Winter Veil is the World of Warcraft counterpart of Christmas. It spans two weeks and a half at the end of December.

The event is rich in festivities that culminate with the opening of the presents, on the 25th of December, under the Christmas Trees in Ironforge and Orgrimmar. Participation is open to everyone, but many parts require level 85 to complete.

The event itself takes place in Ironforge or Orgrimmar, but also in Alterac Mountains and all capital cities (Alliance and Horde alike). Many rewards can be earned: pets, achievements, and many vanity items.

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to complete the event.

In 2012, the only change from 2011 is that you will get a different present on the 25th of December, which we will not mention, so as not to spoil your surprise.

1. Overview↑top

The festivities that Winter Veil proposes revolve mostly around the following:

• a daily group quest that consists in killing The Abominable Greench in order to recover stolen goods and free Metzen the Reindeer, and that has a chance to reward you with a pet;
• kissing revelers (NPCs found in inns) every hour in order to obtain items required for doing achievements;
• opening presents on the 25th of December;
• doing achievements not related to any of the 3 aforementioned activities.

1.1. Date and Timeline

The event lasts two weeks and a half. It starts on the 15th of December at 6:00AM and ends on the 2nd of January at 6:00AM.

Most of the achievements can be completed in a single day, but some can only be completed after opening the presents at the base of the Christmas Tree on the 25th of December.

Lump of Coal is the only interesting reward that can take several days to obtain. Indeed, it is obtained from the daily quest but is not a guaranteed drop.

1.2. Location

The main location of the event is in Ironforge and Orgrimmar, next to the bank. This is where you will find the Christmas Trees and most of the relevant NPCs (Great-Father Winter and the Smokywood Pastures vendors), although this is not where you will spend most of your time (as the event requires you to travel quite a bit).

Ironforge	Orgrimmar

To complete the event, you will need to travel to many different locations, such as Alterac Mountains (where you will probably spend most of your time since the daily quest takes place there), your capital cities, the enemy capital cities, etc.

1.3. Eligibility

To obtain all the achievements and have a chance to get all the interesting rewards, you will need to be level 85. That said, about half the achievements have no level requirements and can be obtained at low level. For opening all the Christmas presents, level 40 is required. At lower levels, some presents will not be available.

2. Rewards↑top

As with other events, Winter Veil offers a variety of rewards. In the case of Winter Veil, most rewards have a chance to drop and have therefore no guarantee to be obtained by the end of the event.

2.1. Vanity Items

Mechanical Greench summons a mechanical pet that will help you in battle for 10 minutes. Preserved Holly makes your mount more festive. Both items have a chance to be obtained when opening the presents after the 25th of December.

Wand of Holiday Cheer enables you to target an area and causes all players in this area to do the /lol emote. This item, which only works on players of your faction, has a 100% chance to be contained in one of the presents that appear after the 25th of December.

2.2. Patterns & Recipes

The following patterns can be bought from NPCs during the event and are needed for the 'Tis the Season achievement:

• Pattern: Red Winter Clothes is sold by Wulmort Jinglepocket in Ironforge;
• Pattern: Green Winter Clothes is sold by Penney Copperpinch in Orgrimmar;
• Pattern: Winter Boots is sold by Wulmort Jinglepocket in Ironforge and Penney Copperpinch in Orgrimmar.

Note that Pattern: Red Winter Clothes (Alliance) or Pattern: Green Winter Clothes (Horde) will be mailed to you at the beginning of the Holiday, if you are a Tailor. The same applies for Leatherworkers and Pattern: Winter Boots.

The following patterns have a chance to be obtained after completing the daily quest for the first time and have a chance to be contained in one of the presents that will appear in-game on the 25th of December:

• Formula: Enchant Weapon - Winter's Might
• Pattern: Gloves of the Greatfather
• Pattern: Green Holiday Shirt
• Plans: Edge of Winter
• Recipe: Elixir of Frost Power
• Schematic: Snowmaster 9000

The following recipes can be bought from Smokywood Pastures vendors during the event:

• Recipe: Egg Nog
• Recipe: Gingerbread Cookie
• Recipe: Hot Apple Cider (this should be mailed to you at the beginning of the event)

2.3. Pets

None of the pets is guaranteed to be obtained during the event. 4 of the 5 Winter Veil pets have a chance to be looted from the presents on the 25th of December:

• Green Helper Box
• Jingling Bell
• Red Helper Box
• Snowman Kit

Finally, every time you do the daily quest, you get a chance to loot the Lump of Coal pet.

