Midsummer Fire Festival

June 22, 2008 - 9 Responses

Starting June 21st, and going until July 4th, is the newly revamped Midsummer Fire Festival.

From the Blizzard website:

The Midsummer Fire Festival isn’t merely about that traditional honor; it’s a time of merriment, a chance to celebrate the hottest season of the year by lighting great fires across the land and sharing in what the elemental spirits can offer. Come to our camps and join in the revelry!

So, what do we get to do?

Quests

City commoners and other partakers in the festival will give you a few “talk-to” quests, sending you to check out the action.

  • Torch Tossing - Available at bonfires in major cities
     You will have to throw torches at the row of standing braziers. When a mark appears above a given brazier, that is the one you must target the torch at. You only have a few seconds to do so, so keybind the torch instead of clicking. You have to get 8 within the time frame given. You can later repeat the quest as a daily quest called “More Torch Tossing” where you have to hit 20 braziers.
  • Torch Catching – Follow-up to Torch Tossing
     You will be given unlit torches that you must use next to the bonfire. Once you use it, it will fly through the air. If you run and stand where your torch will land, your character will catch it and toss it again, where you must then run to stand where it will land again, etc. You need to make four consecutive catches to complete the quest. You can only catch your own torches, not the ones thrown by other characters. Turning up your “Spell Detail” in your video settings menu will make it easier to track where the torch is going by giving you a shadow you can follow on the ground. If you complete this quest, you become eligible for the daily quest “More Torch Catching” where you have to catch 10 torches in a row.
  • Honoring and Desecrating Flames
    Clicking on a bonfire belonging to your faction will let you “honor” it, rewarding a hefty amount of xp (or over 9g at level 70). You only can click on a given fire once.
    You can desecrate the bonfires of the opposing faction, rewarding even more xp and gold per bonfire. After toggling a bonfire, and clicking “yes” to turn in the quest, you will become flagged for PvP. Again, you only can toggle each fire once.
  • A Thief’s Reward and Stealing Flames
    Go to each of your opposing faction’s major cities and “steal” their bonfire flames by clicking on on the bonfire. You have to avoid guards, and other players. Once you have turned in all four of the stolen flames, you can turn them in for a nice crown. Major city fire locations are listed below. Note: Anyone can loot the flames from opposing cities, but turning in the quest requires level 50. Flames can be saved from one year to the next, though.
  • Unusual Activity - Get from a major city
    Go to the Zoram Strand in Ashenvale (western shore), at (15, 9). Kill Twilight’s Hammer members (level 20-21) until you get a Twilight correspondence drop. Then use the totem you were given when you picked up the quest to summon the spirit guide. Turn in “Unusual Activity” and get the follow up “An Innocent Disguise“. Use the “Orb of the Crawler” you are given to transform yourself into a crab. Follow the shoreline to the northwest, avoiding combat if possible (you can reuse the disguise if needed). At (9, 12), you will see some blue crystal things sticking out of the ground. All you need to do here is stand still until you overhear enough of the conversation between Ice Caller Biatha and the naga. Then summon your spirit guide again, turn in the quest, and get the follow up quest to return to a major city.
  • Striking Back – Get from a major city
    If you have completed the “Unusual Activity” chain, you can get a daily quest appropriate to your level. You will have to kill a guy summoned from Ice Crystals in a zone appropriate to your level. (Level minimums are approximate.)
    Level 22 – Back to Zoram Strand, Ashenvale (9, 12).
    Level 32 – Ethel Rether, Desolace (38, 28)
    Level 43 – Elemental Island, Stranglethron Vale (21, 23)
    Level 51 – Cave in Searing Gorge (21, 37)
    Level 60 – Twilight’s Run, Silithus (68, 15)
    Level 67 – Dark Portal, Hellfire Peninsula (84, 47)
  • Ahune, The Frost Lord - Start quest in major city
    If you are level 70 and have completed the “Unusual Disguise” quest chain, you can begin the quest chain to summon and kill Lord Ahune, a optional boss in Slave Pens only available during the Midsummer Festival. Ahune can be fought on normal or heroic, and drops slightly different loot.

