hallows-end
Latest
WoW Insider's Guide to Hallow's End 2010
Hallow's End begins at 4:00 a.m. server time on Monday, Oct. 18 and runs through 4:00 a.m. server time Sunday, Oct. 31 this year. The holiday is part of the yearlong meta What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been rewarding the Violet Proto-Drake, and completing all required Hallow's End achievements will also award the title "the Hallowed." This year's incarnation of Hallow's End is notable for arriving less than a week after patch 4.0.1, which disheartened a lot of players who had been expecting to complete the yearlong meta as the holiday arrived and felt cheated out of free 310 percent flight. Happily, Blizzard's decided to continue awarding the 310 percent flight proto-drake for the achievement, so if you nab What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been this Hallow's End but didn't already have a super-fast flyer, you should be grandfathered into the 310 percent flight skill without having to pay for it. Hallow's End is also subject to the new rules implemented this past year requiring players to queue for holiday bosses through the dungeon finder. You'll find a full guide to the holiday achievements past the cut!
Hallow's End was exactly random enough
Now that Hallow's End is over for another year, it's time to settle up. We already asked whether you got what you wanted, but according to the informal polls (and the feedback I've been hearing), quite a few people didn't actually get everything they were trying for. As we mentioned on the podcast the other week, many people who said they did everything they could probably didn't (did you really go trick-or-treating every hour of every day during the holiday?), but it's not too far a stretch to suggest that maybe the drop rates for some of the hardest items to get (the Horseman's helm and the Sinister Squashling pet seem to be the toughest, though I heard a lot of stories about hard-to-find toothpicks, too) are a little bit lower than they should be for fairness. Not so, says Bornakk -- he said while the holiday was ongoing that the drop rates were fine, and now that it's over, he says they're still fine. That doesn't mean Blizzard won't change it for next year, but it does mean that they don't have any current plans to change the holiday at all. "The randomness," as he says, "can win sometimes." Our condolences if you were trying for an item and didn't get it -- even on a 50/50 coin flip, there's still a chance to see one side 1000 times in a row. We sincerely mean this one: better luck next year.
Breakfast Topic: Hallow's End ends
This is it, the end of Hallow's End. Let's make today's Breakfast Topic a quick one... how did your Hallow's End go? Were you able to obtain everything you needed? It took me logging on every hour on the hour (alright, on the hour when I remembered it, anyway) to get the Hallowed Helm which I didn't manage to pick up last year. Along the way, I lined my bags with an assortment of wands, loads of ridiculous masks that still didn't complete A Mask for All Occasions, and enough Tooth Picks to make a family of sharks sparkly clean. I finally got it with forty-something hours to spare, after five straight tricks from Innkeeper Gryshka. How did you fare? Did you manage to get The Hallowed title on all your characters? Were you able to beat the Headless Horseman into coughing up more candy? Did you go around making those emotes just to get treats for those kids? Time's run out on this World of Warcraft holiday, so share your in-game stories about this past week or so.
Happy Halloween from WoW.com and Massively
Happy Halloween, dear readers! Today's the day, the spookiest day of the year! In the real world, prepare yourself to sit through hours and hours of random children in costumes ringing your doorbell begging for treats from strangers. In Azeroth, you only have two days left to finish your various Hallow's End achievements, everything disappears into the aether on November 2nd it ends tonight! Whoa! Halloween is being celebrated in worlds beyond Azeroth and our own, too. All month long, our sister site Massively has been covering the numerous celebrations going on in the various ongoing MMOs, from Free Realms' Spooky Spectacular to Aion's Harvest Revel. If you're interested in any of those, head on over to Massively's Halloween roundup to check out their coverage, as well as a screenshot gallery of some holiday eye candy from those many games. Some of the events were quite cool, so I highly recommend taking a look. Guild Wars still has some pretty fantastic aesthetics. As long as you're all here, I'm curious: Are you dressing up today? If so, what's your costume? If it's something WoW-related, we would love pictures! And are you taking anybody Trick or Treating, or will you be giving out candy? Personally, I'm dressing up as a chubby computer nerd (it's a classic) and handing out Dum Dums by the handful.
