[Update #2]: The August 23rd patch will buff up many of the long-forgotten builds and specializations. Additionally, the August 23rd patch will see Guild Wars 2 launch onto Steam alongside a brand new set of achievement-based armor.

[Update]: The patch has now arrived, and so far things are looking pretty good.

One of the things I remember the most from my early days in Guild Wars 2 was the first time I ran into the Shadow Behemoth in the Queensdale starting zone. The sky suddenly became dark, hundreds of players swooped in out of nowhere, and after a bit of a build-up a giant monstrosity burst from the ground and attacked everyone. For a newbie that mostly spent his time slapping random wildlife around, seeing such a huge group of players tackle an equally huge foe was all the excuse I needed to commit to the game and see just what else Guild Wars 2's world had to offer.

Unfortunately, outside of a couple that have been reworked, these boss fights have not managed to stand the test of time. They were designed for a game with a significantly lower power level, which means that under the onslaught of today's fully geared characters the bosses melt within seconds and pose absolutely no threat whatsoever.

So in an effort to bring these bosses back to their former glory, ArenaNet is planning to release a whole bunch of improvements with the July 19th update. While the exact details are still few and far between, the goal is to bring them up to the current design standards "by adding skill telegraphs and defiance bars, improving encounter mechanics, and rebalancing health pools to accommodate the power level of modern profession builds."

The Great Jungle Wurm, Shadow Behemoth, and Svanir Shaman Chieftain will also receive some visual improvements, while all of the bosses will start dropping additional rewards in order to incentive players to keep coming back to them. With a bit of luck this should keep things exciting yet accessible for new players as veterans will be able to carry the brunt of the burden.

Besides all of the world boss changes, the July 19th update will bring with it the return of the third episode of Living World Season 1 - Clockwork Chaos. As the name might imply, Clockwork Chaos is going to be all about the unhinged Scarlet Briar unveiling yet another master plan.

You can read more about these additions, as well as some of the other tweaks coming with the update, over at the Guild Wars 2 website. Enjoy!