All Things Easter

Happy Easter to those who celebrate it, and to those who don't, Happy Noblegarden. Here are some links to previous posts as well as a new video for you today:

Easter Eggs:
Northrend Easter Egg
Easter Eggs and Pop Culture References in WoW

Lamenting the Noblegarden holiday event:
The subtlety of the event
The shortening length of the event

And now for something brand new, Spiffworld and Jonathan Coulton bring you something for your Sunday best:
Mr. Fancy Pants - 1:56

Holiday Leftover

(Delaney is on vacation so her evil alter ego will be posting this entry. For content without the bitter aftertaste check out the post from last year or check out my new favorite source for WoW Holiday information: Mortal Ken's Noblegarden page.)

Blizzard announced that:

Noblegarden comes but once a year,
ushering in a day of cheer...
for no one has a thing to fear from painted eggs and festive gear.

A day??? It used to be weak when it was a month long. Now it's a single day?

But then again, exactly how long should we be crashing the newbie zones stealing their rare opportunity to participate in holiday content?

The Clothes
If you want to torture yourself to find the fancy clothes, open a LOT of eggs, because that's how you get them. And there's only a 1/2 a percent chance they'll drop so Good Luck.

Or if you're an Alliance tailor, just go buy the Tuxedo patterns from this guy and make your own tuxedo:

I'm not too worried about missing this event because essentially the Nobles are just putting their trash out and we're picking it up - leftover candy from old holidays ... old clothes ... a couple copper to mask that rich people's cubbard smell...

Now... if there was a chance to see huge Easter Bunnies like in the WoWwiki pictures from the Warcraft days that'd be a different story...

Noblegarden is here... or is it?

This is what happens when you raise the bar. Blizzard holidays are usually kinda fun. And in fact, I rather look forward to them. (According to this poll other players kinda like them too.)

But now... Blizzard's Noblegarden just feels like they're phoning it in. (wowinsider.com also felt "dissappointed," even though they were pleased their "trousers dropped.") It's cute fun, don't get me wrong. It's just not at the caliber we usually see.

Theme
At it's core, Noblegarden seems to be a take off of Easter.

... On this joyous day, it is customary for the nobles and lords from each race to hide coins, candy, and the occasional treasures within special eggs painted to look like wildflowers. These eggs are then scattered around the major cities for the citizenry to find. ...

And it's a great idea. We get to be kids again and find Easter Eggs. The only problem is... they look like this:

Can you see it? This one was at the exit of the undead newbie zone.

I dont' know what I thought; maybe that they'd sparkle or something.

Loot
And this is pretty much what you get:


Actually, according to Allakhazam.com you pretty much get an equal chance at a Candy Bar, a Lollipop or a Chocolate Square. (or if you listen to Thottbot.com you get "a lollipop"). But there also seems to be a 1% chance you might get a part of a Tuxedo or a nice dress. The theming is nice - Dressing up on Easter = the fancy clothes loot.

But hey, what if we took it further? If you show up at the Cathedral of light there could be NPCs milling around (and a priest telling you how you should show up more often). Some of them might serve Matza Ball soup with stat enhancers. Or even cooler, we get a trinket that allows for a free self resurrection (3 day cooldown). Ok, for fear of taking this too far I'll stop. Maybe I know why Blizzard kept this scaled back.

Two good things:

• Noblegarden lasts until May 20th, so it's a nice long event.
• It's accessible to newbie players (generally the eggs are in the zones for levels 1-10).

Ok, one last idea. Let some of the eggs that aren't found turn into rotten eggs that we turn in to Wirt who will show up again with them on Mischief night.

Noblegarden date change?

From Blizzard's World of Warcraft News page:

Events Calendar
Check out our new Events Calendar for World of Warcraft!
This calendar provides you with the exact dates for the many different events that take place throughout the year in World of Warcraft. Now you can see when each event begins and ends, so you'll never miss out on the fun! Also, whenever a new event is introduced to World of Warcraft, the calendar and our In-Game Events page will be updated with the latest information about the new addition to the game, so make sure to check back often!

Interestingly, this page says Noblegarden will run from April 16 - May 20.

But previously I posted on the fact that the In Game Events page says (and still does as I write this) March 22 - April 25.

My guess is that the one on the new calendar page is the better to estimate with since the nearby calendar specifically says 2006. The date on the In Game Events page may just be a leftover from last year.

Nobelgarden is Next

What can we expect next in terms of Holiday Content? This is what Blizzard says:

Noblegarden - March 22 - April 25
"The great feast of Noblegarden has long been celebrated by the races of the Alliance and recently adopted by those of the Horde. On this joyous day, it is customary for the nobles and lords from each race to hide coins, candy, and the occasional treasures within special eggs painted to look like wildflowers. These eggs are then scattered around the major cities for the citizenry to find. From heroes to commoners, and everyone in between - the feast of Noblegarden is meant to bring communities together to share the joy of life and friendship."

Can you say, Easter? :)