Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland is one of the four Grand Galas. Each year, the Winter Wonderland begins in mid-December and ends on the final day of January.

Winter Mystery Plot
On December 9th, there was news from the frozen north:


 * Lemoness enters the Tavern with worrying news from the far north of Habitica. "Nobody's heard from the Stoïkalm Steppes for over a week," she says. "It's hard to imagine anything troubling the citizens there, since it's such a placid part of the continent... But just in case, maybe I should pay a visit." Sounds like a good plan to us!

On December 17th, a chilling problem was discovered:
 * Lemoness bursts into the Tavern, shaking icicles off her hat. "The Stoïkalm Steppes are completely abandoned!" she says, gulping the cup of tea that Daniel the Barkeep offers her. "No people milling about, no mounts and pets playing in the snow - and when I tried to fly closer, my dragon spooked and refused to land!"


 * A cloaked figure in the corner steps into the fire light - SabreCat, a powerful adventurer from the north. "The Stoïkalm Steppes are the last home of many animals that have long since gone extinct elsewhere," he says. "The stoic Stoïkalmers would never flee their lands unless something was threatening their pets and mounts!"


 * He turns to Lemoness. "I can speak the language of the northern beasts. I'll try to contact the roaming sabertooth prides to see if they know what happened." As he lopes off into the distance, a cold wind begins to blow.

On December 25, SabreCat returned:


 * SabreCat's news is dire. "Most of my sabertooth friends have been impossible to reach, but one thing is clear: the prides have been disappearing from the Steppes. There are also reports that something drove the mammoths to early migration and disturbed the hibernation of the terrible lizards."


 * He wraps his cloak around himself as another blast of frigid wind roars through the streets. An icy winter gale has been blowing from the north, rattling the window panes and setting the pets and mounts to trembling and howling.


 * "I've never seen anything like it!" says Matt the Beast Master. "Something is terrifying all my animals - even the cacti, who are normally so mighty and brave! For something to frighten a cactus..." He shakes his head.


 * The stress level in Habitica is mounting.

On January 3rd, Habiticans get more news after the new year:
 * "After a fun-filled New Year's Eve, Habiticans wake to a rumbling that shakes them out of their Absurd Party Hats. Running to their windows reveals.... a stampede? 


 * "A thundering herd of mammoths charges past, sabertooths roar, and dinosaurs both feathery and scaly slither by at top speed. Habiticans stare open-mouthed, but before anyone can react, the stampede has swept through Habit City and is gone into the distance, leaving only pawprints in the snow, the howling wind, and some trampled New Year's cards.


 * "Habiticans are advised to keep calm and not give in to stress during this confusing and difficult time. We've sent SabreCat after the frightened animals from the Stoïkalm Steppes, and he is working to calm them down so that we can bring them back to the safety of the Stables. We hope to have an explanation for this strangeness soon. In the meantime, keep all of your own pets and mounts indoors. 

On January 8th, the Abominable Stressbeast attacks:
 * "The first thing we hear are the footsteps, slower and more thundering than the stampede. One by one, Habiticans look outside their doors, and words fail us.


 * "We've all seen Stressbeasts before, of course - tiny vicious creatures that attack during difficult times. But this? This towers taller than the buildings, with paws that could crush a dragon with ease. Frost swings from its stinking fur, and as it roars, the icy blast rips the roofs off our houses. A monster of this magnitude has never been mentioned outside of distant legend.


 * "Beware, Habiticans!" SabreCat cries. "Barricade yourselves indoors - this is the Abominable Stressbeast itself!"


 * "That thing must be made of centuries of stress!" Kiwibot says, locking the Tavern door tightly and shuttering the windows.


 * "The Stoïkalm Steppes," Lemoness says, face grim. "All this time, we thought they were placid and untroubled, but they must have been secretly hiding their stress somewhere. Over generations, it grew into this, and now it's broken free and attacked them - and us!"


 * "There's only one way to drive away a Stressbeast, Abominable or otherwise, and that's to attack it with completed Dailies and To-Dos! Let's all band together and fight off this fearsome foe - but be sure not to slack on your tasks, or our undone Dailies may enrage it so much that it lashes out...

World Boss
The Abominable Stressbeast, a new World Boss, appeared in the Tavern on January 8th. All of the completed Dailies and To-Dos of Habiticans damage the World Boss. Incomplete Dailies fill the Stress Strike Bar. When the Stress Strike bar is full, the World Boss will attack an NPC. So far, the Stressbeast has managed to get off one Stress Strike, and has grabbed Matt. It also turned out that a successful Stress Strike heals the boss for a notable portion of its health!

