- newThe WvW abilities tab now offers an Upgrade All button when players can afford every available ability upgrade.
- fixWar Score: Fixed multiple players sometimes receiving multiple instances of War Score while building siege.
🏰Fractals and Raids(3)
- changeSolitary Throne: Solitary Throne has fewer creatures on each platform, and its challenge mode now provides a portal to the next platform after each clear.
- fixWhirlwind: Fixed the direction of Veteran Air Elementals' Whirlwind telegraph arrow.
- fixNexus of Eternity: Fixed Nexus of Eternity raid currency not being awarded after reaching a health phase but failing the encounter, incorrect difficulty UI and thieves being unable to steal from Vloxx.
🎁Rewards and Open World(3)
- changeSecrets of the Weald: Some boss health values have been adjusted in the Secrets of the Weald meta-event in Starlit Weald.
- changeCastoran Magic Mirror chests and Obscured Chests now give fewer unidentified items in exchange for more map materials.
- fixMaster of Masteries: Visions of Eternity: A missing title has been added to the Master of Masteries: Visions of Eternity achievement reward.
🔥Elementalist(10)
- changeFlame Burst: Flame Burst has been reworked and renamed Fire Blast, which launches a fireball that damages and burns targets.
- changeLightning Surge: Lightning Surge now calls a blinding bolt at a target location followed by a delayed, stronger strike.
- changeShock Wave: Shock Wave now targets a location, immobilizing and briefly dazing enemies on impact.
- fixMeteor Shower: Meteor Shower's power coefficient increases from 1.6 to 2.0 in PvE, and separate casts no longer incorrectly share damage falloff.
- changeSignet of Water: Signet of Water no longer strikes or revives, increases base healing from 1,940 to 2,708 and conditions removed from 3 to 4, and changes its passive to outgoing healing.
- changeElemental Attunement: Elemental attunement now grants a boon based on the chosen element, while Elemental Attunement extends those boons and shares them with nearby allies.
- buffTempestuous Aria: Tempestuous Aria's condition damage bonus increases from 5% to 7% in PvE.
- buffTranscendent Tempest: Transcendent Tempest's condition damage bonus increases from 20% to 25% in PvE.
- nerfElements of Rage: Elements of Rage's PvE strike damage bonus decreases from 15% to 12% and its condition damage bonus from 10% to 7%.
- nerfSpecialized Elements: Specialized Elements' empowered skill recharge reduction decreases from 33% to 20% in PvE.
🔧Engineer(5)
- buffRocket Burst: Net Shot and Overcharged Shot now turn Rifle Burst into Rocket Burst, which fires a volley of rockets.
- changeGrenadier: Grenade explosion radii increase from 120 to 180, while Grenadier now increases explosion skill damage instead of grenade radii.
- buffRocket Kick: Rocket Kick now breaks stun and launches the user backward to evade attacks.
- nerfRocket Kick: Rocket Kick's cooldown increases from 15 seconds to 20 seconds in PvE and from 15 seconds to 25 seconds in WvW and PvP.
- nerfDouble Helix: Double Helix's attribute increase decreases from 100% to 50% in PvE.
🛡️Guardian(4)
- buffChains of Light: Chains of Light now strikes up to 2 additional enemies around its target.
- buffPurity of Word: Purity of Word increases baseline pages from 5 to 8 and lowers the page interval from 8 seconds to 6 seconds in PvP and PvE.
- changeFirebrand: Firebrand's final mantra charges now restore one page, and its traits have been reworked, including new Fervid Conviction and the renamed Bastion, Righteous Flames and Deliverance.
- buffPhoenix Protocol: Phoenix Protocol now applies its boons to nearby allies.
🎭Mesmer(4)
- changeIllusionary Leap: Illusionary Leap's clone now immobilizes instead of crippling, while Swap no longer immobilizes and briefly grants access to Disenchant.
