NobleGarden
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Throne of Thunder easter egg
Finding easter eggs in video games is always fun, and Blizzard Entertainment has always had some very good ones. This year it would seem though they took the Noble Garden Festival to quite the literal extreme. If you find yourself in the Throne of Thunder, specifically in the lair of Ji-Kun, you will find that all of the eggs surrounding the hatching eggs have been replaced with Noble Garden counterparts in all their bright and vibrant colors. I personally never pegged the Mogu as ones to celebrate the holiday, but maybe, just maybe we've misjudged them a little bit. Little things like this that are always fun to find, and it's amusing how many little details can sneak their way in to what some folks consider the normal routine of their daily wow life. Whether it is noble garden eggs in a raid zone, or Winter Veil Lights in dungeons, little touches like this are welcome surprises. Makes me wonder if anything else has been altered, even slightly, in Pandaria for our Noble Garden festivities. Are there other little changes like this for this year?
Adopt a Spring Rabbit now that Noblegarden is here
It's that time of year again! Noblegarden has descended upon Azeroth, granting us bunny ears, chocolates, and even a battle pet. Spring Rabbit is purchased with 100 Noblegarden Chocolate, received when opening a Brightly Colored Egg. You can find the eggs scattered about several starting towns -- think Brill, Goldshire, and Kharanos. There's also a small chance to find the Spring Rabbit's Foot inside an egg, and if you don't want to adventure out into the world at all, there's always the auction house! Spring Rabbit's abilities are mostly Critter type, and are as follows: Slot 1 Scratch or Flurry Slot 2 Adrenaline Rush or Dodge Slot 3 Burrow or Stampede Although the Spring Rabbit is learned as an Uncommon battle pet, it has the potential to be a very strong member of your team. It's worth considering the upgrade with a battle-stone, since the breed and moveset makes it one of the best of the rabbit types around. Take, for example, the generic Rabbit. The moveset is the same, but the Rabbit is available in six different breeds, which could make capturing the ideal rabbit a pain. Spring Rabbit is always breed 5/15, or S/S, which means that its stats are heavily weighted for speed. Flurry and Dodge become super effective.
Noblegarden 2013 has begun
This is a friendly neighborhood reminder from your local WoW Insider team that Noblegarden 2013 is underway. In fact it began yesterday, March 31st, and will run through the week until April 6th. This year looks to be pretty much the same as the last and there are no new updates to speak of, so if you've done it before, there's probably not a lot of incentive to do it again. However, a number of Noblegarden achievements are necessary for What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been, so if you're still working on your Violet Protodrake, don't miss out! In addition, battle pet collectors might be interested in the Spring Rabbit, if you haven't gotten it yet. For those of you who are working on Nobelgarden achievements or items, WoW Insider's got you covered with our OverAchiever guide. Check it out, and happy spring!
The OverAchiever: Guide to Noblegarden 2013
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, bunnies take over the world. Time to get sick on candy again, folks! That seems to be a running theme with WoW holidays. Noblegarden will run this year from Monday, April 1 until Monday, April 8. As always, check your server's in-game calendar for the exact start and stop times. If you've never done Noblegarden before, or only done its pre-2009 version, be aware that Noble Gardener (the holiday's meta) is part of the year-long What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been achievement. Last year, the Swift Springstrider was added to holiday vendors at the fairly steep cost of 500 Noblegarden chocolate. This year, we haven't seen anything new datamined, but Noblegarden did hit the patch 5.2 PTR in mid-February, so you never know.
Breakfast Topic: What's your favorite in-game holiday?
I love Halloween. I am a big fan of the spooky, the creepy, the gloomy, dark and dank. It enthralls me, it's mysterious, it's fun! I'm talking real life here, now, not candy buckets in cities. I'm not a huge fan of the in-game Halloween, it seems too jokey, too trick-or treat and candy-focused, missing the scary side. But, having said that, I do like the Headless Horseman. He, well, his head is very entertaining, with its constant issues with his disappearing body and horse. I also like Love is in the Air and Noblegarden, they're wonderfully corny and cute, with the bunny ears and the lovebirds. Winter Veil isn't bad either, but perhaps that's because I have a child-like love for Christmas. But my favorite in-game holiday by a long shot is Brewfest. I really like the music, for a while at least. With my habit of alt-tabbing to work while leaving the game running, leaving a character standing in a Brewfest zone for long periods of time is annoying at best! The games are really fun, and the in-game drunkenness does bring a smile. If Coren Direbrew was as entertaining as the Horseman, and the rewards were as fun as the Lovebird or the Picnic Basket, this could be a perfect holiday! What about you? Which in-game holiday tickles your fancy, and are there any that you despise?
