Love is in the Air event plagued by bugs
by Daniel Whitcomb 
Feb 6th 2011 at 5:00PM
- Quests for the faction leader gifts currently point to faction leaders who died in the Cataclysm, including Cairne and Magni.
- The dailies and main quest chain currently do not function for level 81-85 characters, leaving anyone who has a new 85 or just didn't get around to doing the quests in previous years unable to finish their achievements.
- It's hard or impossible to buy certain special vendor items due to errors that show up when you click on them.
- Apothecary Hummel is sometimes not showing up in the LFD tool for level 81-85 characters.
Nephadne"Apothecary Hummel, survivor of the Royal Apothecary Society purge, has started scheming again and word has it that he's looking for a cunning way to quickly spread his dangerous mind-altering alchemical formulas throughout the populace. Working with those business savvy goblins, he seems to have created the Crown Chemical Corporation to launch in tandem with the annual 'Love is in the Air' celebration taking place across Azeroth.
Suspicious of the upstart company's overnight success, the Steamwheedle Cartel has decided to recruit any interested and foolhardy adventurers to begin investigations into the corporation's strange dealings. Perhaps the chase will eventually lead to a final showdown with Apothecary Hummel and his co-conspirators in their secret lair..."
It's that bewitching time of year again, when NPCs and players alike go to great lengths to attract a better half, and the intoxicating smell of attraction carries on the wind... We've plenty planned to keep you amused this year, single or attached, so without further ado here's a quick rundown of the major attractions;
Decorations and Love Boats
We'll be adding some romantic adornments to all the major cities to set the mood, as well as putting on a private Love Boat service in certain selected romantic destinations for you and your chosen one to enjoy a scenic moment of alone time together.
Crown Chemical Co.
The Crown Chemical Corporation will be setting up shop once again, ready to Peddle their wares and be generous with their quests to all willing to approach these lovely stalls...
For any of you real old timers, don't forget that the format of this holiday has changed somewhat this year and last and that you'll need to pick up your Lovely Charm Collector's Kit from everyone's favourite scantily-clad flying Goblin, Mr Kwee Q. Peddlefeet, in order to begin collecting the Lovely Charms you'll need in order to create Lovely Charm Bracelets and get your hands on those ever elusive Love Tokens!
Apothecary Hummel
Whether you're interested in trying to get to the bottom of the Crown Chemical Co.'s strange doings or not, don't forget to pay Apothecary Hummel a few brief visits nonetheless... he and his Apothecary cronies have holed up in Shadowfang Keep (although the specific NPCs in the major cities should get you there much more quickly) and, if you can sniff them out and rub their noses in some sweet defeat, you should find yourself handsomely rewarded for your troubles!
That's just a small snippet of the hearty array of delightful diversions on offer but, before we love you and leave you, here are the answers to some potential questions you may be having;
Q: How do I get these Lovely Charms then? I'm confused...
A: As long as you have a Lovely Charm Collector's Kit on you, you should be able to start collecting Charms in the course of going about your daily business killing mobs that would normally give you experience or Honor.
Q: I just killed something, but I didn't get one! Why you no love me?!
A: There's only a chance to receive a Lovely Charm with each kill – you didn't think we were going to make it that easy, did you?
Q: So, how does the Apothecary Hummel thing work this year? Like the Brewfest and Hallow's End bosses?
A: That's correct! Apothecary Hummel obviously has some loot himself, but when you complete the associated quest each day you'll be awarded with a very special box... hopefully you'll find your heart's desire inside, as no swapsies of the contents will be possible between friends or party members!
Q: I don't seem to be able to turn in the 'A Gift for the Lord of Ironforge' quest. They took my Magni, but I <3 him...!
A: Unfortunately Mr Peddlefeet has yet to be informed of this regrettable turn of events, but we'll be trying to make sure he's re-educated as soon as possible. In the meantime, please shower your affection on any of your other loyal and devoted faction leaders, and we're sure Muradin will hopefully be stealing your hearts back in no time!
Q: Ditto the 'A Gift for the High Chieftain' quest! RIP Cairne... :'(
A: As with the corresponding miscommunication above, this is something we're working to rectify as soon we're able. Apologies for any disappointment, inconvenience or heartbreak caused in the interim, however.
Q: Why is my Heart-Shaped Box empty? That's taking things to a whole new level of rejection!
A: Actually, all the Heart-Shaped Boxes contain 24 Justice Points, so none of these containers of affection can actually be considered to be empty... If you're receiving the message 'There is no loot.', that really only means there's no additional loot this time around.
Keep trying though, as there are some lovely treats available for the luckier amongst you!
