Wintersday
“At Noon Pacific (-8 GMT) on December 19th, the Wintersday festival begins. Enjoy the seasonal quests, delightful drops, special activities, and more! The icy celebration culminates in a final battle of the gods, every three hours, starting at 12:01 AM Pacific on January 1st. For more information, visit http://www.guildwars.com/.
“See towns glimmering with festive décor, deliver presents to needy little urchins, defeat the scheming Grentches, and spread Wintersday cheer to your fellow Tyrians! The fun culminates with a grand finale that runs every three hours on January 1!
Wintersday is a special event that occurs annually from December 19, 20:00, to January 2, 20:00 UTC,[1] which celebrates the Tyrian New Year according to the Mouvelian calendar and Dynastic Reckoning. It is the celebration of the end of the Season of the Colossus and the beginning of the Season of the Zephyr, decided through the outcome of a battle between the gods, Grenth and Dwayna. During Wintersday, snow covers the lands and the Snowmen and Grentches appear to spread their versions of the celebration across the land, through giving and destroying presents respectively.
It features towns decorated with gifts, snow, candy, and holiday NPCs.
Schedule[edit]
| PST | UTC[1] | Description |
|---|---|---|
| December 19th, noon | December 19th, 20:00 | Start of the event. Wintersday NPCs, except Rift Warden, also appear. |
| December 20th, noon | December 20th, 20:00 | Rift Warden appears. |
| January 1st, 12:01 am until January 2nd, 12:01 am | January 1st, 08:01 until January 2nd, 08:01 | Finales every 3 hours. (See accompanying chart.) |
| January 2nd, noon | January 2nd, 20:00 | End of the event. Candy Cane Shard collectors (i.e. Candysmiths and Wintersday Gift Giver), Frozen Accessory Token-related NPCs (i.e. Brrrnadette, Krunch, Brrrtie, and Krisp), and Glob of Frozen Ectoplasm collectors remain. |
| January 9th, noon | January 9th, 20:00 | All remaining Wintersday NPCs disappear. |
| PST (UTC-8) |
UTC / GMT (24 hr format) |
|---|---|
| 12:01 am | 08:01 |
| 3:01 am | 11:01 |
| 6:01 am | 14:01 |
| 9:01 am | 17:01 |
| 12:01 pm | 20:01 |
| 3:01 pm | 23:01 |
| 6:01 pm | 02:01 January 2 |
| 9:01 pm | 05:01 January 2 |
| 12:01 am January 2 |
08:01 January 2 |
Finale[edit]
The Wintersday grand finale runs every 3 hours starting at 12:01 am PST on January 1st, and ending 12:01 am PST on January 2nd in Lion's Arch. Finales also take place in Kamadan, only 15 minutes later.
The finale involves the Avatars of Dwayna and Grenth opposing each other in a mini-game similar to Nine Rings at the Shing Jea Boardwalk, but the price is Candy Cane Shards instead of Festival Tickets. The gods earn points for each supporter standing on one of their rings. Playing this game counts towards your Lucky and Unlucky title tracks. Each round costs 1 Candy Cane Shard. Players standing in the winning ring receive a Wintersday Gift and three, four, or five shards (depending on whether one stands on the center, edge, or corner rings respectively) plus an equal number of Lucky points. Those standing on an adjacent ring receive two shards and two Lucky points; everyone else receives 1 Unlucky point.
There are 3 sets of 5 rounds per finale, making 15 rounds total, so players should have at least 15 Candy Cane Shards on them. If players go to Kamadan immediately after, they'd want 30 Candy Cane Shards. Attending both Lion's Arch and Kamadan finales all day requires a total of 270 Candy Cane Shards.
At the end of the finale, approximately a dozen Wintersday Gifts will be added to everyone's inventory, regardless of whether they played the mini-game or not. You receive the gifts one at a time, every 70 seconds for 15 minutes. (Rarely a district might receive every second gift after 10 seconds, so end up with 22.) One random Wintergreen weapon (not dependent on the primary nor current secondary profession of your character, nor weapons that are equipped) will also be added to everyone's inventory at the end of the first finale attended by each account.
The rings for Grenth and Dwayna in Lion's Arch and Kamadan respectively are directly adjacent to the spawn points of each map, and are usually more filled than their opponent's rings.
Decorated outposts[edit]
Ascalon City, Lion's Arch, Droknar's Forge, Kamadan, Jewel of Istan and Eye of the North are all redecorated in a suitably festive (and snowy) style.
