It's
that time of year again and despite the best efforts of McScroogle
and his lackeys all over Norrath the Frostfell holiday season has
landed in EverQuest II. No matter where you look, there are giant candy
canes, piles of presents, and more lights strung on every building than
there are stars in the sky. If you want to see it all you'd better
hurry though because on after January 7th, all the Frostfell fun
disappears for another year.


style="margin: 2px; width: 210px; float: right;">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/77968"> style="width: 200px; float: right;" src="/image/view/77968">Santa
Glug

Frequent readers may remember href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/51583">my
anti-game-holiday rant last
year. In it, I *may* have bitched about being bombarded
with holiday images no matter where I went. I also (allegedly) may have
been upset that, even in an online game, I couldn't get away from it
all. So, personally, I think my assignment to cover EQ2’s
Frostfell event is part of a secret agenda by the Ten Ton Hammer powers
that be to put my Scrooginess to the test.



I'm sorry to report to my fellow Bah-Humbug-ers that their dastardly
plan succeeded. The real credit for this doesn't go to Ten Ton Hammer,
though, but to the team at Sony Online Entertainment that made an
in-game holiday festival more than just an excuse to throw up some
decorations and have players go on the equivalent of endless Easter egg
hunts. While I won't go so far as to say I was wrong last year, my
issues may have had less to do with the holiday festivities themselves
and more to do with a perceived lack of focus by various development
teams.



The EverQuest II development team has gone out of its way to make this
one Frostfell that neither players, nor I, are likely to forget anytime
soon. During the event, players can get a holiday tree, save Frostfell
from the evil clutches of McScroogle, help an ex-gift giver out, live
out a Norrathian version of a Christmas Carol, infiltrate a frozen
fortress, and much more.



While players can get a festival tree by completing a quest in any
major city, I personally recommend doing the quest from Gevil
Gigglegibber in West Freeport. Monty Python fans out there *have* to do
this quest, then complain about the tree you receive being dead (it's
not pining!). This was the first time in longer than I can remember
that any game dialog had me genuinely laughing out loud. And for those
of us less than goody-goody types, what says Frostfell better than a
dead tree with eyeballs hanging from it? Really.


style="margin: 2px; width: 210px; float: left;">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/77967"> style="width: 200px; float: left;" src="/image/view/77967">McScroogle
in action. 

Just like it's possible to get a tree in any major city, you can also
make your way to Frostfell Wonderland Village by jumping through the
magical closet that will be somewhere near the tree giver. Frostfell is
where those of us from the wrong side of the tracks start to feel their
lunch trying to climb back up. There is snow all over the ground and
rainbow bridges everywhere. Whether you want to complete some quests to
save Frostfell or start crafting festive items for the holiday, you'll
find what you need just by exploring. The zone isn't too big, so
there’s no need to worry about getting lost no matter which
direction you go in. Don't walk near the dancing satyrs by the
fire--it's a trap! If you do, you're going to start dancing and there's
nothing you can do about it except run. More than one dark elf has been
put to the stake in Neriak for less, so consider yourself warned.



While you're exploring, you'll notice more than one quest giver. Queen
Bunny needs some help to keep McScroogle from ruining the Frostfell
holiday with all his advertisement flyers. They're everywhere and
destroying the spirit of the holiday. Agree to give her a hand and
you'll go on a rock'em sock'em style adventure. There's trouble brewing
in Gnomeland Security and you've got to go in and clean it up. Blow up
some desks, wipe out an automated security team, and finish it all off
by giving McScroogle himself an asskicking of the most desperately
needed kind.



Gardy Ex-Giftgiver also needs your help. He's decided to call himself
Ex-Giftgiver since he doesn't have any gifts to give. If you agree to
help him, get ready to run all over Norrath. Plunge into this quest
head on and you'll quickly discover that mystery and intrigue abound.
Is Gardy just having a string of bad luck, or is there something (or
someone) more sinister at work? The ruinous villain in this one may
surprise even the most jaded of adventurers.






If you want your festival tree to have
some decorations, be sure to run to the back island in Frostfell
Village and talk to the holiday's arch nemesis, McScroogle. Each year,
three ghosts that try to wake his Frostfell spirit come to visit him in
the middle of the night. As he says, it was touching at first, but it
got old and all he really wants this year is to get a decent night's
sleep.

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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/77966"> style="width: 200px; float: right;" src="/image/view/77966">Icy
Keep

Can you really blame the guy? He's discovered a way for someone else to
take over his body and take his place for a night. Agree to do this for
him and you'll be visited by the ghosts of Frostfell past, present, and
future. There have been some cutbacks, so not all the ghosts are old
hands at this. Help everyone along, let McScroogle get some sleep, and
those decorations are yours.




My favorite, and at the same time most frustrating, quest set in
Frostfell involves Icy Keep. In Mission Improbable, you'll need to come
up with an ingenious (and thoroughly disgusting) method to infiltrate
the inner areas of the keep and distribute listening devices
throughout. To save you much more aggravation than anyone should have
to suffer during an in-game holiday quest, let me give you a couple
pieces of advice to keep in mind while you're inside the Keep. First,
if a plank will only set down so there's merely a foot to actually walk
on, spin it around. Although each side looks identical, there's only
one end that's really meant to be the anchor. Second, you can place the
listening devices without losing your disguise, but you will lose it if
you try to pick up any collectibles. Complete this task successfully
and you'll come to the real source of my frustration.



In the second Icy Keep adventure, the goblins need some help and to do
it, you're going to have to jump into the belly of the beast. Deep
within the heart of the Icy Keep lies a dragon egg and it's your job to
destroy it. Unfortunately, that dragon egg is being guarded by a
powerful ice maiden and this is where the problem begins.


style="margin: 2px; width: 210px; float: left;">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/77965"> style="width: 200px; float: left;" src="/image/view/77965">Happy
holidays!

My frustration comes in the fact that unless you're extremely well
geared, or one of a few certain classes, you can't complete the quest
solo. Now I wouldn't normally complain about that since content
designed for a group should be completed by a group, even if it's a
duo. My complaint comes into play because you can solo *every* mob in
the zone except the final guardian. Don't let me spend an hour killing
everything alive in an instance I've been sent to just to be stopped
cold by the final mob. To me, that's like a shot to the groin. If you
want an instance to be completed by a group, then make it that way
throughout. Place group-only mobs far closer to the entrance. Don't
make me waste my time getting to the very end only to bitchslap me
there. It's uncool and uncalled for. Fortunately, this is my only
complaint with the Frostfell holiday event.



The EverQuest II team has created all this and even more for your
enjoyment. I'm happy to report I actually had a really good time with
the Frostfell festivities. That's something I haven't been able to say
about any winter-themed holiday events in any other game I've played
for quite a few years. Whether you just want to get some new
decorations for your home, do some holiday crafting, help the citizens
of Frostfell Village out, or even give a grumpy old man like McScroogle
a good night's sleep, there's plenty for everyone to enjoy. You'd
better hurry though, because Frostfell, and all the seasonal fun that
comes with it, will be gone after January 7th.





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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

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