Project Lore

Have the the Hallow's End festivities been keeping you busy? Between the daily slaughtering of the Headless Horseman, trick-or-treating hourly to keep up my chances of collecting all those masks, and running around "wanding" my guildies, I've been trying to enjoy the event to its fullest. But what about Halloween IRL? You know, that on which our WoW event is based. Well, there's still time to incorporate a little Warcraft in that area, too.

You all probably have seen the host of RL WoW-themed masks and make-up in the Blizzard store in years' past. For the hordies here, there's plenty of options, each which run about $35 to $40: the standard male orc mask, a Thrall-inspired mask, a male troll mask with plenty of tusk, and my personal favorite: the male forsaken mask. There's also the ear prosthetic kits that will set you back about $12 each, in both blood elf and night elf varieties.

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Before we had any confirmation at Blizzcon that Goblins and Worgens would be introduced as playable races in WoW Cataclysm, we had a plethora of speculation that that might be the case. If you recall, it all started with the discovery of four new textures for Hallow's End masks datamined from within the depths of Patch 3.2. Of course, later, new textures also were added (perhaps to throw us off the path, a successful tactic) for murlocs, Vrykul, ogres and naga.

But now, of course, information on the expansion has been confirmed, and I know I'm not the only one itching to play the new races for more than just a few-minute demo. So, what could be better than to pretend to play the new races as part of the fun of Hallow's End?

One of the things I was most looking forward to for the holiday this year was getting a chance to don one of those new masks while riding around on my Magic Broom. The original file names of the four masks found by Scrolls of Lore specifically include "Halloween" in them - for example "Helm_Mask_Halloween_WoF.blp" - so it's a reasonable conclusion that they're the same as the other masks for Hallow's End. But at least so far, the masks are nowhere to be found.

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It's the time of year again, boys and girls. As Hallow's End approaches, everyone is gearing up to slay the Headless Horseman and gorge themselves on Tricky Treats, but it might be worth your while to celebrate the holiday's real-life equivalent, too. Each year, Blizzard hosts a pumpkin carving contest, and 2009 is no exception. They're looking for some talented gourdsmiths to artfully slice up these over-sized fruits to depict characters or scenes from at least one of the company's video game franchises. Zarhym details the rules below:

"The Royal Photographic Society of Azeroth is renewing its competition in celebration of Halloween. In a longstanding Blizzard Entertainment tradition, this year we're proud to announce our seventh annual pumpkin-carving contest. 2008's Winner, an exquisitely-crafted Horde pumpkin by Merrlynch Between 12:00 a.m. PDT on October 13 and 11:59 p.m. PDT on October 28, the RPSA will be accepting submissions for the pumpkin contest. The shutterbugs who submit the most outstanding photos of their work will have their pictures proudly displayed on WorldofWarcraft.com and Blizzard.com on Halloween. In addition, the crafters of the five most interesting, original, and well-carved pumpkin designs will each be recognized for their merits with a 32 GB iPod touch! Special thanks go out to Apple for this fantastic prize! Pumpkin submission tips:

• The winning entries will display high levels of originality, craftsmanship, and possibly humor.
• Your pumpkin must be lit up by a candle or other light source in your photo entry. You can show another photo of the pumpkin unlit if you wish.
• Pumpkins must be related to World of Warcraft or another Blizzard Entertainment title.
• Try to take the best picture possible, as picture quality helps make a good impression on the judges.
• Make sure you tell us what the pumpkin is supposed to be in the caption, just in case it's not clear."

Having big, meaty fingers like my own, and the carving skills of a back-alley surgeon, I don't think I'll be participating, myself. Every jack-o-lantern I try to make looks like Gary Busey after a motorcycle crash. And, besides, some of the winners from past years are intimidatingly well-made! But if you think you've got the chops, why not try your hand at it? Even if you don't win, you'll still have a bad-ass looking pumpkin to put on your doorstep. Full rules and a submission form can be found here.

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I finally achieved the elusive What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been, the achievement for completing the main achievements for all the major holidays. It awards the Violet Proto-Drake, which is an epic 310% movement speed flying mount, currently among the fastest in the game. Players who receive the achievement get their drakes in the mail from Alexstrasza, with the following message:

With the drums of war pounding in the distance, it is easy for the denizens of Azeroth to forget all that life has to offer. You, on the other hand, have maintained the dignity of the good races of Azeroth with your ability to remember what we fight for. To not celebrate our victories is another form of defeat. Remember that well, Reveler. May others be inspired by your good cheer, Alexstrasza the Life-Binder