Quests[edit]
- Lion's Arch and Kamadan, Jewel of Istan
- Brrrnadette
- Krunch
- Priestess of Melandru
- Rift Warden
- In Grenth's Defense
- You're a Mean One, Mr. Grenth
- Straight to the Heart (Eye of the North required)
- The Strength of Snow (Eye of the North required)
- In Grenth's Defense
Other festivities[edit]
Each Wintersday will make the Dwayna Vs Grenth Snowball Fight arena available for use along with The Great Snowball Fight of the Gods. Candy Cane Shard, Eggnog, Frosty Tonic, Fruitcake, Mischievous Tonic, and Snowman Summoner will also drop from PvE foes for the duration of the event.
Guild versus Guild[edit]
NPCs in Guild versus Guild have their models altered as follows:
| NPC | Red Team | Blue Team |
|---|---|---|
| Archer | 
|
|
| Bodyguard | 
|
|
| Footman and Knight |
|
|
| Guild Lord | 
|
|
The opposing Guild Lord drops 10 Wintersday Gifts 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).
Items[edit]
Candy Cane weapons[edit]
Wintergreen weapons[edit]
 Wintergreen Axe |
 Wintergreen Bow |
 Wintergreen Daggers
|
 Wintergreen Hammer |
 Wintergreen Scythe |
 Wintergreen Shield
|
 Wintergreen Spear |
 Wintergreen Staff |
 Wintergreen Sword
|
 Wintergreen Wand |
Headgear[edit]
Starting with Wintersday 2012, each Wintersday festival hat from Lion's Arch and Kamadan can be obtained from Brrrtie and Krisp for one Frozen Accessory Token.
NPCs[edit]
Some zones have additional spawns:
Core[edit]
- Avatar of Dwayna
- Avatar of Grenth
- Priest of Balthazar
- Wintersday Gift Giver
- Wintersday Priest [Snowball Fight]
Prophecies[edit]
- Ascalon City
- Avatar of Dwayna
- Avatar of Grenth
- Bryan
- Candysmith Noel
- Caroler of Dwayna
- Caroler of Grenth
- Guard Brovlosk
- Guard Marsch
- Guardsman Ash
- Guardsman Brooke
- Jakob the Storyteller
- Jayne
- Katie
- Leo Stauch
- Necromancer Ichibaun
- Necromancer Malaise
- Peters
- Priest Erwin
- Priestess Clara
- Randall
- Vanguard Kyle
- Wintersday Gift Giver
- Lion's Arch
- Allise
- Avatar of Dwayna
- Avatar of Grenth
- Brrrnadette
- Brrrtie
- Cal
- Candysmith Kris
- Caroler of Dwayna
- Caroler of Grenth
- Dark Priest Calmein
- Grandpa Coalchack
- Jak Lundunn
- Jochim
- Joy
- Kidd
- Kimberly
- Krisp
- Krunch
- Lara
- Little Izzy
- Necromancer Kalvori
- Old Man Migaphin
- Old Nickoles
- Priest Meran
- Priest of Balthazar
- Priestess of Melandru
- Priestess Siara
- Reinking the Caroler
- Rift Warden
- Scrappy Jhim
- Terum the Tonic Maker
- Vehemus
- Wintersday Gift Giver
- Wintersday Priest (Snowball Fight)
- Droknar's Forge
- Abbot Silverbeard
- Acolyte Rockhammer
- Avatar of Dwayna
- Avatar of Grenth
- Candysmith Sweetshanks
- Caroler of Dwayna
- Caroler of Grenth
- Dark Priest Shadowvein
- Dark Priestess Velna
- Deag Frostwhisker
- Garro Thunderfoot
- Rore Aleswigger
- Stout Knucklehammer
- Wintersday Gift Giver
- Wintersday Priest (Snowball Fight)
- Zebnezzer Goldhoarder
Nightfall[edit]
- Kamadan, Jewel of Istan
- Avatar of Dwayna
- Avatar of Grenth
- Brrrnadette
- Brrrtie
- Candysmith Coldstone
- Caroler of Dwayna
- Caroler of Grenth
- Dark Priest Bandeh
- Dwarf Guard
- Elder Skruuj
- Grandfather Kringle
- James
- Krisp
- Krunch
- Monk Sutoni
- Necromancer Dunbari
- Please Don't Feed the Dwarf
- Priest of Balthazar
- Priestess Mahni
- Priestess of Melandru
- Rift Warden
- Sofie
- Tina the Tonic Maker
- Winter Dwarf
- Wintersday Gift Giver
- Wintersday Priest (Snowball Fight)
Eye of the North[edit]
- Eye of the North
- Allyn Brand
- Betsa
- Carlisle Gavenport
- Casey Carpenter
- Ebon Vanguard Soldier
- Ebon Vanguard Monk
- Ebon Vanguard Necromancer
- Erich
- Lieutenant Thackeray
- Orwin Radcliff
- Rodj
- Will Brockman
- Two charmable animals are available year-round in Gwen's garden if entering the zone with at least one player who has unlocked them (by completing Snowball Dominance from Casey Carpenter in Eye of the North):
- Jingle Bear, introduced in 2008.
