Darkmoon Faire ticket clarifications
by Mathew McCurley 
Dec 6th 2011 at 5:45PM
Bashiok's post clearly points out that the max number of tickets a player can get during each Darkmoon Island week is 145 tickets. The only issue is that a mount from the Darkmoon Faire costs 180 tickets, so players will have to wait until the next Darkmoon Island opens to claim their first mount reward. Now that the number of tickets is spelled out, it doesn't actually seem as bad as I originally thought it was going to be.
However, the weird thing that still permeates all of this is why playing the games at the Faire, the real focus of the island, rewards players with the lowest amount of tickets. The random Darkmoon artifacts that you get as drops from PvP, dungeons, and raids give substantially more in terms of tickets than the games themselves; the random pickups or Auction House items eclipse the daily games in terms of rewards. I really like the new Faire and hope that the prize ticket changes for the games can be upped to reflect their focus.
Hit the jump to read Bashiok's breakdown of Darkmoon Faire tickets.
Darkmoon Faire Tickets
Thanks everyone for your feedback. To hopefully clear up some of the confusion over time investment vs reward costs we've broken down exactly how many tickets you can obtain in a single Darkmoon Faire week. The design intent of the Darkmoon Faire is that it's available for one week out of the month, and in that one week we expect you to be able to obtain a significant amount of tickets. To clarify the OP's point of how long it would take to obtain an entire set of cosmetic gear, the math presented was incorrect, and it would in fact only take 4 Darkmoon Faire weeks to complete an entire set. That's of course still no quick task, and the intent is not for it to be. There are plenty of rewards that can be obtained in one or two weeks of the Darkmoon Faire, but we expect that an entire set will take a few events to obtain.
Here's the breakdown:
Tickets Per Faire
Dungeon: 40
Heroic Dungeon: 15
Raid: 10
Tradeskill quests (primary): 8
Tradeskill quests (secondary): 12
BGs: 15
Kill Quest: 10
Mini Games*: 35
Total Tickets per faire: 145
* 5 mini games, available daily: 7*5=35
As an example, here are some options that you can choose over the course of two Darkmoon Faires (2 weeks over 2 months):
Prioritizing mounts/pets: 1 mount + 1 pet, with 20 tickets to spare
Prioritizing pets: 3 pets, 20 tickets to spare
Prioritizing cosmetic armor: 4 pieces of cosmetic armor, with 30 tickets to spare
Prioritizing heirloom armor: 1 piece of heirloom armor + 1 heirloom weapon, with 20 tickets to spare
Keeping all of this in mind we don't feel the current ticket acquisition rates or reward costs are out of hand, but we're interested to hear your thoughts after reading this information and considering the longevity of the content, as well as the 'once a month' format of the faire. We'll be continually evaluating it, and we're looking forward to incorporating more goodies to be won, and more activities to the faire, in the future.
Here's the breakdown:
Tickets Per Faire
Dungeon: 40
Heroic Dungeon: 15
Raid: 10
Tradeskill quests (primary): 8
Tradeskill quests (secondary): 12
BGs: 15
Kill Quest: 10
Mini Games*: 35
Total Tickets per faire: 145
* 5 mini games, available daily: 7*5=35
As an example, here are some options that you can choose over the course of two Darkmoon Faires (2 weeks over 2 months):
Prioritizing mounts/pets: 1 mount + 1 pet, with 20 tickets to spare
Prioritizing pets: 3 pets, 20 tickets to spare
Prioritizing cosmetic armor: 4 pieces of cosmetic armor, with 30 tickets to spare
Prioritizing heirloom armor: 1 piece of heirloom armor + 1 heirloom weapon, with 20 tickets to spare
Keeping all of this in mind we don't feel the current ticket acquisition rates or reward costs are out of hand, but we're interested to hear your thoughts after reading this information and considering the longevity of the content, as well as the 'once a month' format of the faire. We'll be continually evaluating it, and we're looking forward to incorporating more goodies to be won, and more activities to the faire, in the future.
Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Filed under: Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 4)
Ringo Flinthammer Dec 6th 2011 7:44PM
I sure hope these drops are available even on weeks when the faire isn't in town and we can save them up to turn them in next time. That way, it becomes something we work on all the time, rather than going berserk one week a month.
Brock Dec 6th 2011 7:45PM
The DMF is awesome, I love it. I just can't handle doing these dailies for 4 months before I can get a reward. That is asking way too much.
Dea ex Machina Dec 6th 2011 8:03PM
Honestly, doing it once a week for four months doesn't seem so bad compared to some of the other grinds I've done. Argent Tournament, for example. STILL haven't finished getting all the mount rewards from that. And the fact that there's an imposed three week break between grinds means I'm much less likely to burn out and give up.
Dea ex Machina Dec 6th 2011 8:04PM
...FOR ONE WEEK, not once a week. I KNEW WHAT I MEANT.
Brock Dec 6th 2011 8:21PM
I see your point. It's just that by the time I get enough tickets to get a set of armor, MoP beta will be out, D3 will be out and Cataclysm will be just a passing thought.
Deb Dec 6th 2011 11:08PM
I'm having the same problem with getting a guide. I was able to ask the NPC by the faire portal for one yesterday on an alt that couldn't pick up the breadcrumb quest. Today, on another alt, the npc just says I can get one for free if I lose it, but doesn't offer me one. I hope it's fixed soon or it will be another month before I can get it
Ez Dec 6th 2011 9:46PM
I AM EXCITED!! This is really fun! Thanx Blizz for a job well done!
missemilyblack Dec 6th 2011 10:14PM
I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't mind the grind and still thinks the Faire is fun D: It's a super fun awesome holiday and yeah I can get pets and mounts eventually, and having the books drop during the month will keep me stoked for the next time it comes around!
I mean, I only get three Children's Week pets a year, and I'm cool with it :S
Tirrimas Dec 6th 2011 10:34PM
I suppose I was hoping for more than Blizz was willing to offer me, because I thought - somehow - that I'd be able to FINALLY max out my tailor's skill. At five points a month...yeah, not gonna happen using THAT method.
If they'd give me a prof daily that even gave just a couple of points, I'd feel better about it. Cut the number of tickets for that quest proportionately. I'd go back every flippin' day for that.
Oh, and back the no-step zone for the shooting gallery to about a foot in FRONT of the counter so idiots with their mammoths can't stand ON the counter. My Undead mage just LOVES looking at Draenei butt while trying to hit a target. /sarcasm My poor Goblin can hardly see over the counter.
datgrl Dec 7th 2011 6:39AM
When I was a new player, the one thing that used to bug me the most was that game benefits used to be focused on max level characters. The faire is the one place where any level of player can receive a mount, pet or vanity item if they just go to the island and complete the quests. I think having the games give a few more tickets is a good idea.
lady.silverdragon Dec 7th 2011 8:34AM
If you are a night owl, it is actually possible to get 40 tickets from dailies- The server reset time happens after the DMF opens for the week.
slythwolf Dec 7th 2011 5:27PM
Am I wrong, or is it actually possible to get 40 tickets from the dailies if you do them after midnight on Sunday but before the reset? That would make the total available 150.
Persephanie Dec 8th 2011 8:39AM
Just a little note to those of you with low lvl friends. I ran my friend threw SM he was appropriate lvl for it. We cleared armory 3 times and the darkmoon faire item dropped. We both were eligible to pick it up. So, this might be a way for everyone to get they're hands on these items easy. farming SM on my Spriest was super easy basically 1shot everything in there so its just a matter of rinse and repeat. Woot for having low lvl friends and it helps them lvl too ^_^
Gossamer Dec 10th 2011 5:49PM
Thanks for the tip. I found it a bit late, but it helps. :)