Breakfast Topic: Why I hate holidays
There are two reasons why I hate holiday events in World of Warcraft: Rather than a heart, I possess a shriveled black acorn of hate ripped from the oakbread tree, steeped in the corrupted blood of the deep wound of the earth, and finally implanted in my chest after my original heart was consumed by the venom of the Emerald Agony, rarest and most deadly of the agony serpents. There is no way you can convince me that running around trying to pick up eggs before anyone else gets to them while hissing expletives at the screen is anything like a good time. Seriously, I just don't get holidays in game. I get that other people like them, and I'm not campaigning for their removal or anything. But there has yet to be a holiday introduced in the history of World of Warcraft that's done more than gotten me to say all right, I'll run that for you. I don't enjoy holidays; I tolerate them. Every year when Children's Week rolls around, I gulp knowing I'm going to be forced to try and get School of Hard Knocks so that other people can get a mount. When Noblegarden rolled around this year, I just rolled a lady dwarf death knight so that my guildmates could throw ears on it primarily because I was tired of hearing people talk about how hard they are to find. I guess what really bugs me about all these holidays and holiday achievements is that no one seems to enjoy them. They go nuts grinding for a new mount or pet, yeah, but I just don't get a happy vibe when I ask people about them. Instead, I get a grim litany of how many more necklaces or chocolates or whatever they have to get through. I could just be missing the joy, I suppose. I'm very good at that. Do you like holidays? If so, why? If not, congratulations on agreeing with me. Also, why not? World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from leveling up a new goblin or worgen to breaking news and strategies on endgame play.
Breakfast Topic: Have you gotten your Springstrider yet?
I may be just the teensiest bit obsessive about collecting mounts. So when I heard this year's Noblegarden featured a new mount, the Swift Springstrider, I might just have logged on and waited until the event started to start gathering chocolates like a madwoman. And I might have gotten all 500 chocolates in about an hour and a half, because after so many years of Noblegarden celebrations, I know the egg spawn locations in Tirisfal Glades like the back of my hand. Might? Who am I kidding -- the Swift Springstrider took its place as mount #145 in my collection at about 4:30 or so in the morning. I've heard complaints about the tallstrider mounts here and there, but I love them myself. They're ugly, naked birds that nobody in their right mind would ever love, and therefore I love them to pieces. While my Noblegarden 2012 goals ended the moment I got the bird (I finished all the achievements for the event years ago), there are still plenty of people scurrying around the various starting zones this morning looking for dresses, tuxedos, bunnies, and other Noblegarden prizes. Do you have things you definitely want to get done with this year's Noblegarden celebration? Have you gotten your Springstrider yet? Or have you decided to let this poor unfortunate bird pass you by? I wouldn't let it pass by, if I were you. I mean come on, who doesn't want to gallop around Pandaria on the back of a naked green ostrich?
The OverAchiever: Guide to Noblegarden 2012
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, a harvest of eggs, chocolate bunnies, and general practitioners to cluck over our cholesterol numbers. I still think this is the single greatest holiday screenshot I have ever captured. Noblegarden is one of WoW's less stressful holidays overall -- which is good, as you'll have to deal with Children's Week later in the month. Noblegarden will run this year from Sunday, April 8 (this Sunday) until Sunday, April 15 (well, technically Saturday at 11:59 pm server time, if your calendar reads the same as mine). If you've never done Noblegarden before or only done its pre-2009 version, be aware that Noble Gardener (the holiday's meta) is part of the year-long What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been achievement rewarding the 310% speed Violet Proto-Drake. The one new thing that I can confirm in 2012 is the presence of the Swift Springstrider, which can be purchased for 500 (!) Noblegarden chocolate from holiday vendors or found randomly in eggs. (However, nobody knows what the drop rate is like. I would bet on "bad.") This is pretty much the same deal as the Swift Lovebird from Love Is In the Air -- it's a way to keep players who already have the meta involved with the holiday.
The OverAchiever: The worst (maybe) holiday achievements
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, some holidays are easier to survive than others. I've been getting a lot of comments and feedback from players recently over troublesome elder placement during the Lunar Festival (the one next to the Razor Hill flightmaster seems to be a particular issue -- more on this in a future article), and it spurred me to start thinking about problematic holiday achievements as a whole. Thing is, Blizzard's really put a lot of effort into its holidays over the past few years, and most of them are much less time-consuming and frustrating then they used to be. So how many really troublesome holiday achievements are there these days, anyhow? Most of them didn't figure prominently in our evil achievements series (with one sterling exception), but I'll grant that not all of them are sunshine and roses. But then of course, there's that one. Yes, that one -- the achievement shat into existence by Satan himself onto a bed of Ed Hardy clothing with bad Japanese pop music playing in the background. You know the one I'm talking about.
