winter-holiday-event
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Behind the Mask: I'm raiding for Christmas
I'm not a big fan of holiday events. For the most part, they're an excuse to grind a bunch of cosmetic stuff, such as titles/perks and costume pieces. The other possibility is random junk filling my inventory, like fireworks, candy, and other assorted goodies that just end up on the auction house. If there's any holiday missions or quests, people are more interested in doing them in the most efficient way possible, instead of killing mobs for experience. Since I like tangible benefits, holiday events generally aren't my thing. I usually end up soloing over the season or playing with a small group of friends. Bah humbug. The winter events in Champions Online are really no different from the events in any other game. They mostly consist of gathering presents, doing little holiday quests and getting an inventory full of random junk. But the devs included something silly that I'm looking forward to: an excuse to get teams to do the impossible. Buckle in, guys: I'm doing Andrithal and Mandragalore this holiday season.
Updated: On the ninth day of giveaways, Funcom gave to me...
[UPDATE: All winners have been selected and contacted. Congratulations!] On the ninth day of giveaways, Funcom gave to me... nine ladies lamenting! On the eighth day of giveaways, SOE gave to me... eight Station Cash cards! On the seventh day of giveaways, Kingsisle gave to me... seven Epic Cards! On the sixth day of giveaways, Nexon gave to me... six Vindictus packs! On the fifth day of giveaways, Mythic gave to me... five upgrade codes! On the fourth day of giveaways, ChangYou gave to me... four welcome gifts! On the third day of giveaways, Icarus gave to me... three months of gameplay! On the second day of giveaways, Hi-Rez gave to me... two gift packages! On the first day of giveaways, Turbine gave to me... a lifetime VIP! Ah, Conan. He had a nice, clear idea of the best things in life. Here at Massively, we're a little short on lamentation at the moment, so we went the other route: the best things in life are free. Funcom has joined our 12 Days of Giveaways with a one-year subscription to Age of Conan, including the Rise of the Godslayer expansion! Age of Conan has had a pretty eventful year -- if you've been a fan for a while, you know, but if you're new there's no better time to check it out. Funcom put a little more under the tree too, so if you don't win the AoC subscription, don't despair. Two more Massively readers will win the Titan edition of Bloodline Champions. The game is currently in beta, so you'll have beta access until launch along with all the other bells and whistles that come with this edition. To enter, simply leave a comment telling us which part of Age of Conan is your favorite by 5:00 p.m. EST Wednesday. We'll draw three winners at random. Check our contest rules, and best of luck!
Updated: On the eighth day of giveaways, SOE gave to me...
[UPDATE: All winners have been selected and contacted. Congratulations!] On the eighth day of giveaways, SOE gave to me... eight Station Cash cards! On the seventh day of giveaways, Kingsisle gave to me... seven Epic Cards! On the sixth day of giveaways, Nexon gave to me... six Vindictus packs! On the fifth day of giveaways, Mythic gave to me... five upgrade codes! On the fourth day of giveaways, ChangYou gave to me... four welcome gifts! On the third day of giveaways, Icarus gave to me... three months of gameplay! On the second day of giveaways, Hi-Rez gave to me... two gift packages! On the first day of giveaways, Turbine gave to me... a lifetime VIP! Today's giveaway is a little different -- read on! First, Sony Online Entertainment has treated us to eight Free Realms Station Cash cards, each worth 1,000 SC. Free Realms is right in the middle of the Snow Days celebration, and there are plenty of wintry treats to spend these extra Station Cash on! Second, the team has added some bonus items to make up a gift bundle for you to keep for yourself or pass to friends for the holidays: download vouchers for PSN games Crescent Pale Mist, Qlione Evolve, and Swords & Soldiers. Finally, SOE has given us eight mystery gifts. It wouldn't be the holidays without some surprises and anticipation, would it? Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. EDT, you'll want to be watching our Twitter feed very closely -- we'll be handing out the bonus gifts from SOE on Twitter! For now, enter for this portion of the giveaway by leaving a comment! We'll draw eight winners at random Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. EST, so check out our contest rules and best of luck!
Lost Pages of Taborea: Snowflake Festival
Jingle brother's time is here. Time for slaying. Time for cheer. Presents abound every Christmas in the Snowflake Festival, and I've been hoarding them like a squirrel. This is one of my favorite holidays, probably my favorite one in Runes of Magic. Not only are there lots of treats to get, but the quests are fun. I reminisced last week about the events held in RoM year-round, but I wanted to run through some of the things I've been doing in this year's festival. Despite some recent patching trouble, the holiday is up and running. There are new mounts, furniture, Christmas graphics and prizes galore to enjoy this year. If you've never played RoM during the Snowflake Festival -- or never took part in the quests -- this will serve as a fun guide and idea engine for what's in store for you. Get your space bar primed and ready for lots of jumping and read on past the break.
