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The Twelve Days of Winter Veil: Day nine
To all of our readers who celebrated the holidays yesterday, I hope you had a good one! Today we're continuing our series of Winter Veil giveaways! (If you haven't already, remember to log in to open your presents under the Winter Veil trees in Ironforge and Orgrimmar!) It's day number four of our Winter Veil countdown, with only nine more days of fun and games to go. Ideazon and WoW Insider have some great holiday gifts to pass along to you: Zboard Gaming Keyboards, Reaper & Reaper Edge gaming mice, GH-100 gaming headsets, FragMat gaming mousepads with World of Warcraft artwork, with some game time cards and t-shirts thrown into the mix. What do you have to do to win, you ask? Simply leave a comment on today's post (just one, please!) -- and check back every day for your chance to enter and win! (To be eligible to win, you must be age 18+ and a resident of the US, so before you enter, please take a look at the full official rules.)For today's giveaway, we have three prizes lined up: a first-place winner walking away with a Zboard gaming keyboard with one World of Warcraft keyset (the winner will get to chose between an original World of Warcraft keyset and a Burning Crusade keyset), and two second place winners who will each receive a FragMat mousepad. And the best part? All you have to do to enter is leave a comment within the next 24 hours (that would be before 9:00 AM on Thursday, December 27th). And if you don't win today (or even if you do!) check back tomorrow -- the prizes only get better as we count down the Twelve Days of Winter Veil!
Breakfast Topic: Christmas WoW stories
When we come back from vacation, it's nice to ask each other how their holidays were, and hear all the interesting stories about what made the holidays so special. For those of you who played WoW on Christmas day, I wonder if you had any experiences which made that day special, somehow different from other days. Did you do out of your way to be especially kind, or encounter other players doing so, possibly even to you? Did you see lots of people saying "Merry Christmas!" in the various chat channels of the game? Did you do anything special with your friends in game?
The spirit of giving, even in WoW
This holiday season means many different things to many different people, but whoever you are, and whatever background you come from, it's pretty hard to argue against anything that asks people to be a little more kind and generous with one another -- even if just for a little while. If you happen to be playing World of Warcraft today this is especially important. There might be a little voice inside your head saying, "Oh, I'm such a loser, playing a video game on a holiday," or similar such nonsense. You're not playing games today to avoid your loved ones, after all! More likely, you have special circumstances which prevent you from being with them -- so banish the thought that says you shouldn't hang out with people online in addition to in real life! Today is a wonderful opportunity to put down this and all other kinds of negative attitudes and make a special effort to be good to others, no matter where you meet them. The key to celebrating the holidays wherever you are is to exercise the kindness and generosity of the season with whomever crosses your path, whether it be the path outside your house, or the path around Alterac Valley. Just today, I was fighting in AV, making my way to the Frostwolf Relief Hut with several other folks I'd never seen before in my life. After the battle was finished (healthy competition in PvP isn't unkind at all -- but gloating about it would be), a mage standing in our group proceeded to cast his Ritual of Refreshment spell with a cheerful "Merry Xmas!" even though there were just 4 or 5 of us there! As we partook gratefully of his conjured manna, it occurred to me how people are always people, whether online or off, and such spontaneous kindness and generosity can uplift people's hearts in any situation.
Breakfast Topic: How do you celebrate?
Happy holidays, everyone! As you may have noticed if you've passed through a major city lately, World of Warcraft is in the swing of the holiday season with quests, decorations, and gifts for everyone. (If you haven't yet, head over to the trees in Orgrimmar and Ironforge to pick up your holiday gifts -- much easier to see this year with their floating exclamation points.) In honor of our in and out of game holiday, today I'm not asking you much of a gaming question. Instead, let us know how you're celebrating this holiday season. With family, with friends, in virtual worlds or real?
The Twelve Days of Winter Veil: Day ten
It's day number three of our Winter Veil countdown, which means we have ten more days of fun and games to go! (That's ten days on WoW Insider and ten days in-game -- Winter Veil officially wraps up on January 2nd.) Ideazon and WoW Insider have some great holiday gifts to pass along to you: Zboard Gaming Keyboards, Reaper & Reaper Edge gaming mice, GH-100 gaming headsets, FragMat gaming mousepads with World of Warcraft artwork, with some game time cards and t-shirts thrown into the mix. What do you have to do to win, you ask? Simply leave a comment on today's post (just one, please!) -- and check back every day for your chance to enter and win! (To be eligible to win, you must be age 18+ and a resident of the US, so before you enter, please take a look at the full official rules.)For today's giveaway, we have three prizes lined up: a first-place winner walking away with a 60-day World of Warcraft game time card, and two second place winners who will each receive a FragMat mousepad. And the best part? All you have to do to enter is leave a comment within the next 24 hours (that would be before 9:00 AM on Tuesday, December 25th). And if you don't win today (or even if you do!) check back tomorrow -- the prizes only get better as we count down the Twelve Days of Winter Veil!
