Hours of Frost

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As the days get colder, citizens of the Empire begin preparing for the celebrations and general survival of the long, cold months ahead. However, this winter is different… the temperature drops sheerly out of nowhere, hitting below zero in a matter of days. Everywhere but the hottest regions in the world is blanketed in a coat of snow. To make matters worse, treants angrily march out of the forests, attacking settlements and destroying the stockpiles of firewood! These are not the only angry monsters out there, however… mysterious presents have been spotted in the wild, bright and shiny in their holiday wrapping. Every time someone has run after these mysterious presents, they have not returned.

The weather is not getting warmer. If anything, it’s getting colder. An abnormal winter is out of the question; something worse is at hand here. Something is forcing these treants into action and unleashing these mysterious killer presents, but what?

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Hours of Frost was a world-altering live event run from December 20th, 2016 to February 21st, 2017. During the span of the event, the world of Istaria became progressively more buried in snow as time went on while mysterious present mimics spawned in tier-specific regions all over the globe.

Live Events

The loading screen that showed during the duration of the event.

There were multiple parts to the live section of the event, including:

• Present Mimic spawns across the world.
• Random attacks / raid events
• Progressively worsening winter effects

Mimics

There were five tiers of present mimics that spawned across the globe during the event in areas respective to their tier. The only spot where all five kinds of mimic spawned in at once was the Festival Crypt. All of the mimics had a very, very small chance (approximately 1% according to the developers) to drop a pet version of themselves that was unique to the Hours of Frost event.

Tier 1 - Blue Present Mimic

Blue Present Mimics spawned around the Lesser Aradoth in areas such as Kion, Sslanis, and Parsinia. They were also found scattered throughout Genevia and the resort islands like New Brommel.

Blue Present Mimics were around level 15 and were arguably the rarest of the mimic types due to the limited places in which they spawned and the quantity that they spawned in. Later on during the event, the developers took the time to spawn waves of these mimics in lower-level areas to make up for the lack of their natural spawn.

They were a sky blue with a white bow and were patterned with runic symbols.

Tier 2 - Green Present Mimic

Green Present Mimics spawned in tier two zones, so throughout the Dalimond Peninsula and Scorpion Island. They were also found on the Abandoned Island and other small pockets across the globe.

They were around level 35 and appeared as a lime green with a blue bow, patterned with horizontal stripe patterns.

Tier 3 - Orange Present Mimic

Orange Present Mimics spawned all across the Barasavian Desert and The Long Walk, dominating the middle section of the map of Istaria. They could also be found around the city of Aughundell, where they were often found hidden in plots. They were also found spawning in the sheer cliffs throughout the snows surrounding Kirasanct and Mahagra and were scattered across Trandalar.

They were level 55 and appeared as a dirty orange with a green bow and patterned with spots. They compete with the Red Presents for the largest spawn region of all of the mimics.

Tier 4 - Purple Present Mimic

Purple Present Mimics spawned primarily throughout the Char and Feladan regions, though there were some pockets here and there of them elsewhere on the map.

They were level 75 and were a royal purple with a golden bow. They were patterned with swirls. It's likely that they had the smallest spawn region of all of the mimics.

Tier 5 - Red Present Mimic

Red Present Mimics spawned throughout all of the large T5 and T6 hubs. They could be found around Delgarath, in the Eastern Deadlands, and throughout the expanse around Harro and Morning Light.

These mimics were level 150 with over 25,000 health and proved a mighty challenge to anyone choosing to fight them. They were red with star patterns and had a green bow.

Live Raids

There were a few notable planned raid events throughout the tail end of the event.

Most memorable were attacks from Slivers of the Snowmonster, a Lesser Epic-style boss that had a large chance to drop a Mimic pet and the regular epic loot. His arrival was announced through global and he often spawned surrounded by various ice-related creatures, such as Ice Golems and Ice Elementals.

Chaos and Order had separate versions of the Snowmonster, with the Chaos version having substantially more health and damage output.

Otherwise, there were various random attacks from Treants on cities. Cedar Treants would raid Kion while Yew Treants hassled Harro, often with alerts written into the global channel to alert players to their presence.

