Sunday, January 31, 2016

Lunar Festival '16

Lunar Festival during the year of 2016 starts on February 1st and runs through February 15th. The Lunar Festival is the in-game representation of the real life celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Side note: Looking for some new customized Holiday artwork if any artists are interested.

There is normally a fireworks display that takes place during these events, but just like last year, the fireworks showcase is only scheduled for the final day of the festivities in Moonglade. They also increase the number of lanterns around Lake Elune'ara during this time as well, as a reflection of the Lantern Festival.

As with most holidays, you're going to know when this Holiday has started as soon as you log in due to the amount of lanterns that are going to be hanging all around the capital cities, and potentially your Garrison. There will be bread crumb quests as normal that are going to get you to where you need to be to get started on the Holiday events and activities.

The bread crumb quests are there to teach you the basics of shooting off rockets and rocket clusters through the use of launchers located throughout the world. The other thing it leads you through is how to use your Lunar Festival Invitation to make your way to Moonglade in the beams of moonlight. The Holiday vendors and the Holiday boss are both located in Moonglade, but you are not going to be spending a whole lot of time there throughout the Festival.
And with that, we've done a quick rundown of the all of the non-important bits of the Lunar Festival. It's time to get down and dirty with the nitty-gritty part of this Holiday. The real meat of it all.

The main idea behind the Lunar Festival is to honor the Elders of the past, which requires a whole lot of 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 make your trek across the continents, each Elder is going to give you a Coin of Ancestry after you've honored them, which is the primary currency for this Holiday. You'll also receive a Lucky Red Envelope from each Elder, as well, with one of two gifts inside.
  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.
    • 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 also receive this mighty buff, even if they're from the opposing 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 with 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 Wintergrasp might not be worth your time, but find a way in if you're shooting for all the achievements.

EASTERN KINGDOMS
Elder Snowcrown: Eastern Plaguelands, Light's Hope 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) [Cataclysm Elder]
Elder Firebeard: Twilight Highlands, Dunwald Ruins (51,70) [Cataclysm Elder]
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 (54,24)
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 phase.]
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, 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 (65,70)
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 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: Sholazar Basin, River's Heart (50,63)
Elder Wanikaya: Sholazar Basin, Rainspeaker Rapids (64,49)
Elder Bluewolf: Wintergrasp, 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: Gundrak, 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 Coin of Ancestry, or however many you managed to obtain through your laziness, you're going to need something to spend them on. Time to head back to Moonglade!

Valadar Starsong
Fariel Starsong
I mentioned this a little bit earlier in the post that your Coin of Ancestry spending was going to depend on your professions. If you're an Engineer or a Tailor, you've got quite a few things extra that you can pick up, but you're not going to have enough Coin of Ancestry on a single toon to be able to pick up all your profession recipes as well as any of the added bonus stuff like Toys or Pets, so you need to make sure to plan your spending accordingly amongst your toons. All done with your Coin of Ancestry spending? Here's what you can get with just your hard-earned gold, because there's always a vendor for that.


So earlier we brought up the Elune's Blessing quest and what it entailed for you to complete it, right? We're at that point now in our little rundown here. First off, make sure you've picked the quest up from Valadar Starsong back at Nighthaven in Moonglade. With it, head 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 of the available cluster rockets you've deal with over the course of this Holiday, you need to launch a total of 30 rocket cluster with these specific launchers.
  2. The Spawning:
    • Minion of Omen : These are going to star spawning early-on in 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 all killed of.
  3. The 30th:
    • Omen
      • Omen - Cleave: Frontal cone that should only be soaked by the highest aggro, preferably a tank of some kind.
      • 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 your battle with Omen, his health does not reset back to full. Essentially making this fight nothing more than a graveyard zerg, but it should not be necessary if there are enough people around or if you have any soloing ability. Omen cannot be leashed away from his spawning point anymore.
  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 this light will grant you the buff necessary to complete the quest that you picked up from Valadar Starsong in Nighthaven. Return to him to receive your final reward.
  5. You are  not required to be a part of the kill to gain access to the moonlight that spawns from Omen's 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 an ass you are by not helping with something so simple. But who am I to judge?
With the blood of an immortal demigod on your hands of yours and those like you, and after honoring a score of Elders from the past, it's time to get to cutting 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 : Honor your very first Elder and your journey of collecting many Coin of Ancestry will have begun..
  • 5 Coins of Ancestry : Only five Coin of Ancestry? You have much work to do..
  • 10 Coins of Ancestry : Ah! Ten Coin of Ancestry already?! Journey more, my child..
  • 25 Coins of Ancestry : Halfway there, wanderer, there are more Coin of Ancestry to be collected..
  • 50 Coins of Ancestry : Quite the collection! But there is even more to be had! Do not stop at simply 50 Coin of Ancestry, for there are even more Elders to honor!
  • Elders of Eastern Kingdoms : From top to bottom, there are 29 total Elders to honor on the Eastern Kingdoms. Of that 29, 17 of them count toward this achievement.
  • Elders of Kalimdor : From Teldrassil to Uldum, there are a grande total of 30 Elders on Kalimdor. Of that 30, 18 of them are going to need to be honored to pick up this 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 on that Scourged wasteland, 18 of them will count towards this achievement.
  • 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 some friends. As always with instance achievements, doing this at level cap makes it significantly easier.
  • Elders of the Alliance : Saunter, or tip-toe, your way through the Alliance capitals and honor their very own Elders. There are 3 total Elders for this achievement.
  • Elders of the Horde : Much like the Elders of the Alliance, make your way through the Horde capitals and honor the Elders of the Horde. There are 3 total Elders for this achievement as well.
  • Frenzied Firecracker : Gather up some Festival Firecracker from your local 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 the Lunar Festival 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 your 10 Red Rocket Cluster, find yourself a cluster launcher and let 'er rip. With 25 seconds on the timer, you should be able to get this achievement with some time to spare.
  • Lunar Festival Finery : Valadar Starsong is the man of the hour for this achievement. You've spent so little time with him this Holiday, but you're going to need to spend 5 Coin of Ancestry on his wares and pick yourself up a festive outfit to wear. Whether it be a Festive Teal Pant Suit or a Festive Pink Dress, or any of the other colors, you need to look your best to grab this achievement.
  • Elune's Blessing : Complete all of the pre-requisite quests to gain access to the final quest; Elune's Blessing. Turning in the quest is all that will be necessary to net yourself this achievement, whether or not you actually put down the feral dog or just danced in the afterglow.

And there were a couple of pets that were obtainable with this Holiday, so let's go over their data down below.

When the curtains close on the Lunar Festival, we shall see each other again for the follow-up routine, as well as talk about the Love is in the Air event!
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)