Note that I corrected Alexstrasza's misspelling of "remember", which was written as "remeber". Come on, Blizzard! Its very curious to me where Alexstrasza is getting all of these drakes from and how she is fitting them in the mail. She also sends the Red Proto-Drake to players who complete Glory of the Hero. There are a lot of controversies surrounding the Violet Proto-Drake. The number of 310% move speed mounts is extremely small, and most of the others can only be obtained by completing very difficult raid achievements when the content is still very new. The other 310% are the Black Proto-Drake, Plagued Proto-Drake, Ironbound Proto-Drake, and the Rusted Proto-Drake. Aside from the Violet Proto-Drake, you must be in a progression raiding guild to obtain one of these super-fast mounts. Is it fair that players who just participate in all of the holidays can get one of these mounts? They will likely be pretty common by the end of Brewfest, and even more common by Hallow's End, which was the first holiday the occur after the launch of the achievement system last year. I personally will enjoy my Violet Proto-Drake and won't complain. The other issue is that there is no reason to use other mounts once a player obtains a 310% movement speed mount. I love my Sunreaver Dragonhawk, Turbo-charged Flying Machine, and Green Proto-Drake, but they will not see the light of day when I'm flying around, as they are slower than my Violet Proto-Drake. Its really a pity, because I put a lot of effort into getting those mounts and they are really cool. Blizzard has said that they might do this in the future, but for now, I'm stuck flaunting only one of my flying mounts. Should Blizzard scale mounts up with riding skill, including those at 150% movement speed?

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Just days after the hooplah surrounding the addition of Worgen and Goblin masks into the game as possible signs of new races in the theoretical expansion "Cataclysm", more masks have been discovered by MMO-Champion, seriously hindering the chances that any of these are going to be new races in the new expansion. The masks that have models in the game now includes all ten playable races, goblins, worgen, ogres, murlocs (!), naga, and vrykul. While two of these races could be playable in the next expansion, I doubt all of them will be. When Blood Elves and Draeni were announced as playable races in The Burning Crusade, everyone was very excited. New races and the introductions of paladins into the Horde and shamans into the Alliance was a huge change. Wrath introducing Death Knights was equally important; there had not been a new class added to the game since early beta. With the new expansion on the (distant) horizon, players are expecting a new playable race, and probably two (for each faction) at that. Blizzard has said that new playable races in the future will be familiar to us (contrary to the retconed Draeni in Burning Crusade), so expect lots of speculation. Pandareans are as good as retconed out at this point, so don't expect the to jump from obscurity to playable so soon. That leaves a lot of possibilities, and these masks may be some sign. As for the masks' actual role, I hope this is some sign of a revamped Hallow's End event. Blizzard added achievements for world events so that players would have incentives to experience the content they spent time and money developing, but players who already got all the achievements from last year would have little reason to participate in the festivities this year. With new masks, this may be a sign of new Hallow's End content and maybe even achievements! Or at least making A Mask for All Occasions doable. Would you re-roll one of these races? What if they started at, say, level 80 in their own starting areas in the new expansion?

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Source image courtesy of MMO-Champion. It is often that we find hints of new or as-yet-unreleased content by carefully and dutifully digging through the files of new patches. Few are better at this than Boubouille of MMO-Champion, a site nearly unparalleled at breaking this brand of news for our favorite game. But I'm not so sure about one of their latest. Boubouille has managed to scrounge up several graphics of Hallow's End masks that depict both Goblins and Worgen. Traditionally, these masks have only been made from playable races, and the next expansion is predicted to focus primarily on the Maelstrom, which would theoretically feature zones such as the Goblin home city of Undermine and the isolated kingdom of Gilneas (which may or may not have fallen victim to a Worgen invasion -- after all, it is suspiciously close to Shadowfang Keep!). Little has been confirmed by Blizzard themselves, but the evidence certainly tips in favor of these races being prominent players in forthcoming events, if not completely playable. So what's holding me back? Not excitement, that's for sure. Worgen would be a great addition, and it'd be nice for the Horde to have their very own little people. But the fact of the matter is that both Goblins and Worgen (read: werewolves) are creatures traditionally associated with Halloween, which may explain the inclusion of their masks for the holiday. Despite my skepticism, there is one key point that intrigues me: there is a female Worgen mask. Of course, this is only fair and in keeping with the tradition of offering a mask of both genders for players to wear, but I'm not aware of any female Worgen currently existing in the game (at least none that take on an appearance apart from the generic model). Looking at the image provided by MMO-Champion, you can see softer, almond-shaped eyes and a smaller nose, perhaps implying that they might account for playable options in the future. Ultimately, everything at this point is simply an educated guess, but Blizz's own loremaster, Chris Metzen, has stated that they are "doing some awesome stuff for Gilneas." Worgen are apparently naturally evil, battle-worn creatures, but it wouldn't be beyond reason to see them do a turn for the Alliance. After all, the story of Warcraft is all about people or races being redeemed or damned through their actions. Darkspear Trolls shied away from the cannibalism prevalent amongst their people, the Forsaken have made strides to separate themselves from the Scourge, and who can forget the once benevolent High Elves transforming into magic-addicted wretches after the corruption of the Sunwell? Who's to say there isn't some small contingent of Worgen trying to earn their place in the world by rising above their race's natural anger and ferocity? The discovery of these masks certainly gives us food for thought, if no concrete answers. Teasing us this far ahead of the expansion is awfully cruel of Blizzard, but if they are in the files now, might that imply that we'll see a release before the next time Hallow's End rolls around? I'm eager to know how everyone else feels about this development. Is Blizzard just playfully baiting their fans (as they have for so long with the Pandaren), or is this serious evidence of things to come? If playable, do you think that Goblins and Worgen are locks for the Horde and Alliance respectively? Which would you like to play as, and would you be willing to switch factions just to do so? And why does that female Goblin mask look exactly like Fiona from Shrek?

