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Feast of Winter Veil begins on Monday
The season of Winter Veil is nearly upon us, adding a big dose of holiday festivity to the game world. Even if you've done this holiday before, it's hard to resist the temptation of getting your own Gaudy Winter Veil Sweater, filling out your battle pet collection with a Lump of Coal, or just getting into a snowball fight. Patch 5.4 files suggested some changes to the holiday this year, and Wowhead says we can look forward to new a new pet and toy this season. If you're looking forward to participating in this year's holiday festivities, Winter Veil will run from December 16 to January 2, and you'll find holiday decor and events in most major cities. Happy holidays!
Be sure to pick up a Macabre Marionette pet for Day of the Dead
Though this short post-Hallow's End holiday is often forgotten, you should be sure to check out Day of the Dead (which lasts from November 1-3rd) in order to pick up the Macabre Marionette. Previously the Marionette could only be used during the holiday, but this year it's a full-fledged battle pet to add to your collection. To get started, go to your race's home city -- or try neutral cities Shattrath or Dalaran -- and head for the graveyard. There you'll find Catrina offering the quest The Grateful Dead. Follow a short quest chain and you'll wind up with your very own Macabre Marionette for the keeping. For a longer quest walkthrough, check out the Macabre Marionette writeup on WarcraftPets. And good luck -- though for a quest chain this simple, you probably won't need it.
Celebrate Pirates' Day on September 19th
Yarr, matey, it be that time o' the year again... no, no I'm not going to do the pirate speak for this post. Commenters of WoW Insider, I love you too much for that, despite the origin of this holiday. It is true, though, that tomorrow, September 19th, is the single-day holiday Pirates' Day in World of Warcraft. Dread Captain DeMeza has landed at Booty Bay along with her crew, and if you do so dare, you can find out if you have what it takes to raise a mug with her and become one of her crew! So take your toons down to Booty Bay and have some grog for Pirates' Day. Just make sure that your toons are on good terms with the Steamwheedle Cartel. My sad main will be sitting this year's Pirates' Day out, because those Booty Bay Bruisers are aptly named.
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: 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.
Breakfast Topic: Did you accomplish your Lovely goals?
Love is in the Air has come and gone, the Crown Chemical Company has been vanquished for another year, and everyone's Lovely Black Dresses are put away into the closet once more. After a rocky start (most likely because of a delayed patch 4.0.6), Love is in the Air brought about a few changes to the holiday formula, most notably the absence of higher-tier valor points from the Heart-Shaped Box. The holiday's signature mount, the Big Love Rocket, also saw somewhat of a drop in loot percentage, as opposed to the Headless Horseman's mount, which dropped like crazy this past Hallow's End. I had one gripe with Love is in the Air this year: When a Heart-Shaped Box was empty, it was truly empty. In the past, you would get high-tier emblems for participating in the daily dungeon event, no matter whether there was other loot in the box or not. Since the changeover to points, the box remains empty while still crediting the player with said points. The problem is that no one likes to be told "you win nothing." It just feels ... odd to me. I would have very much preferred something in the box rather than nothing, giving me a sense of accomplishment. Rather than give the player a message that essentially boils down to "you lose," I would much rather Blizzard give us the points, maybe five Love Tokens for buying holiday items, and then the random number generated extra loot, if it's in the box that particular time -- that way, there's always a tangible prize in the loot window. I'm not saying Blizzard should up the drop rate of loot, but rather to always have something in the box pertaining to the holiday so we don't get such a depressing message. Did you accomplish your holiday goals this year? Were you one of the lucky few to grab a Big Love Rocket from the holiday dungeon daily? Are your newly rolled goblin and worgen characters well on their way to What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been?