Win Grunty by answering 10 Escapist questions
As part of their Halloween celebration, the Escapist magazine is giving away twenty Grunty the Murloc Marine codes to sharp readers able to answer their 10-question quiz about the World of Warcraft's Hallow's End event. Readers, who have to register at the site (go ahead, it's free), need to get all ten questions correctly in order to be entered in a random drawing to receive one of the codes for the murloc pet. Aside from being unbearably cute and badass at the same time, the Starcraft-themed baby murloc which was given away at this year's BlizzCon also gets into a shootout with the Zergling pet. Or explodes in green goo. It depends on who gets the jump. Fortunately for you readers, there's no need for that kind of violence. Just head on over to the Escapist Magazine and answer their fairly easy quiz (insert Headless Horseman laughter here), a multiple choice affair that doesn't have any time limit -- so it's actually kind of a giveaway. Well, a giveaway for players with a good grasp of wowhead and wowwiki the game, as it's not exactly easy. Well, it wasn't easy for me, but I'm no expert on Azerothian Holidays (I got 9/10, so I'm out of the running). If you think you've got the chops for it, though, hop on over to the Escapist and start the quiz!
The Guild Halloween special
The Guild is on holiday vacation this week -- instead of the latest episode in the series (which is episode 9, and will come out next week, we're told), they've posted a Halloween special video, which you can watch over on MSN or right past the break below. It's more than just a chance to don their actual guildie costumes, too -- they go on a "socially acceptable real-world looting" run, with each guildie terrorizing one unlucky couple in their own special way. What's scarier than a Tuesday with all the servers down for maintenance? Vork showing up at your door. And while we're on the subject of The Guild, our good friends at Massively got a chance to speak with a few of the cast members at GameX earlier this week -- Jeff Lewis, Robin Thorsen, and Sandeep Parikh got cornered by Massively's cameras, and talked with them about Wil Wheaton, MMOs, and Sandeep's famous backflip. Have a happy Halloween, Guild fans, and we'll be back next week with the third-to-last episode of season 3. Like The Guild? We do, too! We chatted with all of the folks at BlizzCon, including Felicia Day, Sandeep Parikh, and Jeff Lewis and Michele Boyd. We also saw their panel, and the guys were nice enough to stop by our meetup as well. Stay tuned here every Tuesday for a brand new episode of season 3!
WoW Insider Show Episode 113: LFG with a vengeance
We had a fun show as always on our podcast last Saturday -- Gregg Reece joined Turpster and I to talk about the most popular stories of the last week. We talked at length about Hallow's End and how it's going for everybody, the new LFG system coming to patch 3.3 and what to expect in there, as well as last week's developer chat on Twitter and whether or not Blizzard should do it again. And of course we answered your emails, and actually went longer than I think we ever have before. Not three hours long -- we're only doing that if we can get 25,000 followers on Twitter (and hey, though we're not there yet, we're actually moving pretty steadily towards that). But it was a nice long show this past week, full of the usual information and fun. Hit it up to listen on any of the links below, and enjoy -- we'll be back next Saturday afternoon as usual. Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes. [RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. Listen here on the page:
WoW Moviewatch: Hallow's End Summed Up in 2 Minutes
Hallows End Summed Up in 2 Minutes, subtitled (Hot Bloodelf Chicks included!!!) is Wowcrendor's new offering regarding that infamous candy-based event. It's got the same critical-but-loving eye that Wowcrendor uses in his other informational WoW series. Now that Wowcrendor has a few of these under his belt, I can't think of a better voice for this kind of saracastic, endearing narrative. It's something about the way he portrays the events with an equal mix of frustration and sheer joy. He manages to convey that he really loves the game, even if he's still aware of the absurdity of it all. Even while Wowcrendor's reviewing Hallow's End, he manages to slip in an amusing meta-commentary. The video is subtitled Hot Bloodelf Chicks included!!! True to his word, the blood elves appear in the video, even if only for a few seconds. It's definitely a commentary on contemporary machinima elements in things like Belf Rap. It was worth a brief chuckle. 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 e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.
Reminder: ICftB Trick or Treat event today
Don't forget to join It came from the Blog for some Hallow's End fun today! When: 4:30pm EDT (2:30pm Server Time, 1:30pm PDT) Today Where: Meet at Falconwing Square on Zangarmarsh (U.S.) Who: Any Horde character, any level. There will also be a second part of the event for epic mounted, flightpathed characters. What: Various Hallow's End activities in the Eastern Kingdoms. How: Ask Robinella or any It came from the Blog Lurker for an invite to the guild. We will be doing some all level activities for the greater portion of the event and will finish up Trick or Treats in the Eastern Kingdoms with the epic mounted/flightpathed (yes, they will mostly be death knights) players. Have any questions that are not answered here? Please see our FAQ. We hope you'll join us!