- changePhantasmal Warden: Phantasmal Warden moves to a utility slot, has its hits reduced from 12 to 8 and now spawns at the user's location.
- changePhantasmal Disenchanter: Phantasmal Disenchanter replaces Phantasmal Warden as a focus skill and gains an initial boon-removing projectile.
- changeShaper of Chaos: Shaper of Chaos now detonates chaos aura on shatter skill 1 and increases confusion from 4 stacks for 5 seconds to 6 stacks for 6 seconds in PvE and from 3 to 4 stacks in WvW and PvP.
💀Necromancer(6)
- changeRending Claws: Rending Claws now reduces other axe skill recharges against low-health enemies instead of applying extra vulnerability.
- buffGhastly Claws: Ghastly Claws now deals bonus damage against low-health enemies.
- changeLocust Swarm: Locust Swarm now sends swarms to nearby enemies, dealing periodic strike damage and healing allies around the user.
- changeSoul Grasp: Soul Grasp now fires a bouncing projectile that grants life force based on the number of enemies struck.
- buffDesert Empowerment: Desert Empowerment's alacrity duration increases from 1.5 seconds to 2 seconds in PvE.
- nerfCascading Corruption: Cascading Corruption's torment stacks decrease from 6 to 3 and meltdown's condition damage increase falls from 10% to 7% in PvE.
🏹Ranger(5)
- changeSkirmishing: Short-bow skills and Skirmishing traits have been adjusted to reduce the need for constant flanking.
- changeStrength of the Pack: Strength of the Pack now grants might to the player and pet from player strikes, while pet strikes deal increased damage instead of granting the player might.
- changeApex Predator: Oppressive Superiority has been reworked into Apex Predator, causing merged abilities to trigger attack frenzies that are stronger for beast skills.
- nerfVenomous Outburst: Venomous Outburst's cooldown increases from 10 seconds to 13 seconds in PvE.
- nerfRending Vines: Rending Vines' cooldown increases from 10 seconds to 13 seconds in PvE.
🌫️Revenant(6)
- buffLegendary Centaur Stance: Natural Harmony, Purifying Essence and Energy Expulsion grant Tranquil when used without being empowered, and Energy Expulsion no longer destroys the tablet.
- changeVindicator: Vindicator traits move down a tier, making room for the new grandmaster traits Friend of the Luxons, Heated Rivalry and Friend of the Kurzicks.
- newFriend of the Luxons: Friend of the Luxons grants Archemorus's Strike and increased strike damage after using a Luxon skill.
- newHeated Rivalry: Heated Rivalry recharges Alliance Tactics and refunds the next opposite-side skill after 2 Luxon or Kurzick skills in PvE or 3 in PvP and WvW.
- newFriend of the Kurzicks: Friend of the Kurzicks grants Shield of Saint Viktor and heals nearby allies after using a Kurzick skill.
- changeGladiator's Defense: Gladiator's Defense now breaks stun, blocks and retaliates, with additional effects for blocking and equipping Legendary Dwarf Stance.
🗡️Thief(3)
- changeAcrobatics: Acrobatics traits have been reworked around mobility and Deft Initiation, which refreshes when the thief shadowsteps or uses a movement skill.
- buffMalicious Death's Judgement: Malicious Death's Judgement now deals full damage to its target and marked foes and consumes Malice only when striking a marked foe.
- nerfAntiquary: Antiquary skills including Summon Kryptis Turret, Forged Surfer Dash and Zephyrite Sun Crystal have reduced condition effects in PvE, with additional PvP reductions for the latter two.
🪓Warrior(5)
- changeFan of Fire: Fan of Fire now applies more damage and burning on the first arrow hit and less on subsequent hits, with approximately the same total for all three arrows.
- buffPin Down: Pin Down now recharges Fan of Fire when it strikes an enemy.
- changeSignet of Rage: Signet of Rage now grants 10 adrenaline and recharges weapon burst skills; its boon durations fall from 25 seconds to 10 seconds.