The OverAchiever: Guide to Winter Veil 2010
Winter Veil 2010 runs from Wednesday, Dec. 15 through Sunday, Jan. 2 this year. Unlike November's holiday, Pilgrim's Bounty, the Merrymaker meta is required for What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been. If you've already got a Violet Proto-Drake or just don't care about the meta, Winter Veil will also give you the opportunity to turn your mount into a reindeer, become a snowman with a unique dance animation, and get noncombat pets and snowballs. Of course, if Santa RNG thinks you've been bad, you'll just wind up with Coal. Though not always. Keep at it! Even Santa RNG has a heart. Past the cut, I've revised and expanded our 2009 guide for anyone looking to complete the meta (and earn the title) Merrymaker. Cataclysm has almost certainly affected how you'll do this holiday, but unfortunately, there's no hard information yet as to how. I doubt that Blizzard had the time to tinker extensively with Winter Veil in the crush of work surrounding a new expansion, but we'll see. As always, I'll be around as the holiday goes live to check and update the article. For the moment, I've included some commonsense speculation on likely changes (such as when an NPC's probably changed locations due to city/topography upheaval).
Breakfast Topic: Goodbye Hallow's End, hello Day of the Dead
That's it! No more chances to try for the mount you've all been queuing up for until next year. Hallow's End may be over, but the in-game holiday fun is not. For one day only, you can participate in a fun little event that pays homage to Dia de los Muertos, the Latin-American holiday for remembering family members who are no longer with us. The Day of the Dead includes a dancing achievement and a quest to feed the dead, complete with pop culture references. <It came from the Blog> had a lot of fun last year, as you can see in the gallery below. Are you participating in the Day of the Dead today? Also, did you reach your Hallow's End goals? What do you think of the drop rate of the Horseman's reins? What would you change about the holiday? Personally, I would like there to be a way to douse the fires with fewer people toward the end of the holiday. I think it would be nice if an NPC stepped in to help out after so many failed attempts in a row. That way I could still parade my alts through Brill on a daily basis, rather than scheduling an onslaught of guildies to get it done in a few seconds. What do you think? %Gallery-77152%
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!
WoW Insider's Brewfest FAQ
Within 24 hours, Brewfest will have begun on all servers regardless of location, and if you're new to the holiday or just need some extra information, we hope this FAQ will be helpful! Help! Where do I go to get started? There will be special holiday-related NPCs parked around most major cities to direct you to the festival, but if you want to skip directly to the main event, head to Ironforge (if you're Alliance) or Orgrimmar (if you're Horde). The festival areas are located outside the main gates of each.
The OverAchiever: Guide to Brewfest 2010 achievements
Brewfest 2010 runs from Monday, Sept. 20 (3:00 a.m. server time) through Wednesday, Oct. 6 (again, 3:00 a.m. server time). We don't anticipate any major changes to the holiday this year, but how you get to the holiday boss (Coren Direbrew) has changed slightly. I've updated and expanded our coverage past the cut. While I organized the achievements alphabetically in 2009, this year, I've put them in the order I feel they should be completed. There are a few that are definitely easier to do at the beginning of the holiday than at the end. While I've included all of the achievements attached to the holiday, only six are actually required for the meta, and they've all been marked as such. As always, I'll be around when the holiday goes live to see if there are any unannounced changes. If so, the guide will be updated.
Reminder: Midsummer Fire Festival ends today
Just before midnight (realm time) tonight, the Midsummer Fire Festival comes to a close. So today is your last day to desecrate fires, pole dance and flame up the countryside. The Fireworks Spectacular begins just after sunset ... wait. Since when does the sun set at 6 a.m.? Well, according to the in-game calendar, fireworks will be going off hourly in all capital cities and Booty Bay, starting at 6 a.m. realm time or sunset. Apparently. So go forth and get all of your Midsummer achievements done. Or just soak up the massive XP, gold and buffs. After all, the next official in-game holiday isn't until September. Shameless plug: <It came from the Blog> will continue to run events at least once a month, whether there is an official holiday or not.
Breakfast Topic: What are your plans for the Fire Festival?
The 2010 Midsummer Fire Festival began earlier this morning, and this year some of the holiday's mechanics have been changed to reflect the dungeon finder's impact on the game. With the Crown Chemical Company apothecaries introduced to Love Is In the Air, we saw the last gasp of extensive holiday boss-farming for special drops. These days, you'll only get one crack a day per character at the mounts, pets, or unique drops off a boss (although you can continue to farm for the boss' normal drops). Truthfully, I'm happy about the change; spending ages waiting for alt after alt to make its way to an instance for another shot at a boss drop wasn't really anyone's idea of a good time. Apart from that, what are your plans for the holiday? Does your toon still need the Flame Keeper/Flame Warden meta? Are you looking forward to Lord Ahune's updated loot table, or are you just hoping for a Scorchling pet?