2.4. Gear

Miniature Winter Veil Tree is the only gear reward of the event. This 1.8 One-Hand Dagger for Rogues has a chance to be obtained every time you complete the daily quest.

2.5. Achievements

The meta-achievement of the event is Merrymaker. It counts towards What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been and rewards the Merrymaker title.

The achievements related to Winter Veil are:

• A-Caroling We Will Go (Alliance/Horde)
• A Frosty Shake
• BB King (Alliance/Horde)
• Bros. Before Ho Ho Ho's (Alliance/Horde)
• Crashin' & Thrashin'
• Fa-la-la-la-Ogri'la
• He Knows If You've Been Naughty
• Let It Snow
• On Metzen!
• Scrooge (Alliance/Horde)
• Simply Abominable
• The Winter Veil Gourmet
• 'Tis the Season
• With a Little Helper from My Friends

3. Introductory Quests↑top

For Alliance players, the initial quest for the event is Greatfather Winter is Here!. This quest is given by Wulmort Jinglepocket in Ironforge (next to the bank) and is turned in to Greatfather Winter who is sitting next to the quest giver. You can also get this quest from Smokywood Pastures in every major city.

For Horde players, the initial quest for the event is Great-father Winter is Here!. This quest is given by Kaymard Copperpinch in Ironforge (next to the bank) and is turned in to Great-father Winter who is sitting next to the quest giver.

The follow-up quest is Treats for Greatfather Winter for Alliance players or Treats for Great-father Winter for Horde players. Note that this is not technically a follow-up quest as you do not need to have completed the first quest to obtain it, but it makes sense to do Greatfather Winter is Here! or Great-father Winter is Here! first. You will need to bring 5 Gingerbread Cookies and 1 glass of Ice Cold Milk to Greatfather Winter (Alliance) or Great-father Winter (Horde).

Ice Cold Milk is sold by virtually every innkeepers and general goods vendors in the game. For the cookies, you need to buy Recipe: Gingerbread Cookie from the nearby Smokywood Pastures vendor. To make the cookies, you will need:

• 5x Small Egg: these items will probably go for a very high price on the Auction House during Winter Veil, so you might want to farm them in Tanaris or Eversong Woods.
• 5x Holiday Spices: these can be bought from the nearby Smokywood Pastures vendor.

Completing this follow-up quest will reward you with Smokywood Pastures Gift Pack, which has always contained low level crafting materials. A few hours later, you will be mailed a Smokywood Pastures Sampler, which contains holiday food and Graccu's Mince Meat Fruitcakes (that you need for the 'Tis the Season achievement).

3.1. More Lore Information

Next to the event location, you can take the The Reason for the Season (Alliance / Horde) quest given by Goli Krumn in Ironforge and Furmund in Orgrimmar. Completing the quest will give you The Feast of Winter Veil, a book that contains valuable lore information about the event. You also get a follow-up quest, The Feast of Winter Veil (Alliance / Horde), which requires you to bring the book to Muradin Bronzebeard in Ironforge or Baine Bloodhoof in Thunder Buff.

3.2. Achievement — 'Tis the Season

Once you have obtained Graccu's Mince Meat Fruitcakes, you still need to procure a complete Winter Garb set before you can earn the 'Tis the Season achievement:

• Head
  • Red Winter Hat, which drops from
    • Jedoga Shadowseeker in Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom
    • Grand Magus Telestra in The Nexus
    • Corla, Herald of Twilight in Blackrock Caverns
    • High Priestess Azil in The Stonecore
    • Admiral Ripsnarl in The Deadmines
  • Green Winter Hat, which drops from
    • Mage-Lord Urom in The Oculus
    • Drahga Shadowburner in Grim Batol
    • Lord Godfrey in Shadowfang Keep
• Chest
  • Red Winter Clothes
    • created by Pattern: Red Winter Clothes, which is sold by Wulmort Jinglepocket in Ironforge
  • Green Winter Clothes
    • created by Pattern: Green Winter Clothes, which is sold by Penney Copperpinch in Orgrimmar
• Feet
  • Winter Boots
    • created by Pattern: Winter Boots, which is sold by Wulmort Jinglepocket in Ironforge and Penney Copperpinch in Orgrimmar

Note that the Smokywood Pastures vendors are never hostile even when located in an enemy city. Therefore, Alliance players can obtain Pattern: Green Winter Clothes and Horde players can obtain Pattern: Red Winter Clothes, provided that they manage to survive long enough to buy the item.

