Monday, February 23, 2015

Lunar Festival '15

The Lunar Festival for the year of 2015 has shifted out of January entirely and runs from February 16th through March 2nd this year. The Lunar Festival is an in-game Holiday event that represents the Chinese New Year.

Normally, on the actual date of the Lunar New Year, there would be firework displays set up in Stormwind City, Thunder Bluff, Booty Bay, and Moonglade. The calendar, currently, does not reveal any single date of the Lunar Festival as having a fireworks display as being part of the festivities, so we'll have to wait and see if they are going to be on the traditional display of fireworks. As the grand finale to the Lunar Festival, a fireworks display is put on display at Moonglade, with an increased number of lanterns placed around Lake Elune'ara to create parallels with the Chinese Festival of Lanterns.

With all that said, you'll know that the Lunar Festival has started because most, if not all, of the capital cities will have Chinese-style lanterns set out on display around the scene showing the start of the Holiday. Bread crumb quests will show up on your mini-map, and depending on where you log out in cities, right in your face.

The only real purpose of the bread crumb quests, of which there are only a handful, is to get you introduced to the idea of shooting off rockets and rocket clusters from the launchers located throughout the world, as well as to teach you how to use your Lunar Festival Invitation to come and go from Moonglade, where the Holiday vendors and boss are located.
  1. The Lunar Festival/The Lunar Festival: Speak with a Lunar Festival Emissary, if you're Alliance, or a Lunar Festival Herald, if you're Horde, and get some simple instructions to head to the local Lunar Festival festivity area and speak with a Lunar Festival Harbinger. You could also just go talk to a Lunar Festival Harbinger and completely disregard this quest, but it's there, so we're putting it in.
  2. Lunar Fireworks: To complete this quest, you'll need to speak with a Lunar Festival Vendor and pick up an assortment of rockets(Small Red Rocket, Small Blue Rocket, Small Green Rocket) and rocket clusters(Blue Rocket Cluster, Green Rocket Cluster, Red Rocket Cluster). Launch them off at the nearby launchers and we'll keep this train chugging along.
    • Lunar Festival Invitation: The 24 hour cooldown for this item was removed during the Cataclysm launch of the Holiday, so now you don't have to worry about coming back to pick another one up. This is how we're going to be getting to Moonglade to spend our coins and beat up the Holiday "boss."
  3. Valadar Starsong: With your Lunar Festival Invitation procured, it's time to step into the large beam of moonlight amongst the launchers and teleport to Moonglade. Once there, you're going to head into Nighthaven and speak with Valadar Starsong.
  4. Elune's Blessing: This is the final quest of the Holiday, but since it also pertains to the Holiday "boss," we're going to come back to this once we've talked about everything else. But, just to let you know, you have to take down (or watch someone take down) Omen, and stand in the beam of moonlight that spawns from his corpse to receive Elune's Blessing.
    • Elune's Lantern: The 24 hour cooldown makes this Toy less useful, but the introduction of Raid Markers, you don't need to use this or flares anymore for location markers. Remember Heigan's Dance Room? The stones from this were a saving grace.
    • Lunar Festival Fireworks Pack
    • x3 Solid Stone
Now that we've done a quick rundown of all of the quests involved for the Lunar Festival, it's time to get down into the nitty-gritty of this Holiday. The main idea behind the Lunar Festival is to honor the Elders of the past, which requires traveling all over the world; from the sand dunes of Tanaris, to the icy crags of Northrend, to the balmy tropics of Stranglethorn. There are no Elders on the Outlands, on Pandaria, or on Draenor.

As you go about honoring each of these Elders, you're going to receive a Coin of Ancestry, which is the primary currency for this Holiday, and a Lucky Red Envelope. 
  1. Lucky Rocket Cluster: These act the same as the normal rocket clusters that can be purchased from your vendors, but they do pack a little bit more of a punch.
    1. Lunar Fortune: When you fire off these rockets, you get a small health buff. This buff does not adjust by level, so you will always receive a buff of +250 health. Amusingly, it has an area effect cast, so anyone around the launcher will receive this mighty buff, even if they're from the other faction.
  2. Elder's Moonstone: This item creates a three minute beam of moonlight at the targeted location. As beneficial as that sounds, we only wish that you could utilize these stones to create portable Grand Moonlights to use the Lunar Festival Invitation.
There are a total of 84 Elders to locate and honor throughout the three continents. Due to phasing issues, the Elder inside of Wintergrasp might not be worth your time, but find a way in if you're shooting for the achievement.

