Time to finish off those party and drunkard titles, snowball fights and specially decorated towns.
Among the things, are the various quests.
I thought I'd go through them here, doing a review on how 'good' a quest is or has become in recent years, how hard or easy they are.
The 'good' part is of course, subjective. We each have our own ways of looking at things, but I hope that I can offer an objective viewpoint in what each one offers for people to make up their minds on what to do.
Each quest will be broken down as follows.
Name:
Location:
Requirements:
Reccomended requirements:
Difficulty:
Rewards:
Repeatable:
Survivor friendly:
Is it worth it:
-----------------------------------------
We'll start with the first quests offered, and work our way down.
The Greatest Snowman Ever Made
Lion's Arch
none
Have the towns/outposts Lion's arch, Beetletun, Old Ascalon, Droknar's forge.
unlocked.
As long as you have the towns unlocked, this one can be pretty easy to do.A small group of henchies or heros can help easilly. A rit with a healer or summon stone can probably do it.
5k exp, Gingerbread shield and focus.
once per year.
If you have a survivor, and you have the towns unlocked, it's an easy 5k. and worth doing. Also if you haven't capped Grenth's balance yet, the grintch boss is an easy one to cap from. But if you haven't gotten to droks yet, that could be problematic. Min rec. level 12
If you have the towns unlocked, it's a fairly easy quest to do, although for just exp and the items which aren't very desired, nowadays, it's usually one that gets skipped. 2 out of 5 candy canes. +2 canes for survivors who can do this.
*****
A Very Grentchie Wintersday
Lion's Arch
None
LA, Beetletun, Bergain's hotsprings, Temple of Ages.
This just requires running around the various zones, talking to people, running after one guy, going back to LA, and then making a trip from LA to the Ascalon settlement. Fairly easy to do and even someone who just got to LA can run around to the towns needed to be gotten to, in less then an hour. People usually like teaming up for this one, so it's a nice throwback to PUG days. You may need to do resign a lot if you want to stay with your group.
5k Experience; Peppermint Shield Ar 8; Gingerbread Focus E +5
Once per year
Fairly survivor friendly if your survivor is at least level 10 and good armor. Heros/hench, or a good group to escort can make this easy, and the 5k is a good amount to snag.
Again, this quest is showing it's age with only exp and some out of date items as rewards. Although the peppermint shield IS one people like to use for snowball fights and other events, that makes this marginally worthwhile to do. Also easy PUG teamups harken back to the good old days.
2 1/2 candy canes out of 5. (+2 for survivors)
*****
Save the Reindeer
Find the Stolen Presents
Spreading the Wintersday Spirit
(these are done in series, so will review them as a batch)
Kamadan
Must not have White Mist, How the Grentches Stole Wintersday, or The Gift of Giving in your quest log.
Have Kamadan, Jokanur Diggings, Beknur Harbor,Astralarium and Kodlonu Hamlet unlocked.
Running around, gathering items, and escort. Single player with level 8 heros and the towns unlocked can do this pretty easily. Does take a bit of time with the running around. Total time can be around 30-45 min. Works well if you alternate with the grintch quests from the other NPC. If you don't have the towns unlocked, it might be more trouble then it's worth, especially with new charas.
* 5,000 Experience
* 250 Gold
* 5 Candy Cane Shards
for each quest. so x3 is 15k, 750g, and 15 canes.
once per year
If a survivor has the towns unlocked, a good level (min 10), good heros (min 10) and good armor, this is a nice batch of exp for them, low risk.
Since this is one of the quests that starts first, it's usually best to do this before the rift warden or eye of the north quests start up. If you have the towns unlocked, and a bit of time, it's worth doing. If you have a survivor, it's VERY worth doing. 3 1/2 canes out of 5. (+1 1/2 for survivors)
*************
* White Mist
* How the Grentches Stole Wintersday
* The Gift of Giving
(batch review again)
Kamadan
Kamadan, Jokanur Diggings, Beknur Harbor, and Kodlonu Hamlet unlocked.
Seriously easy. Best done alternating between these and the dwana quests.
