Guild Wars 2’s delayed summer balance patch is live after network outage

Guild Wars 2’s latest balance patch is now live, landing on Wednesday instead of the game’s usual Tuesday patch slot after ArenaNet ran into a hardware failure on its office network.

Studio head Josh “Grouch” Davis said the outage disrupted parts of ArenaNet’s build and deployment pipeline, and the team chose to hold the update for a day rather than risk a messy late-night launch if more problems popped up after release.

The patch itself is the game’s summer balance update, so the impact will depend heavily on what professions and modes you play. As usual with Guild Wars 2 balance passes, some builds will feel the changes more than others, with PvP players likely to notice the sharpest adjustments.

The update also brings back the 2025 Extra Life charity pets. Cats and other related pets can now be found in a new sanctuary and around Tyria, but only while players are using the Chatoyant Elixir, Chatoyant Infusion, or Chatoyant Lens. Players can talk to the Extra Pets guide in Lion’s Arch to visit the new Paw-Nthir area.

ArenaNet is also promoting a new video aimed at players trying to pick a class, covering Guild Wars 2’s professions and specializations. Handy timing, given that a balance patch is exactly when a lot of people start second-guessing their main.