Greatfather-Winter
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Celebrate Winter Veil with letters to Greatfather Winter
Sometimes you just have to embrace the holiday spirit. That's what Blizzard is doing, by announcing that it's time for all the good girls and boys of Azeroth and Draenor to get their letters to Greatfather Winter. What do you want for this year's Winter Veil? Well, whatever it is, asking can't hurt, so go ahead and comment on the official post, or here on the forums. There's even a thread here on the RP forums, if you're so inclined. I personally think transmog was the gift that keeps on giving for me, but if there's something you want, get on board.
Last day to open Greatfather Winter's gifts
Greatfather Winter may have packed his great wintry bags and left town for another year, taking his tree and his decorations with him, but he's been good enough to leave his six presents behind for another day to help out the slowpoke recipient. Wowhead's guide states that, while they're here today, these gifts will be gone tomorrow, so grab your last chance to get the Winter's Helper pets, the Mechanical Greench, the Snowman Kit or Jingling Bell. There's also some eggnog, cookies, wands, and roast dinners to be had, amongst other surprises. And, how could I forget, the achievements that go with them. Of course, any of these items that are limited to Winter Veil only have a day left in them, so make haste, don't tarry, open a present today! You can only enjoy the Mechanical Greench for so long. So if you're missing just one part of the Winter Veil achievement set for your Long Strange Trip, today's the day. It's back to just being plain old January tomorrow. No wonder that Overseer looks so glum.
WoW Archivist: The crashin' thrashin' history of Winter Veil
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? This month we celebrate the tenth annual Feast of Winter Veil. The holiday is almost as old as WoW itself. Winter Veil was the first ever holiday to be implemented, just after the game launched in November 2004. Blizzard patched in Winter Veil along with the Maraudon dungeon, the option to turn off cloaks and helms, and many other changes in patch 1.2 on December 18. Since then, Winter Veil has enjoyed a long evolution over the years into today's version. Let's spend a few minutes with the Ghost of Winter Veil Past! The first Winter Veil Given how early this holiday was added to the game, it's not surprising that there wasn't much to it compared to today. The holiday came with a few quests, including the original, short Greench questline. The first few days of the holiday saw a swarm of activity in Hillsbrad. The Tarren Mill vs. Southshore battles moved a few leagues north, as players battled friend and foe alike to tag the Greench and get quest credit. Completing the questline awarded you with one of several crafting recipes, such as Gloves of the Greatfather, the Winter's Might enchantment, or the coveted Snowmaster 9000 schematic.
Patch 5.4 PTR: Datamined files point to possible Winter Veil revamp
Wowhead has found some new items over on the patch 5.4 PTR. The latest round of datamining has dug up several items with a Greatfather tag -- Greatfather's Box of Greatness, Greatfather's Path of Cenarius, Greatfather's Satchel, and a new mount, Greatfather's Riding Turtle. Keep in mind that all datamined material is, of course, simply files that may or may not actually make it into the live iteration of the game. But the only Greatfather we know of at the moment is a jolly guy who hands out gifts once a year during the Feast of Winter Veil. Winter Veil received a revamp in 2011 when the Abominable Greench was changed to a world boss of sorts that required multiple players to kill, and several quests were added and changed. But the essential part of Winter Veil has always been the presents under the tree, and each Winter Veil has always introduced a new item and a new achievement to go along with it. However, the addition of satchels and boxes, as well as a mount, sounds much more like the other traditional holiday bosses that have required queuing for a dungeon to complete. Do we have a Winter Veil revamp in the works here? We won't really know until December, but it's certainly interesting to think about -- and if this is the case, will we see any other holidays get a makeover as well?
Breakfast Topic: Dear Greatfather Winter...
Each year the people of Azeroth count their blessings, cross their daggers, tuck a shrunken head (or two) under their pillows, and wish upon a star that Greatfather Winter will bring them just what they've always wanted. It won't be long until colorfully wrapped presents appear under the trees in the great cities of Orgrimmar and Ironforge. At this time of year, it's traditional to write letters to the generous Greatfather of Azeroth, asking for your heart's desire. Whether it's an in-game item, like a mount, or a weapon, a piece of armor, or a pet; or something in the real world, like a collector's edition, a novel, or a plushy wyvern, if you ask really nicely, Greatfather Winter might just shimmy down your chimney and leave a stocking just for you. So what would you ask for? Let me get this show on the road. Dear Greatfather Winter, I've been ever so good this year, and I'd really, really like a monk jumper like Bashiok has. That's not a lot to ask. Sure, it's a real life item, but is that a big deal? And if it had to be an in-game item, I'd ask for a water strider mount. Unless, of course, we could ask for items not currently in game, in which case I'd ask for a rep tabard! And if you're not willing to put your holiday faith into Greatfather Winter, there's always WoW Insider's 12 days of Winter Veil, that's going to be here before you know it, with a bounty of gifts to give away! So tell us, and Greatfather Winter, what do you want for Winter Veil? Post your letter over at Battle.net, too!