- buffSignet of Rage: Signet of Rage's PvE cooldown falls from 40 seconds to 30 seconds and its might stacks increase from 5 to 20.
- changeImminent Threat: Imminent Threat has been reworked to break stun, grant barrier and adrenaline, and remove offensive boons from nearby enemies.
🐛Bug Fixes(4)
- fixFixed previously earned rewards not displaying on adventure leaderboards and looping emotes being randomly interrupted.
- fixFaithful Primo Uomo: Fixed lingering seer magic markers and Faithful Primo Uomo achievement progress from emote slash commands in open-world events.
- fixFixed incorrect Halloween recipe unlocks and missing spear previews in Grim Machine and Fog Machine weapon boxes.
- fixFixed torch lighting on Low shaders in Deeper Revelations: Leyspring Hollows and fall damage after checkpoint resurrection in The Burden of Seeing: Solitary Throne.
📅Coming Soon(11)
- changeWar Score: War Score fully releases at the WvW reset on November 13, with defending player kills changing from 5 to 6, downs from 1 to 2 and resurrects from 2 to 3.
- changeWar Score: At the November 13 WvW reset, keep capture scores change from 250 to 100 (T0), 300 to 200 (T1), 375 to 400 (T2) and 450 to 500 (T3).
- changeWar Score: At the November 13 WvW reset, tower capture scores change from 50 to 25 (T0), 75 to 125 (T1), 125 to 200 (T2) and 175 to 250 (T3).
- changeWar Score: At the November 13 WvW reset, camp capture scores change from 5 to 2 (T0), 8 to 10 (T1), 12 to 15 (T2) and 20 to 25 (T3).
- changeWar Score: At the November 13 WvW reset, keep upgrade scores change from 150 to 200 (T1), 225 to 400 (T2) and 300 to 600 (T3).
- changeWar Score: At the November 13 WvW reset, tower upgrade scores change from 50 to 75 (T1), 75 to 150 (T2) and 100 to 300 (T3).
- changeWar Score: At the November 13 WvW reset, camp upgrade scores change from 15 to 20 (T1), 20 to 35 (T2) and 25 to 60 (T3).
- changeWar Score: At the November 13 WvW reset, T3 keep ticks change from 15 to 10, T3 tower ticks from 8 to 7, Dolyak delivery from 2 to 1, Dolyak kills from 6 to 2 and lord kills from 12 to 10.
- changeWar Score: At the November 13 WvW reset, defending player siege building changes from 4 to 6, prebuilt siege equipment building from 4 to 10, wall repairs from 8 to 14 and gate repairs from 12 to 20.
- changePreviously beta-tested match rewards turn on at the WvW reset on November 13.
- newExtra Life: Extra Life donation milestones will grant stacking game-wide magic find, experience and reward track boosts; reaching the yearly goal will also give donors an Extra Life Victory Cache containing rare rewards, including the new Extra Life T-Shirt skin.
Summary
World vs. World
Seared Borderlands replaces both existing Borderlands maps for a beta through December 8; its art and layout are not final. WvW also receives direct inventory looting, skirmish rewards and an Upgrade All button. War Score and match rewards are scheduled to activate at the November 13 reset.
Profession skills
All professions receive skill and balance changes. Highlights include Firebrand and Acrobatics trait reworks, new Vindicator grandmaster traits, elementalist staff changes, engineer rifle rockets and reduced ranger flanking requirements.
Events and rewards
Fractal Incursion and Extra Life run until noon on December 1. Fractal Incursion offers achievement progress, agony lenses and a lens-changing service; Extra Life includes paid charity bundles and donation-dependent rewards. Eligible players also receive new lounge and travel portal tomes.
Other changes
Solitary Throne has fewer platform enemies and challenge-mode portals. Chest rewards have been adjusted, alongside fixes to Nexus of Eternity, achievements, items and story instances.