Blizzard is Bringing the Christmas Cheer
It’s the most wonderful time of the year and Blizzard is living up to their name and spreading their holiday cheer with special events in Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm, World of Warcraft and Hearthstone. Whether you’re a new or seasoned player, there are some goodies waiting for you that are sure to please everyone!
Overwatch’s Winter Wonderland
First up is the Winter Wonderland event in Overwatch, running from 13 December 2017 to 2 January 2018 AEDT/NZDT which brings you seasonal cosmetic items and new game modes to try solo or with your friends.
A new arcade mode brawl in Overwatch is ‘Yeti Hunt’ in a 5v1 match of 5 Mei ‘Hunters’ against 1 ‘Yeti’ Winston in the re-skinned Nepal Village map. The objective of the game is for the Yeti to kill the Hunters five times to win and the Hunters must work together to kill the Yeti once to claim their victory. It’s the perfect snow-covered setting for a Yeti battle!
If Mei’s Snowball Offensive from last year was more your cup of tea, fear not, Blizzard have brought this arcade brawl mode for the holiday period for an encore.
Winter Wonderland is also not without a collection of new goodies to unlock through winter loot boxes or through purchase of in-game credits. There are over 150 items to collect, including new skins for heroes like Roadhog, Ana, Junkrat and Bastion.
To make it easier for you to get your hands on your favourite Winter Wonderland cosmetic items, previous year’s goodies have had their cost reduced. Legendary skins from 2016 line-up are now only 1000 credits and Epic, Rare and Common item prices have been reduced to 250, 75 and 25 credits respectively. This year’s 2017 Winter Wonderland offering of Legendary skins are 3000 credits and Epic, Rare and Common skins are 750, 225 and 75 credits respectively.
You also receive one free Winter Wonderland loot box to open to celebrate the beginning of the festive season!
Heroes of the Storm Winter Veil
The next holiday event is the Winter Veil, which runs from 13 December 2017 to 9 January 2018 AEDT/NZDT which brings to the Nexus a special quest chain and special rewards for playing games during the event period. You could score yourself some neat items from a Winter Veil 2017 spray after playing 2 games all the way to a Winter Veil 2017 mount for playing 25 games.
New skins have been added to collect, including Greatfather Winter Malfurion, Winter’s Helper Valla and Season’s Reapings Malthael and a new Gingerbread mount that is sure to make you and your friends hungry for Winter Veil.
A new Foundation Bundle will also be available from 13 December which includes 8 heroes – E.T.C., Leoric, Greymane, Kerrigan, Li-Ming, Uther, Lucio and Zagara – for only 2,000 gems.
Be sure to check out the Gifts section of your Blizzard launcher app to claim your free Rare Winter Veil Loot chest to celebrate them now being giftable through the Blizzard webshop. The free gift must be claimed before 1 August 2018.
World of Warcraft Feast of Winter Veil
Anyone who has played World of Warcraft knows how fun the Christmas holiday period in-game is and this year is no exception. From 17 December 2017 to 2 January 2018 AEDT/NZDT, head on over to the major cities of Azeroth to join in on the Winter Veil celebrations. Ironforge, Ogrimmar and Dalaran have giant snow globes waiting for you to check out, with holiday decore sprinkled festively across the world.
You’ll also want to keep your eyes peeled and be searching for the Abominable Greench in Hillsbrad Foothills or grab yourself a shiny new red or green Finely Tailored Holiday Hat in several Legion dungeons and raids, which includes the Seat of the Triumvirate and Antorus, the Burning Throne.
Hearthstone Winter’s Veil
Finally, we come to Hearthstone’s Winter Veil, beginning 18 December 2017 to 30 December 2017 AEDT/NZDT. Blizzard are helping you jump into the festive season with themed boards for Orgrimmar and Stormwind, along with some special emotes to spread some of that wonderful seasonal cheer to your opponents.
Not only that, you can also stop by the Tavern between 21 – 24 December to join in on a new brawl mode: Wacky Waxy Winter’s Veil. You can win up to three snowy Knights of the Frozen Throne card packs as you try your hand at this chilly brawl.
So get on out there and have fun this festive season. Remember to spread your holiday cheer and wish your opponents good luck and fun as you take them on in battle. When it’s all over maybe you can laugh it all off together over a cup of hot chocolate. Happy Holidays!