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: What are your plans for Love Is In the Air?
The yearly holiday Love Is In the Air went live today, and with it a host of new features -- a new boss in Shadowfang Keep, several revamped achievements, and overall a lot of spit-and-polish on a holiday that had been extremely frustrating to many players in 2009. Last year, your ability to get the meta Fool For Love done was entirely dependent on dumb luck over a 5-day period. Blizzard's looking to blunt the impact of RNG this time around by extending the holiday and introducing a much less painful means of getting the achievements. So what are your plans for Love Is In the Air? Does your main already have the meta from last year, or were you among the unlucky souls doomed to keep getting the same candy drops? Are you planning on hitting the new boss in Shadowfang Keep? And are you, like me, just ecstatic that you don't have to spend days hoping for a Peddlefeet pet to drop? Note: A few of us were around as soon as the holiday went live, and our FAQ on Love Is In the Air and OverAchiever on the holiday's achievements have now been updated to reflect the 2010 event. They'll be expanded later today with more information on the holiday questline and the new Shadowfang Keep encounter.
Love Is In the Air FAQ
The 2010 Love Is In the Air holiday doesn't much resemble its 2009 version; Blizzard's eliminated much of the frustration surrounding RNG and item drops, and overall things are a lot more fun This FAQ covers all of the questions we think will be most helpful to readers concerning the holiday's mechanics. If you have any questions not answered here or in our OverAchiever guide to the holiday's achievements, please drop a comment below and I'll try to make sure it gets answered! Help! Where do I go to get started? Head for any of your faction's major cities in Azeroth (Stormwind, Ironforge, the Exodar, or Darnassus for Alliance, and Thunder Bluff, Orgrimmar, Undercity, or Silvermoon for Horde). New goblin NPCs (most from the Crown Chemical Company) will have popped up around the more heavily-trafficked areas (read: AH/bank) with quests and information.
Breakfast Topic: How did Winter Veil 2009 go for you?
Ah, Winter Veil -- the sights, the sounds, the jingling bells from the reindeer mounts, the curses emanating from players trying to tag the Abominable Greench mob, and the massively inflated prices for Small Eggs on the auction house. While this may not rank on the level of Great Auntie Marge's annual fruitcake for the family party, WoW has its own set of holiday traditions -- some more respected than others -- and all of them were out in full force over Winter Veil. Moreover, this is only the second year that the achievement system has been active for the holiday, and lots of people are still putting time in on What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been for both mains and alts. This year, a new achievement popped up to take advantage of the 2009 Winter Veil gift (a genuine Red Rider Air Rifle!), although players seemed unenthusiastic about the rifle's inaccuracy and cast time. So how did the holiday go for you? Did you finish the Merrymaker meta if you still needed it? Were you suicidally foolish enough to go for BB King? Did you shoot your eye out, kid?
The OverAchiever: Guide to Winter Veil
Looking for our 2010 Winterveil Guide? You'll find it here! Winter Veil is one of the more immersive and fun holidays that World of Warcraft offers over the course of the year; it grants you the chance to ride something a little "different," turn into a snowman with a cute /dance animation, and receive gifts containing noncombat pets if you've been good and Coal if Santa RNG thinks you've been bad. Before anyone asks, Winter Veil runs from Tuesday, December 15th to Saturday, January 2nd in 2009/2010, and this is article is about what you'll need to do in that period to complete the meta (and earn the title) Merrymaker. Unlike November's holiday, Pilgrim's Bounty, Merrymaker is required for the yearlong meta What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been, so don't slack on this one if you want that violet protodrake! On Metzen! Saving Metzen for the achievement On Metzen! is a short but fun questline that starts with an NPC in front of the Ironforge bank (if you're Alliance) with Metzen the Reindeer, or an NPC in front of the Orgrimmar AH (if you're Horde) with Metzen the Reindeer. The quest ends in either Searing Gorge or Tanaris, whichever is more convenient to you. Either zone you hit, try to do the Metzen quest first, as you'll need rewards from it for two of the following achievements.
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?