Once you have a complete set, equip it and eat a Graccu's Mince Meat Fruitcake. This will grant you the achievement.

4. Kissing Winter Revelers↑top

During the event, you will find Winter Revelers inside inns. Every time you /kiss one of these NPCs, two things happen:

• you get debuffed with Mistletoe, which prevents you from kissing another Reveler for one hour;
• you obtain 1 of 3 rewards that are needed to complete some of the achievements:
  • Fresh Holly;
  • Handful of Snowflakes;
  • Mistletoe.

4.1. Achievements

In this section, we detail the 3 achievements linked to kissing Revelers: Fa-la-la-la-Ogri'la, Let It Snow, and Bros. Before Ho Ho Ho's (Alliance/Horde).

4.1.1. Fa-la-la-la-Ogri'la

Fa-la-la-la-Ogri'la requires you to use Fresh Holly or Preserved Holly while on the Bomb Them Again! daily quest in Blade's Edge Mountains. Upon completing the quest, you will be granted the achievement.

Note that, in addition to having the chance to be contained in one of the presents on the 25th of December, Preserved Holly can also be obtained by completing the The Hero of the Day (Alliance / Horde) quest during Winter Veil (at the event location in Ironforge or Orgrimmar). This will require you to turn in a Deeprock Salt.

If you are not yet eligible for Bomb Them Again!, you need to do the following quest line in Blade's Edge Mountains:

• The Crystals;
• Our Boy Wants To Be A Skyguard Ranger;
• The Skyguard Outpost;
• Bombing Run.

4.1.2. Let It Snow

To complete the achievement, you will need 10 Handful of Snowflakes (in total) and use them on the following combinations of races and classes:

4.1.3. Bros. Before Ho Ho Ho's

To complete Bros. Before Ho Ho Ho's (Alliance/Horde), Alliance players will need to obtain 8 pieces of Mistletoe while Horde players will only need 3. Then, players need to visit NPCs and use the Mistletoe on them.

• Alliance NPCs
  • Brother Nimetz: Rebel Camp in Stranglethorn Vale
  • Brother Karman: Theramore, just outside the keep, next to the training dummies
    • If you have completed the Theramore scenario, then you will need to speak to Zidormi at the western end of the west bridge of Theramore. She will transport you to Past Theramore where you will be able to interact with Karman.
  • Brother Joshua: Stormwind City, inside the Cathedral, next to the altar
  • Brother Benjamin: Stormwind City, inside the Cathedral, walking on the right side as you enter
  • Brother Cassius: Stormwind City, inside the Cathedral, in the first alcove on the right
  • Brother Crowley: Stormwind City, inside the Cathedral, down the stairs on the right
  • Brother Kristoff: Stormwind City, just outside the Cathedral, next to the fountain
  • Brother Wilhelm: Goldshire, outside the forge
• Horde NPCs
  • Brother Malach: Undercity, at the War Quarter
  • Brother Keltan: Icecrown, aboard the Horde airship
  • Durkot Wolfbrother: Borean Tundra, south-west corridor out of Warsong Hold

5. Daily Quest: The Abominable Greench and Metzen the Reindeer↑top

You're a Mean One... (Alliance / Horde) is the only daily quest of the event. It is given to you by Wulmort Jinglepocket in Ironforge and Kaymard Copperpinch in Orgrimmar.

This quest is a group quest, in the same model as the Threat From Above (Alliance / Horde) daily group quest from the Argent Tournament, where groups had to fight to be the first to tag Chillmaw as soon as it respawned. Here, the mob to kill is The Abominable Greench who is located at the Growless Cave in the Alterac Mountains (south of the Ruins of Alterac).