The best of WoW.com: October 13-20, 2009
It's that magical time of year in Azeroth -- pumpkins adorn the inns, players are chowing down on candy like crazy, and a deep rhyming voice echoes throughout the world, originating from somewhere in the Scarlet Monastery. Yes, it's the in-game Hallow's End holiday again, and the Headless Horseman is terrorizing newbies and veterans alike. Head past the break for all the information you need about trick-or-treating your way through Azeroth.
Nibuca's route for picking up candy
Unfortunately, even though I really want "The Hallowed" on my Paladin, he's not quite 80, so going to face the Headless Horseman will be a problem for me. But I may still run around and pick up all of the candy quests, now that they're up and running during Hallow's End. They're only a part of the big meta-achievement, but it might be worth getting them out of the way anyway, and the XP is supposed to be pretty good (especially if you're getting the Heirloom bonuses, which I am).If I do go, I'll be using Nibuca's handy route to all of the candy buckets -- she went through for you and figured out the quickest and easiest (or at least a quicker and easier -- it may not be perfect, as she says, but it works) way around to all of the candy quests in old Azeroth and Outland. You'll have to do Northrend on your own, but you may want to wait on that anyway, as it's supposed to be slightly bugged. If you are planning on getting all of your just desserts this year, Nibuca's route should be extremely helpful.
It came from the Blog: Let's go Trick or Treating!
The Inns of the Eastern Kingdoms are filled with candy, free for the taking. So, obviously, it is time for It came from the Blog to go Trick or Treating. Here are the particulars: When: 4:30pm EDT (2:30pm Server Time, 1:30pm PDT) Saturday, October 24th Where: Meet at Falconwing Square on Zangarmarsh (U.S.) Who: Any Horde character, any level. There will also be a second part of the event for epic mounted, flightpathed characters. What: Various Hallow's End activities in the Eastern Kingdoms. How: Ask Robinella or any It came from the Blog Lurker for an invite to the guild. The first (and major) part of this event is open to all levels. The second part will consist of finishing up the Eastern Kingdoms Achievement that the Lowbies have a hard time getting to.All are invited (and encouraged) to attend. If you have any questions like "Why are you Horde biased?" and "When are you coming to my server?", the short answer to both is "We aren't" and the long answers can be found in our FAQ. We hope you'll join us!
Hallow's End 2009 first impressions
It's Hallow's End and the Headless Horseman is back. As soon as my wife saw that our server had clicked over to 1 AM, she had me in my tanking finery and a group assembled lickety split for purposes of killing him and trying to get her a mount. A group of five stalwarts (warrior tank, mage, hunter and DK DPS, disc priest healing) fought our way through the trash mobs and soon had the area around the altar clear and ready for summons. The fight mechanics this year are absolutely unchanged. The gear itself is updated for level 80, and is about the same quality as Naxx-10, heroic epics or non heroic Trial of the Champion. There's a physical DPS ring, a caster DPS ring, and a healing ring that I saw drop as well as a plate DPS helm and a one handed sword that we didn't see once even though we ended up rotating enough alts through to kill him nine times. The Horseman himself doesn't seem to hit very hard at all (I easily healed the fight on my shaman even when the druid tank disconnected) but having your healer get Conflagrate for a group in lesser gear might be pretty nasty. All in all, it was a fun way to try and get a pony. Sadly, no pony dropped for us, but I know I'll be back for at least five tries a day until the end of the holiday. %Gallery-75797%
Breakfast Topic: Hello, Headless Horseman
As the Horseman once again appears without his head attached to his body, we'd be remiss not to talk for a bit about this creepy cranially challenged boss. Pugs upon pugs will form offering nothing more than member's souls in return for the coveted mount. Those that get it will dart about showing off their satanic spirit, while those without it will look on enviously.Of course the mount isn't the only thing to be had -- there are plenty of other goodies dropped by the scourge of Sleepy Hollow. I'm going to be running some alts through and pick up the Ring of Ghoulish Glee on a few of them. The nice combination of attack power, crit, and hit makes it a solid choice for nearly every beginning level 80 melee DPS.And while my warrior has been sporting the level 70 helm for three years now, he's going to have to go back and get the updated level 80 one. Gotta' collect them all.I think this is one of the holidays that the loot from the boss overshadows the achievements and the holiday themselves. Perhaps it's just because this was the first real holiday boss we had that dropped enough special stuff everyone had to farm it as much as possible, or perhaps it's just because the mount is so cool. But nonetheless, the achievements are all there too waiting to be completed.For more information on the holiday, check out our Over Achiever Guide to the Hallow's End Achievement, and the list of the level 80 Headless Horseman rewards. How much do you plan on farming the Headless Horseman? Every day on every alt possible? Or just a bit? %Gallery-75797%
Headless Horseman loot updated for level 80
The burning question about Hallow's Eve this year has been whether or not the Headless Horseman's loot table would be updated for level 80. It had seemed pretty likely, since Coren Direbrew had his myriads of drops tuned for the current expansion. Boubouille answered the question, though, when he posted the newly updated items over on MMO-Champion.Of course, old Headless is still going to have three pretty key items. He'll still drop the Magic Broom, most likely, which has always been a crowd favorite to zip around the world. You can definitely expect the Hallowed Helm and Sinister Squashling pet, since those are key to the Hallowed Be Thy Name achievement. Weighted Jack-o'-Lanterns will still be common for the same reason.Jump behind the cut to see the new stuff, though.
