Where One Ends, A New One Begins

The title of this post says it all. DMF may be over but another in-game event is about to begin: The Feast of Winter Veil (coming soon to a major in-game city near you - this Thursday, December 15)!

For this holiday, instead of an instanced dungeon boss, it sounds as though players will have to team up with a group to kill an outdoor boss for a holiday loot bag each day. I'm not entirely sure how this will work, but the idea behind it sounds the same as a holiday dungeon boss. You get one shot per day, one holiday loot bag per day, and one chance for a holiday vanity item per day.

I'm starting to get used to the whole "YOU'RE UP AGAINST LMNOPXYZ FACTORS, DEAL WITH IT" holiday thing that Blizzard seems to be so fond of, but depending on how they pull off this year's Winter Veil loot bag... I may just rage a bit.

Before I get into that, though, here's a reminder of the new holiday daily/loot bag:

- New Winter Veil daily: You're a Mean One...

- requires level 80
- group daily
- rewards Stolen Present once per day

- Found within a Stolen Present: Lump of Coal!

Alright, so why will I possibly come to detest this new daily? Like I mentioned earlier, it all depends on how it's implemented. There are a few unknowns, so I can't form a complete opinion about it yet.

First things first: the droprate of Lumpy. Because this isn't a one time quest and it's a daily, my best guess is that the corresponding companion pet will NOT be 100% droprate. If it is a 100% droprate, then my mistake, thank you Blizzard for leaving out the RNG factor! ....But I don't plan on holding my breath.

Secondly, will the objective for this new daily be a phased group quest? Or are we going to have to world PVP and fight with other players over the spawn of this outdoor "boss" (Abominable Greench)? In previous years, the greench has been an outdoor spawn, and it was pretty much whoever tagged it first got the kill. I can't remember the spawn rate, but if it's a slow and low one, there are going to be many groups of 5 just camping the area (not to mention other players' bodies on PVP servers).

Here's what I'm looking at in a worst case scenario:

- extremely low droprate on Lumpy (RNG)
- limited number of attempts for the pet
- limited amount of time for the pet
- BoP pet, so the "wrong" toon could get it
- outdoor group boss, with lots of fighting over the spawn

So worst case scenario would mean that on top of the first 4 factors that pet collectors already have to contend with during holidays (where companions come purely from holiday loot bags), we may also have to "fight" with each other over the quest objective. Sigh. It's easy to see why I might end up raging this Feast of Winter Veil, right?

But like I said before, there are a few unknowns and it may not turn out to be a worst case scenario. Hopefully the droprate won't be THAT low, or the greench will be a phased spawn for each group looking to kill him and complete the daily.

This is another one of those cases where I'm excited and anxious yet extremely disillusioned at the same time. While I enjoy each holiday season and in-game event (hell, I'm even starting to get used to being on the short end of the stick as a pet collector during the holidays where a pet comes from only a loot bag), I still can't say I approve entirely.

Anyway, despite my somewhat pessimistic and cynical outlook on the upcoming Feast of Winter Veil, I am looking forward to the in-game event. I may not be ready for the holidays IRL (getting gifts for friends and family is brutal for someone like me who doesn't have a clue where to begin most of the time!), but I'm ready to face whatever Blizzard has in store for us in-game.