Breakfast Topic: Help a newbie!
If you could offer one piece of advice to a new World of Warcraft player, what would it be? It is the holiday season, after all -- time to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate. So for all of the new players reading today, let's tell them what they need to know to survive their adventures in Azeroth (and hopefully make it to Outland, Northrend, and wherever else Blizzard might have in store for us in the future)! I'll get us started: Pick up absolutely everything from a corpse, even if it seems useless. You can sell it for cash -- maybe not much, but it adds up in time. Train first aid! Even if you're a class that can heal itself, there will be times you're low on mana, and you'll be glad you have those bandages. Cooking may sound dull -- but food can provide useful buffs, which makes cooking a worthwhile skill to have. And... if you want to become a successful chef and make all sorts of awesome, higher-level food the easiest way to skill up is to train it up with fishing. (Though fishing is dull, dull, dull -- you'll thank me when you don't have to go from skill zero to skill 375 because you need a rare fish to make your favorite food.) Don't forget to have fun! So what advice would you give a newbie?
All the World's a Stage: Top ten ways to roleplay the holidays
All the World's a Stage performs for you every Sunday evening. Reserve your tickets early! This is a season of holidays for many people around the world, and indeed many of you may be faced with the peculiar situation of logging on to WoW only to discover that your entire guild is off with the family instead of playing online. So there you are, thinking of what to do, not entirely excited about joining a PuG with some random elf, and suddenly the idea comes to you: why not roleplay the holidays away? Even if your friends are online during their vacation time -- do you really want to just kill the same old monsters? Why not roleplay as a form of celebration?In this edition of All the World's a Stage, we bring to you the Holiday Roleplay Top Ten. Some are serious and some are silly; some are great for spontaneous fun with random strangers, while others can be a bit more theatrical and planned out with trusted friends. Read and discuss them all, then add any of your own ideas in the comments! Let the countdown begin: 10. Have a friendly snowball fight: Any snowy region in the game has these handy [Snowball]s just lying around for you to pick up and throw at each other. I myself have enjoyed running around trying to hit my friends with these things while at the same time dodging their tosses by hiding behind walls. You can count hits if you're feeling competitive, or else just toss recklessly and have a blast. Be sure to express your playful glee with /giggle and /rofl, and say things like "Ha ha! Gotcha!"
The Twelve Days of Winter Veil: Day eleven
It's day two of our Winter Veil countdown, which means we have eleven more days of fun and games to go! (That's eleven days on WoW Insider and eleven days in-game -- Winter Veil officially wraps up on January 2nd.) Ideazon and WoW Insider have some great holiday gifts to pass along to you: Zboard Gaming Keyboards, Reaper & Reaper Edge gaming mice, GH-100 gaming headsets, FragMat gaming mousepads with World of Warcraft artwork, with some game time cards and t-shirts thrown into the mix. What do you have to do to win, you ask? Simply leave a comment on today's post (just one, please!) -- and check back every day for your chance to enter and win! (To be eligible to win, you must be age 18+ and a resident of the US, so before you enter, please take a look at the full official rules.)For today's giveaway, we have three prizes lined up: a first-place winner walking away with a class t-shirt of their choice, and two second place winners who will each receive a FragMat mousepad. And the best part? All you have to do to enter is leave a comment within the next 24 hours (that would be before 9:00 AM on Monday, December 24th). And if you don't win today (or even if you do!) check back tomorrow -- the prizes only get better as we count down the Twelve Days of Winter Veil!
Celebrate Twelve Days of Winter Veil with Ideazon!
For the next twelve days, WoW Insider and Ideazon are celebrating Winter Veil in the best way we can think of -- by giving away some great holiday gifts. We have Zboard Gaming Keyboards, Reaper & Reaper Edge gaming mice, GH-100 gaming headsets, FragMat gaming mousepads with World of Warcraft artwork, with some game time cards and t-shirts thron into the mix. What do you have to do to win, you ask? Simply leave a comment on today's post -- and check back every day for your chance to enter and win! (To be eligible to win, you must be age 18+ and a resident of the US, so before you enter, please take a look at the full official rules.)For today's giveaway, we have three prizes lined up: a first-place winner walking away with a class t-shirt of their choice, and two second place winners who will each receive a FragMat mousepad. And the best part? All you have to do to enter is leave a comment within the next 24 hours (that would be before 9:00 AM on Sunday, December 23rd). And if you don't win today (or even if you do!) check back tomorrow -- the prizes only get better as we count down the Twelve Days of Winter Veil!