EASTERN KINGDOMS
Elder Snowcrown: Eastern Plaguelands, Light Hope's Chapel (75, 54)
Elder Farwhisper: Stratholme, Live Side near The Unforgiven [Dungeon Elder]
Elder Windrun: Eastern Plaguelands, Crown Guard Tower (36, 69)
Elder Meadowrun: Western Plaguelands, Weeping Cave (64, 36)
Elder Moonstrike: Western Plaguelands, Outside Scholomance (69, 74)
Elder Graveborn: Tirisfal Glades, Brill (62, 54)
Elder Darkcore: Undercity, Ruins of Lordaeron Throne Room (67, 38) [Horde Elder]
Elder Obsidian: Silverpine Forest, The Sepulcher (45, 41)
Elder Highpeak: The Hinterlands, Creeping Ruin (50, 48)
Elder Darkfeather: Twilight Highlands, Thundermar Ruins (51, 33)
Elder Firebeard: Twilight Highlands, Dunwald Ruins (50, 70)
Elder Silvervein: Loch Modan, Thelsamar (33, 46)
Elder Goldwell: Dun Morogh, Kharanos (54, 50)
Elder Bronzebeard: Ironforge, Mystic Ward (29, 16) [Alliance Elder]
Elder Ironband: Searing Gorge, Blackchar Cave (21, 79)
Elder Morndeep: Blackrock Depths, Ring of Law [Dungeon Elder]
Elder Stonefort: Lower Blackrock Spire, Inner Bridgework [Dungeon Elder]
Elder Dawnstrider: Burning Steppes, Flame Crest (54, 25)
Elder Rumblerock: Burning Steppes, Dreadmaul Rock (70, 45)
Elder Starsong: Sunken Temple, Dragonkin Ring [Dungeon Elder]
Elder Bellowrage: Blasted Lands, Dark Portal (54, 50) [Speak to Zidormi if you need the past phasing.]
Elder Starglade: Northern Stranglethorn, Zul'Gurub (71, 34)
Elder Winterhoof: Cape of Stranglethorn, Booty Bay (40, 73)
Elder Skychaser: Westfall, Sentinel Hill (57, 47)
Elder Stormbrow: Elwynn Forest, Goldshire (40, 64)
Elder Hammershout: Stormwind City, Stormwind Gates (34, 51) [Alliance Elder]
Elder Stonebrand: Deepholm, Temple of Earth (49, 54) [Cataclysm Elder]
Elder Deepforge: Deepholm, Stonehearth (27, 69) [Cataclysm Elder]
Elder Moonlance: Vashj'ir, Shimmering Expanse (57, 86) [Cataclysm Elder]

KALIMDOR
Elder Bladeswift: Darnassus, Cenarion Enclave (39, 32) [Alliance Elder]
Elder Bladeleaf: Teldrassil, Dolanaar (57, 53)
Elder Starweave: Darkshore, Western Side of Lor'danel (50, 19)
Elder Nightwind: Felwood, Jaedenar (38, 53)
Elder Riversong: Ashenvale, Astranaar (36, 49)
Elder Windsong: Mount Hyjal, Sanctuary of Malorne (26, 62) [Cataclysm Elder]
Elder Evershade: Mount Hyjal, Nordrassil (62, 22) [Cataclysm Elder]
Elder Brightspear: Winterspring, Lake Kel'Theril (53, 57)
Elder Stonespire: Winterspring, Everlook (60, 50)
Elder Skygleam: Azshara, Ravencrest Monument (65, 79)
Elder Darkhorn: Orgrimmar, Flight Master Tower (52, 60) [Horde Elder]
Elder Runetotem: Durotar, Razor Hill (53, 44)
Elder Windtotem: Northern Barrens, Ratchet (68, 70)
Elder Moonwarden: Northern Barrens, Crossroads (49, 59)
Elder High Mountain: Southern Barrens, Vendetta Point (42, 48)
Elder Bloodhoof: Mulgore, Bloodhoof Village (48, 53)
Elder Ezra Wheathoof: Thunder Bluff, Elder Rise (73, 23) [Horde Elder]
Elder Splitrock: Maraudon, Rotgrip/Tinkerer Gizlock Area [Dungeon Elder]
Elder Mistwalker: Feralas, The Maul (62, 31)
Elder Grimtotem: Feralas, Lariss Pavilion (77, 38)
Elder Primestone: Silithus, Crystal Vale (31, 13)
Elder Bladesing: Silithus, Cenarion Hold (53, 36)
Elder Thunderhorn: Un'goro Crater, Slithering Scar (50, 76)
Elder Menkhaf: Uldum, Khartut's Tomb (65, 18) [Cataclysm Elder]
Elder Sekhemi: Uldum, Ruins of Ammon (32. 63) [Cataclysm Elder]
Elder Ragetotem: Tanaris, Ruins of Uldum (37, 79)
Elder Dreamseer: Tanaris, Gadgetzan (51, 28)
Elder Wildmane: Zul'Farrak, Gahz'rilla's Pool [Dungeon Elder]
Elder Morningdew: Thousand Needles, Fizzle & Pozzik's Speedbarge (77, 76)
Elder Skyseer: Thousand Needles, Freewind Post (46, 51)

