Winter Lord zone event

[Display Name]

So.  You want that badge but you can't get the Winter Lord to come out and play!  And even if he does, you still don't get the badge!  What can be done about this?  Well...  A few things.  But it also depends on the players around you.

 

https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Winter_Lord

 

1) What?

First, let me point out that there are TWO badges that can be obtained from this event.  Well, not exactly.  But there *is* a badge for defeating 100 Winter Horde enemies.  And you'll spawn a *lot* of them by opening presents.  If you're solo, they're usually easy to defeat.  Next, let me say this and be perfectly clear.  No, leaving the enemies there does *not* affect the present's ability to respawn.  In fact, one player told me that his route brought him back to a present and he spawned a SECOND group.  Not only has this been tested but a dev confirmed it.  But hanging around near a present's location definitely WILL delay it from respawning.  If it's not there, move on.  *Should* you defeat the enemies from a naughty present?  Well, if you clicked on that link above, you'll see this in the first paragraph:

 

"Winter Lords were changed to spawn after a set number of presents are opened (or possibly when a number of "naughty" present spawns are defeated)"

 

Notice that it says the trigger to spawn Winter Lord might involve defeating enemies.  I have no way of confirming this.  But just in case...

 

2) Where?

The best place to hunt the Winter Lord is...  You guessed it!  Atlas Park.  You can literally do nothing and wait.  It usually takes approx half an hour to 45 mins for him to spawn.  This is because several naughty players are out competing for presents.  There is no zone event notification except for a purple message that flies across your screen.  In other words: if you blink, you'll miss it.  The best way to know when he's spawned is by keeping your Broadcast channel open.  You'll see msgs start to pop up saying "Where's Winter Lord" or something to that effect.  Sooner or later, some player will find him and type $loc to broadcast the location.

 

Here's a macro to help you search.

/macroimage "Badge_winter_event_02" "Winter Lord" "targetcustomnext enemy alive Winter Lord"

(shoutout to Iamblazed 247 for helping me put that together!)

 

Now comes the hard part.

 

3) When?  And how?  And why?

Too many times, I've seen players just go at it without a plan.  Sigh...  But there are requirements that make it virtually impossible to get the badge from this approach.  The plan is very simple: form a team and *then* go at it!  Post in the Broadcast channel and LFG.

 

Good hunting!

[Display Name]

Yesterday I found a zone with a minimal population and opened presents and defeated enemies nonstop for several zone-wide runs.  The Winter Lord never spawned.

 

Earlier today, I performed a "control" experiment.  I found a zone with a minimal population and started opening presents and moving on without engaging the Winter Horde spawns.  I opened presents nonstop for several zone-wide runs.  The Winter Lord never spawned for this, either.

 

My conclusion is that there is a time limit to meet the minimum threshold of "triggering" the Winter Lord.  I still can't tell if spawning the Winter Lord is merely opening presents, opening "naughty presents," or defeating Winter Horde spawns.

 

That's as far as I can test without assistance.

[tidge]

Are you certain the Winter Lord had not already spawned?

 

My own experiences from past years have been: After defeating the Winter Lord (and adjacent minions), after opening about 130 presents (and defeating the naughty spawns) is when the WL will respawn. I did this with multiple characters in a zone that had no observed other player presence (via /whoall).

[Display Name]

I didn't get a notification for your reply!?  To answer your question: I couldn't be certain the WL hadn't already spawned.

 

Does the WL spawn at a package location?  Or is it random?  Does the WL wander far when it spawns?  If the WL spawns at a package location and doesn't wander far, then I'm pretty certain that it had not already spawned.

[lemming]

27 minutes ago, Display Name said:

I didn't get a notification for your reply!?  To answer your question: I couldn't be certain the WL hadn't already spawned.

 

Does the WL spawn at a package location?  Or is it random?  Does the WL wander far when it spawns?  If the WL spawns at a package location and doesn't wander far, then I'm pretty certain that it had not already spawned.

The WL spawns at a package location.   I don't know if it has to be a location with an active present or not, but I suspect it does not matter since in my runs I found WL way off the path of where I was opening presents in Imperial.

 

There may be a timer preventing a respawn, but I did notice that the WL doesn't despawn since I've left them alone for days.

[tidge]

The winter lord always (per my observations) spawns in place of an opened present being replaced.

 

Minions from the winter lord that are not cleared will (I believe) prevent a new WL from spawning. Minions that otherwise appear from a present (with no WL) will eventually respawn.