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The OverAchiever: Mountain O' Mounts from holidays
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, we still have yet to meet anyone with the Big Love Rocket. There aren't many mounts available from WoW's annual holidays, but they're a pretty interesting example of how Blizzard's changed content through the years in an attempt to make things -- words fail me -- less annoying. Three of WoW's annual holidays will cough up rides, and your chances of getting them -- with the benefit of the "goody bag" system implemented in patch 3.3.3 -- are much better than they used to be. Long-time players will remember the hell of farming holiday bosses with a bevy of guild alts in order to maximize the number of boss kills per day for all the mains who wanted special drops. Sometimes you got lucky. Sometimes you were everyone else. Also read: Combining The Ambassador and Mountain O' Mounts Mountain O' Mounts in Outland Mountain O' Mounts in Northrend Mountain O' Mounts in 5-man dungeons Mountain O' Mounts in raids Mountain O' Mounts from achievements Mountain O' Mounts from PVP Mountain O' Mounts from professions
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?
It came from the Blog Live Stream: Sunday Love Fest
Welcome to the <It came from the Blog> Sunday Love Fest. Join us in game on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) or in the stream above and the chat room after the break. More details are after the break as well. Update: The stream is now over. Click on the above image for the video replay.
It came from the Blog: Join our Sunday Love Fest SUNDAY 1 p.m. EST
The <It came from the Blog> family of guilds lovingly invites you to join the Sunday Love Fest for some fun-loving antics and possibly a rocket ride. When: Sunday, Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. EST (10 a.m. PST, 11 a.m. server) Where: In front of the auction house in Orgrimmar on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) Who: Any level Horde character What: Love, quests, achievements, more love How: Ask any member of <Blogling> for an invite, if you are not already a member of one of our guilds. We will be streaming the event as usual, and there will be a event chat channel for us to not shout in (except for me) and get directions from. Everyone is invited, except for funsuckers, of course. This will be a PG event, as double entendres will be encouraged. Rumor has it that Robinator is susceptible to being told she would look better as a goblin and will give rides if sufficiently flattered -- rides on her rocket of loooove*. That's what she said. *Actual rocket may vary. Please join us on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) in <It came from the Blog>. Guild ranks of Blog Lurker or above can invite, so /whisper Robiness 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.
Breakfast Topic: Do you actually do holiday events?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. I remember a World of Warcraft before achievement points. Shortly before their introduction at the tail end of The Burning Crusade, Brewfest hit. By this holiday, the full list of achievement points was up on the PTR, and players all over Azeroth were getting mad that Blizzard included Disturbing the Peace as a requisite for the Brewmaster. Since Dalaran wasn't released yet, it was impossible to do during that Brewfest. They would have to wait until September 2009's Brewfest to complete their What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been achievement. Disturbing the Peace has since been removed from the Brewmaster achievement. At that time, I was incredulous as to why people were getting so mad over an achievement point. On one of my fact-finding missions to the general forums, I found out some of the reasons for the outbursts of rage I was seeing. Most people were just mad because they didn't want to wait a year for their Violet Proto-Drake. A minority, however, were mad because they would have to do Brewfest two years in a row. As someone who has amassed a grand total of 18 holiday achievements -- all of Hallowed be Thy Name, four Brewfests, and two more -- over three years of playing the same character as my main, it made sense to me that people didn't want to do Brewfest. Holiday events hold no attraction for me; I'd sooner go level an alt or alt-tab and write an article for WoW Insider than do the current Love is in the Air event. I'm not quite sure what it is about them, but in-game holidays just bore me, and I've never cared enough about the Violet Proto-Drake to bother doing them. What about you? Do you log on at 8 a.m. every Christmas morning to get your He Knows if You've Been Naughty achievement on every new alt you've made that year? Did you complete the Midsummer Fire Festival once on your main so you could get your epic mount and then shun it forever? Are you going to pull a me, who stands AFK in Orgrimmar boggling at people running around with their Peddlefeet?