NORTHREND
Elder Sardis: Borean Tundra, Valiance Keep (59, 66)
Elder Arp: Borean Tundra, D.E.H.T.A. (57, 44)
Elder Pamuya: Borean Tundra, Warsong Hold (43, 50)
Elder Northal: Borean Tundra, Transitus Shield (34, 34)
Elder Igasho: The Nexus, Ormorok the Tree-Shaper Area [Dungeon Elder]
Elder Sandrene: Sholozar Basin, River's Heart (50, 63)
Elder Wanikaya: Sholozar Basin, Rainspeaker Rapids (64, 49)
Elder Bluewolf: Wintergrasp Fortress (49, 14) [Faction Controlled or Open Door]
Elder Morthie: Dragonblight, Star's Rest (30, 56)
Elder Skywarden: Dragonblight, Agmar's Hammer (35, 48)
Elder Nurgen: Azjol-Nerub, Post-Hadronox [Dungeon Elder]
Elder Thoim: Dragonblight, Moa'ki Harbor (49, 78)
Elder Jarten: Utgarde Keep, Post-Prince Keleseth [Dungeon Elder]
Elder Chogan'gada: Utgarde Pinnacle, Under Skadi the Ruthless [Dungeon Elder]
Elder Beldak: Grizzly Hills, Westfall Brigade Encampment (61, 28)
Elder Lunaro: Grizzly Hills, Ruins of Tethys (81, 37)
Elder Whurain: Grizzly Hills, Camp Oneqwah (64, 47)
Elder Kilias: Drak'Tharon Keep, King Dred's Den [Dungeon Elder]
Elder Tauros: Zul'Drak, Zim'Torga (59, 56)
Elder Ohanzee: Gun'Drak, Drakkari Colossus Altar [Dungeon Elder]
Elder Graymane: The Storm Peaks, K3 (41, 85)
Elder Fargal: The Storm Peaks, Frosthold (29, 74)
Elder Stonebeard: The Storm Peaks, Bouldercrag's Refuge (31, 38)
Elder Muraco: The Storm Peaks, Camp Tunka'lo (65, 51)
Elder Yurauk: Halls of Stone, Pre-Krystallus [Dungeon Elder]

All done with your grovel--.. I mean, honoring, of the Elders? After you've gone and collected all 84 of the coins, or however many you managed to obtain through your laziness, you're going to need something to spend them on. Head back to Moonglade!

Valadar Starsong
Fariel Starsong
Maybe I should have mentioned this earlier.. But are you a tailor or an engineer? You're not? Well crap, you just wasted a whole lot of time gathering all those coins for some Bind-on-Pickup recipes. But it's okay! You maybe got a Toy and a pet out of it, right? Plus there are always achievements! It's a Holiday, buck up. Done with your coin spending? Here's what you can get with just your hard-earned gold.

So earlier we brought up the Elune's Blessing quest and what it entailed for completion? We're at that point now in our little guide here. First off, make sure you've picked the quest up from Valadar Starsong back at Nighthaven in Moonglade. With it, head on down to the south-eastern portion of Lake Elune'ara.