    • Step 1: Be sure you did the “Unusual Disguise” chain.
    • Step 2: Get the “Ahune, the Frost Lord” quest in a major city.
    • Step 3: Get a group for normal or heroic Slave Pens.
    • Step 4: Speak to Numa Cloudsister just inside Slave Pens.
    • Step 5: Clear to Luma Skymother, just past the first room.
    • Step 6: One player will get the quest to summon Ahune from Luma.
    • Step 7: Clear up to and all around the Ice Stone.
    • Step 8: A player from your group uses the item given by Luma to summon Ahune.
    • Step 9: Killing Ahune! Ahune has two phases, each about a minute long, that will repeat back and forth until he is defeated (or you are).
      • Phase 1: In the first phase, Ahune isn’t attackable, but there will be large elemental(s) that will spawn, as well as a few smaller ones. Tank the large one(s), and burn down as fast as you can. Kill the smaller ones (AoE or otherwise) as they spawn. Avoid standing in the ice circles when they appear on the ground.
      • Phase 2: In the second phase, Ahune will retreat into his core. This is when you attack him. Go all out and burn cooldowns.
    • Step 10: Ahune is defeated. Loot the chest next to him. The “Shards of Ahune” can be looted by everyone (once) and can be turned in to get a tabard.
    • Step 11: Supposedly, after the chest despawns, you should be able to have another player get the quest to summon Ahune without having to reclear (but this has been buggy). You can get the quest to summon and defeat Ahune only once daily.
    • Step 12: Don’t forget to turn in the quest to kill Ahune to Luma Skymother when it is completed.

Buffs

  • Ribbon Dance – 10% xp bonus
    This isn’t a quest per se, but you can click on a ribbon dancing pole to get a buff that will increase your xp gain by 10%. The buff timer can stack, lasting up to 60 minutes. There is no limit on how many times you gain this buff.
  • Turning in a Stolen Flame – 30 stamina
    Every time a player turns in a stolen flame to the festival loremaster, players in the city it was turned in to could receive a bonus 30 stamina for an hour (this has been a big buggy).
  • Bonfire’s Blessing - Chance of extra damage
    If the bonfire in your zone has recently been honored, everyone of your faction will receive “Bonfire’s Blessing,” a buff that will give you a 30% chance on hitting your target of dealing fire damage equal to 10x your level. You lose the buff if your fire has been desecrated (but will regain it when your flame is honored again, or if someone tosses a Burning Blossom into it).
  • Fire Festival Fury - 3% crit
    If you throw a Burning Blossom into a bonfire, you will receive a bonus 3% melee and spell crit for 60 minutes.

Blossoms

These are the currency for rewards from the Midsummer Merchant (in major cities near the bonfire). The Burning Blossoms expire when the Midsummer Festival ends. It is not possible to get all the rewards, as over 1,000 Blossoms would be required. You should be able to get most of them, though. Plan carefully.

Stealing Another faction’s Flame 25 each
Honoring a Flame 5 each
Desecrating a Flame 10 each
Speak to the master of lore/tales 1 once
Bring incense to the scorchling 1 once
Torch Tossing quest 5 once
Torch Catching quest 5 once
More Torch Tossing 5 daily
More Torch Catching 5 daily
Unusual Activity quest chain 10 once
Striking Back quest 10 daily
Chain to Summon Ahune none given
Defeating Ahune 25 once
Thief’s Reward none given

Loot and Rewards

Gear

Fire Festival Garments

  • Crown of the Fire Festival
    After collecting the four fires from the opposing faction’s bonfires in major cities, you can turn them in for the quest “A Thief’s Reward” and get the lovely crown. You must be level 50+ to obtain it.
  • Vestment of Summer
    Purchasable for 100 Burning Blossoms
    They have an on-use effect that will make you dance and give your hands a glow effect.
  • Sandals of Summer
    Purchasable for 200 Burning Blossoms
    They have a on-use ability to create a fire effect where you are standing.

