Patch 4.3 Preview - The All New Darkmoon Faire
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Step right up and prepare to be amazed!

It’s incredible! It’s unbelievable! You’ll be dazzled. You’ll be amazed! You aren’t prepared for the Darkmoon Faire, ‘cause it’s like nothing you’ve seen before! Don’t be shy now, don’t be bashful, step right up for a tantalizing glimpse of what we’ve got in store for you when patch 4.3 arrives!

That old thing?

No, no, no, Clem. The Darkmoon Faire isn’t what it used to be and it isn’t where it used to be. The management hasn’t changed but the Faire certainly has. It’s a whole new animal. Tickets? You don’t need those old tickets, just rip ‘em right up, ‘cause we’ve got new tickets! Out with the old, in with the new -- new quests, that is! Things have changed ‘round here: we’ve got an island all to ourselves now, and what an island it is. Mist-shrouded Darkmoon Island is a conundrum wrapped in an enigma. It’s a place of mystery and wonder, and you wouldn’t believe the deals we made to get it… or who we made ‘em with. But never mind that, just follow me right through here and I’ll show you what the Darkmoon Faire is all about.


All new! All spectacular!

Catch a show at the marvelous main stage or witness a dazzling fireworks display. But don’t stare too long or you might miss the stunning spectacles that surround you. Gaze in awe of our magical menagerie, get your fortune told by the amazing Sayge, go on a pony ride, experience the healthful effects of carnival food, and more!

Of course, there’s more to the Darkmoon Faire than just fantastic shows and culinary delights. You can still turn in your Darkmoon Cards, but you wouldn’t just come here for measly ol’ cards when there’s so much more to see, experience, and win. Yes, win! You like dancing bears, right? Everybody likes dancing bears. Even bears like dancing bears. How about a dancing bear… you can ride!

That’s not all! We have adorable companion pets includin’ a fez-wearing monkey, a plethora of profession recipes, toys, balloons, souvenirs, delectable carnival snacks and beverages, heirlooms for the little ones, and even replicas of long-lost suits of armor that we’re offering for your Transmogrification needs. You can also make your mark with new achievements and titles. All it takes to earn these fabulous rewards is a few Darkmoon Faire Prize Tickets and a good reputation with the carnies. How do ya get your grubby mitts on some tickets? I’m glad you asked!

Step right up! Try your luck! Everyone’s a winner!

Have we got games? You bet we’ve got games, and they’re so easy to play an orc could do it. Just head on over to the midway, buy some Darkmoon Game Tokens, and get ready to play. Easy to learn, difficult to master, anyone can play and everyone can win. Just lay your tokens down for a chance at winning Darkmoon Prize Tickets playing games like Whack-a-Gnoll, the Tonk Battle Royale, the Cannon, Ring Toss, the Shooting Gallery, and more! Five games are there to test your skills at any one time. The better you play, the easier it is to win a bucket of Darkmoon Faire Prize Tickets! Once a month, you’ve got a shot at tickets, and the fun never stops ‘cause you can play as many times as you like. But that’s not the only way to win big!


The Darkmoon Faire Field Guide

It’s your passport to riches, my friend. Y’see, we need a few things -- just some junk, nothing valuable to a big hero like you. We call ‘em Darkmoon Artifacts, and there’s all different kinds to be found all over Azeroth. The Darkmoon Field Guide helps you discover artifacts while you’re explorin’ dungeons, slayin’ monsters, and fightin’ in Battlegrounds. Without a guide, you’d never notice ‘em, and it’ll help keep you focused on the stuff we want. Whether you just reached level 10, or you’ve crushed the biggest baddies in the land, we need somethin’ from nearly everybody. You won’t have to go too far out of your way to get ‘em and each month you’ll get a new opportunity to seek out an Artifact for us. What do you get out of the deal? Don’t you worry, you’ll get your cut. When you bring a Darkmoon Artifact back to us, you’ll get valuable experience (it builds character, you know!), earn a better reputation, and possibly earn precious Darkmoon Faire Prize Tickets too!

Oh, did I mention that you can use the Field Guide to get to Darkmoon Island whenever the Darkmoon Faire’s monthly extravaganza is up and running?