WoW Moviewatch: GreatFather Winter
We waited until after Thanksgiving to start celebrating the winter holidays. But now that the turkeys have been nommed, it's time to slip on our pointed ears and white beards to celebrate Winter's Veil! Let's get this party started with GreatFather Winter by Cranius. I wonder if the neighbors will notice when the Gray family uses this song for caroling. I guess we'll find out who in the neigborhood is a WoW player. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Insider Weekly News Update for Dec. 23, 2011
The WoW Insider Weekly News Update is your source for all the biggest stories from the past week wrapped up in a neat little video package. Mathew McCurley hosts your quick look at this week's biggest news. If you haven't already subscribed to the WoW Insider YouTube channel, you should! This week's top stories include: Winter Veil is here! KIN Raiders defeat Madness of Deathwing heroic, earning a world-first kill. The winner of our Nightsaber Cub pet is Ceteacie! Look for a message from us on YouTube soon. Win a Purple Puffer Fish from WoW Insider! Here's how to enter: Subscribe to the WoW Insider YouTube channel and comment on the video at YouTube for a chance to win! We'll contact our winner via YouTube on Friday, Dec. 30.
WRUP: All I want for Winterveil ...
Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too! Happy non-denominational, non-religious, made-up in-game holidays, everyone! It's that magical Winterveil season. All the good boys and girls in Azeroth -- 95% of whom seem to be orphans, go figure -- are sitting on all sorts of strangers' laps asking for Grindgear Gorillas, a sixth season of The A-Team, and whatever else it is kids like nowadays. In addition to the usual question of What are you playing? this week, I asked our columnists exactly what it is they all want from Greatfather Winter this year.
The Light and How to Swing It: Cataclysm class preview wishlist
With the Light as his strength, Gregg Reece of The Light and How to Swing It faces down the demons of the Burning Legion, the undead of the Scourge, and soon an entire flight of black dragons. Well, here's the problem. I was going to do this whole long article on my predictions and wish-list for the paladin Cataclysm class previews that were coming out Friday. The problem is that they've moved them up to Wednesday which is the same day this column normally goes live. So, I can either write a nice long column with predictions that will end up going live after the real information comes out or we can do a short and sweet prediction article a day early with more time spent on analysis for tomorrow. I'm going with short and sweet version.
Breafast Topic: Winter Veil is here!
I have a secret to share. I'm Greatfather Winter. Nah, just kidding! I don't have the beard long enough to play the part yet. The Feast of Winter Veil is here! Greatfather Winter is chillin' (get it?) out in Ironforge and is waiting to hear what you guys want this holiday. Winter Veil will last from December 15th, 2009 to January 2nd, 2010. The Winter Veil achievements can be done during this time so be sure to get those finished before it's too late. Otherwise, you'll have to wait another full year before you can finish off the year long What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been achievement for a shiny violet protodrake. Not sure where to start? Check out Allison's OverAchiever: Guide to Winter Veil. Sadly, this year there are no Crashin' Thrashin' Racers this year (which makes me one sad panda). I'll cheer myself up by picking up massive amounts of snowballs and chucking them at various Horde players (or guildies) in Dalaran. What's the first thing you plan on doing when Winter Veil starts up?
Breakfast Topic: Winter Veil Merrymaking
So, for those lucky enough to have today off, I'm sort of wondering if anyone's awake yet to read this topic. After all, I'm sure a good portion of us drank so much eggnog and ate so much roast beef, turkey, or your other meat or non-meat of choice, that we're all sort of wishing we could just hibernate for the rest of the winter.But regardless, life goes on, and here it is the morning after. I'm sort of wondering, then, how many people made time to get a few winter veil traditions in as well. I admit, for my part, first thing in the morning I logged onto WoW, ran to Ironforge, and checked out what Greatfather Winter bought for me. Then I proceeded to run around with my crashing thrashing racer until I got 25 crashes and the Merrymaker title. Which I am not using because my character is a Death Knight. Death Knights do not... make merry. We're dark. And angsty. But we also like Violet Proto-Drakes, so what can we do?Did anyone else make time to log on and get a little Merrymaking going? Did you just stick to more achievement gathering, or are you making your own WoW Winter Veil traditions?
