While I can’t decide if Halloween is my favorite real-life holiday (it’s close, no matter what), I have no doubt that the spooky ooky season is the catalyst for some of my favorite MMORPG events. Developers go nuts around Halloween, with pretty much every game turning its world into a virtual haunted house while reveling in the ghastly, the ghoulish, and the grim.
I was heartbroken last year when WildStar was unwilling or unable to pull the trigger on its version of Halloween. We’ve waited an entire year for the game to get sorted out — including switching over to a new business model later this month — and now that we’ve swung back around on the calendar, it’s time to see Shade’s Eve at last.
Beta testers were treated to a few days of the event on the PTR, bringing back a flood of videos, reveals, and enthusiasm. So what are we in for when Shade’s Eve kicks off this October? Quite a lot, actually.
What is Shade’s Eve?
Shade’s Eve comes from an in-universe real event following the landing of the first settlers on the planet Cassus. The settlers were hit almost immediately with a deadly plague that began to decimate their population. Things looked quite dour for a while until a young girl was discovered to be immune to the disease. Her blood was made into a cure, and the settlers were able to survive and thrive on the planet.
The yearly holiday sprung up to celebrate this event, although as these things usually go, the facts of the matter took a back seat to embellishment and revelry. The plague became the sinister Jack Shade, a figure in a tall hat, while the girl became Angel. Customs and traditions grew out of the holiday and spread across the galaxy.
Of course, now that Shade’s Eve is being celebrated on the wild and woolly planet of Nexus… well, fiction has a weird way of becoming fact there, and Jack Shade is rumored to actually be around.
A metropolis makeover
Enough of the lore; let’s talk about what players will see and do when Shade’s Eve is turned on. The first thing most anyone will notice is that the two major cities will be decorated head-to-toe for the holiday. Blowing leaves, spooky pumpkins, swinging lights, a full moon, hooting birds, lots of new music, and all sorts of other expected seasonal decor will be in every nook and cranny.
On a recent livestream, the devs revealed that they had built the two cities with holidays in mind, inserting the same type of plugs that players use in housing across the towns. Normally, these plugs are unseen and unnoticed, but when a holiday comes around, the devs fill the plugs with decorations and change existing items to new ones. This allows for a top-down transformation, including the skybox, music, and lighting.
These cities will be appreciated since much of the holiday will involve traveling to them (if you weren’t there already). Every day there will be a rotating series of three quick quests that can be completed for the event currency, shade silver. It’s a good currency to acquire, especially if you want to buy decor from the holiday vendor to take up to your own house. Alternatively, there are other Shade’s Eve items for sale on the housing vendor for normal cash. The holiday vendor also has costume pieces (both the Jack Shade and Angel set), various consumables (want to make yourself puke? Here you go!), and a few vanity pets.
If that’s not enough, there are achievements (and a title) to be completed, and rumor has it that there’s also an occasional event in the cities involving a geist. Who you gonna call? Geistbusters!
Quiet Downs
The centerpiece of the holiday is a new expedition (formerly shiphands) called Quiet Downs. This instance is designed for groups, although it can be soloed with some difficulty, depending on level and gear.
In an interesting twist, players will start out separated from the rest of the group with only a flashlight to look around this dark place, a light to scare off whatever lurks in the shadows, and a signal flare to help you find your teammates. Once together, players will head into the town to fight bosses and complete various objectives. No matter what path is chosen, it will all come down to a battle with Jack Shade himself.
This all sounds like a blast, so much so that I’m not even that concerned about rewards, although I will gladly take some if offered. Quiet Downs will reward players with shade silver and a holiday chest filled with an assortment of goodies.
It should be noted that to participate in the quests or the expedition, you’ll need to be at least level 10. The expedition will artificially level characters up to 50 if they aren’t already, although it might be more difficult depending on underleveled players’ build and gear.
All in all, it’s not the most massive holiday event I’ve ever seen in an MMO, but it seems to hit a sweet spot of fun without being too time-intensive and dull. Personally, I’m going to want to get as many of the new housing decor items as possible before the event runs out, so here’s hoping that we’ll get at least two weeks if not more to enjoy it!