Q: Why can't I get to Apothecary Hummel using the LFD Tool? It's not there!
A: If you're level 84 or above, you can now make use of the Steamwheedle Shyster <Dungeonmaster> NPCs located in most of the major cities in order to make your way swiftly (and with the minimum of fuss) to meet the Apothecary in battle!
Q: I'm having issues with the vendors – apparently I can't buy what I want because 'You can't buy the specified quantity of that item'. Help!
A: We're aware that there seem to currently be some issues with attempting to purchase the items bought in stacks already, but in the meantime you should be able to get around the error message by making use of the /run BuyMerchantItem() script.
Here are the appropriate values for all the affected items;
Lovely Rose ► /run BuyMerchantItem(2)
"Bravado" Cologne ► /run BuyMerchantItem(3)
"STARWART" Cologne ► /run BuyMerchantItem(4)
"Wizardry" Cologne ► /run BuyMerchantItem(5)
"VICTORY" Perfume ► /run BuyMerchantItem(6)
"Forever" Perfume ► /run BuyMerchantItem(7)
"Enchantress" Perfume ► /run BuyMerchantItem(8)
Handful of Rose Petals ► /run BuyMerchantItem(11)
Love Rocket ► /run BuyMerchantItem(12)
Silver Shafted Arrow ► /run BuyMerchantItem(13)
Q: I don't seem to be able to obtain the level 81-85 versions of the 'Crushing the Crown' quest! What's going on? And what about my achievement?
A: Please don't worry – we're already aware of this issue and working to get it resolved as soon as possible. You should still have plenty of time to get the achievement completed once the fix has been applied.
Filed under: Bugs, Blizzard, News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Rin Feb 6th 2011 5:12PM
I'm not one to blame Blizz for all bugs, I don't like saying "GG BLIZZ WTF" whenever the littlest things go wrong. I understand it's an enormous, complicated game with lots of moving parts and it's difficult to keep them all moving correctly all the time...
But this is ridiculous. This is just flat-out not Blizzard quality. A few bugs slipping by is alright and live-with-able, but these bugs are actively keeping us from completing quests and from getting the meta. I really feel as though Blizzard has completely dropped the ball on this one.
Rin Feb 6th 2011 5:13PM
That being said, the new direction they've taken the holiday is much, much better than it used to be (in theory, anyway). Mega props to them for finding a good way to remove the crazy amount of RNG-based achievements necessary.
Sarvannas Feb 6th 2011 5:34PM
can't disagree with you mate.
Hillazon Feb 6th 2011 5:37PM
From bad grammar and spelling errors in quest text, to flat-out show-stopping bugs in the first release of the mac client (3 fps is not a gateway to fun!), Cata has been a quality control fail.
What happened to releasing things when they're ready, Blizz?
Ice Feb 6th 2011 5:51PM
It seems that most world events so far has been plagued by bugs such as Stuff flying in the air, quest texts pointing to wrong place (Park disctrict in SW anyone?), NPC inside NPC, just rushed location changes, stuff not up to 85 balance (Event boss does wrath level damage but has 1.2m health..?), while not bug I would like to see "do stuff in dalaran" changed to org/sw next year atleast.
I guess they run out of time.. again.
Narshe Feb 6th 2011 6:23PM
"What happened to releasing things when they're ready, Blizz?"
Activision.
Rex Feb 6th 2011 6:49PM
What concerns me is that this 'trend' that reared its ugly head around the time of Cata's release doesn't seem to be diminishing. How many people were frustrated by things there were brought up build after build during the beta only to see the bug hit live. (Darrowshire quest, broken fly to xxx zone, the re-emergance of the Speed Hack in Warsong Gulch)
Quality Assurance finds problem, sends it to management who determines (with the help of analysts) just how much negative feedback said issue will have and weighs that against the cost of man hours it takes to fix it.
Complaining and throwing a fit over these things is the only way we, as consumers, exert influence to those making that decision. Some people claim that WoW players are more whiny today than in times past? Well I don't think we're whiny enough. Not if they're slacking in this regard.
MusedMoose Feb 6th 2011 6:49PM
I hate to say it, but I have to agree. Normally, I have no trouble accepting Blizzard's mistakes, because they're only human and this is a huge game. There are probably millions of lines of code making up WoW, there are bound to be glitches here and there. But with this, and with the other bugs with the Lunar Festival (quests showing elders marked on maps where they aren't), I'm honestly disappointed.
