winter-veil
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WoW Moviewatch: The Eve of Winter Veil
So just what is the true meaning of Winter Veil? We're not entirely sure, but we are pretty sure that the two questionable heroes in this video by Mooclucking haven't figured it out, either. Using the holiday season to rob the affluent homes of Stormwind City by sneaking down chimneys (how do they fit?), the duo's crime spree seems to be quite successful (having netted a Ragnaros action figure that Blizzard clearly needs to merchandise themselves). Of course, since it is the holiday season, the two are struck by a rather explosive crisis of conscious which leads to a Grinch-style change of heart. How long this crisis will last is anyone's guess, but judging by our heroes, it might not be long... so let's enjoy the holiday spirit while it lasts. Happy Winter Veil, everyone! Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Frozey the Snowman
Wowcrendor is definitely having a great Winter Veil with his 10 Days of Winter Veil countdown and a new machinima every day. We're half-way through the countdown now with Frozey the Snowman, an appropriately Azerothian take on on the Frosty the Snowman story. So just how do you make Frosty the Snowman into a uniquely Warcraft creation? Well, I'd hate to give away the ending, but maybe bringing a random snowman to life just isn't the best thing you could do with a magical hat. Maybe. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
Celebrate Winter Veil with letters to Greatfather Winter
Sometimes you just have to embrace the holiday spirit. That's what Blizzard is doing, by announcing that it's time for all the good girls and boys of Azeroth and Draenor to get their letters to Greatfather Winter. What do you want for this year's Winter Veil? Well, whatever it is, asking can't hurt, so go ahead and comment on the official post, or here on the forums. There's even a thread here on the RP forums, if you're so inclined. I personally think transmog was the gift that keeps on giving for me, but if there's something you want, get on board.
WoW Moviewatch: Kilrogg Shoots His Eye Out?!?
Happy Winter Veil! In the latest Winter Veil video from Wowcrendor, we meet young Kilrogg, who's just been given a sweet air-rifle as a Winter Veil present. Between that and the video's title, you can imagine how the plot plays out from there... so just how did Kilrogg lose that eye? The answer involves a cameo from Greatfather Winter because it's the holidays so of course it does. If you're looking for more holiday cheer, Crendor is doing a series of Winter Veil videos, so check out day 1 and day 2 of his 10 Days of Winter Veil countdown if you've missed them. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Villain Holiday Party
Think your holiday party is awkward? At least you're not a World of Warcraft villain, because their get-togethers never seem to go well. The real question, of course, is whose terrible idea was it for them to have a holiday party -- complete with gifts and strained conversation -- in the first place? Whoever's on the planning committee for this, at least we get to sit back and watch everyone's misery courtesy of Wowcrendor. This is second part of a Winter Veil series of videos by Crendor, so we can only expect more holiday mayhem in the days to come. We're going to count that as a solid entertainment win. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
The Feast of Winter Veil begins tomorrow, December 16th
Every year, Greatfather Winter brings treats to all the good boys and girls of Azeroth, and this year is no exception. From December 16th until January 2nd, the Feast of Winter Veil teaches us all the true meaning of Winter Veil with a cavalcade of gifts and other fun things like toys. A variety of seasonal pets, achievements, and hats are yours for the taking, including the brand new Rotten Little Helper. For the complete skinny on what you can get and what you can do, Wowhead has this helpful guide. If you're looking for one of those toys for your toybox, a rare pet, or a hat from one of the bosses (with several new Draenor bosses as well) then you have until January 2nd to get started. May Greatfather Winter watch over you.
It came from the Blog: Join us for Lunar Lunacy 2014
It's time for It came from the Blog's annual event: Lunar Lunacy! When: Friday, Jan 31 at 10:30 p.m. EST (7:30 p.m. PST, 9:30 p.m. server time) Where: Meet at the Lunar Festival in Orgrimmar (near the flightpath) on Zangarmarsh/Hellscream (US-PvE-Horde) Who: Any Horde character level 10 or above How: Ask any It came from the Blog member for an invite, if you're not already in our family of guilds. We will be making things go boom, achieving, running, and perhaps dying. If you don't normally play Horde, please join us anyway. This is your chance to see how the other half lives. We always have a good time and the more, the merrier. Hope to see you there! Please join us on Zangarmarsh/Hellscream (US-PvE-H) in It came from the Blog. All guild ranks can invite, so /whisper Tizzi 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.
Last day to open Greatfather Winter's gifts
Greatfather Winter may have packed his great wintry bags and left town for another year, taking his tree and his decorations with him, but he's been good enough to leave his six presents behind for another day to help out the slowpoke recipient. Wowhead's guide states that, while they're here today, these gifts will be gone tomorrow, so grab your last chance to get the Winter's Helper pets, the Mechanical Greench, the Snowman Kit or Jingling Bell. There's also some eggnog, cookies, wands, and roast dinners to be had, amongst other surprises. And, how could I forget, the achievements that go with them. Of course, any of these items that are limited to Winter Veil only have a day left in them, so make haste, don't tarry, open a present today! You can only enjoy the Mechanical Greench for so long. So if you're missing just one part of the Winter Veil achievement set for your Long Strange Trip, today's the day. It's back to just being plain old January tomorrow. No wonder that Overseer looks so glum.