The Achievements of Winter Veil
Looking for our 2010 Winterveil Guide? You'll find it here! The Feast of Winter Veil is almost upon us. The festivities kick off on December 15th, and will run until January 2nd. There are plenty of achievements to be had, as well as the title "Merrymaker" for completing them all. If you can complete every achievement from all of the holidays in a year, you will also be eligible for the achievement, What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been, which rewards you with a Violet Proto-Drake. You can refer to this guide for information about completing each achievement for this holiday, including links to maps and our usual comments section that should not be passed over if you're looking for tips. %Gallery-12195%
It's Consortium gem day!
Yes folks, it's the first of the month and it is time for your trek to Aeris Landing in western Nagrand. Gezhe will hook you up with a loot bag containing random gems, some of which are quite profitable. Of course, being the swindlers that they are, they don't give out something for nothing.What you get depends partly on chance, and partly on how much they love you. Here's the breakdown: At Friendly, you'll be handed a Gem-Stuffed Envelope. Once Honored, you get upgraded to an Unmarked Bag of Gems. Unmarked bags never contain stolen goods! At Revered, you will be awarded with a Bulging Sack of Gems. This one always reminds me of Santa's Greatfather Winter's bag of goodies. Once Exalted, you'll receive a Bag of Premium Gems. The higher your freebie is on the scale, the more likely it is to contain valuable rare quality gems that will help offset the cost of gemming your gear, or contribute to your epic flying mount fund. Get out there and get your gems!
Reminder: It's Winter's Veil in July!
"Ho ho hello, everyone! It is I, Greatfather Winter, reminding you that time is running out on your chance to enter WoW Insider's Winter's Veil in July contest. Yes, I and the kind folks at Smokeywood Pastures -- fresh from our farm to your plate, it's Smokeywood Pastures' wholesome goodness -- and Upper Deck are giving away a TCG Winter's Veil Gift set right here on WoW Insider in the middle of summer! Huzzah."To enter, I hear you have to go to our contest post, and put a comment there (one per person, must be in the USA or Canada, full rules available here). Please note: you must comment on that post, as putting a comment on this post will get you nothing but on my naughty list -- although that means that you might get some of Smokeywood Pastures' new line of coal products. They'll warm your fire so well, you'll feel just like me on Winter's Veil Eve."Wait, what? That makes no sense. Anyway, folks, your Great-father Winter is getting pretty tired here -- unlike the usual Winter's Veil festival, I don't have players bringing me cookies and milk all the time during the summer, so I get a little parched. But do make sure to run back to that post and comment, and have a happy -- what is this? July. From your friends at Smokeywood Pastures. I give up. Where's the Schnapps?"
A Winter Veil recipe may be in your mailbox
Check your in-game mailboxes today. Greatfather Winter may have sent you a recipe. Deacon sent us a tip this morning saying that he got a Tailoring recipe for "some fine green winter clothes", so I ran and checked Freja's mailbox to find that she had received a recipe for Hot Apple Cider. It looks like if you have previously completed Greatfather Winter's quest, he may have sent you a recipe that was added in Patch 2.3, just for the Feast of Winter Veil. You do not need the required skill or level to receive the recipe. Here are the possible goodies you could have waiting for you in your mailbox: Pattern: Green Winter Clothes -- Tailoring, Horde only Pattern: Red Winter Clothes -- Tailoring, Alliance only Pattern: Winter Boots -- Leatherworking Recipe: Hot Apple Cider -- Cooking Did you get a Winter Veil gift from Greatfather Winter today?
Enter to win a TCG Feast of Winter's Veil set from Upper Deck and WoW Insider
Didn't (like most TCG players) win anything in this past weekend's World Championships? Worry not! Upper Deck has kindly provided us with not one but two special Feast of Winter Veil collector's gift sets (valued at $24.99) to give away. Yes, just in time for the holidays, here's your chance to win a set for the WoW TCG player in your life (even if that's you).To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling Greatfather Winter what you want for Winter's Veil (and no, saying "a Feast of Winter's Veil gift set!" will not help your chances of winning these) before Friday, December 7th at 3:00pm EST. You can enter only once (and we'll know it if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness' sake!). Two winners will be selected randomly from all the comments on this post within that time to win a set each, so use your real email, and check it within 24 hours of the contest's end, or you'll lose your prize. You must also be over 18 and a US resident due to legal red tape-- click here for official rules.Good luck everybody, and have a merry Winter's Veil!Update: Contest over, comments closed. Check your email.