  1. The Launching: In the south-eastern corner of Lake Elune'ara will be quite a few cluster launchers. Using all the available cluster rockets you've dealt with over the course of this Holiday, you need to launch a total of 30 rocket clusters with these launchers.
  2. The Spawning
    • Minions of Omen : These are going to start spawning early-on on your 30 cluster launch session. You can either mow them down, if you've got the group for it, or you can just ignore them. They will continue to spawn even if they are killed.
  3. The 30th
    • Omen
      • Omen - Cleave: Frontal cone that should only be soaked by the highest aggro, preferably a tank.
      • Starfall: This spell will be randomly cast on anyone at ranged. Move out of it, it can do some serious damage if you don't move fast enough.
      • If you fall during battle your battle with Omen, his health does not reset back to zero. Essentially making this a graveyard zerg fight, but it should not be necessary if there are enough people around or if you have soloing ability. Omen cannot be leashed away from the spawning point.
  4. The Afterlife: When Omen becomes nothing more than an empty husk on the ground near the shores of the lake, a small beam of light will spawn in the center of his corpse.
    • Elune's Blessing: Stepping into the light will grant you this buff, which is the requirement for the quest that started all of this.
  5. You are not required to be a part of the kill to gain access to the moonlight that spawns from his corpse. If you decide to take advantage of other people attacking Omen and sit it out, you are doing nothing more than showing how much of an ass you are by not helping with something so simple.

With the blood of an immortal demigod on the hands of yours and those like you, and after honoring a score of Elders from the past, it's time to get down to putting away the loose ends of this Holiday.

Completing all of the necessary achievements below will bestow upon you the title of 'Elder' and grant you the meta achievement: To Honor One's Elders!
  • A Coin of Ancestry/5 Coins of Ancestry/10 Coins of Ancestry/25 Coins of Ancestry/50 Coins of Ancestry : This achievement is as simple as the Holiday is itself. As you go around honoring the Elders and gathering your Coin of Ancestry from each one in turn, you are going to collect this entire set of achievements. Gathering every Coin of Ancestry is more than sufficient for the achievement, but why stop at 50 when you go all the way to 84?
  • Elders of Eastern Kingdoms : Simply honor all of the Elders located on Kalimdor. Of the 29 total Elders on the Eastern Kingdoms, 17 of them count toward this achievement.
  • Elders of Kalimdor : Simply honor all of the Elders located on Kalimdor. Of the 30 total Elders on Kalimdor, 21 of them count toward this particular achievement.
  • Elders of Northrend : Traverse the varying landscapes of the frozen northern continent of Northrend, honoring all of the available Elders. Of the 25 located there, 18 of them will count toward this tally.
  • Elders of Cataclysm : Venture forth across the forever-changed lands abused by the Shattering and locate the 9 Elders in the regions made available with the release of Deathwing.
  • Elders of the Dungeons : Seek out the 13 Elders hiding away in the various instances spread across the three continents. These Elders might require some creativity, ingenuity, or just friends. As always with instance achievements, doing this at level cap makes it significantly easier.
  • Elders of the Horde : Saunter, or tip-toe, your way through the Horde capitals and honor their very own Elders. There are 3 total Elders for this achievement.
  • Elders of the Alliance : Much like the Elders of the Horde, make your way through the Alliance capitals and honor the Elders of the Alliance. There are 3 total Elders for this achievement as well.
  • Frenzied Firecracker : Gather up some Festival Firecracker from the Lunar Festival Vendor, a total of 10. Spending big money on these achievements here. Easiest way to get this one is to set the Festival Firecracker to a hotkey and toss them out right after one another. If you miss a single cooldown, you're probably going to have to start over. Grab some extra 'crackers if you think you'll need it.
  • The Rocket's Red Glare : Have an engineer throw together some of the Red Rocket Cluster, or pick them up from a vendor. You're going to need a total of 10 -RED- clusters for this to work. If they aren't red, you aren't going to get any credit. After you've got 10 Red Rocket Cluster, find yourself a cluster launcher and let 'er rip. With 25 seconds on the timer, you should be get this achievement with time to spare.
  • Lunar Festival Finery : Valadar Starsong is the man of the hour with this achievement. You're going to have to drop 5 Coin of Ancestry on getting yourself into the festival with a pant suit or a dress of your color choice.
  • Elune's Blessing : Complete the pre-requisite quests to gain access to the final quest; Elune's Blessing. Turning in the quest is all that is necessary to complete this achievement, whether you actually put down the feral dog or just danced in the afterglow.
And now for the section made especially for you pet battlers out there. 
When the curtains close on the Lunar Festival, we shall see each other again at the follow-up.
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1 comment:

  1. ParagonFebruary 24, 2015 at 1:44 AM

    Revisions 02-24-15
    Patch 6.1 dropped, added in the heirloom upgrades to the vendor.

    ReplyDelete

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