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I’m not sure if it’s the recent holiday events, the new achievements system, or something that has been here all along, but it seems the whole world is going crazy about mounts. People want them, want to show them off, and are going to extremely lengths to get them. The most obvious example is the holiday mounts. Groups of dedicated people are spending hours everyday farming the latest seasonal boss and hoping they will drop the latest mount. First it was the Kodo/Ram now it’s the Horseman mount. I’ll admit, I am one of them, and because I don’t have luck like Juggy, I imagine I will be in SM everyday for the rest of the event. It doesn’t stop there however! It’s just the tip of the iceberg. With the new achievement system in place lots of folk in my guild have spent tons of gold and farmed tons of rep  to buy every mount they can get their hands on. The goal is the 50 mount achievement, and yet another mount. (A very cool one, given). While we are on the topic of achievements, the other reason the whole world is farming away inside SM this week is to make sure they get the squashling and the Hallowed title. Not a mount, I know, but guess what you get if you finish all the seasonal event achievements? You guessed it: another mount. The problem actually predates the newest batch of content. People have been mount obsessed long before this. Rare mounts are certainly nothing new. On the extreme end, there is a friend of mine in my guild that has soloed Stratholme several times every day for the last few months. The reason is the Baron Mount. Rumor is that it is the lowest drop rate in the game, and from the stories I’ve heard I believe it. This is one for the truly dedicated, or truly insane (sorry, Feralface). Then of course there is the Huntsman Mount, The White Hawkstrider, The Anzu Mount, The Ashes of Alar, The ZG Raptor and Tiger, and the now inaccessible Bear Mount. While given mounts are really really cool, is it really worth all this time we put into farming them? The are (usually) cosmetic, they don’t improve our ability to down a boss. The are vanity items, but then again, perhaps that is their appeal. What about you? What lengths have you gone to to get a mount? Or are you just happy riding around on your boring faction mount?

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I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Hallow's End is here in the World of Warcraft. With all of the new achievements in the game, there are tons of people heading to the Scarlet Monastery to kill the Headless Horseman for his rings, helm, sword, or mount. It seems like the hardest thing to get for the long list of Hallow's End achievements, other than all twenty masks, is the squashling pet. I'm one of the many people in the Totally Rad Guild who, once the twenty mask achievement is removed from the meta achievement requirements, only needs that pet in order to complete the Hallow's End world event achievement and get the Hallowed title. I've seen that pet drop maybe five times in the past few days, and the last one I rolled a two on. That's ok though, there's still a lot of days left in the holiday. The Horseman, though, is starting to feel a lot like that other farmable holiday boss, Coren, from BRD just a few weeks ago. I've got every single drop off of the rider without a skull that I want, including the Horseman's Reigns (which I rolled a 100 on the first night of Hallow's End). I feel like it's really only a matter of time until I get that pet. Of course, that's how I felt about the Kodo Mount, and I never got that drop. Although, as much as I would have liked a kodo, the Headless Horseman's mount is about a quadrillion and five times cooler to me. I personally never really participated in the world event quests until now, but the seemingly improved rewards that have been creeping into the game have made it worth my while. While browsing through the hundreds of achievements, these useless points really encourage players to go out and experience all of the world events that Blizzard puts together so well. My only worry is that every time one of these new holidays comes up, we'll have another flavor of the month title. Right now, it seems like at least half of the people I see are in the Jenkins family. I'm sure after the Hallowed achievement is changed, most of those people will that one up. I'm sure it's only a result of new titles and achievements having just been implemented, but I look forward to seeing all sorts of new titles around, instead of everyone having the exact same one. Either way, I am loving the holiday season in WoW so far.

