Posts with tag noblegarden

Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, some holidays are easier to survive than others.

I've been getting a lot of comments and feedback from players recently over troublesome elder placement during the Lunar Festival (the one next to the Razor Hill flightmaster seems to be a particular issue -- more on this in a future article), and it spurred me to start thinking about problematic holiday achievements as a whole. Thing is, Blizzard's really put a lot of effort into its holidays over the past few years, and most of them are much less time-consuming and frustrating then they used to be.

So how many really troublesome holiday achievements are there these days, anyhow? Most of them didn't figure prominently in our evil achievements series (with one sterling exception), but I'll grant that not all of them are sunshine and roses.

But then of course, there's that one. Yes, that one -- the achievement shat into existence by Satan himself onto a bed of Ed Hardy clothing with bad Japanese pop music playing in the background. You know the one I'm talking about.

The World of Warcraft Armory has been updated with new data on the various mounts added to the game with patch 4.3. This data includes confirmation of drop locations. At least two new mounts are being added to in-game holidays, as well as the reveal of the Glory of the Dragon Soul Raider meta achievement. Other mounts, like Experiment 12-B, are now confirmed rare drops off of the Ultraxion encounter in Dragon Soul.

• Blazing Drake and the Life-Binder's Handmaiden drop from the Madness of Deathwing encounter on normal and heroic difficulties respectively.
• Experiment 12-B is a rare drop from Ultraxion on normal or heroic mode. It appears to be a chromatic drake mount with a purple hue.
• Swift Lovebird will be bought from the Love is in the Air holiday vendor for 270 Love Tokens. It looks like a pink tallstrider.
• Swift Springstrider is purchased from the Noblegarden holiday vendors for 500 chocolates. It looks like a white tallstrider.
• Twilight Harbinger will be the mount reward for the Dragon Soul meta achievement, Glory of the Dragon Soul raider.

As more mount information becomes available, we'll keep you updated.

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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!

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Personally, I'm not the biggest Noblegarden fan -- at least, I wasn't last year. This year, it seems the drop rate on a lot of the items directly from the eggs was increased, as I did not have to purchase anything with chocolates. This year, the holiday was much more bearable. On my then-alt-now-main warrior, created almost one year ago, Noblegarden was a success.

Did you participate in Noblegarden and achieve your noble goals? Was Noblegarden the last holiday that you needed for your coveted meta-achievement What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been?

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We've been hopping around Razor Hill, but now we're taking our fluffy tails off to Un'Goro crater. Join us in game on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE) or by watching the stream above and participating in the chat after the break.

Update: The stream is now over. You can watch our hop (which includes bunny lemmings) by clicking on the image above.

Join us this Saturday for the Hop to Hard Boiled! As the title implies, we'll be hopping to Un'Goro Crater together for the achievement.

• When: Saturday, April 30, at 5:30 p.m. EDT (2:30 p.m. PDT, 3:30 server time) for the pre-event mixer and 6 p.m. EDT for the Hop
• Where: Meet at Razor Hill on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H)
• Who: This is an all-level event, but you'll be hoppier happier if you are higher level.
• How: Ask any It came from the Blog member for an invite, if you are not already in one of our guilds.

We will be meeting in Razor Hill to mingle and fight over eggs, and then setting off cross continent, braving dangers and probably getting pretty soggy.

Anyone from the Alliance is welcome to join us on the hop. You can meet us at Honor Stand, where unfortunately, we'll have to kill your soldiers to protect our lowbies -- but hopefully, you'll forgive us. Otherwise, there is no reason why we can't forget our factions for the day and travel together to lay eggs side by side to celebrate this extremely silly holiday.

I'll be streaming this as usual, and all instructions will be given in our event chat as well as over the stream. Please join us one way or another.

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Please join us on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) in It came from the Blog. All guild members can invite, so /whisper Roblinator or any online member. You are all welcome as long as you play by our simple rules -- basically, don't be a funsucker! Visit the guild FAQ for more details.

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Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, people camping our egg spawns are going to die violently, in the best holiday tradition!

Noblegarden will run this year from Sunday, April 24 (this Sunday) through Sunday, May 1. If you've never done Noblegarden before or only done its pre-2009 version, be aware that Noble Gardener (the holiday's meta) is part of the year-long What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been achievement rewarding the 310% speed Violet Proto-Drake.

