Winter Veil 2008, or "Ho Ho... Yes, Okay, We Look Like Hoes"

But that doesn't mean we don't look good.

Winter Veil starts today and lasts until January 2nd. Feel free to look at last year's post for any details I'm missing here. Editing as I experience new things.

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Clothes

The clothes do not bind to your character -- you can get an outfit and boots from the auction house or borrow them from a friend. The hats, however, are bind-on-pickup and drop from random world mobs (rare) or Northrend instance bosses (100%).

One awesome thing is that while horde tailors get green winter suit patterns and alliance get red, the patterns are available on neutral vendors, so you can run into Orgrimmar or Ironforge and pick up the opposing faction's color. It's bind-on-pickup so you can't run in a non-tailoring alt, either, but I got it on a level 62 with only four deaths. Just keep going in and watch to make sure the patrols aren't right next to you when you rez the last time. (Shift-V helps.)

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Tips and Tricks

/kiss at a Winter Reveler (available inside all the inns) once an hour for items you need for the achievement. Snowflakes & Mistletoe, specifically. The debuff only counts down while you're logged in (verified by a GM, though GM's have been wrong in the past). It's an extra-huge "screw you" from Blizzard, imo, because I could be farming runecloth on my tailor or, I don't know, doing some RL work instead of waiting around logged in hour after hour for the 30% chance a stupid Reveler will drop what I need this time around.

Of course, you can always turn into a gnome with the Wondervolt Machine and try to get your 50 honor kills in a battleground while you wait--though, of course, after you die instantly, you get to leave the battleground, suffer the deserter debuff, and reapply the gnome buff from the Wondervolt Machine, since dying removes it.

Great job, Blizzard. /golfclap

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Achievement

Title Reward: "Merrymaker"

Recipes: Egg Nog, Gingerbread Cookies, Hot Apple Cider: Bought from Smokywood Pastures Vendor. Must cook these up during the holiday. Requires 325 cooking skill.

• Might as well grab 5 small eggs, dropped in almost any starting zone and 1 milk (Orgrimmar vendor, Ironforge vendor) for the Stuff Santa's Face quest. That quest isn't required for any achievement, but you're making them anyway, right?
• Farming small eggs during Winter Veil is a lucrative option for lower levels. They're going for 45-50 silver each (Moon Guard) due to the holiday.
  

Snowflakes: /kiss a Winter Reveler (available in inns). Repeatable every hour. Non-soulbound, so you can farm them on several characters, but they disappear after 10 days and you can't auction them.

• Instead of tossing them on all the races, like you had with pumpkin heads, these require a specific race-class combination!
• I recommend: major cities of your faction, battlegrounds (AV for the largest selection), and starting zones.
• If you have a friend willing (and able) to make opposite faction classes for you, you can always run out to that starting zone. This is easiest on Normal servers (as opposed to PVP servers).
  

Crashin' Thrashin' Racer: "From the Christmas Presents." Once I find one, I'll let you know. Probably not available until the 25th.

Greench Quest Chain:

• Start with Stolen Winter Veil Treats (pick it up in Ironforge/Orgrimmar and head to Alterac Mountains). By completing this, you'll get a Winter Veil Disguise Kit in the mail, which you'll want to use in Dalaran during the holiday and dance with another person wearing their disguise kit.
  
• Get the followup that has you kill the Abominable Greench. He's a 36 elite that respawns instantly in one of three locations near your snowman guy. (I learned that horde don't understand that /point /beckon means "Follow me, he respawned over here." *sigh* I was being all helpful!)
• Go turn it all in.
  

Ogri'la Attunement & Holly:

• Preserved Holly is AH buyable and no duration -- it's a reward from the Metzen quest.
  
• Fresh Holly is what you get from /kissing a Reveler and has a 7 day duration.
• Either of those is useable for this achievement, which must be performed during the holiday itself.
• Bomb Them Again! requires a flying mount (of any speed) and also the Ogri'la Attunement, which means killing several 5-man bosses is now pretty easy.

Open a Present: They'll become available from the 25th to Jan 2nd.

Mistletoe: 9 for alliance, 3 for horde.

• Received from the hourly /kiss at a reveler (in the inns).

Required Clothes

• 1 red or green hat - Bind-on-Pickup guaranteed drop from any Wrath instance. Rare drop from any world mob.
  
• 1 red or green clothes - The pattern binds to tailors, but the outfits themselves don't bind at all ever.
• 1 boots - Leatherworking. Like the suit, it doesn't bind.

1 Snowball: Smack King Bronzebeard (A) or Cairne Bloodhoof (H) in the face with it.

Metzen Quest: Complete by rescuing him in either Tanaris or Searing Gorge (either will work, so pick the one you're closest to). Level 40 quest.

• Keep at least one Graccu's Fruitcake from the gift you'll get in the mail. You need to eat it during the holiday while wearing your 3-piece holiday set.

Little Helper: Use a Wondervolt machine (just step in, all cities should have one) and head into a battleground.

• Get 50 honor kills while holiday-gnomed.
• Gnome effect disappears upon death.