So, you want to work in show business?

Maybe you’d like a little peek behind the scenes, eh? Want to see what it takes to run the greatest show on Azeroth? Well, it’s not all sunshine and cotton candy, my friend. There are beasts to heal, food to cook, and buildings to fix. If you’re willing help keep the show going and put your skills to work, you’ll not only impress us, but you can get experience, Darkmoon Prize Tickets, and even polish up your skills -- up to five skill points per profession, per Faire week, if you’re good at what you do!


Darkmoon Deathmatch!

Like any good carnival, the Darkmoon Faire has a shady side. You can leave the skilled labor to the suckers and go for a faster score instead. If you’ve got the minerals, the Darkmoon Deathmatch offers an experience unparalleled since the Gurubashi Arena. Pitmaster Pei has a big old treasure chest just brimming with goodies and Darkmoon Faire Prize Tickets that he’ll drag out into the Darkmoon Deathmatch Pit every three hours or so. Everybody wants it, so if you want a piece of the action you’ll just have to jump in and prove that you’re the toughest one in the Pit.

Oh, the Faire is perfectly safe, Clem. Just don’t wander into the woods.

Now, now, don’t panic. Darkmoon Isle might be a bit spooky, but except for the Deathmatch Pit, the Faire itself is completely safe, I guarantee it. It’s a sanctuary even, and we won’t let anybody’s beef ruin the fun. The shadowy woods surroundin’ the fair are another thing entirely, though. I wouldn’t say that people have disappeared into those woods never to return, but, well… people disappear into those woods never to return. So watch your step , and your back, when you leave the Faire. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!


Mark your calendar

Now that you know how amazing the new Darkmoon Faire is, you won’t want to miss it. Just take a look at your in-game calendar, and the Darkmoon Faire dates will show up there on the first week of every month. Darkmoon Faire barkers and displays will also pop up in every capital city to herald the arrival of the Faire. Silas Darkmoon himself has even started up a mailer to make sure that no one misses out!

Hitch a ride

During the first week of each month, convenient Darkmoon Faire outposts with Darkmoon Portals will appear in Elwynn Forest and Mulgore, offering free rides to Darkmoon Island and the Faire!

Darkmoon Mages in capital cities and on Darkmoon Island will also be around to help you get between the Faire and various capital cities. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, so naturally you’re obliged to compensate them for their services.

The all new Darkmoon Faire is coming to Darkmoon Island in patch 4.3. Don’t miss it!
This article was originally published in forum thread: Patch 4.3 Preview - The All New Darkmoon Faire started by Boubouille View original post
Comments 472 Comments
  1. Bahska's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by gkai View Post
    I love this attitude; I don't like it, therefore it's not content.

    In the time I've been playing, I have seen all of the following dismissed as "not being content":

    New dungeons (Dungeons don't have stories, and are therefore not content.)

    Battlegrounds (This isn't a PvP game, PvP is strictly a side thing, people who want to pvp should go to a different game...)

    Revamped old content (Sure, they re-wrote every single quest in the zone, but the zone is still named the same so it's old content.)

    Anything for people below max level (I'm max level so I'll never do it so it's not content.)

    New raids (No, really; I have actually seen people argue that since "most people" never see raids, they're not really content.)

    Daily quest hubs (Sure, it tells a story that develops over time but it's not content because...okay, I'm stumped; I really don't get this one.)

    So, by that logic, Blizzard has given us no content since launch. Nothing in patches, nothing in expansions; 0 new content. Makes you wonder why we all keep coming back, doesn't it?

    Folks, it's quite simple: the dictionary definition of "content" is "the things that are held or included in something" or "subject matter." So, if something in a patch or expansion EXISTS, or is actually a THING, then it's probably safe to say it's content.
    Re posted from someone over at joystiq, but yeah my thoughts exactly
  1. ZenX's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Bombkirby View Post
    Well this doesn't seem to be built around dailies. It clearly says you can do everything as much as you want. You could get what you're after in a day probably! Seems anti-grindy to me. It mostly just seems like something you by to have fun in and get rewarded with free items.
    Doing the same time over and over again for long to accomplish something is a grind...

    Quote Originally Posted by Bombkirby View Post
    ORRRR more accurately!

