Lord Winter TF - tips

[Display Name]

Wow!  First Winter Event in three years and I decided to run this TF to badge my toon!  Oof!!!

 

https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Lord_Winter's_Realm

 

I usually run 20-24 players because it takes a while to recruit and players get antsy.  The wiki says you can have up to 36 but I'm not waiting that long.  The main reason people want to do this is to farm Candy Canes.  I think you need something like 250 to purchase *all* of the badges from the Candy Keeper.  And that's just the badges.  Candy Canes shot up in price, too!  Ouch!

 

This particular TF has some bugs.  Like, serious bugs.  They're probably all known, so don't go in expecting to badge Bug Hunter!  I just thought I'd post a few things I've learned from being repeatedly asked "can we go, again?"

 

1) You lose the star.  Players should be notified of this before you start so that you can get it back ASAP.

2) Players will drop.  However, one of the best features of this TF is that you can recruit while the TF is running!  Whut...?  Yes!  I've done it over and over.

3) You might be one of the players dropped.  And worse, you might have to get reinvited five...  I said FIVE times.  Yes!  This happened to me!

 

The best approach to running this TF is educating your league prior to starting.  It can save a lot of frustration.

 

4) When Lord Winter's hp are brought down to 75%, he'll summon a Winter Guardian.  You don't have to go looking for it.  It will come to you.  It *is* important to keep Lord Winter from regenerating.  Some players will inevitably break off and go looking.  Some will stay on Lord Winter.  I usually don't interfere with either group because they're both doing something useful.

5) BTW: Lord Winter will summon a Winter Guardian at 50% and 25%, too.

 

6) If you go looking for the Winter Guardian and find it, don't say "Here!"  No one know where you are in the league, and you can't Follow someone by clicking their name in the chat.  Type $loc to broadcast your location.  See how easy that was?

 

This TF is not that hard if you educate the league prior to starting.  Good hunting!

[ZekeStenzland]

Technically, this is a trial, not a task force. AFAIK, all trials have the “roster scrambling” bug, from Death From Below to Incarnate Trials. This isn’t specific to this trial. 
 

Second, if you see someone shout “here”, you can just click their name in the league roster and they become your current target. Just type f to auto follow to their current location. 
 

[tidge]

2 hours ago, Display Name said:

6) If you go looking for the Winter Guardian and find it, don't say "Here!"  No one know where you are in the league, and you can't Follow someone by clicking their name in the chat.  Type $loc to broadcast your location.  See how easy that was?

 

 

Jessme Ritin': I find it easier to click on the leaguemate's name and "follow" then it is to mess around with $loc.

[Display Name]

Maybe I should clarify: searching through a list of 24 names (especially with my eyes) takes too long.  Simply typing $loc in the chat is very efficient in comparison.

[Ironblade]

21 hours ago, Display Name said:

1) You lose the star.  Players should be notified of this before you start so that you can get it back ASAP.

2) Players will drop.  However, one of the best features of this TF is that you can recruit while the TF is running!  Whut...?  Yes!  I've done it over and over.

1) This is a common occurrence in a lot of trials.

2) Because it's not a 'task force'.  Being unable to invite new people is a defining characteristic of task forces.  Also, I don't think there are any task forces that allow more than 8 people (i.e. one team).

 

 

17 hours ago, Display Name said:

Maybe I should clarify: searching through a list of 24 names (especially with my eyes) takes too long.  Simply typing $loc in the chat is very efficient in comparison.

Cool.  That's your preference.  Personally, I just type "Here" and so does everyone else I've done this with.  I don't recall ever seeing someone use coordinates.  I don't see that as more convenient, despite the fact that I actually have a keybind to show me my location already set up on all characters.

[TheMoneyMaker]

18 hours ago, Ironblade said:

Cool.  That's your preference.  Personally, I just type "Here" and so does everyone else I've done this with.  I don't recall ever seeing someone use coordinates.  I don't see that as more convenient, despite the fact that I actually have a keybind to show me my location already set up on all characters.

Sure, that's more convenient for you.  The point is using $loc is one extra keystroke (shift+4 for the dollar sign, and three letters) and is more convenient for everyone else.

[tidge]

37 minutes ago, TheMoneyMaker said:

Sure, that's more convenient for you.  The point is using $loc is one extra keystroke (shift+4 for the dollar sign, and three letters) and is more convenient for everyone else.

Now I am curious: what are the rest of the people in the zone supposed to do with the $loc info? Are they supposed to have a keybind of some sort to use the location info and set the minimap?

[srmalloy]

40 minutes ago, tidge said:

Now I am curious: what are the rest of the people in the zone supposed to do with the $loc info?

Click on it, and it sets a map marker.

[High_Beam]

26 minutes ago, srmalloy said:

Click on it, and it sets a map marker.

[GM Crumpet]

The "here" shout annoys me. "OK great, where is here?". 

[GM Crumpet]

1 hour ago, tidge said:

Now I am curious: what are the rest of the people in the zone supposed to do with the $loc info? Are they supposed to have a keybind of some sort to use the location info and set the minimap?

if you type /loc it tells you your location. Good for narrowing down badge locations if you don't have vidiotmaps. typing $loc tells you your location but also puts it into the chat box which if players click on it generates a marker on the map to follow

 

[shortguy on indom]

bucksnort

[Ironblade]

On 12/13/2023 at 7:50 AM, TheMoneyMaker said:

Sure, that's more convenient for you.  The point is using $loc is one extra keystroke (shift+4 for the dollar sign, and three letters) and is more convenient for everyone else.

No, the way I do it is apparently more convenient for MOST people.  I'm doing it the way I have always seen everyone else doing it.

[Lusiphur Malache]

Somebody said in the chat, the sky changes color when the guardian has been summoned. 

[Scarlet Shocker]

On 12/13/2023 at 2:44 PM, GM Crumpet said:

The "here" shout annoys me. "OK great, where is here?". 

 

Clearly it's not where you are. Otherwise you'd be here too

[Ironblade]

23 hours ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

 

Clearly it's not where you are. Otherwise you'd be here too

 

It's like Buckaroo Banzai said, "Wherever you go, there you are."