The Abominable Greench has 3.4M health and has only one attack of concern that he uses regularly to jump on a player, damaging all the players in the area and throwing them in the air. It is advised to have a group consisting of at least 1 tank, 1 healer, and 1 dps.

After killing the Greench, someone in your party should talk to Metzen to free him. Stolen goods are to be recovered by clicking the sacks in front of the cave. Then, you can go back to Ironforge or Orgrimmar to turn in the quest to Wulmort Jinglepocket or Kaymard Copperpinch. You will be rewarded with a Stolen Present, which has a chance to contain the Lump of Coal pet.

The first time that you will complete You're a Mean One... (Alliance / Horde), you will be given a follow-up quest, A Smokywood Pastures' Thank You! (Alliance / Horde). Upon turning in this quest to Greatfather Winter (Alliance) or Great-father Winter (Horde), you will be rewarded with a Smokywood Pastures Special Gift, which has a chance to contain the following patterns:

• Formula: Enchant Weapon - Winter's Might
• Pattern: Gloves of the Greatfather
• Pattern: Green Holiday Shirt
• Plans: Edge of Winter
• Recipe: Elixir of Frost Power
• Schematic: Snowmaster 9000

In addition, approximately one day after completing the quest, you will receive a Winter Veil Disguise Kit in the mail. This item is required for the A Frosty Shake achievement.

5.1. Achievements

5.1.1. On Metzen!

This achievement will be automatically completed the first time you do You're a Mean One... (Alliance / Horde).

5.1.2. Simply Abominable

This achievement will be automatically completed when you hand in Greatfather Winter (Alliance) or Great-father Winter (Horde).

5.1.3. A Frosty Shake

After receiving your Winter Veil Disguise Kit in the mail, you will be able to complete the A Frosty Shake achievement. To do so, travel to Dalaran with a friend who also has the disguise. There, the both of you will need to use your disguises and then dance with each other, by typing /dance while targeting the other. If you must go alone, then you will probably find someone with a disguise to dance with.

Every time you want to use your Winter Veil Disguise Kit, you need a Snowball, which you can acquire from the following sources:

• from a Smokywood Pastures General Goods vendor;
• from a snow mound in Alterac Mountains, Dun Morogh, or Winterspring;
• by using your Snowmaster 9000, if you are an engineer.

Note that if for some reason, you cannot remove the disguise, you should use the following command:

• /cancelaura snowman

6. Gifts on the 25th of December↑top

On the 25th of December, 6 presents will appear at the base of the Christmas Trees in Ironforge and Orgrimmar. Each of these presents has a specific name and starts an instant quest that rewards you with items specific to the present:

Present	Items Rewarded
Festive Gift	Wand of Holiday Cheer
Gently Shaken Gift	Holiday Food
Carefully Wrapped Present	Holiday Food
Ticking Present	Preserved Holly, Mechanical Greench, Formula: Enchant Weapon - Winter's Might, Pattern: Gloves of the Greatfather, Pattern: Green Holiday Shirt, Plans: Edge of Winter, Recipe: Elixir of Frost Power, or Schematic: Snowmaster 9000
Gaily Wrapped Present	Green Helper Box, Jingling Bell, Red Helper Box, and Snowman Kit (looting more than one pet is possible)
Winter Veil Gift	Gaudy Winter Veil Sweater (2011 special present)

The presents remain under the tree until the 2nd of January.

6.1. Achievements

There are two achievements related to this 25th of December event.

6.1.1. He Knows If You've Been Naughty

Opening all the presents will automatically grant you the He Knows If You've Been Naughty achievement.

6.1.2. A-Caroling We Will Go

After obtaining your Gaudy Winter Veil Sweater, you should use it in each of the 4 enemy capital cities to earn the A-Caroling We Will Go (Alliance/Horde) achievement.

A good idea is to do this achievement at the same time as BB King (Alliance/Horde), as it will also require you to travel to enemy capital cities.

Note that if you want to get rid of the Gaudy Winter Veil Sweater, you can have it refunded for 5 by completing the Thanks, But No Thanks (Alliance / Horde) quest.

7. Remaining Achievements↑top

There are 5 achievements that are not connected to any other part of Winter Veil: BB King (Alliance/Horde), Crashin' & Thrashin', Scrooge (Alliance/Horde), The Winter Veil Gourmet, and With a Little Helper from My Friends. We will detail them below.

