Guild Wars 2 Column: Wintersday Keeps On Wintering

The joy of the holidays continues to spread both in real life and in Guild Wars 2.  ArenaNet has made sure players have plenty of ways to enjoy their time during the big Wintersday event.  I remember some of my first Wintersday moments from the original Guild Wars games, snowball fights with Grentches and spawning a trail of snowmen wherever I walked.   Those were fun times back then, but bring us now to the present and more is required to entertain players.
Each day this past week ArenaNet threw in a new part to the dungeon giving players a chance to experience something different each time.  For completing the dungeon players receives the parts to make a new toy themed mini pet.  Each possible mini pet is a toy form of some of our favorite creatures in Tyria, from stuffed animal griffins to princess dolls.  Of course to get all the parts to make one of these toys, players will need to complete the dungeon a few times, or trade for the parts with their hard earned gold.
As new events are brought into the dungeon, it usually involves the new toy that becomes available that day.  These events mimic the type of dynamic events players have experienced in the PVE world.  This helps players who haven’t tried the dungeon to just jump in and know what’s going on.  It also allows the dungeon to be easily updated each day.  The only down side is if you’re a player who’s done many of these events a bunch of times, you may want to experience something new.