Patch 4.3's mounts and how to get them
The World of Warcraft Armory has been updated with new data on the various mounts added to the game with patch 4.3. This data includes confirmation of drop locations. At least two new mounts are being added to in-game holidays, as well as the reveal of the Glory of the Dragon Soul Raider meta achievement. Other mounts, like Experiment 12-B, are now confirmed rare drops off of the Ultraxion encounter in Dragon Soul. Blazing Drake and the Life-Binder's Handmaiden drop from the Madness of Deathwing encounter on normal and heroic difficulties respectively. Experiment 12-B is a rare drop from Ultraxion on normal or heroic mode. It appears to be a chromatic drake mount with a purple hue. Swift Lovebird will be bought from the Love is in the Air holiday vendor for 270 Love Tokens. It looks like a pink tallstrider. Swift Springstrider is purchased from the Noblegarden holiday vendors for 500 chocolates. It looks like a white tallstrider. Twilight Harbinger will be the mount reward for the Dragon Soul meta achievement, Glory of the Dragon Soul raider. As more mount information becomes available, we'll keep you updated. Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Breakfast Topic: Did you achieve your Noblegarden goals?
Noblegarden has come and gone this year, quickly followed up by Children's Week in Azeroth. It was only for one scant week that we dug around starting towns for eggs, ate ridiculous amounts of chocolate, and bred rabbits like, well, rabbits. Personally, I'm not the biggest Noblegarden fan -- at least, I wasn't last year. This year, it seems the drop rate on a lot of the items directly from the eggs was increased, as I did not have to purchase anything with chocolates. This year, the holiday was much more bearable. On my then-alt-now-main warrior, created almost one year ago, Noblegarden was a success. Did you participate in Noblegarden and achieve your noble goals? Was Noblegarden the last holiday that you needed for your coveted meta-achievement What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been?
It came from the Blog: Live stream of the Hop to Hard Boiled
We've been hopping around Razor Hill, but now we're taking our fluffy tails off to Un'Goro crater. Join us in game on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE) or by watching the stream above and participating in the chat after the break. Update: The stream is now over. You can watch our hop (which includes bunny lemmings) by clicking on the image above.
It came from the Blog: Join us for the Hop to Hard Boiled
Join us this Saturday for the Hop to Hard Boiled! As the title implies, we'll be hopping to Un'Goro Crater together for the achievement. When: Saturday, April 30, at 5:30 p.m. EDT (2:30 p.m. PDT, 3:30 server time) for the pre-event mixer and 6 p.m. EDT for the Hop Where: Meet at Razor Hill on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) Who: This is an all-level event, but you'll be hoppier happier if you are higher level. How: Ask any It came from the Blog member for an invite, if you are not already in one of our guilds. We will be meeting in Razor Hill to mingle and fight over eggs, and then setting off cross continent, braving dangers and probably getting pretty soggy. Anyone from the Alliance is welcome to join us on the hop. You can meet us at Honor Stand, where unfortunately, we'll have to kill your soldiers to protect our lowbies -- but hopefully, you'll forgive us. Otherwise, there is no reason why we can't forget our factions for the day and travel together to lay eggs side by side to celebrate this extremely silly holiday. I'll be streaming this as usual, and all instructions will be given in our event chat as well as over the stream. Please join us one way or another. Please join us on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) in It came from the Blog. All guild members can invite, so /whisper Roblinator or any online member. You are all welcome as long as you play by our simple rules -- basically, don't be a funsucker! Visit the guild FAQ for more details.
The OverAchiever: Guide to Noblegarden 2011
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, people camping our egg spawns are going to die violently, in the best holiday tradition! Noblegarden will run this year from Sunday, April 24 (this Sunday) through Sunday, May 1. If you've never done Noblegarden before or only done its pre-2009 version, be aware that Noble Gardener (the holiday's meta) is part of the year-long What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been achievement rewarding the 310% speed Violet Proto-Drake. As far as we know, there are no major updates to the holiday this year, although I'm sure a few minor details have changed, given Deathwing's effect on the local landscape. As with years past, I've updated and clarified our guide to the holiday's achievements so you can hit the ground running, and I'll be around as Noblegarden goes live to update the article as necessary.
Reminder: Noblegarden ends tonight
Noblegarden ends just before midnight server time tonight. So if you don't have your Noble title yet, you still have time to fight over egg spawns with your fellow procrastinators. See our guide to Noblegarden for help with the holiday achievements, how to get them and egg-collecting strategies. Warning: don't wait until the last minute. Holidays have been known to close up shop a little earlier than the time on the calendar. Have fun and good egg hunting!
