But... I Just Wanted to Be Loved!

Another world holiday has come and gone, leaving many of us exhausted with trying to shower every available guard and merchant in our faction capitals with affection, relieved that there is now really no excuse to keep hearthing back to Orgrimmar or Stormwind every hour to try and get that elusive pet or picnic set, or just plain sick of all the hearts and ready to get back to basics.

Love Is In the Air ended on the 16th, after a whirlwind storm of confetti, roses, and candy. But for those out there who are still leveling their characters, but who also have their eyes on that Violet Proto-Drake, the holiday may have ended a little too soon.

The achievement I Pitied the Fool requires you to be level 80, namely so you can get into Naxxramas to /pity a Love Fool. And if you're like me and still struggling to get a character to level 80, or reached 80 after the bell tolled and all the bewinged goblins went away, you may be thinking that there's no hope of being The Love Fool this year.

But fear not! If you are still on the cusp of capping level, there is still time to get your holiday title. Because Love Fools (and handfuls of rose petals and love rockets) all have a ten-day duration. And, unlike most other holidays, you can complete these achievements after the holiday has concluded.

So save those Love Fools and press on to 80. There's still time to be a fool for love.

Prepare to Be Loved...

The next world holiday is almost upon us, and it's time to get ready. Love Is In the Air begins tomorrow, full of kisses, candy, strange nervous conditions, and bewinged goblins flitting through the air.

The Adoration Exchange: The basic premise of this holiday revolves around paying tribute to the NPCs (guards, peasants, and more) in each capital city. The more NPCs you pay tribute to, the more likely you are to get the holiday's unusual items, which include outfits, a picnic set, candy, and even a permanent non-combat pet. Ultimately, your goal is to hand out enough tributes in every single capital city that you are able to complete a City Gift Collection - a special conglomeration of cards, pledges, and trade goods of friendship which you can then bestow on your favorite leader of the Horde or the Alliance.

Players can honor city NPCs this by purchasing perfume, cologne (or both) from any innkeeper in Azeroth (sorry, as usual, Silvermoon and the Exodar and their respective environs are not included), along with Love Tokens, which the player will then bestow upon the NPCs of their choice. If you apply cologne on your character, they will become attractive to female NPCs, and if you apply perfume, they will attract male NPCs. Once you've become attractive, give someone a Love Token to receive one of the following buffs/debuffs:

Adored - the NPC in question will give you a Pledge of Adoration or a Gift of Adoration, which is really a box filled with various items, including chocolates, candy, rare item drops, firecrackers, and handfuls of rose petals. Hang on to all of these, because you'll need them if you're trying to get this holiday's achievements. In addition, Adoration packets contain the very important Unbestowed Friendship Bracelets, which can be used on other players to remove them of the following debuff:
Heartbroken - The NPC has spurned your gift of friendship, and you will be unable to offer any more Love Tokens for 60 minutes or until someone comes along and mends your heart with a Friendship Bracelet.

After you've gotten your Adored buff, keep on handing out Love Tokens to nearby NPCs in order to collect Guard's Cards, Pledges of Friendship, and Gifts of Friendship from the guards and merchants in each capital city. Once you've gotten 5 of each type of reward, combine them to create a City Gift Collection.

Why go to all the trouble? With each Gift Collection you turn in, you get a buff of +30 to Intellect, Agility or Stamina, depending on which leader you've chosen to honor. You can then purchase a host of different holiday toys, like fireworks or candy, from the goblin cupid Kwee Q. Peddlefeet. At the end of the holiday, the faction leader with the most "votes of adoration" will convince Kwee Q. to stay by his/her side for a whole week after the holiday is over, giving out buffs to visiting players.

Intro to Holiday Achievements: The title everyone is aiming for this holiday is The Love Fool. Want it for your character? You can start by crossing these easy achievements off your list:

Flirt With Disaster: get yourself a handful of rose petals (found in most Gifts/Pledges of Adoration), cover yourself in perfume, get completely smashed on whatever cheap booze your character can find, and then throw the petals on either Jeremiah Payson (the cockroach seller in Undercity) or Sraaz (the pie-seller in Ironforge) and /kiss them.

Sweet Tooth: Have a taste of the four holiday chocolates, which come in nearly every Gift/Pledge of Adoration.

Lonely?: Head to Dalaran and look for anyone with their Romantic Picnic set out. Sit down and join them.

