GW2 Halloween guide: activities, achievements and rewards
Plan GW2 Halloween with annual rewards, weekly points, Labyrinth bosses, both Clock Towers and rental-mount races. Updated for the 2026 festival.
Guild Wars 2's Halloween festival, Shadow of the Mad King, runs from October 13 to November 3, 2026. Start in Lion's Arch, open your festival achievements and pick an activity that advances a reward you want. This GW2 Halloween guide covers the Labyrinth, both Clock Towers, races and the other festival activities, with the annual and weekly rewards kept separate so you know what you're working towards.
How to start GW2 Halloween
Check your in-game mail for Magister Tassi's Invitation to the Mad Realm. It gives you a way into the festival. Lion's Arch is the main hub, with haunted doors and Lunatic Boatmasters connecting you to activities.
If you cannot reach Lion's Arch directly, look for the festival doors near the Village of Shaemoor or Village of Smokestead and speak to a Boatmaster.
Before heading off, open your festival achievements. Keep the annual and weekly entries visible so you can check what your chosen activity advances.
Choose an activity for your first visit
| If you want… | Start here | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Open-world combat and festival loot | Mad King's Labyrinth | Whether the group is doing bosses, door events or both |
| A jumping puzzle without the race against rising miasma | Stopped Clock Tower | Select the stopped version when entering |
| The original timed jumping challenge | Mad King's Clock Tower | Give yourself room to learn the route |
| Mount races | Mad King's Raceway | Rental mounts are available |
| A short encounter with Thorn | Ascent to Madness | Find the entrance before assembling your group |
| A festival activity in Lion's Arch | Mad King Says | Listen to the wording before obeying |
Choose an activity you enjoy, then check which festival objectives it advances. You can work towards several rewards over multiple visits.
Keep annual, weekly and daily goals separate
The annual Halloween Rituals meta-achievement has two reward tiers: complete five annual objectives for a Fog Machine Chest, then nine for Primeval King's Wrappings Choice. There are ten eligible objectives, so you can leave one out.
The choices include the Labyrinth's champions, races, pumpkin carving, Ascent to Madness, Mad King Says and the Clock Tower. Read the individual objective before committing: a lap, an event completion and a timed result are not interchangeable requirements.
The annual Clock Tower objective needs three completions and accepts either the original or the Stopped Clock Tower. If the timer is the part you dislike, you can still work towards this goal.
Halloween Daily is a separate category. Check the current selection when you log in, as the objectives change.
Open the Special tab in the Wizard's Vault as well. You can earn Astral Acclaim from Halloween objectives tied to annual achievements including A Royal Tradition, Halloween Rituals, Masters of the Labyrinth and Raceway Regular. These give you another reason to check your annual goals before choosing an activity. Follow the deadline shown on each festival objective; the timer at the top of the Vault covers a different period.
Check the weekly reward before reset
Weekly Halloween Festivities awards a Fog Machine Chest at 100 points and a Candy Corn Cob at 200. Your progress resets on Monday. The activities award different amounts:
| Activity | Weekly points |
|---|---|
| Open-world haunted-door event or green mob-door event in the Labyrinth | 1 |
| Defeat a Labyrinth boss | 3 |
| Complete a race lap or time trial | 5 |
| Complete Mad King Says | 5 |
| Defeat Thorn in Ascent to Madness | 5 |
| Open the Stopped Clock Tower's final chest | 5 |
| Open the original Mad King's Clock Tower's final chest | 10 |
Running a race event and its matching time trial together still awards five points, not ten. Pumpkin carving, Lunatic Inquisition, Reaper's Rumble and homestead trick-or-treating do not advance this weekly. They have their own reasons to visit, but they won't finish that last stretch of Halloween Festivities for you.
Mad King's Labyrinth: doors, bosses and bags
You arrive above the maze. Look for the stone portal near the Lunatic Boatmaster to travel down into the Labyrinth itself. Open the map before moving off so you know where your entry point is.
Haunted-door events and bosses are different stops. If you join a group, read its description and follow its stated plan. A group farming regular enemies may not be the right fit when your immediate goal is a missing champion.
For the annual Masters of the Labyrinth objective, the current list contains five champions: Skeletal Lich, Grand High Viscount of Candy Corn, Labyrinthine Horror, Harrower Veltan and Hollowed Gourdbinder. Watch your achievement progress instead of assuming that a familiar older checklist still covers the requirement.
Labyrinth dos and don'ts
These conventions help a coordinated farming squad share tags and keep moving together. Follow the group's advertised rules; boss-focused runs and small groups can use different setups.
Do
- Read the squad description and follow the commander's route. Check whether the group is clearing bosses or focusing on regular enemies.