Bunny hop through our Easter holiday roundup
As Massively readers everywhere recover from the second-greatest candy holiday of the year, many MMOs have also enticed players with virtual sweetness. Easter may not be the most popular of in-game holidays, but there's something very MMO-ish with "collecting" eggs and hunting down giant, man-eating rabbits wherever they trod. Even future MMOs like TERA are eager to get their own virtual bunny event up and running. Take a gander through our Easter holiday roundup, and let us know what your favorite in-game event is! Final Fantasy XI: An Egg-hunter Is Hatched "Initial eggs" are eggs of avian persuasion that have been inscribed with a single letter of the alphabet. During the Egg Hunt, adventurers can receive a random initial egg from the festival moogles once every Vana'dielian day. Collecting and forming certain combinations of initial eggs will garner you event egg-sclusive prizes. World of Warcraft: Noblegarden 2010 Noblegarden will run this year from Sunday, April 4 (this Sunday) through Sunday, April 11. If you've never done Noblegarden before or only done its fairly low-key, pre-2009 version, it helps to know that Noble Gardener (the holiday's meta) is part of the year-long What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been achievement that rewards the 310% speed Violet Proto-Drake.
Breakfast Topic: The return of Noblegarden
Noblegarden 2010 begins today and runs through next Sunday. In 2009, the holiday was hugely improved and upgraded, removing much of the RNG that traditionally infested WoW holidays and adding some nifty rewards, achievements and an unusual non-combat pet that, er, makes more of itself when left to its own devices. I'm not sure you can ask for more than that, unless it's an uncrowded village center in which to farm eggs. Are you planning on participating this year, or do your characters already have the meta-achievement Noble Gardener? If you got your start early this morning or on Oceanic and EU servers, how crowded are the towns? If you need more information on Noblegarden, please head over to our Noblegarden 2010 guide.
The OverAchiever: Guide to Noblegarden 2010
Mercifully for those of us occupied with a big day of family events and chocolate this Easter, the Noblegarden holiday doesn't appear to have changed from its vastly improved form in 2009. No changes appeared on any of the PTRs over the past year, and as far as we're aware, there hasn't been any data-mined information on new items or bosses. Noblegarden will run this year from Sunday, April 4 (this Sunday) through Sunday, April 11. If you've never done Noblegarden before or only done its fairly low-key, pre-2009 version, it helps to know that Noble Gardener (the holiday's meta) is part of the year-long What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been achievement that rewards the 310% speed Violet Proto-Drake. What I've done here is collected our resources on Noblegarden into one easily navigable guide, updated and clarified where necessary, and also added some frequently asked questions that we received during last year's holiday. If you have any other questions, please drop them in the comments below, and I'll make sure they get answered. As with all WoW holidays, we'll be around as they go live to make sure any updates or changes are covered here!
Breakfast Topic: Pilgrim's Bounty and you
Pilgrim's Bounty, WoW's brand-new holiday, has gone live on all servers by now, and players worldwide are busy inhaling huge quantities of cranberries and stuffing in pursuit of the Pilgrim title and the uber-adorable turkey pet. I have to admit -- I was kind of worried that the first day of the holiday would be a nightmare along the lines of Noblegarden's egg-camping hell, but was pleasantly surprised by the fast respawn rate of the Wild Turkey mobs and the sheer number of them. I'm also optimistic that the holiday will encourage more people to level cooking, because once you're got the requisite cooking skill for the achievements, the Pilgrim title and turkey pet are fast, easy, and fun (or they would be, if I could just find the ever-elusive Dwarf rogue). But Pilgrim's Bounty isn't part of the meta-achievement What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been, so I'm wondering if anyone's just going to ignore it as a result. Are you planning on going for the Pilgrim title, enjoying the holiday in a more casual way, or not planning to participate at all? If you are participating in the holiday, how is it going on your server so far?
Cataclysm easter egg reveals Deathwing's musical side
Blizzard is a cunning bunch and they seem to love easter eggs. No we're not talking lovely chocolatey orbs like the ones you find during Noblegarden, rather that they like hiding artwork in plain sight and waiting for us to click on it. Tucked away in the Cataclysm official site is the kind of artwork which practically demands to end up on a T shirt. Yes, Deathwing is actually the sixth member of The Artists Formally Known as Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain (aka TAFKAL80ETC or that funny Prince-like symbol with the Horde sigil at its center). Oh and he plays the piano. Who knew, eh?You can find it by clicking here and looking for the small keyboard at the bottom of the page (it's in the middle underneath the artwork, just below the page indicator). Alternatively, if you want all the gratification and none of the work, click here to download the awesome high res version. We fully expect to see everyone wearing them come next year's BlizzCon rather than those three wolves howling at the moon.
