MHWiki:Current events/Archive/2014/December

Archive for updates taken place in December 2014 in Reverse Chronological Order.
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Great Winter Iceball Brawl!

9 December 2014

The Festive Comet has crashed down again, coating the land around it in a thick layer of frosty ice. An army of icy mice have taken advantage of the circumstances and are creating a Crystal Citadel to oppose the hunters of Gnawnia. You'll need to steal their supplies and build an Ice Fortress to challenge them!

Each week for the next three weeks, a new icy leader will set up shop in the enemy Citadel and begin work on a massive, impenetrable tower. You'll need to build your defenses first, then challenge each leader directly. If you fall behind, you'll have to work to catch up -- but if you defeat them before the week is out, you'll have an opportunity to catch a very special mouse and earn some bonus loot to prepare for the next leader's arrival!

Accumulate Arctic Asiago!

Priority number one is going to be amassing an amazing amount of Arctic Asiago -- the number-one preferred cheese of the invading icy mice. Arctic Asiago is fermented in the frigid air of the arctic, then frozen under a natural river of pure spring water and kept fresh and cool under a hardened protective layer of ice. If you want to get anything accomplished at all, arm Arctic Asiago!

You can collect Arctic Asiago by hunting at the Festive Ice Fortress with any cheese (good), previous years' festive cheeses (better), or SUPER|brie+ (BEST). Also make sure to check your friends' profiles, your daily Advent Calendar, and your Daily Loyalty rewards to grab extra cheese and more!

If you just can't get enough of that amazing Arctic Asiago, the King has authorized the sale of a bundle of festive baskets, chock full of helpful goodies!

Build an Imposing Ice Fortress

If you look off into the distance, you can see the results of the mousey construction effort -- a massive (for mice) Crystal Citadel! If you want a fair fight against them, you'll need to build an Ice Fortress of your own! To find some useful construction materials, equip Arctic Asiago and start catching mice! They'll drop Ice Bricks, which you can use to build your fortress and acquire special bonuses and powers!

Specifically, though, look out for the Frigid Foreman, who is carrying the all-important Tower Slabs. There are a limited number of these shipped in each week, and once you've collected them all, you'll be able to build a new level of your Ice Tower, and begin a snowball fight against that week's leader! Again, remember to equip Arctic Asiago -- the Frigid Foreman's favourite!

Catching Glacia Ice Fist and the Stuck Snowball Mouse

This week's leader is the abominable Glacia Ice Fist. Her immense strength and acclimation to the frigid cold makes her a great asset to the cause and an incredible rival. You'll need to defeat her quickly, that way you don't need to catch up when next week's leader arrives!

If you do manage to defeat her quickly enough, you'll earn an opportunity to catch the rare Stuck Snowball Mouse! This mouse will only occasionally visit your trap, but if you've managed to defeat this week's leader before the next week's leader arrives, you'll enter into a quick, repeating snowball fight against the Stuck Snowball Mouse directly. Catch him as many times as you can!

And why would you want to catch this mouse so many times? Well take a look -- he's zipping along, stuck inside that snowball, tumbling everywhere, getting bigger and snatching up more loot as he rolls. The more times you catch him, the bigger he is, and the more and better loot you get! Not to mention, every tenth catch will include a valuable Advent Chocolate!

Upgrading your Ice Fortress

Step one for any fortress is building the foundation, sure, but that's only getting started! Keep hunting with Arctic Asiago and collecting Ice Bricks. Once you have enough, you'll be able to build an Ice Cannon that increases your trap's power, an Ice Armoury that helps you out in tournaments, Winter Walls to help you snag some extra loot, and a Festive Tavern to boost your social rewards!

Snowball Showdown

Want more loot? Every day, you'll get five Throwable Snowballs, and certain mice will drop some too. Check the upper-left of your HUD for a button labelled "Throw 'em!" which will open the Snowball Showdown. Toss your Throwable Snowballs at the board and try to uncover the differently-shaped festive items. Revealing a whole item will award you a gift, and clearing ALL the items will earn you SUPER|brie+! See how many times you can clear the board!

Grab some free Throwable Snowballs!

Chilly Ice Coins and Tasty Advent Chocolate!

Keep an eye out for Ice Coins and Advent Chocolates while hunting! Certain mice will drop these as loot, with mice attracted to SUPER|brie+ and Arctic Asiago dropping the most. Make sure to visit the various Festive Shoppes at the Festive Ice Fortress and browse all the various charms, supply packs, and other hunting equipment!

Hothouse Base and Festive Gauntlet Crusher

While you're browsing the shoppes, check out these two items!

The Hothouse Base is a reasonably powerful base with a crazy powerful bonus -- it doubles all Petal drops from the Living Garden, Lost City, Sand Dunes, and their twisted counterparts! You'll have to catch the final icy leader first -- the terrifying Borean Commander, who will arrive on week three.

Next up, the Festive Gauntlet Crusher -- a festive relative to the Ancient Gauntlet. Aside from adding a bright and cheerful menace to your trap, any Tier 2 King's Gauntlet mice will drop double Tier 3 Gauntlet Potions when caught! But first, you'll need to completely build your Ice Fortress, so get hunting down those Ice Bricks!