- In a shared farming squad, hit enemies as you move with the group and leave other players time to reach them. Follow any mount or damage rules in the squad listing.
- Clear space in your bags before joining so inventory management doesn't leave you behind.
- Help nearby downed players get back up when you can.
- When the squad stops to kill a boss, switch from light tagging to a suitable boss-damage setup. The group needs to finish the fight as well as reach it.
Don't
- Open any door without the commander's go-ahead. Wait for the squad to gather before anyone activates it.
- Run ahead to trigger events or start a boss the commander has told the group to skip.
- Use mount engage attacks on a shared tagging run. If mounts are allowed for catching up, dismount normally before attacking.
- Unload your full burst on every weak enemy or scatter the pack with knockbacks when the group is trying to share tags.
- Expect a boss-skipping farm to finish Masters of the Labyrinth. Join a group whose plan matches your achievement goal.
- Assume everyone must remove their trinkets. Some squads request reduced-damage gear; check their instructions before changing your setup.
Keep the two kinds of bags separate
Regular Trick-or-Treat Bags can be traded. Personalized Trick-or-Treat Bags are account-bound, so selling those is not an option. Check the full item name before following advice about opening or selling your loot.
For regular bags, decide whether you want their contents or the sale proceeds. A rare-drop screenshot is not an expected return, and last year's prices cannot tell you which option is better today. Check any bag-opening achievement you are pursuing before selling your entire stack.
Magic Find is also not a blanket bonus to everything you open. It affects eligible enemy drops and explicitly supported reward sources; ordinary containers are not automatically included. Do not save your Halloween bags for a Magic Find booster session on that assumption.
Mad King's Clock Tower or Stopped Clock Tower?
The original Clock Tower is the timed version. The Stopped Clock Tower removes that timer and does not have the bonus chests along the route. Select it through a Lunatic Boatmaster or the relevant haunted-door option, then speak to Lunatic Courtier Amabel in the waiting area to begin.
This is the useful choice when you want to stop, look at the next platform and learn the route. It still involves jumping; removing the timer does not remove the gaps.
The stopped version counts for the annual Clock Tower objective and contributes to the festival weekly. Rewards and progress are not identical to the original version, so choose based on both the experience you want and the objective you are tracking.
Clock Tower dos and don'ts
Do
- Use the Stopped Clock Tower to study awkward jumps at your own pace.
- Keep moving in the original timed version. Prioritise reaching the top while you're learning, then try the side chests once you know the route.
- Open the final chest for the weekly points; arriving near the top isn't the same as collecting the reward.
Don't
- Pause to plan your next jump in the timed version as though the miasma will wait.
- Look for the original's bonus chests in the stopped version, or assume both versions give the same weekly points.
Mad King's Raceway and rental mounts
Speak to a Time Trial NPC at Mad King's Raceway to start a course, or join a race event. Mad Stablehands offer rental mounts if you don't own the mount you need.
Annual Raceway Regular needs 15 progress, with gold-medal times awarding extra progress. The Labyrinth's annual Lunatic Racer objective is different: finish its race in under two minutes three times. Check which location and achievement you're working on before repeating a course.
Raceway dos and don'ts
Do
- Pick up a rental if you need one, then learn the course before chasing a medal time.
- Watch the checkpoints. If one doesn't register, go back through it rather than continuing an incomplete lap.
Don't
- Repeat a Raceway course for an objective that specifically asks for the Labyrinth race.
- Count a simultaneous race and time-trial completion as two lots of weekly points.
Mad King Says in Lion's Arch
Thorn runs Mad King Says in Lion's Arch every two hours. His commands and trick commands use similar wording, so watch the event text. Successful participation earns progress towards keys for Mad King's Chest.
Annual A Royal Tradition requires three completed rounds. Check the event countdown when you're in town so you can fit a round between other activities.
Mad King Says dos and don'ts
Do
- Perform the requested emote when the command begins with “Your Mad King says” or “This Mad King says”.
- Keep the event objective and its timer visible so you can check what he asked for.
Don't
- Obey a trick command that lacks the “Mad King says” introduction.
- Spam several emotes hoping one counts. Use only the requested action within its time limit.
Ascent to Madness
Enter through an Ascent to Madness haunted door in Lion's Arch. Once a party member is inside, other party members in Lion's Arch can accept the invitation to join.
During Thorn's Mad King Says phase, your normal skills temporarily become emotes. The fight also moves between platforms, so keep an eye on where Thorn goes when he becomes invulnerable.
Ascent to Madness dos and don'ts
Do
- Read the temporary skill bar and press the emote Thorn requests. Check the skill names rather than memorising their positions.
- Move out of pumpkin-bomb areas and look for the stepping-stone route when Thorn moves to a lower platform.