WoW Moviewatch: Xmas with Bad Company
This Moviewatch is technically guild-related, but highlights plenty of holiday loot in-game. To the tune of a cheesy Mariah Carey song, each Bad Company guild member hops through a portal that transforms them into a gnome. Then, in true Christmas spirit, they go raiding.This video isn't going to blow you away with special effects or sweeping camera angles, but it does make me feel warm and fuzzy. Has there been a Winter Veil machinima that made you feel that way?[Via Warcraftmovies.com]Previously on Moviewatch...
WoW, Casually: December 21 to 27: Alterac Valley and the Feast of Winter Veil
Each week, Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player who has 2 hours or less to play at a time.It's that time of year again. Either you have less time to play because of all of the holiday preparations and get-togethers or you have more time because you live far away or choose not to participate in all of the hubbub going on. This makes the WoW experience a bit unusual for a couple of weeks because there are a lot of people who want to raid but can't and are therefore going to be trying to get 5 mans together. This is often a boon to the casual player because getting pickup groups for things (if you actually have time to do an instance) can go a bit faster. Or everyone will just play in the Battlegrounds. That's what I did last year.And I will probably be doing that again this year. This weekend, the Call to Arms is for Alterac Valley, which is by far my favorite BG. We have lots of advice on how to win, how to lose or even how to avoid practical jokes in AV, but here are two quick pieces of advice for both sides of the conflict.
New fan art, wallpaper, and a call for screenshots
Blizzard has been updating the artwork on the official website again, and that means new wallpapers and shiny new fan art! The wallpaper features artwork from the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, so if you play, or are simply a fan of WoW-themed depictions, it might be time to update your desktop background. As for the fan art, much of it is holiday and Winter's Veil-themed, which often makes for some humorous images. Aside from being ever on the lookout for new fan artwork, Blizzard is also asking for some top-notch screenshots of Auchindoun: Auchenai Crypts. They would like to see depictions of the architecture and the scenery, in addition to combat. If your screenshots are selected, as always, they will appear in the World of Warcraft Guide, along with your character's name. For a list of banned subject matter, screenshot-taking tips, and a drop-down menu featuring every area of which Blizz is needing screenshots, visit the Screenshot Submission Form. While you're in the mood to snap some great shots, don't forget to take some holiday-themed ones, and enter Blizzard's latest holiday contest, to win some decent prizes!
World of WarCrafts: Healing Potion Punch
Every Wednesday World of WarCrafts features a recipe that shows you how to make own real life version of in-game recipes and items. In the spirit of upcoming Christmas Winter Veil parties I thought that a drink might be a needed component. Now the drinks in WoW aren't exactly something you would want to serve at a party, Refreshing Spring Water, Ice Cold Milk and Moonberry Juice don't seem very....... festive to me. BUT! What about Healing Potions? Now hear me out. There has to something about those things if you have to wait two minutes to drink them.So, to that end I decided to create Healing Potion Punch.
WoW gifts? I has em!
WoW is a big part of the time my husband and I spend together. If we're not actually playing, we're usually talking about strategies or our in-game goals. Likewise, I spend a ton of time with my guildmates, either raiding or just joking around. These are people I consider good friends. So with one of the major gift giving holidays just around the corner, I've been working on ideas for WoW-themed presents for the lot of them. And I'm certainly not the only one. The folks over at Warcraft Chicks have been compiling a list of inexpensive to legendary items you can buy or make for your loved ones. There are also a lot of posts over on WoW Ladies about gift ideas. Likewise, Grumble N' Autumnn has compiled a list of in-game toys. At this point, though, there's less than a week before Christmas. Yikes! So in the interest of time, I'm going to put together one giant list of WoW-related holiday gift ideas and where you can get them.
Blizzard's holiday contests
It's the time of year for goodies and cheer, and all of Azeroth is celebrating Winter's Veil. The good folks at Blizzard have kicked off two contests that will let you tap into your creative and festive self, as well as giving you a chance at some nifty prizes. The Royal Photographic Society of Azeroth has hereby declared that they are in need of top notch screenshots featuring your WoW holiday celebrations. If you would like to brush up on the fundamentals and technicalities of in-game photography, check out our tips for taking screenshots, or read through Blizzard's guidelines. If cooking and baking are more your style, then whip up a batch of something delicious and festive, take a photograph (or have a friend do it for you) and submit it. As I will be preparing holiday goodies this year, I would send in my own photographs, except that the contest is only open to (most of) the United States. I will have to settle for merely munching on them, and perhaps posting one or two Well Fed Buffs, instead. Make the jump to learn about the prizes you could win, and what sorts of entries are likely to be picked.
