World of Warcraft's Midsummer Fire Festival
Honoring and Extinguishing the Fires of Azeroth
May 28, 2009
World of Warcraft’s Midsummer Fire Festival is the first holiday event after Children’s Week, and it’s a big event. The Midsummer festival runs for the two weeks leading up to July 4th, culminating July 5th with the Fire in the Sky fireworks display.
During Midsummer bonfires are lit across the continents of Kalimdor, the Eastern Kingdoms in Outland and in Northrend. World of Warcraft players travel to honor these bonfires and desecrate the fires of their faction enemies. Large Midsummer fires are present in Stormwind and Orgrimmar, where players can pick up festival quests and dance around ribbon poles. Shattrath City in Outland also has a major bonfire, although not all quests are available in Shattrath.
Burning Blossoms and the Spirit of Summer
The currency of choice for Warcraft's Midsummer festival is the Burning Blossom. Players earn Burning Blossoms by completing Midsummer quests and honoring the bonfires. Burning Blossoms can be turned into festival merchants to purchase a variety of foods, clothing and other items. One of the most popular offerings is the Spirit of Summer, a minipet only available during Midsummer. At a cost of 350 Burning Blossoms, however, the Spirit of Summer takes some work to earn.
Desecrating the Fires
What’s a World of Warcraft holiday without sticking it to the rival faction? Players can ruin the opposing faction’s holiday by desecrating the opposing group’s fires, earning achievements towards the completion of the Fire Warden achievement as they do so. Festival quests also include killing certain faction NPCs.
The Flame Warden Achievement
Completing every Midsummer achievement earns players the Flame Warden achievement and title. The Flame Warden achievement is, in turn, required for the ultimate World of Warcraft holiday achievement, What a Long Strange Trip it’s Been. Players who earn the What a Long Strange Trip it’s Been achievement have completed every World Event achievement in the game, and are awarded with the Violet Protodrake epic mount.
Midsummer Fire Festival Achievements
Earning the Flame Warden achievement takes some extensive work on the part of players, as there are multiple Midsummer achievements that need to be completed. Here’s the current achievement list:
- Burning Hot Pole Dance: wear a complete Midsummer outfit and dance for sixty seconds at a ribbon pole.
- Desecration of the Horde / Alliance: complete the three Extinguishing achievements.
- Extinguishing the Eastern Kingdoms: desecrate all of the enemy’s Eastern Kingdom fires.
- Extinguishing Kalimdor: desecrate all enemy Kalimdor bonfires.
- Extinguishing Outland: desecrate all enemy bonfiresin Outland.
- Fires of Azeroth: complete the three Flame Warden achievements.
- Flame Warden of Kalimdor: Honor all Kalimdor fires.
- Flame Warden of Outland: honor all Outland bonfires.
- Flame Warden of the Eastern Kingdoms: Honor all the eastern bonfires.
- Ice the Frost Lord: venture into the Slave Pens in Outland and kill Ahune, a boss only available during Midsummer.
- King of the Fire Festival: Steal the flames from your enemies’ capital cities.
- Torch Juggler: Go to Dalaran and juggle forty torches for fifteen seconds.
Fire in the Sky
On July 5th, the last day of Midsummer, the Goblins of Undermine bring out their most spectacular fireworks for the Fire in the Sky display. Fire in the Sky heralds the end of the Midsummer Fire Festival. The next World of Warcraft event to look forward to is the popular (and hangover-inducing) Brewfest, which occurs at the end of September.
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