Winter

The most visible aspect of the event was the introduction of a seasonal change. According to the lore, overnight snow blanketed the world. As time went on, the snow progressively got worse.

Shown to the right a map made by the forum user Guaran from cache data that creates a visual of the world during the last stages of winter, in which it was fully blanketed in snow.

The reasoning for the snowfall was initially unknown, but it was later revealed through the event that it was the doing of the Realm of Ice's proximity to the Realm of Prime as well as a malevolent ice elemental known as the Abominable Snowmonster.

Written below are the dates in which stages of winter took place and descriptions of the winter stage at that time as well as teh blurb written on the forum post updating the playerbase at the time.

December 20th - January 2nd

The first two weeks of the event had light snowfall across most of the world. All areas that were normally grassy and temperate had snow covering the ground, buildings, and trees. The Gnomekindle 'Jingle Bells' music track played instead of the default music. All paths were replaced with ice paths. Even treants had snowy branches instead of clean leaves.

January 3rd - January 19th

Shivering in his bed, an early-bird Saris finally pulled back the light covers and stepped outside, bleary-eyed after a bad night's rest. Expecting slightly cool sand after a chilly desert night, he nearly fell forward when his furred foot sank into a deep bank of snow.

Fully awake now, he pulled boots on and trotted fully outside, looking in awe and horror at the heavens. A light snowfall flutters down from the sky, undeniable evidence of weather gone horribly out of whack.

All across Istaria, this scenario plays out over and over, with mixed cries of anguish and horror. Gnomes shiver in New Rachival; the various united races of Istaria huddle together next to fires in Tazoon. Animals press together for warmth all across the western continents.

Even the most steadfast doubters have been convinced now; this is no abnormal winter. Something sinister is pulling strings behind the scenes and we are all but subjects in its cold, wintry experiment.

The second two weeks proved to have a more profound effect on the world's environment. Desert environments like Tazoon and New Rachival were covered in a light snowfall. All the flora in the area was also covered in a dusting of snow as well as the buildings and paths of the cities within the desert.

January 20th - February 18th

While the humans of Dalimond hide in their homes, bracing themselves against the blizzards that have whipped up across most of the land, the Lunus in Dralk step out of their caves only to gasp in horror.

Once thought the last safe haven of this magical ice age, Dralk now suffers the same fate as the rest of Istaria; the volcanic land is covered in a blanket of freshly fallen snow. The only exceptions are where magma rises to the surface, melting away any snow that touches the immediate area.

With the horrified Dragons on board, the best mages of Istaria are combining their efforts to end this frosty nightmare. Ice Disciples hone their skills to find the source of the magic while various fire-oriented mages work to create magical wells of flame that require no wood to keep freezing citizens warm. The Helian work to guide the "naka'duskael mages" in their efforts, offering protection from Treant ambushes and digging through their own archives to find any possible clues. Even the Lunus grudgingly pitch in, letting those less fortunate than they camp in the volcanic regions around Dralk. (Of course, no puny two-legged is allowed in the glorious city that is Dralk!)

Now, previously only appearing in the night to steal firewood, the Treants of Istaria grow more angry and rebellious, attacking towns and cities directly as well as ambushing Gifted in the field. Those who escape these encounters don't do so unscathed and tell tales of giant Treants chasing them down across half the land.

The Empire is a dangerous place.

This final section of the winter proved to be the most brutal. Blizzards raged across all of the areas that were only covered in a light dusting of snow in the beginning of the event. Even the volcanic lands took a hit now, leaving only the Blighted zones untouched by snow.

During this section of the event, various treants were spawned at random on cities, as well as Slivers of the Snowmonster.

Immediately after the finale event, a patch and relog showed that all of the winter effects were gone and regular weather had returned to Istaria, ending the reign of winter.

Finale Event

The teaser posted on the Hours of Frost Finale thread.

• Click here for the story on the finale announcement thread.

The finale event was hosted on February 18th, 2017 on the Blight server.

(TO BE WRITTEN TOMORROW)