ArenaNet seems very committed to adding plenty of new content on a monthly basis to its subscription-less Guild Wars 2. Last month it launched a Halloween-themed event called Shadow of the Mad King, and the November update, called The Lost Shores, is entirely different.

For PvP players, there’s a new map on the way for the smaller-scale arena combat mode called Temple of the Silent Storm. It’s a giant iceberg and training ground of the Kodan race of armored polar bears. According to ArenaNet the iceberg will be hollowed out, so you can fight in various chambers carved through its center.  You’ll also find a particularly important buff inside the iceberg that instantly gives you control of every single capture point on the map, which ArenaNet hopes will give battles on Silent Storm a totally different kind of feel compared to the others currently live in Guild Wars 2.

The big tease for this content update is a new quest chain that ends in an event that will occur only once. It’ll involve a new foe called the Karka who invade Lion’s Arch using new and powerful skills and combat mechanics. Thanks to some updated shader tech ArenaNet has been working on, the damage you inflict on the Karka will actually knock pieces of their armor off, but in order to inflict damage you’ll need to first do quests around Tyria. Once you’ve quested enough to figure out how to pierce and shatter the Karka’s armor, you’ll go after them in their settled territory, which just so happens to be a new level map near the Sea of Sorrows called Southsun Cove. The map will include events, jumping puzzles and all the usual elements of an explorable zone, and after the Lost Shores weekend is over, this zone will remain in the world. This Karka event will run from Friday November 16 through to Sunday November 18, and will culminate at noon on Sunday in a major multi-part event that will run only once.

A new dungeon is also on the way, called Fractals of the Mist. It’s a five-person dungeon that starts off in a hub zone that contains merchants and repair stations. From that point you’ll be loaded into one of nine fractals, which according to ArenaNet are randomly chosen. Each fractal will contain unique puzzles, monster composition and bosses and should take between 15 and 40 minutes to complete. In total you’ll need to clear three fractals, and their order is random. After the third fractal you’ll be sent back to the hub, and every time you enter back into the fractals afterward, the encounters will become more challenging and give out better rewards. To add more variety, every other time you clear a three fractal chain, you’ll face a boss type that’s unique to the fractal dungeon.

In addition, ArenaNet will introduce a new tier of item rarity for this dungeon called ascended. Ascended items will be a little bit better than exotic gear, and can be further powered up through a new infusion system to better handle the constantly increasing challenge of the fractals. This seems like a really interesting system for those who like running dungeons, as its random structure, scaling difficulty and big rewards should encourage multiple playthroughs without requiring groups to cycle through exactly the same content.

You’ll find the Lost Shores event schedule on the official Guild Wars 2 site and can start playing this Friday.