Like all holiday achievements, some are harder to get than others. But for those trying to get My Love Is Like a Red Red Rose, Blizzard has posted some help: the requisite Bouque of Ebon Roses that is part of the criteria for the achievement drops from the following bosses:

• Maiden of Grief (Halls of Stone)
• Prince Keleseth (Utgarde Keep)
• Prince Taldaram (Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom)
  

All About Questing: Not everyone is convinced that it's all love and games this holiday. In fact, certain citizens believe that all of this kissing, tittering and flirting is the result of a much more sinister plan. If you too are curious to find out what lies behind the rose petals and the chocolate candies, speak with Orok Deathbane in Orgrimmar, Temma of the Wells in Thunderbluff, or Deathguard Tor near the Undercity zeppelin tower for the Horde, or to Tormek Stoneriver in Ironforge, Lieutenant Jocryn Heldric in Stormwind, or Aldris Fourclouds in Darnassus for the Alliance. These NPCs will start you on your journey to figure out who or what is masterminding this lovesick haze.

Love Is In the Air runs between February 11th and the 16th. Have fun!

Get Ready to Celebrate!

A new world holiday is almost upon us! The Lunar Festival begins this week, filled with fireworks and fun, its very own title (Elder, of course) and, for any low-level character who hasn't visited yet, a free trip to Moonglade!

As far as holidays go, the Lunar Festival is pretty low-key. Most of the celebrating occurs in Moonglade itself, so the Cenarion Circle druids have set up teleport circles in all capital cities (that's old-world capitals, not Silvermoon or Exodar) to bring characters of any level to Moonglade. To get your teleport, start by speaking with a Lunar Festival Herald at your city of choice. The Heralds will direct you to the Lunar Festival Harbingers, who'll give you a Moonglade teleport scroll... after you honor the goddess Elune by shooting off a few fireworks of your own, that is!

Once you've reached Moonglade, be sure to pick up the flight point if you haven't already, and get the practically-free achievement for exploring Moonglade! Then, as directed by the Harbingers, visit Valadar Starsong to get a quick preview of the delights the holiday has in store.

The currency of choice for all items sold during this holiday are the Coins of Ancestry given by the spirits of Azerothian Elders, who are scattered throughout the game world. The more coins you collect, the more items you can buy:

• Festive Lunar Dresses and Festive Lunar Pant Suits - made of bright, cheery silk, these outfits would look lovely on just about anyone. Each dress or suit costs 5 coins.
• Festival Dumplings - These are stackable up to 20 and restore 4% of your health and 3% of your mana per second when eaten. A single coin will buy you 8 dumplings. Best of all - the dumplings don't expire, so you can enjoy them all year long.
• Elune's Candle - These powerful artifacts are used by those brave enough to face off against the Lunar Festival's biggest baddie and raid boss - Omen.

Take a look at your world events achievement bar to plan where to go to get all the coins you'll need - many involve delving deep into dungeons or far into the wastes of Northrend, or even into the capital cities of opposing factions. Given how many coins there are to collect this year, interested players should start early, bring their friends, and even make a plan with their guild members to get them all.

And when you're not traipsing all over the globe trying to find those elusive Elders, grab some friends and down the holiday raid boss, Omen. This big baddie can be summoned by firing off cluster rockets from launchers located around Lake Elune'ara. The commotion from the rockets will attract Minions of Omen, and slaying these minions will cause Omen himself to appear. Players can use their Elune's Candles to damage Omen and his minions. And, like all raid bosses, bring your friends to help save the day.

Remember - any character of any level can participate in the Festival Fun! The Lunar Festival runs between January 24th and February 12th.

Happy Great-Winter Feast!

As you're eating your holiday cookies and opening presents today, don't forget to log into the game and head to Ironforge or Orgrimmar to open your in-game gifts! This year, every character will receive the following:

• A Gently-Shaken Gift - Holds 5 Winter Vale Eggnog (restores 2% of your mana for 30 seconds)
• A Ticking Present - Holds a Mechanical Greench (3 charges to summon a pet which will fight for you. 10 day duration) and 5 Preserved Holly. Also has a chance to contain a special holiday crafting recipe.
• A Gaily Wrapped Present - Holds one of the following: A Red or Green Helper Box, a Snowman Kit, or a Jingle Bell. Each of these summons a different holiday pet. And, each box or bell is bind on equip.
• A Festive Gift - Holds a Wand of Holiday Cheer (makes everyone within the spell radius laugh. 10 day duration)
• A Winter Veil Gift - Holds a Crashin' Thrashin' Racer, and is required for the Crashin' Thrashing holiday achievement.
• A Carefully Wrapped Present - Holds 5 Winter Veil Cookie (restores 2% of your health for 30 seconds)

A happy Winter Veil to all, and to all a good night!