As long as you have the locations in the last quest available, it don't get much easier. Use a cupcake or green rock candy to speed to locations if you're getting bored.
* 1,000 Experience
* 5 Candy Cane Shards
X3 = 3k exp and 15 shards.
Once per year.
Very survivor friendly, but take a hero or two along to be safe. The opening quest can be done on a newly made chara.
Later parts would require better heros, or just a good compliment of hench.
Since these quests open before the eye of the north quests do, and they alternate fairly well with the dwana quests, yes, they're worth it if you have the time. Less rewards then the others, but they go much faster. 3 canes out of 5. (+1 for survivors)
***********
Okay, that's a fair amount for now, I've been working on this for a while, lemme take a break, and I'll work on the rift warden quests, and then the eye of the north quests.|||For the rift warden quests, we'll skip the starting location. It can be LA or Kamadan. All rift warden quests are repeatable
In Grenth's Defense
Can't have 'you're a mean one...' in log.
A good HCT/HSR staff/wand/offhand actually helps. Any mods that change heath, energy or damage won't work. Note: while spell attacks are armor ignoring, if a foe just uses auto attack(say after using snow cone), that's where armor and level differences can come into play.
This one is simple to do, just defend a spot. After a few times you learn the patterns, and how to play the different types of foes, where they spawn, and what to watch for. If a snowman is giving you problems, use a pillar to gain some time to work with, but don't wait to long or the next spawn will overwhelm you.
* 1,000 Experience
* 5 Candy Cane Shards
(random glob of frozen ecto may drop, good for a wintersday tonic from traders)
No risk for survivors, even if you die, you don't accrue a death. You get 600HP.
Is it worth it? back in the day it was. Nowadays... not so much. 1k exp and shards, and the tonics can be gotten in multiple other ways.
If they revamped this quest, it might be more interesting, but for the most part, only people who like the challenge will do it. The bonus challenge is not terribly worth the effort, 1 shard per wave defeated. 1 out of 5 canes. (+1 for survivors)
********
You're a Mean One, Mr. Grenth
Can't have 'in grenth's defence' in log.
A good HCT/HSR staff/wand/offhand
This one is slightly easier then the Defence quest. You can go after single targets one at a time, and you can recover if need be. Even the bonus can be easier as you can move away from the spawn spot, and just pull and kill targets individually.
* 1,000 Experience
* 5 Candy Cane Shards
(random glob of frozen ecto may drop, good for a wintersday tonic from traders)
No risk for survivors, even if you die, you don't accrue a death. You get 600HP.
Like the 'Defence' quest, this one is dated badly now. While this one is easier, it'll take much longer to do as well. The amount of rewards for time spent is not terribly worth it anymore. Most people will do it because it's either a challange, or they don't have eye of the north available to them.
1 1/2 canes out of 5. (+1 for survivor)
********
Straight to the Heart
Must have eye of the north on account. Min level 5.
A good HCT/HSR staff/wand/offhand helps.
Some classes are able to do this quest easier then others. Rangers, warriors, paragons and mesmers seem to do better then other classes. Someone said a monk can run through this and act as a tank, but my attempts at doing so failed. Requires the player to be fairly knowageable of the patterns and tricks needed to win. Certain parts can be quite difficult, especially the choke point with the barrage snowmen and in trying to get the key from the mini boss snow man. If you rush through this to fast, you'll loose to many grintches, and then you'll be on your own with only the grintch boss as your backup.
* 1,000 Experience
* 5 Candy Cane Shards
* Also, random items from the Wintersday Chest
No risk for survivors, even if you die, you don't accrue a death. You get 600HP.
Because of the chance for the mini polar bear at the end, this and it's sister quest becomes required farming for some. This quest requires players to be more active, and for some can take a while, or be near impossible to do. Some people I've heard are able to zip through this quest faster then the strength of snow quest, but I've tried all different classes, doing multiple techniques, and only the ranger seems to have a better chance then others of doing this fast, from my experience.
If you know how to do this one quick, it's worth it.
3 1/2 canes out of 5. (+1 for survivors)
*************
The Strength of Snow
Must have eye of the north on account. Min level 5.
