Special Treats Week

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Seasonal Fare

Autumn winds blow through the lands and shorter nights herald the coming of a special holiday. Often during this seasonal lull between the long, sweet days of summer and the short, bitter days of winter, my thoughts turn to my childhood and to fond memories of my grandmother's baked goods and the pungent odors wafting from grandfather's barn as he turned apples into cider.

What brings this to mind is some interesting news I learned while traveling through Tyria, Cantha, and Elona these past few weeks. It seems the Fraternal Order of Bakers and Brewers (FOBB) plans to gather at secret locations across the lands to exchange recipes, share samples of their goods, and spread their special brand of cheer (to the dismay of bar maids and innkeepers alike).

What may interest you, gentle readers, is that in the past, the participants of these surreptitious banquets have often left for home not fully in control of all of their faculties (much like my grandfather after a day of making cider), and have been known to unwittingly leave some of their wares along the roadside as their carts bump and carom along the cobbles, where they have been picked up by various denizens of the area.

So, be on the alert in all three lands during the next several days, for you may find means to acquire samples of the latest FOBB confections or beverages. If past harvest convention fare is any indicator, these tasty treats are sure to please.

— The Scribe ~ 2007

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It's the time for special, seasonal delights as Slices of Pumpkin Pie and Hard Apple Cider begin to drop all over Tyria on November 21st, at Noon Pacific (-8 GMT). Gather what you can before Noon Pacific on November 28th, but don't stuff yourself; Wintersday is just around the corner.

— Login screen announcement

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It's time for special, seasonal delights such as Slices of Pumpkin Pie and Hard Apple Cider to begin to drop all over Tyria. Gather what you can, but don't stuff yourself; Wintersday is just around the corner!

— Official website

The Special Treats Week is a special event that occurs annually from November 21, 20:00, to November 28, 20:00 UTC (source). Starting in 2007, our wandering reporter, The Scribe, announced there would be treats in store.

Items

Hard Apple Cider	Slice of Pumpkin Pie

• During this event:
  • Hard Apple Ciders and Slices of Pumpkin Pie will randomly drop from PvE foes.
  • In Guild versus Guild, the opposing Guild Lord drops either 10 Hard Apple Ciders or 10 Slices of Pumpkin Pie for each player of the winning team when he dies. To prevent exploitation, no rewards are offered if (a) the match ends after 28 minutes without either side killing a Guild Lord or (b) the battle ends in under 5 minutes (e.g. due to one team resigning or zoning).

Notes

• This event is scheduled to coincide with the American Thanksgiving holiday (the fourth Thursday of November).

Trivia

• The GvG Special Treats rewards were introduced in 2010.
• Prior to 2013:
  • When this was a special weekend event, this was referred to as "Special Treats Weekend" in the login screen announcements.
  • Although the event was called a "Weekend", it actually began on a Wednesday (Pacific Standard Time) instead of on a Friday, which was the usual for weekend events.
  • Special Treats events were not on a fixed schedule. Dates of the event prior to 2013:

Year	Dates
2007	12:01 Pacific (-8 GMT) on Thursday, November 22nd – 11:59 PM Pacific (-8 GMT) on Sunday, November 25th
2008	Noon Pacific (-8 GMT) on Wednesday, November 26th – 11:59 PM Pacific (-8 GMT) on Sunday, November 30th
2009	Noon Pacific (-8 GMT) on Wednesday, November 25th – 11:59 PM Pacific (-8 GMT) on Sunday, November 29th
2010	Noon Pacific (-8 GMT) on Wednesday, November 24th – 11:59 PM Pacific (-8 GMT) on Sunday, November 28th
2011	Noon Pacific (-8 GMT) on Wednesday, November 23rd – 11:59 PM Pacific (-8 GMT) on Sunday, November 27th
2012	Noon Pacific (-8 GMT) on Wednesday, November 21st – 11:59 PM Pacific (-8 GMT) on Sunday, November 25th

• In 2012, the event ended on November 25th instead of the date listed in the login screen announcements (November 26th).

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