Last-Minute In-Game Gifts

Did your guild decide to hold a gift-swap but forgot to send you the memo? Did you receive an unexpected present from a new friend? If you're stuck in a bind wondering what to get a fellow WoW player this year, try one (or more) of the following:

• Vanity Pets: The most accessible place to get these is in your capital city Auction House, but the prices here range from affordable to downright ludicrous. But, there's still a bit of time to play the market. If you're looking to purchase something a little more unusual, get on your flying mount and head to Stormspire in Netherstorm and speak to Dealer Rashaad. For 10 gold you can purchase a Red Moth or Blue Dragonhawk pet, or some other unusual critters.
• PvP Gems: Thanks to the new honor system, not all gems are bind-on-pickup! Which means you can spend some of your honor on gems for a friend, if you so desire. And there's sure to be a gem for everyone somewhere on this list. Speak to the Armor Quartermasters in Orgrimmar's Hall of Legends or Stormwind's Champions' Hall to purchase these.
• Holiday Garb: Prices for Winter Boots or the Green or Red Winter Clothes can be high, so why not help a friend by making these items a gift? If you're a tailor or leatherworker you can purchase the patterns for these by talking to Wulmort Jinglepocket in Ironforge, or Penney Copperpinch in Orgrimmar. Just don't forget - the patterns are bind on pickup!

A gift isn't complete without the proper holiday gift wrap! But don't worry, the goblins sell that too, in purple, green, or blue!

Don't have a lot of in-game gold? No problem! If you're willing to spend some time instead of money, you can try the old "IOU" system. Send your friends coupons for one or more of the following (or make your own!):

• one hour (or more) of help farming materials or reputation
• a run through a dungeon of the recipient's choice
• a free port (or summons) to Dalaran
• a Westfall Chicken vanity pet (this only costs 22 copper, so it's close to being free. For details on how to get this bind on pickup pet, see this article)
  

Shopping for presents in World of Warcraft shouldn't be nearly as tough as it is in real life. Good luck!

Holiday Achievement Round-Up

Looking to rack up a few more achievements this Winter Veil? Browse these tips to add a few more easy achievements to your list.

Food and Drink. Still need to eat a few more foods or partake of a few more drinks for the Tastes Like Chicken or It's Happy Hour Somewhere achievements? Smokeywood Pastures goblins are stationed near the holiday trees in every capital city, selling limited-time festive food and drink for eager patrons.

Scrooge! All you need to get this achievement is a snowball, either harvested from snowy regions like the Alterac Mountains, or bought from goblin retailers in capital cities. Throw your snowball at Cairne if you're Horde, or at Magni if you're Alliance, and you're done!

Winter Veil Gourmet. You'll need some Small Eggs for this achievement, but remember - these are easily farmed from any birds in the Horde and Alliance starting areas and low-level regions. For all the other materials needed to cook up some Egg Nog, Gingerbread Cookies and Hot Apple Cider, check with the Smokeywood Pastures goblins in any capital city.

Let It Snow (use Handfuls of Snowflakes on assorted player character combinations). Capital cities and battlegrounds are the best place to find the necessary class-race combinations you need for this achievement. Handfuls of Snowflakes can be obtained by using the /kiss emote on any Winter Revelers standing beneath mistletoe at city inns.

Last-Minute Green Gifts for the Gamer in Your Life

Forget to get a gift for someone on your holiday list? Trying to find a gamer-friendly present for your family geek? Want to give a gift, but help the environment too? Take a look at these last-minute green gift ideas:

1. World of Warcraft Game Time. Ringing in at $14.99 per month, WoW game time is a sure-fire solution to your last-minute gift-giving blues. Upon purchase, an email is sent immediately to your friend or relative, allowing them to cash in their game time right away. Game time can be purchased in one-month, 3-month, and six-month increments from the Blizzard store.
2. Portable Solar Charger. Run any web search for a solar powered electronics charger, and you’ll find plenty of different renewable-energy options to charge cell phones, iPods, and other electronics on the go. Most chargers run the gamut between $30 and $100.
3. Support Green Energy. Worried about all the electricity those gaming consoles, computers, and mechanical gadgets use? Go green by purchasing an e-card from Native Energy. Your geeky friend or relative gets a great e-card, and Native Energy uses your donation to help build eco-friendly wind turbines or farm methane projects.

Happy holidays to all!