Visit Friends' Winter Hunt Profiles

Once a day you can visit the profiles of up to ten of your friends to claim some Festive Feta to help you at the Festive Ice Fortress! Additionally, if your friend has upgraded their Festive Tavern, you'll also be able to claim Snowball Bocconcini from them! While you're there, thank them for helping you out by leaving a gift under their tree which they'll be able to open after the King's Grand Gift Opening Ceremony has begun in a couple of weeks.

Finally, before friends can visit your profile, you'll need to remove the ice which has encased your dinner table! If a friend has not done the same, you can remind them by "chipping the ice" on their profile. If a friend has been away for an extended period of time, you may even find an Ice Coin when chipping away their ice! Chipping the ice will only let your friend know that you were there; they still need to clear away the ice on their own!

Similarly, you can leave gifts for members of your hunting team in stockings hanging on your Team Profile page.

Valuable Mice Are On The Loose!

While hunting, make sure to equip any Winter Charms you come across. In addition to adding 4 Luck to your trap, they'll give you a chance to encounter the Snowflake Mouse, who can drop Arctic Asiago, Ice Bricks, or even Ice Coins!

Looking for even more of a boost? Check out the Charm Shoppe and you'll find the Winter Hoarder Charm, which you can buy for 1 Winter Charm and 1 Magic Essence (obtained by smashing SUPER|brie+). This fancy charm will add 5 Luck to your trap, give you an equal chance to catch a Snowflake Mouse, AND add a chance of catching the Hoarder Mouse, who drops a lot of Arctic Asiago when caught!

Monday Snow Days and Thursday Elf Madness!

For the most loot, make sure to be hunting on Monday with SUPER|brie+ or Arctic Asiago! Some mice will have an extra chance of dropping either an Ice Coin or a Winter Charm, and those cheeses will give you the best chance of catching them. Furthermore, if you're using a Winter Charm or Winter Hoarder Charm, you'll have a better chance of encountering a Snowflake or Hoarder mouse on Mondays!

And don't forget to hunt on Thursdays, where there's a much better chance of encountering the present-dropping Elf Mouse. Make sure to arm SUPER|brie+ or Arctic Asiago for the best chance of encountering him too!

Festive Tournaments Start Tomorrow!

Looking for some competition? Festive Tournaments will start tomorrow, and we're going to kick things off with a MEGA Tournament -- the Hoarder Hunting Tournament! Get the most points by tracking down the Hoarder Mouse, and get just absolute gobs of loot for winning or placing!

Naughty and Nice Lists

The icy invasion's leader mice are keeping a secret -- the secret of who is naughty and who is nice! When you catch them, they may drop either a Sealed Naughty or Nice List containing the names of a few mice. Check each mouse on the list to earn you and any friends you invite a special festive treasure chest reward! These rewards can be increased using Rare Map Dust, and even further increased by upgrading your Ice Fortress' Festive Tavern! What will you find in each reward chest?

New Festive Trap Skins

Old favourite trap skins return, along with some fantastic new ones! Some cost Ice Coins, while others require a handful of Advent Chocolates. If you find yourself a little short after raiding your Advent Calendar for chocolates, keep hunting! You may come across a rare chocolate or two while hunting at the Festive Ice Fortress. The King has also put together a Festive Skin Pack #1 containing all the old favourites, and a Festive Skin Pack #2, containing all the new ones!

A Great Type of Gift: The Passing Parcel

The Passing Parcel makes its glorious return! Accessible via the Free Gifts page, these gifts from the King have been wrapped with an undisclosed number of layers. After unwrapping a layer, should the final gift not be discovered, the parcel must be passed onto another friend from the Send Supplies page!

Keep passing along and unwrapping layers until the final gift is discovered!

Iceball Brawl Journal Theme

Wish you could celebrate the cheer of a good winter brawl all year round? Make sure to craft this theme while you can! In order to collect all the scraps to craft it, you'll need to do the following things:

• Defeat the final icy leader -- the terrifying Borean Commander.
• Completely build your Ice Fortress.
• Visit the General Store and spend 75 Ice Coins on the Third Scrap.

When you've crafted your theme, visit your profile to equip it!

Festive Kits and Bundles

In order to beat back the icy mice, the King has authorized the sale of a wide variety of kits and bundles containing cheese, charms, and Ice Fortress construction equipment. Pick some up now to help you with the fight!

The Great Winter Hunt has returned!!

• Travel to the Festive Ice Fortress
• Collect Arctic Asiago
• Hunt for Ice Bricks and Tower Slabs
• Build your Ice Tower with Tower Slabs
• Finish a Snow Fight against Glacia Ice Fist
• Catch as many Stuck Snowball mice as you can!
• Play the Snowball Showdown every day!
• Keep upgrading your Ice Fortress for cool bonuses!

Click here to travel to the Festive Ice Fortress | Click here to see the new supplies

-- Dan Hulton

The Winter Hunt Advent Calendar has returned!

14 October 2014

Each day in December hunters can open a new door to find a tasty treat! When the Great Winter hunt begins, there will be a variety of items available for purchase using chocolates. The advent calendar can be viewed by clicking the "Advent Calendar" link at the top of the game, or, if you have yet to claim today's chocolate, a banner will appear above your journal.

-- Michele