winter-solstice
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The Snowy Owl arrives with winter
The northern hemisphere observed the winter solstice earlier this week -- which is relevant to World of Warcraft for one reason: the Snowy Owl. The Snowy Owl battle pet can only be caught during the winter season, which officially began on December 21. If you're looking to get your hands on it, head out to Winterspring. The Snowy Owl's summer equivalent, the Qiraji Guardling, will be unavailable until June 20. At that point, the Snowy Owl will go back into hibernation.
Get your Winter Squid and Snowy Owl while you still can
Pet collectors and fishermen take note -- the wintery months are almost behind us, and with them, the appearance of wintery pets and fish as well. The Snowy Owl, located in Winterspring, will be gone as of March 20 -- the onset of the Spring Equinox out here in the real world. Pet collectors should head to Winterspring now to capture these pets, as they won't be making another appearance until December of this year. This pet is part of the Kalimdor Safari achievement, so if you'd like that Zookeeper title, head to Winterspring and grab an owl of your very own today. In addition to the Snowy Owl, the sly Winter Squid is also prone to disappearing come spring. For most players, the apparent hibernation of squid won't really amount to anything. However, if you're working on The Oceanographer achievement, you'll want to catch a squid before they disappear until next winter. The pesky squid can be fished off the coasts of Swamp of Sorrows, Blasted Lands, Tanaris, Badlands, the Cape of Stranglethorn, and also around Sunken Temple. Both the fish and the pet have their own summery counterparts. However, while players may begin finding Summer Bass in fishing pools immediately after the Spring Equinox, the Qiraji Guardling for pet collectors will not be appearing until the onset of the Summer Solstice in June.
Snowy Owls now available in Winterspring for pet collectors
Saturday, December 21 marked the Winter Solstice out here in the real world -- and in the World of Warcraft, it marked the official beginning of the winter season. For pet collectors, this means that the Snowy Owl is once again spawning in Winterspring, and will continue to spawn all winter long. Keep in mind that these pets are rare spawns, and therefore are slightly harder to find than your usual pet. The Snowy Owl can be found all over Winterspring -- there are no specific spawn locations. Pet quality starts at Poor and goes all the way up to the coveted Rare. While we do know that December 21 was the first day of winter in Warcraft, we don't quite know as of yet when these owls will stop spawning -- last year it was the end of February. However, if the spawns are matching up to real life spring, the owls should disappear at the Spring Equinox, which is March 20, 2014. Because this isn't really guaranteed or known information at the present time, it's highly recommended to simply go catch your owl now, while we know they're available. The Snowy Owl is required for the Kalimdor Safari achievement, which in turn is required for the World Safari achievement. Completing World Safari will net you the Zookeeper title, so players that would like the title should definitely go pick up the pet. And even if you don't care about the title, I'd pick up an owl anyway. With fast attack speeds and deadly abilities like Predatory Strike, they're a nice addition to any Battle Pet team.
Make a wish and blow out the candles: Vanguard celebrates five years
In the midst of the cold winds of January, it's the warmth of the Winter Solstice that keeps Vanguard players alive and happy. With Vanguard's fifth anniversary here at last, SOE is blowing on the coals of this simmering MMO in the hopes of raising the flames of community interest. First up is the Winter Solstice in-game event, which started on January 21st. Players can participate by locating the event NPC in New Targonor. On next Sunday, the 29th, the Vanguard CMs will be throwing an anniversary bash and handing out gifts on the Telon server starting at 1:00 p.m. EST. SOE's also throwing a Facebook contest to give away one of five in-game items. Interested parties are encouraged to head over to Vanguard's Facebook page for more information on how to enter. Massively will also be on the scene for Vanguard's fifth celebration this weekend with two special livestreams on Massively TV, so stay tuned!
Age of Conan 2.1 brings new minigame, Guardian revamp, winter event
Today is patch day in the world of Hyboria, and Funcom has quite a few changes in store for Age of Conan. Version 2.1 is currently on the live servers and it brings new social content, a new PvP minigame, and a Guardian class revamp. Still want more? OK, how does a winter solstice quest grab you? In addition to the items above, 2.1 also boasts a laundry list of tweaks and additions, among them adjustments to PvP minigame balancing, 18 new Gateway of Khitai quests, guild renown adjustments, and various and sundry bug fixes. While the jury is still out on the minigame balancing, the new game (The Call of Jhebbal Sag) transports players to the Pictish wilderness for a lengthy battle featuring capture objectives and resource stockpiles on a large-scale map.
The Daily Grind: Dear Santa, I've been very good this year...
No matter what holiday you celebrate this time of year, one thing is generally guaranteed; the presence of presents! The team here has bounced things back and forth and we've gone all across the gaming gamut. Some of us can't wait to get our hands on Rock Band or one of those ever-elusive Wiis; others of us are just hoping for something as simple as time cards for our favorite MMOs. I know my wish list involves gift cards so I can pick up a nice powerful video card for some of the games coming down the pipes. (Just no CompUSA, kthx.)For this morning, we thought it would be fun to let you in on the "oooh, I wish" trading-notes fun we've had off and on comparing ideas for some of the holiday gift guides we've put out/are working on. What kind of cool gaming stuff are you hoping to land this year? The hot WoW item this year seems to be the Figureprints statues, but as they're limited availability, who knows who is going to get one of those. If you can't score that, what's your fallback must-have gift? Elf plushies? TCG decks for your favorite MMO? And speaking of awesome presents; WoW Insider will be giving away one of those sweet World of Warcraft Dell laptops soon, so be on the lookout for the post with details here giving you the scoop!