Getting Ready for Winter Veil

The feast of Winter Veil is almost upon us, filled with fun things for players of any level to do - egg nog to drink, reindeer to save, snowballs to throw, and, most importantly, presents to open. Like Hallow's End, Winter Veil comes with its own list of achievements to complete, and also has a number of quests which will keep players busy for awhile. Ready to get in the holiday spirit early? The following are tips for preparing your character for Winter Veil.

Small Egg farming – A number of holiday-specific recipes require the Small Eggs harvested from the birds and wildkin of low-level areas, including:

• Azuremyst Isle
• Elwynn
• Eversong Woods
• Loch Modan
• Mulgore
• Redridge Mountains
• Teldrassil
• Westfall

Getting started on collecting eggs before the main rush on December 15th may save you time and a headache in the long run.

Get ready for Hot Apple Cider - Ringing in with a cooking requirement of 325, Hot Apple Cider is a bind on pickup recipe available during Winter Veil. If your cooking isn't quite up to snuff, either head to the auction house to buy some meat, or grab your fishing pole and fish up some grub!

Get ready to bomb for Ogri’la - if you haven't saved up for your flying mount, you've got three weeks to get it in order to be eligible for the Fa-la-la-la-Ogri'la achievement (complete the Bomb Them Again! quest while your flying mount is transformed into a reindeer). Save that gold!

Make sure you can get those kills for the With a Little Helper From My Friends achievement (gain 50 honorable kills while transformed as the Little Helper from the Winter Wondervolt Machine). After level 10, anyone can join a PvP battleground, but players stand the best chance of getting kills when they are in the topmost level for their battleground (19, 29, 39, and so on). Still worried about staying alive? Level your First Aid skill to produce good bandages, or invest in some of the PvP trinkets available from the Hall of Legends in Orgrimmar or the Champions' Hall in Stormwind.

Get to level 40 to save Metzen the Reindeer. Not only does this quest give you the much-coveted Preserved Holly (which you can then use for the Ogri'la bombing achievement), it also gives its own achievement, which is necessary for the Winter Veil holiday title - The Merrymaker.

Fun & Free: Episode Five

This episode of Fun & Free covers October's holiday: Hallow's End. If you have ever wanted to change into a leper gnome or black cat, to witness dark scary rituals at the Forsaken Wickerman festival, or to have your own chance to win epic loot by killing the Headless Horseman, this holiday is for you!

Trick or Treat!
Every hour, players can talk to the innkeepers around the world of Azeroth to receive a trick or a treat. Treats consist of goody bags which may hold any number of items in them, including masks, candy, and even toothpicks. Hold on to these items - most are needed to fulfill the Hallow's End achievements, mentioned below. Tricks, on the other hand, will change your character into a different being, including bats, black cats, pirates, or other more slimy creatures. Once you've Trick or Treated, you will be unable to do so again for an hour.

Fires in Town!
Speak to the Masked Orphan Matrons in any of the starting-area towns for your faction (Brill, Razor Hill, etc.). Apparently, the Headless Horseman is on the loose again, wreaking havoc and setting fire to buildings. The matrons need players to help them out, so grab a bucket of water and make a bucket chain. Once you've quenched the fires, the Shade of the Headless Horseman will land in town. As he's a level 11 monster, he is very easily dispatched, and in his wake leaves a large pumpkin which all nearby players can loot. In return for your valiant efforts, the grateful orphans will reward you with a thank-you package, often containing wands which transform your character, pumpkins to throw at other players, or even broomsticks which make your character look appropriately witchy:


Hallow's End Achievements
There are a number of fun achievements you can complete this season. Some of the easiest include:
Trick or Treat! - pick up a handful of candy from the barrel located in any inn. Not only is this easy, it gives you free experience for every barrel you loot! Great for casual levelers.
The Mask Task - keep trick-or-treating and eventually you'll get one flimsy mask
That Sparkling Smile - use a toothpick, also obtained from innkeepers

Harder-to-obtain achievements include killing the Headless Horseman in Scarlet Monastery Graveyards, and traveling all over Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms and Outland to complete the Tricks and Treats of Azeroth achievement.

Edit as of 10/24: Looking to get the Sinister Calling achievement, but have a character who's too low to fight the Headless Horseman? No problem! Just make sure you complete the Stop the Fires! daily quest, and go trick-or-treating at an inn each hour. Both the Hallowed Helm and the Sinister Squashling have a chance to drop from these quests.

Hallow's End runs between October 18th and November 1st. A happy, spooky holiday to all!