The OverAchiever: Guide to Hallow's End achievements
It always starts the same. You stand in the graveyard of the Scarlet Monastery. You take a candle and carefully place it upon the Hallow's End altar."Horseman rise," you say, "your time is nigh. You felt death once. Now, know demise!"He rises from the distance -- a little to your right, actually, as you face the tomb. The cackling voice and flaming horse make it clear the Horseman has risen again. "It is over, your search is done!" he warns. "Let fate choose now, the righteous one!"While this well-known and titular fight against the Headless Horseman is probably the most recognizable portion of Hallow's End activities, it's far from the only one. Let's take a look behind the cut at what you need to do to become "The Hallowed."
WRUP: It's a dead man's party edition
Happy weekend (and happy almost-Hallow's End!), everyone! Are you sitting comfortably? Catching up on a little Warcraft time after another tedious work-week? Of course the WoW.com team is in-game this weekend, bringing down bosses and collecting loots and maybe -- just maybe -- having a bit of fun in the process. So what are we playing this weekend? Well, we'll tell you!
The Hallow's End Horseman will be ready for you
>>Click here for WoW.com's Guide to Hallow's End 2009<< We've been getting a few queries from you readers lately about the upcoming Hallow's End holiday (it starts this Sunday) and what's new, but honestly, we haven't heard anything solid yet. You can assume that the usual festivities will be happening, so you can definitely plan to run the Horseman and go around getting your candy, but if anything else is new, we haven't heard it for sure yet. There is one tidbit -- Bornakk has confirmed that, like Coren Direbrew, the Horseman will be set for level 80s. And we can assume that means that there will be some new loot to obtain as well. But other than that, anything else that goes down for Hallow's End this year will be a surprise.Not that we won't tell you about it -- of course we'll have coverage up as soon as we see anything new, and if you need help getting any of the achievements or quests done, we'll have help for you there, too. Just a few days left until our favorite holiday in the game -- can't wait!
Blizzard announces 5th annual pumpkin carving contest
Hallow's End is almost upon us, and Blizzard has once again announced their annual pumpkin carving contest. This is always a hoot -- I was only ever able to do the usual jack-o-lantern (once I did a Batman symbol, but it never really worked out), but there are always some real professionals in the mix on these contests, as you can see in the gallery below. Basically, carve a pumpkin featuring something Blizzard-related, showing "high levels of originality, craftsmanship, and possibly humor," light it up with a candle or other source, and then submit a picture over on the site by two weeks from today, Wednesday, October 28th.And some nice prizes this year: the top five submissions will all pick up a nice 32gb iPod touch, apparently supplied by none other than Apple (and of course you'll be able to run those Blizzard mobile apps if you win). Good luck to everyone who enters -- go grab your knife and the biggest "gourd-like squash" you can find and get to carving!%Gallery-75579%
Sleeper Cartel hosts a Dead Man's Party next Saturday
Those party hosts in Sleeper Cartel on Perenolde are at it again -- they're holding yet another in-game party, this time to celebrate Halloween, and it sounds like another player-run blowout: free food and drinks, costume and trivia contests, and lots more. There's something called the Dead Man's Run, and we have no idea what that is, but it sounds like a bunch of low level gnomes will die, which is always run. They tell us they're planning on having a live DJ spin tunes, just as they did at their summer party. And they'll have player-run questlines to do as well. You have to give it to them: Sleeper Cartel never seems to run short on creative things to do in-game.I'm sorry to say that, as much as I've reported on these, I've never actually been to one. But I think that'll change with this party -- it kicks off at 7pm MST next Saturday, October 24th, on the US server of Perenolde, and they're holding it at what they say is one of the creepiest places in the game, the Ruins of the Scarlet Enclave (a.k.a. the Death Knight starting area, sans leveling Death Knights). I just marked it on my calendar, so I do believe that I will see you there.