    Blizzard: New raiding content!
    Raiders: Uggg it'll suck. They can't match the epicness of VANILLA raids!
    Blizzard: Here you go raiders! We sure spent a lot of effort on this raid!
    Raiders: Worst raid ever! I'm unsubscribing! D:<
    Non Raiders: There's nothing new for us this patch! D:

    There's just no pleasing people. XD
    I only want proper progression through things that are not overly repetitive and is not put there to fill in the place, but rather has story behind, the nice thing with the previous content and the attunements was that you had a nice path of progression where however, hard may it be it felt playing to progress, now its and endless grind to just grind more

    Blizzard: New content, go herp derp while we get your money to develop newer games that our master-corporate will eventually force into being zombie-cows for printing money.

    Don't get me wrong, my complaint is due to what is going on with the game in general, I'm enjoyed the newer leveling zones more than most of current end-game content along with Molten Front when I was doing it the first few times, however, this grind model is just plain wrong, I'd rather complete 30-hard quests on-par with that of what Hunter's had at 60 for their bow-staff-cloak set, than to grind dailies for 30 days...
  1. Tripz's Avatar
    YES how about the new Dark Moon faire looks GREAT!
  1. ohshift's Avatar
    they teamed up with the Twilight guys.
  1. Bahska's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by ZenX View Post
    Doing the same time over and over again for long to accomplish something is a grind...
    By that logic every game ever is a grind if you have beat it once.
  1. Farabee's Avatar
    New heirlooms, old armor sets being sold again, new games, new dailies, and a new PVP event. I'm more excited about this than the Deathwing raid.
  1. Hunterknight's Avatar
    heirlooms cool
  1. Rennadrel's Avatar
    Any changes to rep are going to piss off anyone who got the Insane title already. I do think it's about time they fixed that reputation though.
  1. Gaxar's Avatar
    this.looks.shit.
  1. ZenX's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Bahska View Post
    By that logic every game ever is a grind if you have beat it once.
    There's a limit to it though, if you need to collect five items for a quest even if they may be the same items, its not a grind, however, the way dailies work, it is.

    For example, Blizzard if smart enough(some of you may jump to how you criticize them train, bear in mind I'm a senior engineering student in electronics who had his fare share of programming challenges ranging from professional software to some mini-games), could have efficiently re-used what they've had, such as Vashj'ir or Uldum(Especially Vashj'ir being so huge as it is) for better dailies where they could have been spread around similar to how argent tournament was. Being the expansion about the elementals and Deathwing using them under the command of Old Gods, Blizzard could've done so much more but they didn't, and seems they won't, even though I would want to be wrong on this as fantasy-genre fan seeing such good material going to waste is just sad.
  1. KCguy's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Rennadrel View Post
    Any changes to rep are going to piss off anyone who got the Insane title already. I do think it's about time they fixed that reputation though.
    How are the changes going to tick off people who already have the Insane title? Because it's going to be much easier to get exalted? I suppose so, but everything has changed in the game as time has gone on. It is what it is.
  1. zbegra's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Vasz View Post
    Erm, really? How can you even say that without any word on actual content? The darkmoon faire is honestly a waste of resources, and I know this will just become another daily quest hub.

    DMF has ALLLLLWAYS been dead, for YEARS.
    Wasted resources? naaah. Keeps us non-raiding folks happy and paying for the game. *excited*
  1. Aeriedk's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by jotad4 View Post
    Sweet, finally a proper way to get exalted with it !
    Seriously, this is one of the things that has been holding me back from the insane. Also it sounds like a lot of fun regardless. I approve of this update!
  1. tennis125's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Pasture View Post
    I appreciate what they were going for but this blue post was a little bit too much in character. With something like this you want actual hard details.
    Umm.. really?? Hard facts all the time makes w/e upcoming content boring. Something like this (especially because it's a sketchy-carnival like setting) makes the players guess! It makes the players extremely curious and guessing. If you had hard facts about everything before they came out, do you think people would be as interested in the game? most likely not.
  1. Azutael's Avatar
    To those allready saying that the Insane title will be worth even less with this new DMF. You dont even know if it will give rep with the current DMF, remember cenarion circle rep you got from silithus and AQ ? Well the cenarion expedition in outland is still the cenarion circle, just a subfaction within the faction - a "clever" way to add another rep grind, without having to think of an entirely new faction that somehow fit in. So this new DMF could easily have a new reputation tied to it, if any at all.
  1. Dblbaconator's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Rennadrel View Post
    Any changes to rep are going to piss off anyone who got the Insane title already. I do think it's about time they fixed that reputation though.
    Going off of the post, "Once a month, you’ve got a shot at tickets." Let's just say that this also includes a rep bonus (either a flat amount, or perhaps scaling with your performance). Five mini-games, maybe a little with the professions leveling section, random drops for artifacts, and maybe a boost if you win the arena. All in all, I'm gonna say that, if this does include a rep bonus, you'd be lucky to get 1-2k rep per month solely from the event. Which would mean from 0/3000 neutral to exalted, would take two-four years.