Don't
- Type the emote into chat during this encounter; you need the matching temporary skill.
- Keep attacking an invulnerable Thorn or jump straight into the void trying to reach his next platform.
Collections, pumpkins and competitive minigames
Magister Tassi's Mad Memoires collections provide a longer scavenger-hunt project if you'd rather explore than repeat combat events. Start with Tassi in Lion's Arch and follow the collection entries for the next step.
Carving pumpkins around Tyria advances Annual Pumpkin Carving; its target is 100. You can also work on Annual Ancient Grudge by defeating 100 of Palawa Joko's minions, or Annual Arguably Foodlike by eating 300 pieces of candy corn. These are annual objectives, not extra ways to earn Halloween Festivities weekly points.
Annual Courtly Service offers another option: spend five gold commissioning services for the Labyrinth. You only need nine of the ten annual objectives, so this paid objective is optional.
Homestead Trick-or-Treating has its own weekly entry for ringing haunted bells at guild halls or other players' homesteads. It awards Personalized Trick-or-Treat Bags and is separate from the 100/200-point Halloween Festivities track.
For competitive minigames, speak to a Lunatic Boatmaster about Lunatic Inquisition or Reaper's Rumble. Neither contributes to Halloween Festivities weekly points.
Lunatic Inquisition dos and don'ts
Villagers try to survive until time runs out. Courtiers hunt them, and a defeated villager joins the courtiers.
Do
- As a villager, use hiding places and collected tools to escape. Stay still while using Hide in Shadows.
- Switch objectives after conversion: as a courtier, help find and convert the remaining villagers.
Don't
- Treat a villager's role as a normal deathmatch. Staying alive is what your side needs.
- Confuse your personal score with the win condition; the round turns on whether any villagers survive.
Reaper's Rumble dos and don'ts
Your team protects its mausoleums while trying to destroy the enemy's. Pumpkins help you raise attacking skeletons.
Do
- Bring pumpkins to your own team's surviving mausoleums to spawn skeletons.
- Support your skeletons as they attack and defend your own objectives.
Don't
- Carry pumpkins to a destroyed mausoleum; it can no longer spawn your reinforcements.
- Spend the whole match chasing player kills while the enemy destroys your mausoleums.
Decide what to save your festival materials for
The 2026 annual reward is Primeval King's Wrappings. Fog Machine weapons are available through annual and weekly achievement progress. Those are separate from the new vendor purchases, so check the acquisition route before spending materials.
| Reward | Route to check |
|---|---|
| Primeval King's Wrappings | Annual Halloween Rituals |
| Fog Machine weapon choice | Annual Halloween Rituals or Weekly Halloween Festivities |
| Plush Mad King Backpack | Candy Corn Vendor |
| Mini Longhaired Black Cat | Candy Corn Vendor |
| Trader's Unchained Chest | Weekly candy corn vendor |
| New festival decorations | Deft Lahar in Lion's Arch |
The backpack costs five each of Gibbering Skulls, High-Quality Plastic Fangs, Tyria's Best Nougat Centers and Candy Corn Cobs. The Mini Longhaired Black Cat costs 15 Candy Corn Cobs. Preview the item and read the full cost in the shop before converting materials.
If you missed last year's Lunatic Jester's Trousers, they have moved to the Halloween vendors. For decorating, Deft Lahar offers the new Plush Mad King, Plush Zhaia, Foreboding Raven Tree and Foreboding Raven Roost decorations.
Pick a reward you want before converting your materials. The backpack uses several different refined materials, while the cat uses Candy Corn Cobs alone.
Quick questions
When does GW2 Halloween 2026 end?
ArenaNet lists November 3, 2026 as the final date. Do not leave an unfinished reward plan until the last moment.
Can I try the races without my own mount?
Yes. The festival offers rental mounts at the Raceway.
Do I have to beat the timed Clock Tower for the annual objective?
No. The annual Clock Tower objective accepts the Stopped Clock Tower too. You need three completions.
For more help beyond the festival, see our Guild Wars 2 guides and hub.
Sources
- ArenaNet: Shadow of the Mad King 2026
- ArenaNet: October 13, 2026 release notes
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Halloween
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Halloween Rituals
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Weekly Halloween Festivities
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Mad King's Labyrinth
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Mad King's Clock Tower
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Stopped Clock Tower
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Mad King's Raceway
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Mad King Says
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Lunatic Inquisition
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Reaper's Rumble
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Candy Corn Vendor
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Trick-or-Treat Bag
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Personalized Trick-or-Treat Bag
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Magic Find
- Guild Wars 2 Wiki: Ascent to Madness
- MetaBattle: Farming the Mad King's Labyrinth