- White Jingle Moa, introduced in 2009.
Other[edit]
- Enchanted Snowman henchmen appear in several Prophecies and Nightfall outposts/towns.
- Various Wintersday collectors appear in several Prophecies and Nightfall outposts/towns. Some of them appear when the event begins while others appear several days after the event begins.
Notes[edit]
- Cantha does not celebrate this festival.
Bug.From Wintersday 2014 onward, from the start of the first finale (i.e. January 1, 2015, 08:01 UTC) until the end of the event (i.e. January 2, 20:00 UTC), the Frozen Accessory Token-related NPCs (i.e. Brrrnadette, Krunch, Brrrtie, and Krisp) stopped appearing in Lion's Arch and Kamadan districts that were created before the first Winterday finale began (e.g. Lion's Arch America district 1, Kamadan America 1 to 3, and Lion's Arch and Kamadan International 1), but they continued to appear in Lion's Arch and Kamadan districts that were created after the first finale began (e.g. Korean district 1 [probably because that district was empty and was only created when a character map traveled there] and Lion's Arch and Kamadan America 5 and higher).Trivia[edit]
- Prior to 2010, players could unlock the jingle pets by completing Wintersday Cheer.
- There was a corresponding Wintersday Art Contest for each Wintersday from 2006 to 2010.
- There was a corresponding Wintersday Card for each Wintersday from 2006 onward.
- Wintersday 2013 discontinued Dwayna Vs Grenth Snowball Fight as an 8-versus-8 automated tournament format.[1][2]
- Wintersday 2012 introduced two new quests for obtaining hats from Wintersdays past. The finale no longer rewarded headgear; instead, players received a random Wintergreen weapon after the first finale attended per account.
- Wintersday 2011 introduced new costumes, replaced Operation: Crush Spirits with The Great Snowball Fight of the Gods, and removed the grentch activity from decorated towns (along with the Grentches and Young Children).
- Wintersday 2010 introduced new costumes, changed rewards for most quests, added the Fighting in a Winter Wonderland and Operation: Crush Spirits quests, and coincided with the addition of the conclusion to Hearts of the North. The jingle pets are now unlocked by completing Snowball Dominance from Casey Carpenter.
- Wintersday 2009 introduced costumes and the White Jingle Moa (unlocked by completing certain quests for Lieutenant Thackeray). Wintersday 2009 Redux was added afterward to allow people more time to get a festival hat and the event introduced the Wintersday Hat Giver.
- Wintersday 2008 expanded Wintersday to include the Eye of the North, with its quests and introduced the Jingle Bear (unlocked by completing certain quests for Lieutenant Thackeray).
- Wintersday 2007 added two quests to the Rift Warden quest giver in both Lion's Arch and Kamadan, as well as the Miniature Polar Bear.
- Wintersday 2006 added Kamadan, Jewel of Istan to the towns that celebrated, including its quests and finale; Tomb of the Primeval Kings stops celebrating Wintersday.
- Wintersday 2005 introduced Wintersday which was celebrated in Ascalon City, Lion's Arch, Droknar's Forge, and the Tomb of the Primeval Kings, with the finale in Lion's Arch.
External links[edit]
References[edit]
| Special events | |
|---|---|
| Canthan New Year | 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 onward |
| April Fools' Day | 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 onward |
| Anniversary Celebration | 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th-14th • 15th onward |
| Dragon Festival | 2006 • 2007 (Redux) • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 onward |
| Wintersday in July | 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 onward |
| Halloween | 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 (Redux) • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 onward |
| Wintersday | 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 (Redux) • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 onward |
| Other annual events | Breast Cancer Awareness Month • Lucky Treats Week • Pirate Week Special Treats Week • Sweet Treats Week • Wayfarer's Reverie |
| One-time only events | Day of the Tengu • Farewell to Gaile |