I think that this was a major oversight on their part - with everything that Cataclysm changed, they didn't go through the holiday events and make sure that they would still function correctly. Hopefully they've learned their lesson and will test things correctly from now on. I am thankful that Blizzard has no trouble acknowledging their mistakes and that they're already taking steps to fix things.
DarkWalker Feb 6th 2011 7:35PM
@Narshe:
"Activision."
Amem to that. Since the merge I got the feeling Blizzard's content patches were at the PTR's quality level, which is not a good sign.
And Blizzard is not exactly an exemplary company when it comes to fixing bugs that are preventing players from obtaining in-game goods/achievs. For bugs that let players get things they aren't supposed to get, yes - sometimes they even go to such extremes as the current lockdown on 2200-rated PvP weapons - but it seems bugs that prevents players from getting nice things or participating in certain events get always pushed back, even when the window of opportunity to get such things is small. Like with defending IF during Cata's launch event, which remained bugged until the end.
I'm currently playing DCUO and LotRO, and waiting for GW2 and SW:TOR, while keeping an eye on how WoW develops. If the game feels worthwhile for me again - at a minimum, by fixing the LFD to at least bar players from queuing for roles they don't have the spec for, and to correctly evaluate gear for the roles the player queued for - I might return.
Long lists of bugs on holiday events is not a good way to lure me back, though. And the longer it takes, the less likely I'm to return
Al Feb 6th 2011 11:05PM
"What concerns me is that this 'trend' that reared its ugly head around the time of Cata's release doesn't seem to be diminishing."
"I think that this was a major oversight on their part - with everything that Cataclysm changed, they didn't go through the holiday events and make sure that they would still function correctly."
It's hardly Cata's fault, just about every holiday since Children's Week last year has been a glitchy mess. Lunar Fest wasn't so bad, but I guess they didn't have the time for this one.
SamLowry Feb 6th 2011 11:17PM
Didn't have the time for this one?
Every time a glitch popped up last year and a fix was demanded, we heard the fanbois say "They're busy working on Cata--give 'em a break!" Well, Cata is done and out the door, so now they have plenty of time to iron out bugs or even catch dunderheaded showstoppers like this before they go live, yet I guess they're still too busy working on, um...something, I guess.
Noyou Feb 7th 2011 12:43AM
Yeah. Not sure if it happened on Horde side but having a quest to turn in to Magni in IF when he is clearly not in IF is flat out irresponsible. I hope for all those who have not yet completed WaLSTiB meta that they can actually fix this and not do the "sorry we can't fix it this year" like they have done in the past. That would be really really sad. I do have the meta on my main and would like to get it on another toon or so but it's not as bad as If I didn't have it at all. I'm sure it takes more work than it seems to fix but come on, people are putting a lot of time into it (and money let's be honest).
Pyromelter Feb 7th 2011 1:11AM
I normally don't complain about World of Warcraft or blizzard games in general, but there are times when criticism is legitimate.
This is one of those times.
Blizzard constantly undervalues and under-prioritizes its holidays, and there are many people who really dedicate their game time to holidays.
My opinion mirrors the many people who are commenting here that blizzard's standards are decreasing for WoW. I want to specify WoW here - as far as I can tell Starcraft 2 has been an amazing success, is an amazing game, very well balanced, and is very refined without any of these crazy bugs. (Yes, there are bugs, but not generally very fatal, or as bad as have been happening in WOW lately.)
So I wouldn't necessarily blame this on "Blizzard" as a whole entity, but the current WoW team.
SamLowry Feb 7th 2011 6:49AM
And Rin, when you praised Blizzard for how much better "Love" is than it was before--they made that change LAST year, back when they were so hard at work on Cata.
Al Feb 7th 2011 8:56AM
"Didn't have the time" being sarcasm. I was still waking up, so maybe I didn't get that across in wording.
Forreststump Feb 7th 2011 10:35AM
This really is an epic failure of configuration management and control. Removal of NPCs, particularly MAJOR ones, should prompt coders and testers to find/test every reference to determine impact.
Sevenfingers Feb 7th 2011 11:15AM
I am going to be massively pissed off if they don't hotfix the Cairne bug - as it stands, that one bug is preventing me from getting my Proto-Drake...
rkaliski Feb 7th 2011 9:22PM
I have to wonder what is going on. This is not a new holiday nor is the LFD tool for the holiday boss something new also.
Hopefully the slip in QC is a result of working on game content that really matters.
Elpizo Feb 6th 2011 5:46PM
Well, when I tried to queue on my Hunter (83, now 84) it just wouldn't let me. anyone else have this problem?
matthewggrammer Feb 6th 2011 5:55PM
Tells you in the article that there's a NPC you can use to queue at 84+.