  • Tabard of Summer Flames
    This is one of the two tabards you can choose from after killing Ahune and turning in the “Shards of Ahune” quest (you only can get one). It is a red tabard with a golden symbol of the Midsummer Fire Festival on it.
  • Tabard of Summer Skies
    This is the other choice of quest reward from turning in the “Shards of Ahune” quest. It is a aqua-colored tabard with a golden symbol of the Midsummer Fire Festival on it.
  • Frostscythe of Lord Ahune
    It looks pretty wicked, but the stats are somewhat “meh” for DPS casters, especially if your guild can handle Kara. It drops in both normal and heroic mode Slave Pens off of Lord Ahune (obviously).

Other rewards

  • Petals
    You can get a Handful of Summer Petals for 2 burning blossoms. They are unique(20). You use them to rain yellow and red petals on your target, similar to the petals obtained during “Love is in the Air.”
  • Deathfrost Enchant
    Drops in both heroic- and normal-mode Slave Pens off of Lord Ahune. Deathfrost is a weapon enchant that will
  • Non-combat Pets
    • Scorched Stone – Drops from Ahune, normal and heroic. Looks like a little scorchling.
  • Brazier of Dancing Flames
    For 350 Burning Blossoms, you can get one of the best items to come out of this holiday. The Brazier of Dancing Flames, when used, will summon a brazier with a fiery form of a draenei female standing on it. She will respond to emotes, like /kiss, /wave, /silly, and /bow. If you /dance with her, you will turn into a large-sized dancing version of her! Very hot indeed. :) The brazier, when summoned, lasts for 3 minutes. The Brazier of Dancing Flames it a permanent item, with no limit on charges or duration.
  • Snow!
    Lord Ahune drops Snowballs and Huge Snowballs. Also, if you get hit by his knockback in battle (must be standing within melee range), you will find at least one Pocket Full of Snow in your bag (which you can “open” into 2-5 regular snowballs).

Bonfire Locations

There are 70 bonfires total (1 in each faction’s four major cities, and 62 in smaller cities throughout Azeroth and the Outlands). Alliance has a total of 36 bonfires and Horde has 34.

Alliance Major City Bonfires

  • Darnassus – Located just outside the entrance to Darnassus in Rut’Theran Village (right where you get off the boat from Auberdine).
  • Stormwind – Located in the Canal District, near the mage quarter (and the Stockades). If you run in the front entrance to Stormwind, head left out of the Trade District, cross the bridge, and follow the Canal District to the bonfire. If you are coming from the tram, head straight through the Cathedral District, cross the bridge in the Canal District, and follow the canals left.
  • Ironforge – Located in the Hall of Explorer in the northeast section of the city. If you are running the front door, just follow the city around to the right for a bit. It is much easier to get to from the Deeprun Tram; there will be fewer NPCs assaulting you. When exiting the tram, just take a right to get to the Hall of Explorers.
  • Exodar – Located in the Crystal Hall, in the northwest section of the city. To get there, it takes about the same effort to get there through the back entrance to Exodar as the front (though the back way you will likely encounter less folk). The back entrance is located near the boat dock for the city (south side of Exodar from above).
Horde Major City Bonfires
  • Undercity – Located in the entry courtyard to the city, above ground. Just run right in the front entrance and the bonfire will be directly on your left. If you go into the throne room, you have gone too far.
  • Thunder Bluff - Located on Spirit Rise (the northernmost rise). Take the elevator up to the city, and run north, go across the bridge and up around the path to the left.
  • Orgrimmar – Located in the Valley of Wisdom (northwest portion of the city, back by Thrall). Easiest way to get here is to go through the side entrance to Orgrimmar and just follow along to the left. If you go through the front entrance, take a hard left upon entering to get to the upper part of the city and just keep heading straight until you get to the Valley of Wisdom.
  • Silvermoon City – Located in the Court of the Sun, northern part of the city. If you run in the front entrance, head straight until the path ends and you must choose right or left. Head right through Murder Row. The Court of the Sun is the area right after Murder Row.