Fun & Free (Or at Least Relatively Painless): Episode Four

This week's episode of Fun & Free covers Azeroth's best holiday, Brewfest! Whether you're looking for a new vanity pet, a hat with a feather on it, free booze, or just a chance to ride the fastest rams in the world, there's something for everyone at Brewfest.

On the Horde Side:
The Main Event: Orgrimmar
While every capital city has its own beer garden (and each of these gardens plays a different authentic goblin polka song), Orgrimmar is where the best brewers have come to ply their wares and show off their trade skills. The Brewfest main event is set up just off the road heading to Razor Hill.

And On the Alliance Side:
The Other Main Event: Ironforge
In snowy Dun Morogh, home of the dwarven ram, dwarven brewing is at its finest, and both the Thunderbrew and Barleybrew breweries have come to join the festivities. The main Brewfest activities are set up just below the cliffs of Ironforge, along the road leading to Kharanos. You can hear other authentic dwarven drinking tunes by visiting each capital city of the Alliance.

For Anyone:
The Best Vanity Pet Ever!
A mere 50 silver (less with faction discount) will buy you a Wolpertinger, the most unusual and easily the most fun pet around. Get yours before the holiday is gone! Or, if you just want to relax and enjoy the sights of wild wolpertingers at play in their native environment, knock back a few drinks and wander around the Brewfest grounds. Chances are you'll see plenty of these lovely little guys frolicking to and fro.


Ram Racing
A time-honored Brewfest tradition, ram racing is available to all players this year, no matter their level. Before you begin, take a look at wowwiki's informative guide on Brewfest and ram racing strategy - a must-read if you want to maximize profits during your races.
Players must complete at least the basic ram racing quest ("Now This is Ram Racing...Almost") before becoming eligible to pick up this year's Brewfest souvenir, the handy, refillable Blue Brewfest Stein.

Barking for the Breweries
Akin to Ram Racing, but with a twist...these quests will give you a rental racing ram and send you into either Orgrimmar or Ironforge to advertise for the brewery of your choice. The catch: there are no apple barrels inside the city limits. Therefore, you'll have to budget your time wisely to ensure that you can "bark" at all four quest locations without tiring your ram out. Here are a couple tips:
Don't Gallop - keep your ram's pace between a trot and a canter, and keep an eye on that fatigue debuff. When you see it get too high, lower your speed.
Plan Your Route - the four quest locations are scattered throughout the city, so it helps to have some idea of how you'll get to all of them before you head out. Ironforge is a circular city, so you can start with barking at the Bank and go either way easily, as long as your ram doesn't tire. But Orgrimmar's Valley of Honor lies off the beaten path, and the Valley of Spirits isn't that easy to get to either - make sure you give yourself extra time to get there.
Lastly, remember that you can only bark for one of the two faction breweries per day. Choose wisely!

Free Booze
Each faction boasts two noble breweries, each of which is vying for your custom and favor. The Ogres have set up their wares at both faction festivals, though their beers are much more powerful, and low-level characters might find themselves unable to hold their drink! For your free drinks, either complete the first ram racing quest to get your Brewfest Stein, or take a sample from one of the many tables around the Brewfest main event area.

Dark Iron Dwarf Invasions
Every half hour, Dark Iron Dwarves will crash the party at the Brewfest main event, sending up legions of dwarves intent on destroying the kegs of free ale! Players can thwart these miscreants by quaffing the mugs of ale on the free sample tables and throwing them at the dwarves. Every time you throw, a Brewfest attendant will throw you another. Every so often, one of the dwarves will leave a large silver tankard on the ground. If you run over the tankard you will get the "Drunken Master" buff, which will turn you into a whirling dervish, capable of incapacitating multiple dwarves at the same time.

Brewfest Tokens
With each quest you complete, you'll receive Brewfest tokens, which can be redeemed for all sorts of fun prizes, including a complete Brewfest costume, your own pony keg of Brewfest Ale, or a voucher to join the Brew of the Month Club. Note that this year, Brewfest tokens only last 21 days, so make sure you've spent them before the festival is over!

Edit as of 9/29: Brew of the Month Club
Who wouldn't want to be able to celebrate Brewfest all year long? With a 12-month membership to the Brew of the Month Club, you can do just that! Membership costs 200 Brewfest Tokens. Once a member, you have access to a limited-edition brew which will be mailed to you each month. Like what you're drinking? You can purchase more from licensed Brew of the Month Club vendors in Orgrimmar and Ironforge. And oh - one more thing, each brew may give you an unusual little buff, like the ones shown below.

Drinking some brews can cause squirrels to fall madly in love with you!

Brewfest runs from September 20th through October 4th. Have fun!