Zombiepocalypse Is Back!

RAWRBBRRGGGGRRREEEEEE!!!!!

We defeated the Lich King, and fought off the Apocalypse of the Zombie invasion nearly six years ago.  But we didn’t get the job done!  They’re back!

Ok, obviously not.  There’s no such horror happening (unless you consider the instance servers down as horrific).  I was out and about this morning with Elcombe knocking off some trick or treating and this was the result of Darnassus (never trust an elf my friend Koronite would say).  As I watched him running, though, it did harken me back to that event.  Of course then I pined for more out of the current event, but I shall not lament now.  Instead, while in Ironforge, I’ll hit that inn up next for some more goodies…

THUNUBABIDGE…

Boo!

WARNING: Innkeepers have paid the witches more money this year. Result? Stronger tricks.

Hallowed Be Thy…Wait, What?

Last night I logged on and took Tumunzahar on a tour of Kalimdor.  The buckets across the continent were all I needed for the Hallowed achievement.  I stopped along the way once or twice for some pet battling or Archaeology (which is now 525), and then finished up with the last Trick or Treat bucket -in the Exodar (once I found the darn thing).  That means I’m “The Hallowed” now.

Wait…what the…?

That’s the shot right after I got the last bucket.  Now, if you do a mouse over on any of those in-game, it shows a completion date.  However, as you can see the entire meta is showing incomplete.  I reported it as a bug and just shook my head and went to bed.  No point worrying about it just yet.

Sure enough, first thing this morning when I popped on quick before work, It had been corrected or sorted itself out and I be a Hallowed fella after all.

Hallow’s End Is Here

World Events and achievements might not be for everyone, but Hallow’s End is definitely one to consider putting time into if you’re not capped at 90.  Reason being, trick or treating is easy and it grants you XP.  Heck, it even grants guild rep.  Nothing like getting to Exalted even faster.  I started doing the trick or treating with Carrera, and at level 65, she was getting 6.6k experience (that’s with a single heirloom).  That worked out to about 3 quests to a bubble.  Sure, that suggests it will take a while, but for those who are out and about pet battling, you’re passing through half these areas anyway.  On Paramita, it worked out to 4% a quest without anything other than rest (she’s 35).  Personally, I still have my Recruit-A-Friend account active for another week or so.  The idea of triple the XP for these is definitely appealing.

Another reason to do them is if you do like achievements, especially titles.  This is the time of year to earn “The Hallowed.”  You can see in the picture what the achievements are that are required for the title.  Seeing that I only need a couple, I might try for it myself this year.  The nice thing about Tricks And Treats of Azeroth is that it only requires Eastern Kingdoms, Kalimdor, and Outland.  There are achievements for Northrend and Pandaria, but they’re not requisites for The Hallowed.

Perhaps you don’t want The Hallowed all that much but are keen on 310 flying speed for cheap?  Or you want the Violet Proto Drake.  Basically, “A Long Strange Trip” is you goal.  In that case, you need The Hallowed to complete the meta achievement.  I know that’s the case with Magik, and I’ll be doing what I can over the next two weeks to help him with that.

And there’s just the simple fact that it resembles Hallowe’en.  For many people, that’s reason enough to celebrate and take part.  Maybe off the Horseman once or twice (or as someone referred to him today, the Headless Lootman).  Get creative with the transmog’s and create a festive costume.  Regardless, the latest seasonal event is upon is and there’s certainly plenty of reasons to indulge in the goings-on.  Whatever your reason, hope you enjoy yourself.

Community Benefit

It’s one of those cases of too little, too late.  In Sunday’s column I spoke about Hallow’s End and how I failed to pursue the Hallowed title more heavily because I didn’t have nearly enough masks on any toon.  It was an error on my part and one I didn’t learn about until late that night, when the event was nearly over.

You lovely reader folk you were kind enough to send to me a couple of e-mails pointing out the only related achievement you needed was the first time you equip a mask, not the one in which you collected all twenty.  I learned this the hard way, because it was too late in the day for me to even try to get the other achievements that would no longer be available after Sunday.  I also was in no position to correct the advice of my column.

But, that’s the beauty of a community.  Where I might falter, it is comforting to know the masses will pick me up and guide me down the right path once more.  I’m human, and I’ll make mistakes.  The vast knowledge that is out there is just a click away and having you to put me right again is appreciated.

Are You Hallowed?

The hours come to a close on the latest holiday and its events.  Hallow’s End saw me end up with the Horseman’s mount on a toon I didn’t really want it on, but not on the one I did want.  I did a fair bit more for the title this year on both Tumunzahar and Siori, but still not enough for either to get the title.

For both, it came down to one thing: masks.  Siori got one nearly every day, but many of them were duplicates while Tumunzahar only garnered four masks during the entire holiday.  Most of Siori’s came from the Horseman himself, because Trick or Treating was not kind to me.

I did end up with every wand except the Leper Gnome.  I have sold some charges, traded some charges and even given a couple away despite my recommendations earlier this week.  But, again, I did not pursue Hallowed Be Thy Name because it can’t be done without the mask achievement.  For me, I look ahead to next year.  How did you make out?

Monday Money Making: Wand-erful!

Poof!

Hallows’ End runs for another six days.  With it comes ample time for Trick or Treating in inns, attempts at the Horseman’s Mount, or other wonderful achievements (for those so inclined).   As someone focused on making some extra gold with next to no effort, make the most of the remaining days if you haven’t already by trying to get as many different wands as you can.

No doubt nearly all of your toons are camped in an inn for that sweet, sweet, rest XP.  Well, hit the innkeeper up for some trick or treating (once per hour cooldown).  Random numbers being what they are, you can get one of the eight Hallowed Wands.  This requires some luck, but at some point you are bound to get at least one…and with people paying 2-5g and up for a charge, you can make some decent money fast. 

You can either sell them off as you get them, or I would suggest waiting until Saturday.  By that point, there’s a small chance you could get them all between all of your toons.  Rest assured, you could sell all eight charges for The Masquerade achievement for at least 100g.  If you’ve not gotten rid of any charges, that’s 500g right there.  The more likely odds are that you’ll get a few of the wands, possibly even duplicates.  If you get any duplicates, feel free to sell the charges off one any time you see fit.

The reason I suggest hanging on to the rest until Saturday is because people will be running out of time and if they’re one or two wands shy of the achievement, they’ll pay more for it.  It’s simply a proven fact.  All you’ll have to do is make sure all your toons are in the same vicinity of one another in the same city (if the wands are spread out) and you can laugh your way to the bank.