New mesmer hero, new dungeon and skill balance update!

When the first pre-searing dungeon was added on the 1st of April, we already got informed that the post-searing version of the dungeon would be added soon as well - and that times has now come, with the first new dungeon in post-searing in more than 10 years! Let's go through what this update has to offer.

New dungeon in Ascalon: Tunnels of the Forsaken

The main addition in this patch is the new dungeon, Tunnels of the Forsaken, which mirrors the Forsaken Tunnels dungeon that was added a few weeks ago.

Once again, this dungeon is exclusive to characters that have Reforged Mode enabled. If you don't know how to enable that, instructions are below this post.

To be able to access this dungeon, you will need to ensure that you first complete the quests The Duke's Daughter (given by Viggo) as well as the quest Althea's Ashes (given by Duke Barradin) - both of these NPCs are located in Piken Square. If Viggo doesn't offer a quest and Duke Barradin doesn't either, you should be ready to go and start the new quests. If not, first complete these quests.
Remember: you can buy the item Urn of Althea's Ashes from another player to complete this quest quickly.

Once you have completed this, ensure you are in Reforged Mode, and leave Piken Square and go down (south on the compass range) towards the tar pits. You will find the Ghost of Althea next to a big closed door:

If you do not see the Ghost of Althea there, you are most likely not in Reforged Mode -> enable it and you should be able to see her. If you've already completed her first quest, you can find her inside, but the door should be open in that case.

These quests are available for characters created in any of the campaigns.

Talk to the Ghost of Althea who will give you the quest Elegy for Those Left Behind, which is the first quest in the new quest chain, followed by The Cost of Survival and The Dreamer and the Zealot.

Upon finishing the final quest, The Dreamer and the Zealot, you will unlock the new hero, Ghost of Althea.

As before, there are 3 levels in the dungeon and each quest will let you go down another level. You will need to go through the different levels multiple times.

The final boss has new miniatures that can be dropped that are completely new in the game. These have a few issues like re-using wrong icons and they can't be added to the Hall of Monuments.

Activating Reforged mode for an already-existing character

First, go to any port city and search for the Shrine to Godly Accoutrements.

Choose Reforged Mode (Alpha) and confirm - you are now in Reforged mode.

In Lion's Arch, you can find this shrine near Firstwatch Sergio (who gives you the quest Villainy of Galrath).

A new hero: Ghost of Althea

For the first time ever, you will be able to invite a ghost to your party as Lady Althea can be added as a hero to your party. Now, don't be mean and go straight to specific missions on the Ring of Fire or the Shiverpeaks... that would be mean.

If you have another copy of Ghost of Althea with you, she will be called "Mesmer Trainer".

Balance updates

There have been a huge amount of skill balance changes in this patch, details can be found on the Guild Wars Wiki: https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Feedback:…Balance_updates

In general, these buff a lot of skills so these are more interesting to use. With the exception of Smiter's Boon (PvP), which - as tradition wants it - has been nerfed once again.