Project Lore

[caption id="attachment_9164" align="alignright" width="216" caption="Greatfather Winter awaits your tankard of bovine extract and sugary baked goods!"][/caption] What do meat-filled tubes, bosses wearing red woolen caps, and crazy, old bearded dudes leaving suspicious packages under the shedding carcass of a dying pine have in common? The Feast of Winter Veil, that's what! And it starts today! Aside from simply admiring the jolly decorations strung up around the world's capitol cities, there's plenty of other things to keep you busy until the Christmas-themed holiday ends on January 2nd. The first thing to do is head to your faction's event nexus, which will either be Orgrimmar or Ironforge. Why not Stormwind? It may have something to do with the Alliance version of Greatfather Winter being a dwarf, but otherwise it's anyone's guess. There you should be able to pick up several short quest lines associated with the event, as well as purchase holiday goods and recipes from the nearby vendors. You'll have to wait until December 25th for the presents under the trees to become active and, therefore, complete some of the achievements associated with Winter Veil. Speaking of achievements, here's a full list of what to look for, in both meta- and non-meta- flavors. Winter Veil Meta-Achievements You must complete the following goals in order to obtain the Merrymaker achievement necessary for What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been:

• On Metzen! -- Save Metzen the Reindeer.
• Scrooge -- Throw a snowball at (Cairne Bloodhoof/King Magni Bronzebeard) during the Feast of Winter Veil.
• 'Tis The Season -- During the Feast of Winter Veil, wear 3 pieces of winter clothing and eat Graccu's Mince Meat Fruitcake.
• Let It Snow -- During the Feat of Winter Veil, use a Handful of Snowflkaes on each of the race/class combinations listed below (Orc Death Knight, Tauren Shaman, Undead Rogue, Gnome Mage, Blood Elf Warlock, Human Warrior, Night Elf Druid, Troll Hunter, Dwarf Paladin, Draenei Priest).
• 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.
• A Frosty Shake -- During the Feast of Winter Veil, use your Winter Veil Disguise kit to become a snowmand and then dance with another snowman in Dalaran.
• With A Little Helper From My Friends -- Earn 50 honorable kills as a Little Helper from the Winter Wondervolt machine.
• Fa-la-la-la-Ogri'la -- Complete the Bomb Them Again! quest while mounted on a flying reindeer during the Feast of Winter Veil.
• Simply Abominable -- Complete the quest to retrieve Smokywood Pastures' stolen treats and receive a Smokywood Pastures' Thank You.
• Bros. Before Ho Ho Ho's -- Use Mistletoe on the "Brothers" during the Feast of Winter Veil (Alliance: Brother Nimetz in Stranglethorn Vale, Brother Wilhelm in Goldshire, Brother Kristoff in Stormwind, Brother Karman in Theramore, Brother Joshua in Stormwing, Brother Crowley in Stormwind, Brother Cassius in Stormwind, Brother Benjamin in Stormwind, Brother Anton in Nijel's Point; Horde: Brother Malach in Undercity, Durkot Wolfbrother in Warsong Hold, Brother Keltan in Icecrown).
• He Knows If You've Been Naughty -- Open one of the presents underneath the Winter Veil tree once they are available.

Winter Veil Non-Meta Achievements These achievements can be earned at your leisure and do not count towards the meta. You will only receive achievement points for completing them.

• Crashin' & Thrashin' -- Gain 25 crashes with your Crashin' Thrashin' Racer during the feast of Winter Veil.
• BB King -- Pelt the enemy leaders listed below (Horde: High Tinker Mekkatorque, King Magni Bronzebeard, King Varian Wrynn, Prophet Velen, Tyrande Whisperwind; Alliance: Carine Bloodhoof, Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, Lor'themar Theron, Thrall, Vol'Jin).

A few notes on these achievements real quick. Yes, the Horde version of Bros. Before Ho Ho Ho's only has three brothers, but Alliance players should realize that at least half of theirs are in the same general area (Stormwind). You may recall that BB King is the one goal that kept a Taiwanese player from legitimately obtaining all achievement points in the game (sans those introduced with Patch 3.3). Considering its name, BB King may be associated with a new present obtained during the event, likely a toy rifle in the fashion of A Christmas Story's Red Ryder BB Gun. This means that Crashin' & Thrashin' is impossible to complete now unless you got one last year and happen to find other people willing to crash theirs into yours. Considering the limited availability of the items, these are the only two Winter Veil achievements not part of the meta. Enough yapping! I better get cracking on these achievements as Winter Veil is one of the two remaining holidays I haven't completed yet (the other being Love Is In The Air). Stay tuned to Project Lore as I'm sure I (and all the other regular bloggers) will be happy to provide you with strategies and share their holiday stories in due time. Meanwhile, let's hear about yours! Tell us about your experiences with Winter Veils past and what you plan on doing this year!