Guild Wars 2 update brings gliding to central Tyria

The Guild Wars 2 Winter Update 2016 is live and it's a big one, bringing the sort of change WoW reserved for its Cataclysm expansion.

Winter Update 2016 is live and it's a big one, bringing the sort of change WoW reserved for its Cataclysm expansion. Gliding, introduced to the Maguuma Jungle in Heart of Thorns, is now available throughout the world, meaning you can now hurl yourself from the spires of Divinity's Reach or splatter artistically across the cobbles in Lion's Arch.

The staple Shatterer fight in Blazeridge Steppes has been revamped to account for aerial assaults, rocking new tactics and minions to relieve that feeling of déjà vu that comes with having slain him 500 times before.

Commanders are able to fully command their squads at last using an age-old leadership strategy: delegation. Lieutenants can be promoted to organise subgroups and broadcast orders, while squad leaders can place markers in the world and on the minimap.

Just for laughs, the Eldvin Monastery Brew of the Month Club has opened its doors in Queensdale, offering a new artisanal, micro-brewed, filtered-through-the-beard-of-a-hipster craft ale each month—an update very much in keeping with the PCG office brand, I have to say. Sample all 12 and you'll be rewarded with a title, backpack, guild decoration and liver cirrhosis.

Of course there's the usual rebalancing and un-balancingand the re-rebalancing that's sure to follow, but why worry about the numbers when it's party time in Divinity's Reach? The Lunar New Year is underway until February 9. From the Crown Pavilion you can let off dodgy fireworks and have a crack at the Dragon Ball PvP minigame.

Full patch notes here.