    If you want to finish the Insane grind any sooner, you'll still need a hell of a lot of decks to turn in. DMF will not become simple to grind. This just makes it slightly more bearable, helps you cut a few costs on deck purchases.
  1. thatmikeguy2's Avatar
    Super nice! These are some of my favorite parts of the game. Just like my hopes for an updated Karazhan, please, a new Kara in the future Mists with even more enigmatic awesomeness!!
  1. Noblia's Avatar
    You put it perfectly!


    Quote Originally Posted by keLston View Post
    Because people are looking for actual content, not a daily quest hub with arbitrary gating mechanics to pace how long it takes you to actually get to the end so that it will last until the next expansion since 4.3 is the last content patch until the next expansion.

    If you looked at it expansion by expansion, this is the worst expansion by amount of actual content but each time someone brings it up, some Blizzard apologist quickly comes up with some excuse demanding people to stop being so negative. Why? Did your monthly subscription start costing less? Did Cataclysm expansion cost less than the TBC expansion or WotLK expansion?

    TBC gave us nearly 60 raid bosses, a new "planet", a ton of new dungeons and bosses within, heroics, and love it or hate it gave us arenas and daily BG/honor grinds as a way for PvPers to compete which was also brand new content. WotLK gave us like 45 some raid bosses, a new continent, a handful of new dungeons, and it gave casuals a way to gear up with the Argent Tournament.

    Cataclysm will end up giving us 20? some raid bosses and at least 2 end ones so far have been recycled (Nef and Ragnaros), 7 new dungeons and recycled for us Shadowfang Keep and Deadmines, recycled ZA and ZG and called them "new", gave us like 5 new zones. The content is so lacking, in fact, that Blizzard apologists are so desperate that you're willing to latch on to a side event like the Darkmoon Faire and call it "content"? Oh look it adds a mount ooooh. And some companion pets. Oooooh. So a billion dollar company took a year to add 1 mount and some companion pets? This is what you accept as content now when you are paying the same price? Your bar is so low?

    They're not even bothering trying to put out new content because they decided that after 5 years of saying they didn't want you changing how you looked, they reneged and introduced transmogrification and you said HOORAY. So the "new content" of Cataclysm is you going back to do level 60 raids to get the gear you sold 4 years ago, that way, they don't have to make any new things for you because you're too busy going HEHEHE LETS GET THE OLD STUFF AGAIN THAT I FARMED BEFORE.

    This is why the game is dumbed down. Because Blizzard keeps lowering the bar and instead of getting an outcry, you just nod and lower your expectations below their bar and accept what they gave you. Giving you less and less each year but trying to squeeze out more microtransactions, and you keep paying for extra while accepting less for the same price you've been paying.

    It's absurd. And stupid.

    Content? It's not content. It's laughing at you and you're apologizing for it.
  1. Arrowstormen's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by feigning View Post
    TBC did have about 52. He exaggerated slightly, but I won't fault him for it. TBC did have more bosses than Cataclysm has had so far. You know, since it's not even completed. And the amount of bosses is really all that matters.
    No it's not.

    I don't see where you pull that.
  1. Desminn's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Arrowstorm View Post
    No it's not.

    I don't see where you pull that.
    i think you may need to check your sarcasim detector i think its broken. =)

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