As far as we know, there are no major updates to the holiday this year, although I'm sure a few minor details have changed, given Deathwing's effect on the local landscape. As with years past, I've updated and clarified our guide to the holiday's achievements so you can hit the ground running, and I'll be around as Noblegarden goes live to update the article as necessary.

Noblegarden ends just before midnight server time tonight. So if you don't have your Noble title yet, you still have time to fight over egg spawns with your fellow procrastinators. See our guide to Noblegarden for help with the holiday achievements, how to get them and egg-collecting strategies.

Warning: don't wait until the last minute. Holidays have been known to close up shop a little earlier than the time on the calendar.

Have fun and good egg hunting!

Noblegarden 2010 begins today and runs through next Sunday. In 2009, the holiday was hugely improved and upgraded, removing much of the RNG that traditionally infested WoW holidays and adding some nifty rewards, achievements and an unusual non-combat pet that, er, makes more of itself when left to its own devices. I'm not sure you can ask for more than that, unless it's an uncrowded village center in which to farm eggs.

Are you planning on participating this year, or do your characters already have the meta-achievement Noble Gardener? If you got your start early this morning or on Oceanic and EU servers, how crowded are the towns?

If you need more information on Noblegarden, please head over to our Noblegarden 2010 guide.

Mercifully for those of us occupied with a big day of family events and chocolate this Easter, the Noblegarden holiday doesn't appear to have changed from its vastly improved form in 2009. No changes appeared on any of the PTRs over the past year, and as far as we're aware, there hasn't been any data-mined information on new items or bosses.

Noblegarden will run this year from Sunday, April 4 (this Sunday) through Sunday, April 11. If you've never done Noblegarden before or only done its fairly low-key, pre-2009 version, it helps to know that Noble Gardener (the holiday's meta) is part of the year-long What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been achievement that rewards the 310% speed Violet Proto-Drake.

What I've done here is collected our resources on Noblegarden into one easily navigable guide, updated and clarified where necessary, and also added some frequently asked questions that we received during last year's holiday. If you have any other questions, please drop them in the comments below, and I'll make sure they get answered. As with all WoW holidays, we'll be around as they go live to make sure any updates or changes are covered here!

Pilgrim's Bounty, WoW's brand-new holiday, has gone live on all servers by now, and players worldwide are busy inhaling huge quantities of cranberries and stuffing in pursuit of the Pilgrim title and the uber-adorable turkey pet. I have to admit -- I was kind of worried that the first day of the holiday would be a nightmare along the lines of Noblegarden's egg-camping hell, but was pleasantly surprised by the fast respawn rate of the Wild Turkey mobs and the sheer number of them. I'm also optimistic that the holiday will encourage more people to level cooking, because once you're got the requisite cooking skill for the achievements, the Pilgrim title and turkey pet are fast, easy, and fun (or they would be, if I could just find the ever-elusive Dwarf rogue).

But Pilgrim's Bounty isn't part of the meta-achievement What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been, so I'm wondering if anyone's just going to ignore it as a result. Are you planning on going for the Pilgrim title, enjoying the holiday in a more casual way, or not planning to participate at all? If you are participating in the holiday, how is it going on your server so far?

Blizzard is a cunning bunch and they seem to love easter eggs. No we're not talking lovely chocolatey orbs like the ones you find during Noblegarden, rather that they like hiding artwork in plain sight and waiting for us to click on it. Tucked away in the Cataclysm official site is the kind of artwork which practically demands to end up on a T shirt. Yes, Deathwing is actually the sixth member of The Artists Formally Known as Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain (aka TAFKAL80ETC or that funny Prince-like symbol with the Horde sigil at its center). Oh and he plays the piano. Who knew, eh?

You can find it by clicking here and looking for the small keyboard at the bottom of the page (it's in the middle underneath the artwork, just below the page indicator). Alternatively, if you want all the gratification and none of the work, click here to download the awesome high res version. We fully expect to see everyone wearing them come next year's BlizzCon rather than those three wolves howling at the moon.