WoW Moviewatch: World of Warcraft lore lesson 84: Winter Veil
We don't feature all of the WoW lore lesson series because there's so many of them, but when notable subjects or particularly well-done videos come up, we want to make sure you see them. The lesson 84 about Winter Veil is especially nice. Whether because it's a nice way to wrap up the season, or the incredibly seasonal voice acting, I especially enjoyed this one. So while the lights are coming down and the dwarves are sobering up, drop by and see the reason (in WoW) for the season (in WoW). Thanks Doronsmovies!
Reminder: It came from the Blog's Winter Veil 2013 is tomorrow
Tomorrow, It came from the Blog will be holding our annual Winter Veil event. When: Saturday Dec. 28 at noon EST (9 a.m. PST, 11 a.m. server time) Where: Meet under the tree in Orgrimmar on Zangarmarsh/Hellscream Who: Any Horde character level 10 or above How: Ask Tizzi or any member of It came from the Blog for an invite We're going to get a couple of achievements and otherwise have a good time. Make sure to bring your Gaudy Winter Veil Sweater, some snowballs and any Crashin' Thrashin' vehicles you may have. Please join us! Please join us on Zangarmarsh/Hellscream (US-PvE-H) in It came from the Blog. All guild ranks can invite, so /whisper Tizzi 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.
It came from the Blog: Join us for Winter Veil 2013
It came from the Blog has some fun stuff planned for this year. We'll get an achievement or two and otherwise have a good time. When: Saturday Dec. 28 at noon EST (9 a.m. PST, 11 a.m. server time) Where: Meet under the tree in Orgrimmar on Zangarmarsh/Hellscream Who: Any Horde character level 10 or above How: Ask Tizzi or any member of It came from the Blog for an invite If you have snowballs and a Gaudy Winter Veil Sweater, you'll want to bring those. Otherwise, they are available for just a few copper from the Smokywood Pastures vendors. This is our last event of the year, so come join us! Please join us on Zangarmarsh/Hellscream (US-PvE-H) in It came from the Blog. All guild ranks can invite, so /whisper Tizzi 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: What was under your tree?
My wife and I do the usual Christmas thing, even with the addition of a toddler eager to tear apart the paper with reckless abandon. We wake up in the morning (feeling not much like P. Diddy) and make our way to the coffee pot. Then, with decades-trained habit, we sort through the presents and do the normal gift-giving thing. But that's not really what makes it the tradition to us yet. Instead, we log into WoW and look to see what Grandfather Winter left for us. Oh, sure, the game is a business and all that. But something about the relatively-free gifts, joyous spirit, and dozens of people flocking around the in-game tree feels more authentic to us. It's not Christmas morning until we've collected our Winter's Veil bounty. It's always interesting to see what Grandfather Winter left behind. Cookies, exploding toys, and plenty of competitive little robots ready to fight one another. So, with all that eagerness in mind, what did you get from Grandfather Winter this year? Was it everything you hoped?
Breakfast Topic: What do you want to see under the tree?
Grandfather Winter tends to bring some epic gifts. Whether we're talking about exploding cars or exploding balloons, there's always been something with a little bang and boom under the tree. But that makes me wonder what we should expect this year. In a world thoroughly soaked in pandas, beer, and scions of fallen warlords, what could be under the tree in 2013? Of course, we know that Warlords of Draenor is lurking around the corner. Could there be a TARDIS? Maybe a DeLorean, ready to soak up the gigawatts and launch us into a new adventure? Or perhaps something a little more father afield: is this the year we see an exploding submarine? Regardless of what it ends up being, we can always hope and dream. That's what the season is all about, after all. So, what do you hope to see under the tree this year? Let your imagination run wild and enjoy the wonderful, creative season for everything it's worth.
WoW Moviewatch: ANN: Winter Veil Special
You can always trust Slightly Impressive to tackle the hard issues in the World of Warcraft, like the looming threat to toy-openers everywhere. In the Azeroth News Network: Winter Veil Special, the team brings a little yuletide cheer and parody to our favorite fake holiday. Bonus points for the shout-out of stranger danger at the end. And look, I don't care how tough you are, talking snowmen are scary. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Archivist: The crashin' thrashin' history of Winter Veil
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? This month we celebrate the tenth annual Feast of Winter Veil. The holiday is almost as old as WoW itself. Winter Veil was the first ever holiday to be implemented, just after the game launched in November 2004. Blizzard patched in Winter Veil along with the Maraudon dungeon, the option to turn off cloaks and helms, and many other changes in patch 1.2 on December 18. Since then, Winter Veil has enjoyed a long evolution over the years into today's version. Let's spend a few minutes with the Ghost of Winter Veil Past! The first Winter Veil Given how early this holiday was added to the game, it's not surprising that there wasn't much to it compared to today. The holiday came with a few quests, including the original, short Greench questline. The first few days of the holiday saw a swarm of activity in Hillsbrad. The Tarren Mill vs. Southshore battles moved a few leagues north, as players battled friend and foe alike to tag the Greench and get quest credit. Completing the questline awarded you with one of several crafting recipes, such as Gloves of the Greatfather, the Winter's Might enchantment, or the coveted Snowmaster 9000 schematic.
