Christmas on Renaissance - New Holiday Event

With the implementation of Patch 59 Renaissance is proud to announce our new holiday event system. This new system is a combination of everything we have learned in the last 2.5 years developing unique and inventive holiday events.

Update: The holiday leaderboard is now live and will display the top 50 players, by score, who have completed each event.
http://uorenaissance.com/hleaderboard

How the holiday events work

• Players must hunt the world high and low to find the various event monsters that spawn. In Dungeons, The Lost Lands and the far corners of Britannia.
• Each of these monsters ranges in difficulty from easy (elf archer) moderate (reindeer) to very difficulty (dark elf knight).
• Each monster has a chance to drop holiday coins and a specific event scroll (see below)
• These event scrolls work similar to the ancient MIB or taming quest events. Once used they will open a gate for 60 seconds allow you and your party to enter the event area.
• Once the gate closes you are on your own until you complete or fail the event.
• Each event will allow you 60 minutes to complete the challenge present within.
• These challenges will vary from performing a specific task, killing specific monsters, killing a certain amount of monsters, or killing a certain amount of several types of monsters.
• Once these tasks are complete you will be faced with one of 4 fearsome bosses that defend each event.
• If you manage to defeat the boss in the time allotted you will be given a key to their treasure chests.
• The player who owns the scroll that started the event will be provided with the key.
• In this chest players can find normal treasure style loot, holiday coins, holiday rares, and possibly a scroll to another holiday event.

How to Prepare to Tackle the Events

• These events were designed with the following difficulty in mind.
  
  
  1 Player - Near Impossible
  2 Players - Very Challenging
  3 Players - Moderate Challenge
  4 Players - Medium Challenge
  5+ Players - Easy
  ​
• A good sample grouping would be 3 friends. A Hybrid Mage, A Tamer, and a Fighter, One of which has bardic skills.
• It is HIGHLY recommended you take friends with you on your first attempt on any event to learn proper strategy, where to resurrect and aggro management.
• All of the creatures in these events will provide a variety of challenges.
• Make sure you have enough supplies to last the duration of the event. A variety vendor is provided in each event area for emergency supplies.
• You will not have access to a bank, stable master during the event.
• Should you leave the event area you will not be allowed to return.

The Ironman System

• Should you feel that your skills are greater than all your peers you are welcome to attempt the holiday ironman challenge for additional rewards and infamy.
• By using only 1 character to complete any instance in the 60 minute time window you will earn an ironman award depending on the amount of follower slots you used.
  
  Ironman Award, Awarded for using 2 or less followers. (6 Platinum Value)
  
  Ironman Award, Awarded for using 5 or less followers. (4 Platinum Value)
  
  Ironman Award, Awarded for using 8 or less followers. (2 Platinum Value)
  Note: The hue of the Ironman statue will match the event.
• Should you manage to complete all 4 holiday ironman challenges with a single character you will be awarded with the following statue in your choice of event color (hue 1194,1193,1151,1153)
  
• Note: To qualify for the ironman challenge you must defeat the events boss and loot the holiday coins from their chests.

Inevitable Failure / Practiced Success

• Should you fail to complete the event in the time allotted or due to overall difficulty/team makeup all is not lost.
• Simply take your completed scroll to the nearest holiday vendor found in most banks and drag the scroll onto him.
• He will reward you with some bonus holiday coins and a holiday gift bag.
  
• The player who completed the scroll does not have to be the one who turns it in.
• The good or naughty bags can contain 10 holiday coins and a few classic holiday items.

Santa's Lair Scroll

• This scroll can be found on the following monsters in the Overworld, Dungeons and Lost Lands as drops from the following creatures.
  
  Blitzen
  Comet
  Cupid
  Dancer
  Dasher
  Donner
  Prancer
  Rudolph
  Vixen
  Elf Archer
  Elf Axer
  Elf Fencer

Hidden Village Scroll

• This scroll can be found on the following monsters in the Overworld, Dungeons and Lost Lands as drops from the following creatures.
  
  Elf Battlemage
  Elf Knight
  Elf Ranger
  Elf Macer
  Elf Mage

Frozen Continent Scroll

• This scroll can be found on the following monsters in the Overworld, Dungeons and Lost Lands as drops from the following creatures.
  
  Yeti
  Dark Elf Battlemage
  Corrupt Soul
  Dark Elf Mage
  Ice Golem
  Snow Vortex
  Dark Elf Macer

Ice Fortress Scroll

• This scroll can be found on the following monsters in the Overworld, Dungeons and Lost Lands as drops from the following creatures.
  
  Dark Elf Knight
  Dark Elf Ranger
  Dark Elf Archer
  Dark Elf Axer
  Dark Elf Fencer
  

Santa's Lair Event

• During this event players are tasked with defeating the 9 reindeer minions and facing Santa in his dark lair.
• You can find the following monsters in this event.
  Bad Santa
  Santa's Battle Mount
  Blitzen
  Comet
  Cupid
  Dancer
  Dasher
  Donner
  Prancer
  Rudolph
  Vixen
  Elf Archer
  Elf Axer
  Elf Fencer
  Elf Macer
  Elf Mage

Hidden Village Event

• During this event the players are tasked with thwarting the Evil Grinch's plans to ruin the villages Christmas.
• You can find the following monsters in this event.
  Grinch
  Elf Battlemage
  Elf Knight
  Elf Ranger
  Elf Archer
  Elf Axer
  Elf Fencer
  Elf Macer
  Elf Mage
  Evil Polar Bear

Frozen Continent Event

• During this event you will need to fight you way to the entrance of the Ice Fortress and defeat its guardians the Dark Spirits.
• You can find the following monsters in this event.
  Dark Elf Spirit
  Dark Elf Battlemage
  Dark Elf Ranger
  Corrupt Soul
  Dark Elf Archer
  Dark Elf Axer
  Dark Elf Fencer
  Dark Elf Macer
  Dark Elf Mage
  Evil Polar Bear
  Ice Golem
  Snow Vortex

Ice Fortress Event

• During this event you will need to fight your way into the Ice Fortress and confront the Dark Elf Commander.
• You can find the following monsters in this event.
  Dark Elf Commander
  Dark Elf Battlemage
  Dark Elf Knight
  Dark Elf Ranger
  Yeti
  Dark Elf Archer
  Dark Elf Axer
  Dark Elf Fencer
  Dark Elf Macer
  Dark Elf Mage
  Evil Polar Bear
  Ice Golem
  Snow Vortex

Based on the reviews from our testers, who only experienced rough versions of these events, they should be a great deal of fun.

Without good planning, strategy, and teamwork it will be very easy to fail to complete the instances. And this is should you manage to track one of these guys down in the overworld, and collect their scroll drop. Players who brave the dungeons of the lands will have a bonus chance to find a scroll.

This is however the first version of this system, so some tweaking, bugfixing and balance is probably going to happen.

We are currently attempting to get everything up and running early. The last of the event configuration is being done today, and we hope to start the overworld spawn on the 15th. Once we are sure there are no more bugs (found 2 trivial ones already) we will open the holiday season of events. (Plan is the 20th, but It might open by the 14th.)