7.1. BB King

First, the BB King (Alliance/Horde) achievement requires you to obtain a Red Rider Air Rifle. This item is sold by Craggle Wobbletop in Stormwind City, Blax Bottlerocket in Orgrimmar, and Clockwork Assistant and Jepetto Joybuzz in Dalaran.

Second, you need to use the rifle on each of the 4 leaders of the ennemy faction. Typically, there will be a lot of groups advertising in trade for this achievement and you should try to join one of them. You might also earn the For The Alliance! or For The Horde! achievement as a result.

Note that if you are ready to do a lot of corpse running, it is possible to earn the achievement with a level 1 character.

A good idea is to postpone doing this achievement until after the 25th of December, so that you can do it at the same time as A-Caroling We Will Go (Alliance/Horde).

7.2. Crashin' & Thrashin'

First, the Crashin' & Thrashin' achievement requires you to obtain a Blue Crashin' Thrashin' Racer Controller. This item is sold by Craggle Wobbletop in Stormwind City, Blax Bottlerocket in Orgrimmar, and Clockwork Assistant and Jepetto Joybuzz in Dalaran.

Second, you need to find a spot where other players are using their racers. This will typically be the area around the Christmas Tree in Ironforge or Orgrimmar. You can also earn the achievement with the help of a friend.

Third, use your Blue Crashin' Thrashin' Racer Controller. This will enable you to pilot your racer. It has only one ability, Racer Rocket Slam, which you need to use in order to crash into other players' racers. After 25 crashes, you will earn the achievement.

7.3. Scrooge

For completing the Scrooge (Alliance/Horde) achievement, you need to throw a Snowball at Muradin Bronzebeard (in the throne room in Ironforge) if you play Alliance, or at Baine Bloodhoof (in Thunder Bluff) if you play Horde.

You can acquire a Snowball from the following sources:

• from a Smokywood Pastures vendor;
• from a snow mound in Alterac Mountains, Dun Morogh, or Winterspring;
• by using your Snowmaster 9000, if you are an engineer.

7.4. The Winter Veil Gourmet

To complete the The Winter Veil Gourmet achievement, you need to buy recipes from Smokywood Pastures vendors, and cook them:

• Recipe: Egg Nog
  • 1x Small Egg
  • 1x Ice Cold Milk (bought from Innkeepers and General Goods vendors)
  • 1x Holiday Spirits (bought from Smokywood Pastures vendors)
  • 1x Holiday Spices (bought from Smokywood Pastures vendors)
• Recipe: Gingerbread Cookie
  • 1x Small Egg
  • 1x Holiday Spices (bought from Smokywood Pastures vendors)
• Recipe: Hot Apple Cider
  • 1x Sparkling Apple Cider (bought from Smokywood Pastures vendors)
  • 1x Holiday Spirits (bought from Smokywood Pastures vendors)
  • 1x Holiday Spices (bought from Smokywood Pastures vendors)

Note that if you have completed the introductory quests, they you will have already cooked Gingerbread Cookies.

7.5. With a Little Helper from My Friends

To complete the With a Little Helper from My Friends achievement, you need to find a Winter Wondervolt machine in one of your capital cities. They are usually located next to the Flight Master.

These machines give the PX-238 Winter Wondervolt buff, which transforms you into a gnome. Alliance players get a red outfit while Horde players get a green outfit. If you play a female character, you will get a female model, and if you play male character, you will get a male model. For each faction, there are 3 female models and 4 male models. If you prefer one of them, you should use the machine several times, until it gives you your favorite model:

Once you have the buff, you need to kill 50 players from the opposite faction. Note that if you die, you will lose the buff and will have to go back to the machine to refresh it. The buff is also removed when shape-shifting, which is bad news for Druids. Losing the buff does not reset your kill count.

A good place to gather these kills is the Isle of Conquest. Simply queue for this Battleground and stick with your group.

8. Conclusion↑top

If you have read us this far, we would like to thank you for the time you spent on the site and we hope that the guide brought you all the information you needed. You can rest assured that the information presented here will be updated to reflect any change that the event might undergo in the future.

As always, we would be pleased to read any feedback that you have (typos, suggestions, praise, etc.) by e-mail or in a comment in the forums.