christmas-2014
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Guild Wars 2 season 2 to continue on January 13th
The living world episodes for Guild Wars 2 are taking a month off for the holiday season, as ArenaNet announced today that Season 2 will reconvene on January 13th for "moments that will forever change the course of Tyria." That doesn't mean that Guild Wars 2 will go silent during this time, however. Wintersday is scheduled to return on December 16th, although this time it will take place in Divinity's Reach. ArenaNet is also hosting a test of its ladder season from December 16th through January 13th, allowing players to compete for various rewards, and a WvW Sneak Attack event during this same period. Finally, there will be the game's "first-ever" ESL monthly championship on December 10th.
EverQuest II plans bug bash and preps Frostfell celebrations
The EverQuest II team isn't going silent during the last month of the year; on the contrary, a new producer letter outlines several events that are scheduled throughout December and into January. The holiday event of Frostfell will go from December 11th through January 8th and promises "new content, rewards, gifts, crafted, and merchant items." The team's also coding in Ethereal armor adornment drops into Altar of Malice instances starting on December 6th and will be making past expansion house items available on loyalty merchants beginning January 6th. While it's not the sexiest item on the list, a December 9th Bug Bash is planned to stamp out pesky issues and implement player feedback, such as creating shared bank space for exile characters.
RuneScape kicks off Christmas events early
It's only the first of December, but RuneScape is already cranking up its Christmas event machine with the first batch of activities for players to enjoy. Starting today, players can deliver presents for Santa (and get points to spend on rewards for doing so), work with others to open a giant cracker full of goodies, and go on a tinsel snake hunt. RuneScape is also triggering a 50% XP bump for a half-hour each day to those who use free festive auras. On another topic, Jagex announced that it's bringing back the Premier Club for the MMO, allowing players to sign up for a multi-month subscription to secure a discount and other rewards. This might be a good strategy to offset the looming increase in sub prices in 2015. If players choose to pay through PayPal, they will receive a samurai outfit and kirin pet in addition to the other bonuses.
Global Chat: Gamers Secret Santa
One of the yearly traditions in the blogosphere that I always look forward to is Stargrace's Annual Gamers Secret Santa. Currently in its sixth year, Gamers Secret Santa accepts any and all who want to sign up to be a part of a gift exchange. You'll end up sending a gift ($20 maximum) to someone and will receive a gift from another person during the month of December. There's even a digital exchange for more remote locations. It's always a blast to see what gifts I end up getting (and they are always geeky), and I wanted to encourage others to be a part of this. You'll need to sign up by December 1st if you do, however! It's grown every year, but this year I'm giving a bit of Massively publicity, so let's see if we can make this the biggest year ever! Another blogger-driven Christmas initiative is Syl's Blogosphere Xmas Countdown, during which she's assigning various blogs a day to write about the theme of positive gaming and community. Keep an eye on MMO Gypsy to see this advent countdown progress!
Ultima Online publish brings holiday gifts, veteran rewards
You might forgive 17-year-old Ultima Online for long stretches between patches, but fortunately, you don't have to. The antique sandbox's Halloween event is now over, being replaced yesterday with a new patch that ushers in the winter holiday event and its attendant gifts. This year, Santa's bringing us a fireplace, a plant grinder, a power scroll book, and "a steam powered beverage maker that can be used in conjunction with the cooking system to create new items listed in the 'Beverage' section of the cooking menu." Yum. The update also includes a new monthly game hunting competition sponsored by the Skara Brae Ranger's Guild, with special hunter-themed rewards like a new title and weapon. PvPers can look forward to a new leaderboard to track PvP progress in the still-fresh vice-vs.-virtue PvP system, and long-term players will find new veteran rewards are available, including new statuettes for youngish accounts, an ethereal hell hound mount at the 15-year-mark, and a sewing machine and smithing press for sevenbies.