Some players getting coal in their mailbox for Winter Veil
Have you been wreaking havoc with the Seed of Destruction glitch on the PTR? Skinning Taurens for leather? Or maybe just abusing the Arena rating system? Whatever the reason, not everyone got a Winter Veil recipe in their mailbox yesterday.Everyone should have received something in the mail based on their tradeskill professions. But not everyone did. And since those who do get them can't give them away (they're BoP), it has created a market for those who can make them and cries of foul play for those who didn't get anything.At first, Blizzard directed players to petition in-game, but then they realized the problem was more widespread. Now they are looking into the script that determines who receives what recipe in their mailbox. They aren't giving out any details right now, but ask players to hold off on petitioning until they can figure out the root of the problem.Until Blizzard determines the problem and implements a solution, you'll have to hit the Auction house, Guild bank or qq in the Trade channel if you want Red Winter Clothes or Hot Apple Cider.[Thanks Keeler for the tip!]
A Winter Veil recipe may be in your mailbox
Check your in-game mailboxes today. Greatfather Winter may have sent you a recipe. Deacon sent us a tip this morning saying that he got a Tailoring recipe for "some fine green winter clothes", so I ran and checked Freja's mailbox to find that she had received a recipe for Hot Apple Cider. It looks like if you have previously completed Greatfather Winter's quest, he may have sent you a recipe that was added in Patch 2.3, just for the Feast of Winter Veil. You do not need the required skill or level to receive the recipe. Here are the possible goodies you could have waiting for you in your mailbox: Pattern: Green Winter Clothes -- Tailoring, Horde only Pattern: Red Winter Clothes -- Tailoring, Alliance only Pattern: Winter Boots -- Leatherworking Recipe: Hot Apple Cider -- Cooking Did you get a Winter Veil gift from Greatfather Winter today?
Breakfast Topic: Happy Winter Veil!
The Feast of Winter Veil arrived on the live realms early this morning, and to coincide with this auspicious occasion, I feel it is only appropriate to ask what your (virtual) holiday plans are. Because Winter Veil is more than just pretty decorations in the capitol cities -- it's an event! There are quests to participate in, items to collect, dungeons to run. So what are you doing for Winter Veil? Will you be jumping online and immediately running through the content -- or is today just another day of gaming as usual?For those of you who aren't certain what Winter Veil is, there's no time like the present to read up! Happy Winter's Veil Eve! Winter Veil mysteries New Winter Veil details revealed What do you get the gamer who has everything? We've got a few ideas in our WoW holiday gift guide!
Happy Winter Veil's Eve!
Late tonight (or early tomorrow morning, depending how you look at it) the decorations on your server should roll out and the Feast of Winter Veil will begin in Azeroth once again. We've already seen previews of some of the new toys we'll be getting this year. We've also pondered what other changes may be unannounced this year, and we'll be able to experience everything first-hand soon.Just as a reminder, there is one item in particular that always sells well the first few days of the holiday: Small Eggs. Today's your last chance to head out to one of the lower level zones and kill a few thousand birds (or bird-like oviparous creatures) in order to make your fortune. Remember that you'll need at least five eggs yourself in order to complete the quest that creates the clamor for these items in the first place, so even if you don't wish to make a killing on the auction house, it would probably be wise to grab some eggs before the farming gets out of control. Check out Robin's earlier article for a good tip on a farming spot as well.
WoW, Casually: December 14 to 20 and Feast of Winter Veil
Each week, Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player who has 2 hours or less to play at a time.The weather outside may be frightful, but the Feast of Winter Veil begins Saturday which is always delightful. Well, the weather isn't frightful where I live, but I used to live where there are those season-things, so I feel for you in my high 60s and sunny. Really, I do.Of course, the seasons don't change in Azeroth either, but the weekly Call to Arms bonus weekends do. This week it's Eye of the Storm. My EotS tip for this week is: let the Wookiee win. Er, let the Droods run with the flag. Otherwise, they're going to spend all their time whining in BG chat about how slow Ghostwolf form is, etc. Seriously, life's too short to listen to all that bellyaching -- though I suppose there's not much else to whine about in EotS. I mean, this is a Battleground where standing around doing nothing (as long as you're at a tower) watching everyone else fight in the middle is actually a good thing. So take advantage of extra honor and shorter queues while getting your marks this weekend.