Updated: On the seventh day of giveaways, Kingsisle gave to me...
[UPDATE: All winners have been selected and contacted. Congratulations!] On the seventh day of giveaways, Kingsisle gave to me... seven Epic Cards! On the sixth day of giveaways, Nexon gave to me... six Vindictus packs! On the fifth day of giveaways, Mythic gave to me... five upgrade codes! On the fourth day of giveaways, ChangYou gave to me... four welcome gifts! On the third day of giveaways, Icarus gave to me... three months of gameplay! On the second day of giveaways, Hi-Rez gave to me... two gift packages! On the first day of giveaways, Turbine gave to me... a lifetime VIP! Back in November, GameStop teamed up with Kingsisle, the publisher of Wizard101, to offer fans of the game the Epic Bundle cards. The cards have been a big hit, so the Wizard101 team gave us seven of them to share with you for our seventh day of giveaways! Each Epic Bundle contains everything to twink your character out in style: a huge castle complete with a dueling circle and minigame kiosk, a gryphon mount, an Epic Spear of Power, a surprise dueling pet, new clothing, and 5,000 crowns for a shopping spree. This bundle is perfect for both new and experienced Wizard101 players, so all you have to do to enter is let us know which you are! Check out our contest rules, then leave a comment here telling us whether you're a veteran player of Wizard101 or a newcomer hoping to start out in the game in style! We'll draw seven winners at random Monday at 2:00 p.m. EST, so get your entry in before that, and good luck!
Updated: On the sixth day of giveaways, Nexon gave to me...
[UPDATE: All winners have been selected and contacted. Congratulations!] On the sixth day of giveaways, Nexon gave to me... six Vindictus packs! On the fifth day of giveaways, Mythic gave to me... five upgrade codes! On the fourth day of giveaways, ChangYou gave to me... four welcome gifts! On the third day of giveaways, Icarus gave to me... three months of gameplay! On the second day of giveaways, Hi-Rez gave to me... two gift packages! On the first day of giveaways, Turbine gave to me... a lifetime VIP! Today's giveaway comes to us courtesy of Nexon. The Vindictus team has prepared quite a holiday party -- complete with snowball fights in stripey underwear. No party is complete without some presents, so for this sixth day of giveaways, we've got gift packages for six lucky readers. Nexon's got another video for the holidays titled "Dance of the Colhen Mercenaries," which you can check out after the cut. We're going to continue with the theme by offering up six Merc Survival Packs. Each pack contains 10 Platinum Tokens, 100 Merc Recovery Potions, 10 Goddess Grace, 5 Goddess Grace (Party), and five 30-AP Capsules. Simply comment to win as always -- the deadline to enter is tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. EST. Today you can tell us what you'll be doing or acquiring first in the Vindictus festivities. Check out our contest rules page, and good luck!
Updated: On the fifth day of giveaways, Mythic gave to me...
[UPDATE: All winners have been selected and contacted. Congratulations!] On the fifth day of giveaways, Mythic gave to me... five upgrade codes! On the fourth day of giveaways, ChangYou gave to me... four welcome gifts! On the third day of giveaways, Icarus gave to me... three months of gameplay! On the second day of giveaways, Hi-Rez gave to me... two gift packages! On the first day of giveaways, Turbine gave to me... a lifetime VIP! Today we continue Massively's 12 Days of Giveaways! During this 12-day event, you'll find presents galore, courtesy of some of the best MMOs out there. Every day until December 24th, we'll post a new contest for you to enter. We've got a huge pile of goodies to give away, so they're going to be fast and furious -- you'll have 24 hours from the time the contest is posted to enter. Don't worry, though, because we're going to do our best to accommodate everyone -- you'll simply have to leave a comment to be entered in the random drawing, and we'll be posting each contest at a different time of day. Today's gifts are courtesy of Mythic, the creator of Warhammer Online and one of the grandaddies of the MMO genre, Ultima Online. Follow along after the jump to see what's up for grabs today!
Massively's ho-ho-holiday MMO roundup for 2010
It's that time of year again -- when snow falls in lands that normally don't even see weather effects! When you're supposed to love your fellow elf, human, dwarf -- or at least maim them in the nicest, most brotherly way possible. As one would expect with a plethora of MMOs out on the market, there are gobsmackingly huge numbers of events to take advantage of. Being the festive holiday folks we are (well, OK, some of us anyway), we've gathered up a listing of some of the many things going on. So if you're curious about just what holiday merriment can be found out there, grab some egg nog (alcohol optional), click past the break, and dive into our festive roundup of holiday events. Also, be sure to keep an eye on Massively as Rubi continues giving great gifts to gamers galore in our 12 Days of Giveaways event!
Updated: On the fourth day of giveaways, Zentia gave to me...