A World Boss will never damage individual players or accounts in any way. Only active accounts who are not resting in the inn will have their incomplete Dailies tallied.

Customization Options Added
A collection of six limited-edition Wintery Color Hairstyles were added, purchasable for 2 gems each, or the set for 5 gems until the end of the event.

Party Hats
In honor of the new year, some free Party Hats were available in the Rewards store.

New users got the ever-handsome Absurd Party Hat. Users who received an Absurd Party Hat in 2014 got the Silly Party Hat. These hats were available to purchase until January 31, 2015 but once you've bought them, you have them forever.

NPC Costumes
The NPC's were also celebrating winter with new frosty costumes.

Special Class Gear 2014-2015
From December 22nd until the end of the event, special winter-themed armor and weapons were available for purchase with gold coins. The sets of armor are linked to classes and are as follows:

Warrior=
 * -|Mage=
 * -|Healer=
 * -|Rogue=

It costs 310 GP for every class to buy all their equipment.

Seasonal Shop
The Seasonal Shop was opened for the first time on December 25, 2014 for the duration of Winter Wonderland 2014-2015. It enabled users to buy the Special Class Gear from 2013-2014 for 1 gem a piece, except for the mage staff which cost 2 gems.

Quests
The shop stocked the two winter quests from 2014, Trapper Santa and Find the Cub. These were available to purchase for 4 gems each.

New Year's Cards
From December 31, 2014 through January 1, 2015, the Seasonal Shop stocked New Year's Cards. Players could send cards to their friends (and themselves) to wish them a Happy Habit New Year. All senders and recipients would receive the Auld Acquaintance badge. Received cards appeared in the player's Inventory, and clicking on them revealed a seasonal message.

Snowballs
Snowballs, a feature from 2013-2014, were added to the shop on December 31, 2014, and could be purchased for 15 GP.

Quests
Two new quests were introduced during the 2014-2015 Winter Wonderland:
 * King of the Dinosaurs
 * The Dinosaur Unearthed!

Achievements
Two new achievements were released during the 2014-2015 Winter Wonderland. Mount Master, for raising all 90 Gen 1 pets to mounts

Triad Bingo, for finding all 90 Gen 1 pets, raising all 90 Gen 1 mounts, and finding all 90 Gen 1 pets again

Customization Options Added
A collection of limited-edition Holiday Hairstyles was added, purchasable for 5 gems until the end of the event.

Snowball
HabitRPG players could purchase snowballs from the Market for a gem and throw them at fellow party members. When a player was snowballed, their avatar was replaced with a snowman until the next cron and received the "Annoying Friends" achievement. Players could target themselves with the snowballs as well.

The effect also added a 5 GP Reward called "Salt," which allowed the targeted player to remove the snowball's effects before cron.



Absurd Party Hat
The Absurd Party Hat is a decorative helmet from the Winter Wonderland world event. It does not provide a bonus to character attributes and is not an advisable Battle Gear choice in comparison to other helmets. This hat appears under the "Special" category of the Equipment tab of the Inventory.

The Absurd Party Hat became available in the Item Store for 0 Gold on December 31, 2013, heralding in the new year.

Absurd Party Robes
The Absurd Party Robes are decorative armor from the Winter Wonderland world event. They do not provide any bonus to character attributes and are not an advisable Battle Gear choice in comparison to other armor. These robes appear under the "Special" category of the Equipment tab of the Inventory.

The Absurd Party Robes became available in the Item Store for 0 Gold on January 30, 2014.

Cake
As part of the birthday festivities, on January 30th and 31st, food drops temporarily became cake. The types of cake available were Basic Cake, Candy Blue Cake, Candy Pink Cake, Sand Cake, Honey Cake, Strawberry Cake, Chocolate Cake, Bare Bones Cake, Cream Cake, and Rotten Cake.

Special Class Gear 2013-2014
From January 6th until the end of the event, special winter-themed armor and weapons were available for purchase with gold coins. The sets of armor are linked to classes and are as follows:

Warrior=
 * -|Mage=
 * -|Healer=
 * -|Rogue=

It costs 310 GP for every class to buy all the equipment for each class.

Quests
As part of the event, the quests feature was introduced, and the following scrolls were added:


 * Trapper Santa
 * Find the Cub