Smaller bonfires, by location:

Eastern Kingdoms Bonfires
14 Alliance, 11 Horde

  • Arathi Highlands
    [A] Refuge Pointe (50,44)
    [H] Hammerfall (74, 41)
  • Badlands
    [H] Kargath (4, 48)
  • Blasted Lands
    [A] Nethergarde Keep (59, 17)
  • Burning Steppes
    [A] Morgan’s Vigil (80, 62)
    [H] Flame Crest (61, 29)
  • Dun Morogh
    [A] Kharanos (46, 46)
  • Duskwood
    [A] Darkshire (73, 55)
  • Elwynn Forest
    [A] Goldshire (43, 62)
  • Eversong Woods
    [H] Falconwing Square (46, 50)
  • Ghostlands
    [H] Tranquillien (46, 26)
  • Hillsbrad Foothills
    [A] Southshore (50, 46)
    [H] Tarren Mill (58, 25)
  • The Hinterlands
    [A] Aerie Peak (14, 50)
    [H] Revantusk Village (76, 74)
  • Loch Modan
    [A] Thelsamar (32, 40)
  • Redridge Mountains
    [A] Lakeshire (25, 59)
  • Silverpine Forest
    [H] The Sepulchur (49. 38)
  • Stranglethron Vale
    [A] Booty Bay (33, 73)
    [H] Booty Bay (32, 75)
  • Swamp of Sorrows
    [H] Stonard (47, 46)
  • Tirisfal Glades
    [H] Brill (57, 52)
  • Western Plaguelands
    [A] Chillwind Camp (43, 82)
  • Westfall
    [A] Sentinel Hill (56, 54)
  • Wetlands
    [A] Menethil Harbor (13, 47)

Kalimdor Bonfires
11 Alliance, 12 Horde

  • Ashenvale
    [A] Astranaar (38, 55)
    [H] Splintertree Post (70, 69)
  • Azuremyst Isle
    [A] Azure Watch (44, 52)
  • Bloodmyst Isle
    [A] Blood Watch (55, 68)
  • Barrens
    [H] Crossroads (52, 27)
  • Darkshore
    [A] Auberdine (36, 46)
  • Desolace
    [A] Nijel’s Point (66, 16)
    [H] Shadowprey Village (26, 70)
  • Durotar
    [H] Razor Hill (52, 47)
  • Dustwallow Marsh
    [A] Theramore (62, 40)
    [H] Brackenwall Village (33, 30)
  • Feralas
    [A] Feathermoon Stronghold (28, 44)
    [H] Camp Mojache (72, 47)
  • Mulgore
    [H] Bloodhoof Village (52, 60)
  • Silithus
    [A] Cenarion Hold (57, 35)
    [H] Cenarion Hold (46, 44)
  • Stonetalon Mountains
    [H] Sun Rock Retreat (50, 60)
  • Tanaris
    [A] Gadgetzan (53, 29)
    [H] Gadgetzan (50, 27)
  • Teldrassil
    [A] Dolanaar (55, 60)
  • Thousand Needles
    [H] Freewind Post (42, 53)
  • Winterspring
    [A] Everlook (62, 35)
    [H] Everlook (60, 35)

Outlands Bonfires
7 Alliance, 7 Horde

  • Blade’s Edge Mountains
    [A] Sylvanaar (41, 66)
    [H] Thunderlord Stronghold (49, 58)
  • Hellfire Peninsula
    [A] Honor Hold (62, 58)
    [H] Thrallmar (57, 42)
  • Nagrand
    [A] Telaar (49, 69)
    [H] Garadar (50, 34)
  • Netherstorm
    [A] Area 52 (31, 62)
    [H] Area 52 (32, 68)
  • Shadowmoon Valley
    [A] Wildhammer Stronghold (39, 54)
    [H] Shadowmoon Village (33, 30)
  • Terokkar
    [A] Allerian Stronghold (54, 55)
    [H] Stonebreaker Hold (52, 42)
  • Zangarmarsh
    [A] Telredor (68. 51)
    [H] Zabra’jin (35, 51)

At the End

On July 4th, the last day of the Midsummer Fire Festival, there will be fireworks displays in major cities, and in Booty Bay. This will supposedly replace the previous July 4th holiday put on by the goblins.

Categorized in Events

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