World of Warcraft: Winter Veil
MMORPG.com World of Warcraft Correspondent Robert Duckworth writes this overview of the Winter Veil Christmas event in Blizzard's World of Warcraft.
The Feast of Winter Veil is coming soon, beginning on the 15th of December to be exact. "Santa" (Greatfather Winter) will once again be loitering around Orgrimmar and Ironforge while ordering up loads of gingerbread cookies in exchange for small presents. Metzen will find himself captured and held for ransom yet again by two different hostage takers at the same time. And that abominable snowman, rampaging through the silence of the Alterac Mountains with his stolen horde of Smokywood Pastures' treats that must be recovered at any cost.
Just like with the recent Hallow's End, a title is up for grabs upon the completion of all the Feast of Winter Veil achievements. Knocking them all out rewards you with the new title Merrymaker. There's a lot less luck involved this time around so more people should be able to enjoy working toward this goal. Even if you hate achievements one nice thing Blizzard has once again snuck a new present under the tree for everybody.
Naughty or nice doesn't matter in this season, getting as many presents as you can and completing the following achievements is all Greatfather Winter cares about. So be greedy, be a Scrooge even, you pretty much have to. There's 12 achievements in total, though most players have probably completed the first one.
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The List
He Knows If You've Been Naughty - Open one of the presents underneath the Winter Veil tree once they are available. This achievement is simple, and most players probably already have it as it was the only Feast of Winter Veil achievement to be awarded for past completion. Presents normally become available at midnight, the morning of the 25th, on each server. Either in Ironforge or Orgrimmar, the presents are piled up under the Winter Veil trees that are behind the two Greatfather Winters.
On Metzen - Save Metzen the Reindeer. Oh Metzen. Just like Corki. Always getting tied up. Metzen can be found in both places listed in the quest, either in Tanaris or Searing Gorge. Saving him in Searing Gorge is supposedly the easier option, but that's only if you are the same level as the mobs in the zone. For anybody above level 55 you may not even have to kill anything, and this turns into a standard delivery quest.
With A Little Helper From My Friends - Earn 50 Honorable Kills as a Little Helper from the Winter Veil Wondervolt machine. This in all honesty looks like it's going to be the most annoying achievement out of them all. Especially if you hate PvP. But even if you enjoy battlegrounds, as soon as you die you will lose the costume disguise, ending up stuck in the battle until you can leave to find a new machine. The best option for fastest completion will probably be entering an Alterac Valley and doing your best to not enter the fighting, instead hanging back and soaking up the 50 HK's you need. Rogues will have the easiest time with this achievement, and players should expect to see plenty of stealthed gnomes wandering around the BG's not participating at all.
Scrooge - Throw a snowball at Cairne Bloodhoof/King Magni Bronzebeard during the Feast of Winter Veil. Only your factions leader, not the opposing factions as well. So Horde players only have to throw one at Cairne Bloodhoof, not find a way into Ironforge for a snowball fight. An easy achievement, snowballs can be bought off the Smokywood Pastures' vendors nearby.
Fa-la-la-la-Ogri'la - Complete the Bomb Them Again! quest while mounted on a flying reindeer during the Feast of Winter Veil. Another simple achievement, as long as your level 70 with a flying mount. The Bomb Them Again! quest is of course located with the Ogri'la ogres up in ogre heaven in the Blade's Edge Mountains. Turning your mount into a reindeer just requires some Holly.
'Tis the Season - During the Feast of Winter Veil, wear 3 pieces of winter clothing and eat Graccu's Mince Meat Fruitcake. The Fruitcake is a reward for completing the Save Metzen quest line, and you get it in the mail a short while after completion. The 3 pieces of winter clothing would have been a hard accomplishment in the past, but now that tailors can craft 3 pieces all by themselves, and leather workers another piece, the need for farming bosses until the hat drops is not necessary. A quick trip to the auction house or bugging a tailoring friend should net you these with little effort.
Crashin' and Thrashin' - Gain 25 crashes with your Crashin' Thrashin' Racer during the Feast of Winter Veil. The Crashin' Thrashin' Racer is the new gift that players will receive this year. What level is required to open the present containing it isn't known. This should again be a rather simple achievement though as long as you know at least one person you can ram your racer into.
Simply Abominable - Complete the quest to retrieve the stolen Smokywood Pastures' stolen treats and receive a Smokywood Pastures' Thank You. This is the quest line that involves the Alterac Mountain zone and has been there since the beginning. Players have to go to the mountains, find the treats, and then turn them back in to the quest giver. A while later they will then receive a Smokywood Pastures' Thank You in the mail to complete this achievement.
Let It Snow - During the Feast of Winter Veil, use a Handful of Snowflakes on each of the race/class combinations listed below. Dalaran is going to be the place to complete this achievement, just run around looking for your target and then throw snowflakes on them. One thing to watch out for is to make sure they don't already have the snowflakes buff, this was an issue with Hallow's End where if your target already had his head with a pumpkin on it, you wouldn't' get credit for throwing a new one on him.
Bros. Before Ho Ho Ho's - Use Mistletoe on the Horde/Alliance "Brothers" during the Feast of Winter Veil. Probably one of the best named achievements in the game. The Horde version of this achievement is much easier, with only 3 "brothers" to talk to, while the Alliance have 9. It shouldn't be that much harder for the Alliance though, as the majority of the NPC's are located in Stormwind.
The Winter Veil Gourmet - During the Feast of Winter Veil, use your culinary expertise to produce a Gingerbread Cookie, Egg Nog and Hot Apple Cider. While the Gingerbread Cookie and the Egg Nog don't take much skill to make, the Hot Apple Cider requires a player to be 325 skill in cooking to make. As well as level 65. So if you're hoping to get the Merrymaker title and you don't have a high cooking skill, you might want to go ahead and push to 325 before the season starts. The ingredients for all the recipes are easy to gather, Small Eggs being the only annoying one, while the rest can be bought off the Smokywood Pastures' vendors. The Hot Apple Cider had a lasting duration of 2 days in the past. The limited duration may have been removed, but don't go making piles of the stuff before finding out.
A Frosty Shake - During the Feast of Winter Veil, use your Winter Veil Disguise kit to become a snowman and then dance with another snowman in Dalaran. The Winter Veil Disguise kit in recent Feast of Winter Veil's has been mailed to players upon completing some of the seasonal quests. Originally it was a rare item off of a loot table that was used to distribute an extra gift to everyone through the mail. It will most likely stay as a quest reward and is an easy achievement.
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Roastin' Chestnuts
The Feast of Winter Veil is a rather enjoyable in game event. Many events are easily passed over or just not big enough to really have an effect, but Winter Veil is everywhere in the cities. Perhaps Dalaran will even get a major makeover, seeing as Blizzard has been rather proud about their new city. If you're going after the Violet Proto-Drake from the What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been achievement, or even just the Merrymaker title, then these achievements are easy enough to not feel like a chore. Except perhaps the cooking one. But then if you're an achievement hog you should already be near maxed out with that. Good luck with your achievements and Happy Holidays.