Love is in the Air event plagued by bugs
While Love is in the Air on the calendar, the air is full of grumbles in game as people discover that not only has the holiday changed on them, but a lot of bugs and anachronisms have popped up. Among the most dire: Quests for the faction leader gifts currently point to faction leaders who died in the Cataclysm, including Cairne and Magni. The dailies and main quest chain currently do not function for level 81-85 characters, leaving anyone who has a new 85 or just didn't get around to doing the quests in previous years unable to finish their achievements. It's hard or impossible to buy certain special vendor items due to errors that show up when you click on them. Apothecary Hummel is sometimes not showing up in the LFD tool for level 81-85 characters. Blizzard is aware of these bugs, and blue poster Nephadne has posted a list of FAQs on the customer service forums that address many of the changes and bugs, including workarounds for the latter two issues listed above. She's also assured everyone that these bugs will be fixed either with hotfixes or when patch 4.0.6 drops. Read on after the break for the full text of Nephandra's FAQ.
Breakfast Topic: Love: Is it actually in the air?
The Environmental Protection Agency is issuing a warning to the Eastern Kingdoms, especially the Greater Gilneas/Sepulcher area: Absolutely toxic levels of love are expected to be in the air from Feb. 6 through Feb. 20. That's right, folks -- it's time for another semi-mandatory in-game holiday! The Azerothian holiday Love is in the Air is based on the real world Valentine's Day holiday. There are some similarities, of course -- in Azeroth as in real life, the holiday involves romantic picnics, eating candies, and making very poor decisions while drunk. The activities are far more rewarding in Azeroth, though: Completing these, along with all the other holiday achievements throughout the year, earns you the 50-point What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been meta achievement, complete with a Violet Proto-Drake and free Master Riding. (For more information about completing the Love meta achievement, take a look at Allison Robert's The Overachiever: Guide to Love is in the Air 2011.) How are you planning on spending the two-week-long holiday? Are you going to spend it working on your holiday meta achievement? Are you looking forward to farming Apothecary Hummel for his new ilevel 346 loot? Or maybe you'll just send your in-game sweetheart a Bouquet of Black Roses? As for yours truly, I'll be spending the bulk of my time receiving gifts from my many suitors (hint, hint), flirting with blood elves, riding Big Love Rockets, and spending some quality time with my one true love -- myself. 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.
The OverAchiever: Guide to Love is in the Air 2011
Love is in the Air, a completely revamped holiday as of 2010, will be back in 2011 from Feb. 6 through Feb. 20 (you'll need to check your own server for exact start times). After many tweaks to the holiday, it's definitely one of the less annoying and RNG-riddled outings from among the What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been meta. Before you ask -- yep, it's required if you're still on the warpath for your Violet Proto-Drake. The finished holiday meta will also reward the title the Love Fool. I've revamped our 2010 guide past the cut. Our 2010 FAQ on the holiday should still be accurate if you're completely new to the whole deal; otherwise, we'll be dealing with the holiday achievements here.
Breakfast Topic: Did you accomplish your Love is in the Air goals?
It's official. I'm a Fool for Love. Now all I need is the Lunar Festival, Children's Week and Midsummer Fire Festival metas in order to get What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been. What about you? Are you still going for the Violet Proto-Drake? Did you get a Big Love Rocket Mount? What were your goals for Love is in the Air and did you get them accomplished? Also, did you like the changes to the quests and achievements this year? My favorite change was the Goblin Detective quest chain. Goblin running FTW! What was your favorite part of the new event?
Reminder: Love is in the Air ends tonight
Love is in the Air ends just before midnight server time tonight. Which means that today is your last day to get your Love Fool title and to try for the naughty, naughty Big Love Rocket Mount. This is also your last chance to: Go take a ride on a love boat in Stormwind City or The Undercity. Have a drunken fling with Jeremiah Payson. Gorge yourself on chocolates. Get yourself a Lovely Black Dress. Share a chocolate treat at a romantic picnic with a friend. Warning: sometimes events end a little bit before the time in the calendar, so don't wait until the very last minute to get everything you want done. Please see our Guide to Love is in the Air for all of the activities to do before the holiday ends.
Drop rate of Big Love Rocket not a bug
Some concerns have been expressed recently over the abysmally low drop rate of the Big Love Rocket. The drop rate was thought to be lower than 1-2% and Bornakk chimed in on the forums to confirm it. I'm not much of a big mount fanatic myself. The only rare one I have is the Obsidian Drake mount from Sartharion with 3 Drakes up. Now that I think about it though, I have yet to see anyone in Dalaran ride around with one of these rockets. As it stands, the drop rate of this rocket mount will not be raised anytime in the near future. Heck, even if they did, I know with my luck I would never see one of these. If you're curious, as of today, there have only been 74 players with the Big Love Rocket Feat of Strength across North America and Europe. North America has seen 17 Big Love Rockets compared to the 54 for European players. if you want to read more about drop chance and probability, check out Brian's post about it back in January. It's guaranteed to make your head spin!