A good HCT/HSR staff/wand/offhand helps. Rock candy or cupcake for occasional use are good.
Again, some classes can get through this better then others. But this is one of THE easiest to do. Mostly you can run past all the grinches except for certain classes (icy grintch) to the end, park up by the door, and wait for the snowman to do the work for you. You can help, but you need to be careful doing so, as if all snowmen are dead, all remaining grintches will come after you. So be careful when assisting at the end.
* 1,000 Experience
* 5 Candy Cane Shards
* Also, random items from the Wintersday Chest
(shards from grintches, especially at the end will litter the place. Collect all shards before opening chest)
No risk for survivors, even if you die, you don't accrue a death. You get 600HP.
This is the quest people farm. Some with multiple accounts are able to multi farm. Just get to the end, wait, and then collect shards and then chest.
Chance for a mini polar bear, worth at least 900-1600 ectos from other players. I've been farming this quest hardcore for the last 3 years. Time to add year 4 to the list. No risk to survivors, but 1k takes a while to build up over time. Still, no risk is no risk. Bonus points if you can train your kid brother, sister or monkey to farm this for you while you work on other things. While this can be botted, I'd be careful about that. You never know when ol dhuum decides to pop up out of the floor and take his due. 4 candy canes out of 5. (+1 for survivors)
**********************
Okay, gimme a bit of a break again, and I'll finish off with the eye of the north quests.|||GW holidays are not complete without Noa posting outline of available quests from past years.
|||Eye of the north quests. There's basicly two batches. The Thackary quests, and the snowball fight.
Requirements are of course, at least level 10, which the player gets bumped up to 20 levels, but armor isn't. So it's a good idea to get max armor if you haven't already.
Recommended requirements are of course, full level 20 PC, well equipped heros, and for the charr broiled plans, a fairly good level on agent status.
The Thackary quests are non repeatable. The snowball fight IS... although that was last year. They may or may not make changes this year due to massive abuse. We'll see.
****************
The Three Wise Norn
This one is very easy to do, and can actually be made even easier.
If a chara starts this quest with another chara who has Charr broiled plans, they can give all the items to the norns needed right at the entrance. I did this last year and that saved a good 5 minutes of running around.
This way ANY chara you can get to eye of the north can do this quest in almost no time flat.
* 1,000 Experience
* 100 Gold
* 100 Vanguard Reputation Points
* Frosty Summoning Stone
* 10 Candy Cane Shards
Almost no risk at all for survivors. Even without the cheat, you usually won't run into any foes when delivering the presents.
This one is very worth doing, especially if you have help doing the cheat. If you do no other quests in this line, this alone is worth doing on any and all charas who you've gotten to the eye.
5 out of 5 canes. (+2 for survivors)
**********
Charr-broiled Plans
This can be a major pain if you're not careful. Early waves are low level charr, but at the end they send full waves of level 20s, with Ceteradons (high level elementalist) and Siege devourers.
Minion masters are almost required here, as are an SoS rit with full batch of spirits. Enchant removal and anything that inflicts daze on the ceteradons are very worth bringing on this one. Be sure to equip rebel yell.
* 2,000 Experience
* 200 Gold
* 200 Ebon Vanguard Reputation Points
* Mischievous Summoning Stone
* 10 Candy Cane Shards
This mission can be fairly high risk to survivors, even at level 20. That's not to say it can't be done without not dying, but a trihorn wading into the middle of your group and slamming you with a point blank shockwave can be a real killer. So can a blast from the siege devourer. Not to mention the dozen or so charr warriors, casters, ect running around. If you're still working survivor, you might wanna skip this one.
Decent rewards, a fun mission. Just be sure and get a good group. Be weary of some pick up groups.
4 out of 5 candy canes. (-3 for survivors)
*******************
Wintersday Cheer
(removed)
*******************
Snowball Dominance
Requires having done Charr Broiled Plans quest.
2 man party only. Your team against the other team.
People usually send a necro over to soften the other side up and force them to gather while your side moves into positions.
Some classes do much better at this then others.
If you're a necro, just team up with someone else, and go die.
If you're someone else, go team up with necro, let them die, and then get the job done in under 2 minutes. Rangers excel at this mission.