Breakfast Topic: How are you celebrating Winter Veil?
Everyone celebrates holidays in their own unique ways -- and in the virtual environment of Azeroth, we have more options open to us than we otherwise might. And, sure, you could celebrate the season by doing holiday quests, devouring holiday cookies, or just dressing for the occasion, but why stop there? We've already seen holiday carolers on Moon Guard and Llane (above), though in the case of the latter it turns out that Horde carolers aren't terribly welcome in Alliance cities. But now that the holidays are getting into swing, maybe future carolers will be more welcome, regardless of faction. So tell me, readers - how are you planning on celebrating the Feast of Winter Veil this year? Is it just another year of holiday questing or do you have something special planned?
Field Journal: The true meaning of MMO holiday events
Field Journal is a bold and exciting new take on MMO journalism. Or the meandering ramblings of a chronic game-hopper. I haven't decided yet. Each week I'll be setting for myself a new "adventure" or "field trip" into a game to explore some aspect of it in detail. I'll be sharing my thoughts and experiences, especially on games without a dedicated column. Anything from the most obscure indie to the elephant in the room is up for consideration. There just has to be something in it we think is worth gawking at and talking about! Given the timing, I wanted to kick things off with a look at seasonal events in MMOs. To make it special, I thought, why not tackle the events of a few games in one go? Oh how naive I was. Let me tell you, there's nothing like seeing the same flavor of holiday cheer over and over again in supposedly different worlds to strip away one's capacity for goodwill to all developers. Fortunately, there were a few bright spots.
Breakfast Topic: The holidays come to Pandaria
World of Warcraft has gotten awfully festive this week with Winter Veil celebrations in full swing -- including on the continent of Pandaria, where even small villages are decked out with lights and trees. On one hand, I love the way the holidays shake up the daily grind of our in-game existence. But on the other hand, holiday lights and decor -- the same decorations you'll see anywhere in Azeroth -- just look weird in Pandaria. So today, readers, I'm wondering what your take is on the holiday season in Pandaria. Is it too much? Too little? Would you like to see a Pandaran Greatfather Winter or more Pandaran-style decorations? Or is the holiday perfect just as it is, in Pandaria and out?
Get your Winter Veil quests done despite the crowds
The first day -- or first few days -- of any in-game holiday is always busy. Sometimes it's so busy (as above), that the number of people crowded in on their mounts makes it impossible to see or interact with the questgivers. Complaints on the official forums have drawn out Bashiok, who offers a couple of solutions to the problem: Bashiok Grr! Yeah, some people can be jerks. Some people are just oblivious though, too. If you think someone is specifically and intentionally blocking an NPC in a malicious way, that is behavior specifically mentioned in our harassment policy, and something you can report that player for and we'll take a look. An easy workaround though is enabling nameplates for friendly characters (default Shift+V) and then right click on the nameplate of the NPC you're wanting to interact with. source Of course most people in these crowds are probably just trying to get their quests done like you are, so chances are you'll get more traction by bringing up nameplates with Shift+V -- or waiting for a few days until the excitement calms down.
Winter Veil begins today, December 16
The later seasons of Azeroth are marked as a time of change in many cultures. The term "Winter Veil" is said to stem from a supernatural being referred in many cultures to as Greatfather Winter. As he would walk the land late in the seasons, winter itself would be his billowing cloak. In his wake was the blanketing of the land in snow, and thus it is said that Greatfather Winter would cast his wintry veil over the land. Winter Veil, the seasonal holiday of Azeroth, begins today. So huddle up to your Cozy Fire and see if you can't talk Greatfather Winter into giving you some epics this year. Wowhead has a guide up to what is new for 2013, and it looks like we're getting two new achievements, both earned with the new Crashin' Thrashin' Flyer Controller. This is the special gift in your capital city, and players can also purchase the previous gifts from Toy Vendors. Last year, various bosses were modified to wear and drop winter hats in both red and green. It was almost exclusively bosses from older content, so maybe this year Winter Veil will be coming to Pandaria too. Do check out Wowhead's very comprehensive guide to all the achievements, items and gifts you can happen upon in this festival, grab an eggnog, pop on your Gaudy Winter Veil Sweater, and sing us a carol or two. [Art by Noxychu]