On the fourth day of giveaways, ChangYou gave to me... four welcome gifts! On the third day of giveaways, Icarus gave to me... three months of gameplay! On the second day of giveaways, Hi-Rez gave to me... two gift packages! On the first day of giveaways, Turbine gave to me... a lifetime VIP! Today we continue Massively's 12 Days of Giveaways! During this 12-day event, you'll find presents galore, courtesy of some of the best MMOs out there. Every day until December 24th, we'll post a new contest for you to enter. We've got a huge pile of goodies to give away, so they're going to be fast and furious -- you'll have 24 hours from the time the contest is posted to enter. Don't worry, though, because we're going to do our best to accommodate everyone -- you'll simply have to leave a comment to be entered in the random drawing, and we'll be posting each contest at a different time of day. Today's (very generous) gifts are from Zentia, the free-to-play game from ChangYou that's gained a lot of attention. Its charm attracted and kept a high number of players, and things are busier than ever in Zentia thanks to the holidays. Follow along after the jump to see what Zentia is up to for the holidays -- and what gifts we have for you today!
NCsoft hypes Aion double crafting XP and holiday events
Happy Solorius Festival, Daevas! Yes, the Atreian equivalent of Christmas is back, and you can join the ongoing Aion celebration through January 5th. You'll find new quests in both Sanctum and Pandaemonium, as well as rewards that include decorative hats, gift bundles, and buff consumables. Mid-winter and New Year's marks the Year of the Ribbit celebration, and festivities include even more quests and rewards (including new ribbit outfit pieces). The party starts December 22nd and lasts through January 12th. Finally, NCsoft is turning on the double XP spigot again, this time in honor of Atreia's crafters. Friday, December 17th through Monday, December 20th is a prime time for catching up on any artisan activities you may have been neglecting, as double XP for crafting, essence-tapping, and aether-tapping will be in full effect.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Reminiscing on holiday events
There's been a lot of event play-time in Runes of Magic lately. The pumpkin festival carried on for a lot longer than was originally anticipated and transitioned into a short -- and smaller -- autumn banquet. Now, Christmas is right around the corner. I've been drooling over the Christmas trees that are already for sale in the cash shop. RoM has seen a full year's cycle of events come and go twice now, and we are approaching the third Christmas. Now that long-term players have seen all the offerings, I wanted to peer into the place these holidays have in the world of Taborea and see how they add to our virtual lives. In this article, I want to share how I look forward to events and explore some of the great reasons to have them. 'Tis the season, and all that jazz. Let's take some time to look back and reminisce on RoM's holiday events and why we take part in them.
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me: Vindictus, zebra stockings and giant spiders
It's not often that we in the Massively offices are just plain stumped, but today Nexon receives that rare badge of distinction. To usher in Vindictus' holiday event, Nexon has put together a 48-second video of pure insanity. It runs the gamut of snowball fights, mostly naked people wearing zebra underwear, giant spiders, pigs and one exhausted-looking Santa Claus. The festivities begin in Vindictus on Wednesday, December 15th and revolve around the battle with Laghodessa, a giant arachnid with a penchant for taking all the presents and drinking all of the egg nog. Nexon has asked the players to speculate about why their characters may have a vendetta against the plus-sized spider and for the players to send in their stories. Once players have defeated Laghodessa, they'll have the opportunity to craft a unique spider cloth armor set. Nexon's also throwing out a number of goodies, including free XP weekends, free boat trips and free potions for the taking. Head on over to Vindictus to read up on the event, or hit the jump and witness the holidays seen through the lens of the insane.
One Shots: Magic hour
While Vanguard's Telon is normally a land teeming with magic and heroic deeds, there's a bit of special magic that comes around at this time of year. As we noted before, the Festival of Gloriann is already going on, offering players lots of wintry magical fun. Aside from gifts and a general feeling of cheer, there's also the ability to take a certain famous reindeer with a shiny nose out for a ride! This image comes to us from regular Massively reader, Stuxatte, who explains the festive fun in today's One Shots: "Just as the sun was setting, the hills around Veskal's Exchange were bathed in a warm light, and I decided to take Rudolph the Reindeer up for a better view." Have you captured a festive screenshot in your favorite MMO? If so, why not send it in! You can think of it as a virtual present to One Shots. Email your image to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here and give you the credit for sending it in. %Gallery-85937%
The Matrix Online: Bug fixes and the Winter Event
Recently, Daniel "Walrus" Myers popped his head out of The Matrix (or into, depending on which side you think this is) to give all the Redpills out there some great information on what's been planned for The Matrix Online in the upcoming month. Most of it, for those of us who play MxO, know that it involves evolving the storyline as we move from Chapter 8 (which just ended on November 15th -- hooray chapter and arc rewards!) to Chapter 9. Also included in the next batch of updates is the fix for Bullet Time animations and finishing moves. Also returning to The Matrix Online is the third annual Winter Holiday Event. More hats and snowballs (and new clothing pieces) please! We've been extra-good Redpills this year, we promise.