For some people, if it takes to long, they usually just port back in and start over. If there's only you left, you can win, but it requires pulling a single at a time, and careful dodging and hitting.
* 5,000 Experience
* 500 Gold
* 500 Vanguard reputation points
* 10 Candy Cane Shards
* 5 Frosty Tonics
If you're running a survivor through this, my only advice is... DON'T.
Each time you play this, you're rolling the dice. You could go 99 times and not have a problem. All it takes is that 100th time, and the entire group targets your survivor, and they're dead. You can't even port out fast enough to the guild to keep from getting killed. I say this from personal experience.
If you feel you can get away with it, then by all means do so. But like I said, it's a crapshoot each and every time you play this. You roll snake eyes, and your track stops cold.
If you aren't running survivor, there probably isn't a better quest to play.
High rewards, high cash, 500 rep points, the equivalent of two presents per run, and 5 tonics to help crank party points up. I stopped farming the rift warden quests to run some charas through these because the rep and other rewards were to high to pass up. Question though... will it continually be repeatable THIS year? We'll see.
5 canes out of 5. (-5 for survivors)
****************
And that's my review of quests that were available last year.
Weather there'll be any changes THIS year... remains to be seen. Odds are we'll get another special pet for the garden, and possibly some new quests as well. MAYBE old quests will be revamped, and some of the newer ones tweaked.
Edit: Since Wintersday Cheer was shifted to part of the WIK storyline, odds are it'll be removed from the holiday line. So I kicked it out of this list.
Thanks for letting me know. I missed that in one of the updates.
I can always hope that a certain mini will have it's drop rate increased, but... I've learned to not hold my breath on that.
In any case, wintersday is usually when we see people who've been away from the game come back for a while, which is always worthwhile. Maybe if NCsoft gets more copies of the game in stores, we might actually get some new people as well.
So be nice to newbies and old skool folks who drop in.
And don't forget to tell them about the special gifts they get if the wintersday dwarf stays alive past a certain time
I avoided doing another vitch session about the MPB. I posted a couple comments, but I've learned to live with it, more or less.
As far as the overall reviews... ehh... got nothing better to post on at this point.|||The new quest "A Good Deed" is the "Wintersday Cheer" quest, renamed and incorporated into Wik.
I suspect the "Wintersday Cheer" will be either removed or changed for this year.|||They seem to have reorganized Charr Broiled Plans to make it a bit easier.
Now the first wave is all level 20 charr, mostly melee. Next wave is level 15 groups plus level 8 groups with the trihorns, again mostly melee. Then it goes back to level 20 groups, now mostly caster, with the siege devourer.|||And also Snowball Dominance was buffed a bit too.
The 10 candy cane reward has been changed to 10 wintersday gifts, so basically buffed from 10 CC shards to the equivalent of 50 with all other rewards remaining the same.
- Tsukasa|||It wasn't just Snowball Dominance, ALL wintersday quests have been bumped up from giving away shards, to giving away full on presents.
Because of SD and the new quests, which everyone seems to be doing Crush Spirits quest very fast, I'm seeing WTS stacks of presents for 25-30k in kamadan and LA.
Weather this is a good thing or bad thing, remains to be seen.
Anyone wanna review and offer ways to beat the new quests, please, be my guest. I'm not having terribly much success with them myself.|||Quote:
Anyone wanna review and offer ways to beat the new quests, please, be my guest. I'm not having terribly much success with them myself.
I've tried twice with a full H&H team (as many Rangers as I could get + Mes & Derv), but my problem was redirecting the henchies that have rezzed back to my position. They seem to get stuck on the way a lot.
Anyway, the buffed SD quest turned Wintersday fun (remember bringing presents to the kids in Ascalon?) into a fully zombiefied farm fest for most of the players.
|||Siiiighh. And here I am slaving away for the elusive mini, and I'm hearing people talking in chat about how they're gonna make a good 2m out of that quest.
I seriously wondered why anet allowed that quest to be farmed as it is. Even more so now. I mean, shouldn't it have like... at least a LIMIT to the number of times per day people can do that?
Whatev...
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