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Oh, Hallow's End, how you have drawn me into the game once more. I mentioned in my Hallow's End Achievements post that it is my favorite seasonal event in Azeroth, and real life. The new Achievements, items and especially the candy, that Hallow's End offers has drawn me back to the game ahead of Wrath of the Lich King, which I did not expect to happen. I may not be raiding, but I am playing as much as before, if not more.

My new priest has received most of my Hallow's End play time, as well as most of my time in general. I have tackled a few of those Achievements I mentioned, despite the fact that I said I don't really care. I guess when I am so close to completing things like Tricks and Treats of Eastern Kingdoms, I get sucked into the idea of the pretty colors and effects flashing across my screen when I grab my last goodie. Unfortunately, I haven't tested my new found healing abilities in The Graveyard of Scarlet Monastery yet. The Headless Horsemen is just going to have to wait until I am 70, which should be before the event ends on November 1^st. I really need to get her in there so can experience the encounter as a healer.  Of course, she could also use the two rings, the mount, and squashling.

If I don't think my Priest is going to make it to 70 by the end of this week, I guess I will just start farming the Horseman on my Rogue. The rogue still needs an epic flyer, and while I will still have to cough up most of the money for the riding skill, at least I will look cool on the hard-to-get mount. Sadly, nothing else but the encounter itself is really needed.

I know Hallow's End is just a few days old at this point. Judging from the comments in my last post, that hasn't stopped some of you from completing the insane Hallowed Be Thy Name Achievement. Props to those who managed to accomplish it in only four days time, especially if you finished it before A Mask for All Occasions' removal. What are you guys going to do now? Work on scoring it on your alts, back to farming gold ahead of Wrath or abusing the EZMode raids due to the new patch?

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If you were paying attention to the new guild calendar that was added with patch 3.0.2 you should have noticed that Hallow's End started this Saturday.  This year's Hallow's End will keep players busier than usual, thanks to another Echoes of Doom addition, Achievements.  The latest patch added the first group of Achievements to the game, 21 of which are focused on my favorite of the seasonal holidays (even in real life).  Unfortunately for us, it is not 21 unique quests, as a few of them are Horde/Alliance mirrors of each other. For those out to get the easy Achievements, Hallow's End has a few of those to offer.

• The Mask Task – Grab one of the 20 masks available and put it on.  Cake.
• Check Your Head – Grab the [Weighted Jack-o'-Lanterns] and throw them at all the races.  This is obviously easiest if you do it in Shattrath City or a Battleground.  Oh, but be sure they don't already have the buff, or you won't get credit.

Then you can go completely the other way, and be out to get those difficult Achievements that the system is really all about.

• Tricks and Treats of Azeroth – This is a travel heavy quest that sends you all over Azeroth, including an expedition to Outlands.  Think of it as Children's Week...on steroids.  The good thing is that if you complete this, that means you completed three other Achievements, Tricks and Treats of Eastern Kingdoms/Kalimdor and Outlands.
• A Mask for All Occasions – Well, a quest based on random drops is never fun.  This is topped off by the fact that you have to collect all 20 masks.  You will basically have to farm the Innkeepers each hour for their [Treat Bag] if you want this Achievement.
• Sinister Calling – Sinister Calling is perhaps the most sought after Achievement without people even knowing it.  The object is to snag a [Sinister Squashling] and a [Hallowed Helm], two items that players have been farming since they were added to the Headless Horseman's loot table.  This is another Achievement that if managed, will score you additional bragging rights, the Bring Me The Head of... Oh Wait Achievement.
• Hallowed Be Thy Name - For only the truly insane.  You basically complete all the the Hallow's End Achievements for this and it scores you the title of The Hallowed.  Completing this is also part of the all Seasonal Achievement, What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been.

My personal favorite Achievement, and the only one I actually care about, is rather easy (and will also score me the  Bring Me The Head of... Oh Wait Achievement), Out With It.  Out With It is based on the age-old adage that if you eat too much candy, your stomach will get upset.  Easily achieved by winning the common drop for the Headless Horseman, Tricky Treats.  Then just eat them until you get the Upset Tummy debuff.  Why do I like it?  Why, because it is funny, that is why. As my gamerscore for my Xbox 360 shows, I have never really cared about Achievements, but Blizzard is making them creative, difficult, or interesting enough to force me to strive for some of them.  If only they actually benefited you characters in some way... For more information on all of the Hallow's End Achievements, head over to the Hallow's End page on WoWWiki.

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