Halloween in Azeroth
Well, it’s official. The one reason that I had often cited as being the only reason that Final Fantasy XI was better than World of Warcraft has been debunked. I logged on yesterday and, much to my excitement, Tarren Mill and Undercity were decorated with pumpkins and other interesting but festive elements.
The first actual game element that I noticed was a tub for apple bobbing located at the inns. The designers did a great job with this one, because the apples actually restore a percentage of your hit points rather than a set amount. Thus, it doesn’t matter what level you are, because the apples will be useful regardless. Heck, they even give a nice well-fed stat boost. The best thing of all, though, is that they’re free and you can have as many as you want. I just have to wonder if they’ll make them disappear after the holiday.
The second big thing actually caught me off guard a little. I was in Tarren Mill when a large, death knight-looking person came bounding through town yelling, “The Scourge is here!” Having not been on quite long enough to realize it was a costume, I was about ready to make a run for it. I haven’t yet figured out how to “Trick or Treat” like this, but I don’t imagine it’s very hard to do.
According to my wife, they’re also giving out trick or treat bags with goodies in them, and I’ve heard tell of temporary quests that will only be available until Halloween ends. Needless to say, I plan on getting on and partaking of the festivities. Hats off to the Blizzard crew for taking a game that’s already great and making it even better.