Solstice Activities

With Solstice starting, here’s a rundown of what is happening already!

Ironbeard

Ironbeard has started making the rounds, bearing gifts for the lucky recipients. All you have to do is be online as Ironbeard will find you regardless of where you may be – in a tree, in a submarine, or in a domoth. Once you have received a gift, he will only add you back to his list the next real day. Remember you can check how you are doing on presents with PRESENTS.

Gnomes

Keep an eye out for Jolly Bundy sending his fellow gnomes out with a few more presents into the Basin of Life every once in a while. When you find one, just influence them with Charity (AB INFLUENCE BEGGING for full details) to get a present. You won’t be able to track these gnomes so don’t let lack of their prints and such mislead you. Remember that you can only get a present this way once an in-game day (once an hour) – so if you find a Solstice gnome and you’ve already had a present, share it with your friends!

Gnomes will not be found swimming, snorkeling, or diving in the seas but could be found in sea-located or related areas (the Cay, Spectre Isle, etc.). You will also not find them on far away continents like Mount Dio or Icewynd, or hard to reach places like Lirangsha, but they have been exploring the Undervault. Keep an eye out for Gaaglin and the Academy too as they have found their way there. They will also stop by cities and communes, but don’t try to find them in the villages as Ironbeard has those covered.

If you are unsure whether it is worth looking for gnomes when there has not been an announcement about them arriving recently, we got you covered too. Check with either the gnome pilgrim at pilgrim camp or the gnome at the visitor’s playpen in Solstice Court (both of those will become available tomorrow). If you ask either if all the gnomes returned yet, they will let you know if there’s stragglers out there still!

Solstice Court

The baying of unruly huskies heralded the opening of the Solstice Court located upon the Jolly Drifts. Eager visitors can visit it by CATCHing snowflakes drifting upon the highways or taking one of the husky-pulled sleighs parked up and down the Stairs of the Last Nine, right outside the Aetherplex (ENTER SLEIGH). That scenic route offers room for a party of up to four and the leader decides how fast the sleigh will go. To return, simply PULL the rope within the manor or ENTER one of the sleighs at the sleighgrounds departure site for a quick return.

Once there, be sure to visit the bridge where several retired gnomes have taken up residence and peddle their wares. If you forgot to bundle up before leaving for such icy climes, you can purchase warm clothes on the bridge too. Be sure to swear the vow with Steward Tombin to receive your leaflet which will guide you through the Solstice quest and the various activities there (READ LEAFLET). The reward is a stocking that you can hang for yourself or others.

Be sure to check out the ever more challenging skating experience, meet the guests, send gifts and postcards, enjoy the ambience, the adorable penguins and huskies, and more. There is a special Solstice-themed Vengeance game to be played in the manor too.

If you wander over to the northern end you will find the glasshouses open this year and within everything you need to make a wreath. Wreathmaking consists of choosing the right hanger, greenery, and decorations, and the resulting wreaths will reflect your choices in all elements of their appearance, with the option to adjust things and bring some features to the front if you used many materials. Be sure to follow instructions on the signs, the bucket, and the wreath. Once done, you can display the wreath somewhere, even on the Astral Plane if that suits your fancy, and they will charm the locale wherever they are hung. The glasshouse also has a suggestion box for new materials and we’ll be sure to check in on it often!

Winter is Here

Frost Spite’s none too happy about winter being associated with joy so he has cursed the Basin of Life with a frosty spell. The weather has cooled everywhere and snow has fallen in all nations of the Basin of Life. Magnagora and Gaudiguch will notice their snow is more of the sooty variety thanks to the smokestacks and the neighbouring caldera respectively, but it will work all the same! PROBE the snow to see how to interact with it and be sure to make some much-requested snow angels.

We have a few more things we are working on in Solstice Court and elsewhere so stay tuned, you’ll see a changelog when something new is added.