It came from the Blog: Love is in the Blog snapshots
We had the loveliest time last Saturday at the Love is in the Blog event. First, many of the WoW.com staff mingled with the guildies at the court fountain in Silvermoon City. Then we ran around and did Love is in the Air quests. The staffers that showed up were: Elizabeth Harper Michael Sacco Lisa Poisso Allison Robert Matthew Rossi Chase Christian Christian Belt Rich Maloy Dawn Moore Anne Stickney Fox Van Allen Amy Schley Basil Berntsen Robin Torres (That's me!) It was such a success, that we plan on holding a mixer before the Lunar Festival event as well. Details for that coming soon. In the meantime, please enjoy the annotated snapshots in the gallery: %Gallery-85590%
The Daily Quest: Love Is in the Air
We here at WoW.com are on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we ought to follow? Just leave us a comment and you may see it here tomorrow! Are you a Fool for Love? For today TDQ is, because we're talking about the Love Is in the Air holiday events, which are live until the 20th, giving you a few more days to get involved -- if that's your thing. And if it's not, well, never fear! The Lunar Festival has already begun, so there's no shortage of things to do in Azeroth just now. Not sure where to get started? The WoW blogoshphere (is that even a word?) has you covered: WoW.com has a Love Is in the Air FAQ, a guide for casual players, a guide for all players, and an overview of the holiday bosses in Shadowfang Keep. The Fluid Druid has a Fool for Love achievement guide. Righteous Defense talks about farming Lovely Charms as a prot paladin. Phyllixia explains the excellent raid buffs to be had from doing the right dailies. Escapist Scrawl ponders what to get your in-game sweetheart for the holiday and shares a romantic Undercity moment. At Critical QQ, Euripedes is amused by the ease of gathering Lovely Charms. Check out WoWWiki's Love Is in the Air write-up. Look up the holiday's achievements on Wowhead. And in case all of the above is too virtual to catch your interest, perhaps the latest offering from J!NX may strike your fancy.
WRUP: Love is all around edition
It's a holiday weekend, so you know what that means for the WoW.com team -- and, no, it's not going out and celebrating in real life. Or, at least, while some of us may be celebrating off in reality, all of us are celebrating in Azeroth. And if you'd like to join the celebration with us? There's no better way than by joining us for today's holiday extravaganza. And if you're enjoying the holiday weekend -- or even if you aren't -- why not head over to the comments to let us know what you're playing this weekend?
Reminder: Love is in the Blog event today
Today! Mix with the WoW.com staff! Then do Love is in the Air quests! Do it!: When: 5:30pm EST (2:30pm PST, 3:30pm realm time) Saturday, February 13 2010 (Show up at 5pm EST for the Meet and Greet) Where: Court of the Sun fountain, Silvermoon City Zangarmarsh U.S. Who: Any Horde character, any level. What: Love is in the Air daily quests. How: Ask Robinator, Robiness or any It came from the Blog Lurker or above for an invite to the guild. I am so excited about the Meet and Greet. Many, many of my fellow WoW.com staffers have said they will be there sometime during the pre-event mixer. We'll be hanging out by the fountain in the Court of the Sun, Silvermoon City until 5:30pm. Then we'll start the Love is in the Blog event proper. Unlike many of our events, lower level characters may have more fun than higher ones, so there's no need to get a DK up before the event this time. If you have any other questions about It came from the Blog, please see our FAQ. Be there!