The last few days I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out why I'm not particularly enjoying Patch 3.1 when I'm doing something besides raiding Ulduar. I should be enjoying it! When I first checked it out on the PTR, I was extremely excited about it. The Argent Tournament especially. The whole jousting deal, the Arthurian themes, the potential for story progression, the whole thing. It looked great! Unfortunately... I'm finding it pretty boring.

The Argent Tournament feels lifeless. Completely and utterly lifeless. I say it all of the time, but patch 2.4 was my favorite patch of World of Warcraft thus far, no contest. Patch 2.4 brought me more joy than even the Wrath launch. Not only did it have content for absolutely every aspect of the game, but it also actually changed the world. Storylines progressed in an in-your-face way. Sure, patch 3.1 moved the Ulduar and Yogg-Saron story forward, but would you know it if you didn't read fansites or watch the patch 3.1 cinematic? What's different? What indicator is there that something new is happening in the Storm Peaks?

I'm not in a WoW place right now. I tend to move through phases of being a casual or a hardcore player. It depends on the content available (such as a new patch) and my workload. I did most of the Noblegarden achievements but now Children's Week is here I suddenly feel burnt out. Except for a quick romp through Gun'drak with my guildies last night and a pit stop to pick up my orphans, I've been strangely distant from Azeroth.

The thing is, I know precisely why. It's the pressure of achievements and festivals. Let me be clear, no one is making me do these things but me. Last year I enjoyed Children's Week because it was my first time doing the Outland version, I got rep, money and the smug feeling you get from taking a cute Draenei orphan around to see her heritage. Now all my guildies and most of the other people on my sever are frantically going for the achievements and, in some ways, it feels like the holiday has been cheapened a little. Being so close to Noblegarden probably hasn't helped either.

But it makes me wonder if I'm the only one? Right now I'm a casual player, but do you think the point of these holidays has been lost by the desire to get a Violet Proto-Drake?

Here's our podcast from last week -- Lesley Smith joined Turpster, Patrick Beja of How I WoW and I to chat about the Martin Fury controversy, how Children's Week and Noblegarden are going on the live realms, and what we've been up to lately in the World of Warcraft. And as usual we answered your email, including sharing ideas for our upcoming video show (we're planning on doing it on May 23rd, so stay tuned for that), how to transfer away from a guild if you happen to be a guildleader, and both why Blizzard canceled WWI, and when BlizzCon tickets might go on sale.

We also talked about the ongoing Children's Week Charity Auction -- bidding has slowed down a bit over the weekend, so if you're interested in helping out kids in hospitals by donating some money to buy them videogames, go on over to the auction page and find something to bid on. All the money raised goes directly to Child's Play, so get your bids in now while you can.

And as we mentioned on the show, here's the schedule for the next few weeks: we'll have a show as usual next Saturday the 9th, and then we'll have a special midweek show on the 13th of May. And then on the 23rd, we'll be live on camera for the video show. Should be really interesting -- we'll see you then!

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This week's set of comics is actually quite topical, from a recent scandal, to world news to proper feline nutrition. There also aren't as many Noblegarden-themed comics as I expected.

• Cru the Dwarf is making fire. Nifty things are afoot!
  
• Experience Points examines the latest content patch.
• Flintlocke vs the Horde: War Party part 11.
• GU Comics: It Figures. This is related to a recent story that we covered involving hacked accounts, a GM item, and some very naughty players. Read all about the Martin Fury Scandal, and then tell us what you thought in our polls.
• GU Comics also hosted a guest strip by Stormhaven, called Inconsistent Know-How. Don't forget to read the explanation underneath! Before I did, I thought it was about the fact that Mustard Dogs seems to never come up. I have stacks and stacks of the Rhino Dogs, but no dice.
  
• GU Comics also posted a comic about last week's Noblegarden festivities, Rabbits Everywhere.
• This is the second-latest LFG comic, but I thought that it stood better on its own than #248.
• NoObz: Useless.
• NPC: For the Taurine! I love this one. If you don't know what Taurine is, you don't love your cats enough. Yep, I said it.
• Check out the latest from Teh Gladiators.
• The Adventures of Disgraph T. Dwarf has updated, and I have to agree, I Love the Smell of Bacon in the Morning.
• Here is another from It's a 2v2 Life.
• Here's a newbie: KUO, with Eyebeam Irony. I couldn't decide which one to list, so check out a few of them, and I'll go with the latest next week.