Phat Loot Phriday: Romantic Picnic Basket
Sometimes, the simplest things in game are the best. As such, I present to you an old favorite of mine: the Romantic Picnic Basket. The Romantic Picnic Basket is neither gear nor drop. Instead, it's part of the Love is in the Air event, and is actually an integral part of the achievement Lonely. (To achieve Lonely, you have to sit under the basket with another person, fall in love, and then eat chocolate. It's a very specific order of events.) Last year, the Romantic Picnic Basket was obtained by randomly opening a Gift of Adoration. But since they've revamped the entire Love is in the Air event this year, you can now just purchase it from a vendor the same way your purchase everything else for the event. (That is to say, at a vendor.) So what does the Romantic Picnic Basket do that's such a big deal? Well, my friends, it does the best thing in the game. It places a basket on the ground, by a wonderful pink umbrella. If you and your loved one sit at the basket and enjoy a bite to eat together you, you will both get little hearts above your heads to show your adoration. Maybe it's just because I'm recently married, but I'm already popping this sucker out before every raid. There could be no better luck when facing new bosses than enjoying a kiss and cuddle with my wife. Take a look behind the jump and let's examine this sweet, sweet item's vital stats:
WoW, Casually: Casual guide to Love is in the Air
Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player with limited playtime. Of course, you people with lots of playtime can read this too, but you may get annoyed by the fact that we are unashamed, even proud, of the fact that beating WoW isn't our highest priority. Take solace in the fact that your gear is better than ours, but if that doesn't work, remember that we outnumber you. Not that that's a threat, after all, we don't have time to do anything about it. But if WoW were a democracy, we'd win. Love is very much in the air and the complete revamp of this holiday is good news for those of us with limited playtime. Me: Wait, wait, wait, wait. Didn't we say we were going to talk about PvP this week? I: They changed the holiday drastically. It's more timely. Myself: Holidays are fun! Whether you have an 80 or are just leveling, there are a lot of benefits to spending a part of your play session completing the Love is in the Air quests. Of course, if you are into achievements and titles, you are already doing this -- if you didn't get your title last year. But there are quite a few other reasons for casual players to participate in this particular event:
It came from the Blog: Love is in the Blog
Love is in the air and that means it's time for another It came from the Blog get-together: When: 5:30pm EST (2:30pm PST, 3:30pm realm time) Saturday, February 13 2010 (Show up at 5pm EST for the Meet and Greet) Where: Court of the Sun fountain, Silvermoon City Zangarmarsh U.S. Who: Any Horde character, any level. What: Love is in the Air daily quests. How: Ask Robinator, Robiness or any It came from the Blog Lurker or above for an invite to the guild. As you can see, we are also going to be having a pre-event mixer. Many of our bloggers will be showing up for a meet and greet a half an hour before the event. They will be chatting with readers and posing for photos to be posted on the site. So show up early if you wish to hangout with some of the WoW.com staff. If you have any questions about It came from the Blog, like why Horde or why U.S., please see our FAQ. We hope to see you there!
Breakfast Topic: That damned race/class combo you can never find
In every holiday that has you chase after a specific race/class combo, there's always that one, that elusive combo that makes the whole thing feel like a snipe hunt. For the Love is in the Air holiday, the Fistful of Love achievement requires us to shower 11 specific race/class combos with rose petals. By the end of the holiday, you'll inevitably be wanting to give a fistful of something to one combo, and it sure ain't love. For me it's the troll rogue. I swear they don't really exist, and it's just a cruel prank played on us by Blizzard. I've even gone so far as to stage a James Bondesque infiltration of the Horde district, complete with helicopters and a dashing dwarf parachuting onto rooftops. It's not that they just aren't out in public, but that they don't frickin' exist at all! On the other hand, as a dwarf hunter, I know what it feels like to be the hunted. I do get sick of being constantly showered with petals at times. I even found myself hanging out in out of the way places and disguising myself as a ninja to avoid it. Perhaps I am someone else's troll rogue. What race/class combo is your curse? Have you found yourself hiding from achievement seekers, and if so, how?
Love is in the air in your favorite MMOs
Love is in the air in World of Warcraft and the event has completely changed this year over previous years. WoW.com has the latest on this Valentine's Day-themed event. Fool for Love Achievement: If you are into holiday achievements, the Overachiever guide has all of the details. Love is in the air FAQ: Answers any event questions you may have. New Boss Loot: The list of the loot from the three new bosses. Naughty, naughty loot. But WoW is not the only MMO that has an event going on now or soon: Spring Fling in City of Heroes City of Heroes also has a Secret Admirer's contest A chocolate related Valentine's event begins Tuesday in 4Story. Valentione's Day in Final Fantasy XI Lover's Jubilee in Lineage II MapleStory has become a world of romance. Double experience next weekend for Aion. Valentine's Day UStream event for all SOE games on Friday, February 12th, which includes EverQuest, EverQuest II, Free Realms, Planetside, and Star Wars Galaxies. Which MMO do you think does this romantic holiday best?
