Winter Wonderland (JP) Blues? Newbie guide!

Winter Wonderland (JP) Blues? Newbie guide!

in A Very Merry Wintersday

Posted by: Sinikka.2794

Sinikka.2794

Hi everyone!
I have gotten a lot of in-game questions and requests for tips for this puzzle and I know some people don’t look outside the forums for help, so hopefully this will do a little bit of good! Just FYI, I average about 9 JP completions per round, in case anyone wonders.
I don’t pretend to be the best at all, I just want to try to help!

Super Basic Winter Wonderland Guide

Starting path recommendations -

I personally find the Quaggan path to be easiest, and Gingerbread the hardest. This is based entirely on preference, so feel free to ignore me and use whatever!

I recommend turning your settings to “Best Performance”. Even on great computers, cleaner lines can help with jumping/focusing. You may experience lag if you are grouped up, in which case you should have just enough time to let people pass or speed up ahead to (hopefully) fix it.

Your goal here is to keep moving, but not to freak out and go too fast! If you DO go too fast, you’ll often find that your snowflakes haven’t appeared yet, so don’t jump out into thin air!
The only time you really want to pause is at the candy canes – a lot of people get hung up on them. Sometimes they take a second to load, as well. Don’t hang out there too long, though!
It’s gonna take some practice, but you’ll get past this section, I promise. Put on some nice music and turn the in-game volume down if you’re getting stressed.

PS – It took me 5 hours to complete this JP for the first time last year… your goal is to beat that time and then rub it in here.

Onward!

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Winter Wonderland (JP) Blues? Newbie guide!

in A Very Merry Wintersday

Posted by: Sinikka.2794

Sinikka.2794

Okay, so you’ve made it past the evil snowflakes. Congratulations! Now comes the hard part.

You’ll notice that when you have jumped down the peppermints, just after the snowflakes, you get healed. Woo! Break time! Once you’ve breathed a bit and uncramped your hands, it’s time to go on.

Make sure you talk to Tixx, as he’ll give you some options to consider.
The first choice is to take a Giant Wintersday present RIGHT NOW, forfeiting another after you complete the puzzle. If you die, you get sent back to the beginning.
The second is to take an EXTRA present and carry it with you to the end. If you make it, you get a total of THREE Giant Wintersday gifts at the end. If you fail, you get sent back to the beginning of the puzzle.
The third choice is to forfeit ALL presents, but you get to keep the peppermint as a check point if you should fail the coming section. This checkpoint will only be good ONCE, if you die on the second try, you go back to the beginning.

I recommend that newbies DO NOT jump while the blue presents are… present.
Yes, they look big and inviting, but the whole lot of them are unstable and you must be quick and dextrous to get past them while they’re like this.

What you need to do is wait until someone quicker/less informed jumps on through. They may reset on their own, though I have yet to see this happen.

When this reset happens, you want to jump when the nearest row of RED/WHITE presents have just loaded. I mean, AS SOON as they load. This gives you basically a straight shot right up this section. Do keep in mind that the more people are on the gift boxes, the more unstable they become. Take your time, let groups pass if you want to. Just make sure to move enough that you don’t get booted from the instance!

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(edited by Sinikka.2794)

Winter Wonderland (JP) Blues? Newbie guide!

in A Very Merry Wintersday

Posted by: Sinikka.2794

Sinikka.2794

Oooh, that was scary, right? Well, pay attention or you’re gonna have to do it all again!

Just after the climb, there is a nasty snowman with a trick awaiting you. He is going to huff. . . and puff. . . and BLOW YOU DOWN!

All you need to do is breeeeathe, and wait for him to do the same. He will give a little breath first, as a warning. Then comes the big one that knocks everybody over the cliff. If you arrive and it seems clear, you can try to go through. If you’re cautious, just wait. You will not have another chance to heal before the end of the puzzle, so weigh your options carefully.

Once you are past that snowjerk and his stinky breath and across that candycane bridge, watch out for the snow boulders! You may choose one of two waiting spots, (as shown) before moving on to the next.

There are also (I know, right?) AoEs from Skritt that you will have to avoid on this path. If you are able to watch those red circles, it is safe to enter after you see the snow/ice burst – even if the circle has not disappeared yet.

Peppermints are your friends! They are delicious safe zones.

Move on up the hill as soon as the boulders pass. You will have to wait TWICE. Once at the candycane bridge, once on the two peppermints up the hill. I have given two views of the second waiting spot.

Wait there, then run up the hill to the BIG peppermint. But wait, there’s more!

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(edited by Sinikka.2794)

Winter Wonderland (JP) Blues? Newbie guide!

in A Very Merry Wintersday

Posted by: Sinikka.2794

Sinikka.2794

Yes! We’re ALMOST THERE!

Ah, the home stretch. This means WIND, and AoEs, and SNOWLDERS (you know, snow boulders) all on the SAME STRETCH, oh my!

It’s actually not as bad as all that. In fact, your ticking health is really the biggest issue here. It often comes to within two or three ticks when all is said and done.

So, since you’ve run up that hill, you need to get your behind parked on that big peppermint. Of course, it’s not as easy as all that – once you get there, a snowman will be breathing down your neck. If you’re careful, that’s all he’ll be doing. Stay in the marked areas, and you should be fine. Wait for him to quit breathing, and for the boulders to pass.

Once the boulder has gone past, run/dodge the TWO AoEs that happen (sometimes at the same time). You have a semi-safe spot on the left, but don’t think that you’re out of danger. Take care to stand at the top of the mint, since there is some AoE overlap – (those tricksy developers)!

From that peppermint, allow the boulder to pass. Run ALL the way up to the presents on the right. SKIP the peppermint, as stopping there will nearly always siphon too much health for you to finish the puzzle. Sometimes the boulder can hit you on the first blue present, so do your best to get to the second one quickly.

You want to go straight down the center of the trail of presents, following the blue presents and/or candycanes. You will be very low on health. Sometimes you may even find that you die while you are in the process of jumping into the glowing box at the end. You MUST have enough health to make it all the way through, or you’ll just get sent back to the start!

If you’ve made it – WOOHOO! Congrats! Don’t forget your chest! Now, do it 19 more times for your achievement.

If you haven’t – Keep trying! Only the most dextrous of us get it the first time. Again, it took me FIVE HOURS to get through the very first time last year. Don’t work yourself up too much! -HUGS-

BONUS ROUND:
There is a small jumping path behind you, after you have entered the glowing gift box at the end. It leads up to a castle, where you can take a well deserved screenshot to brag to all your friends.

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(edited by Sinikka.2794)

Winter Wonderland (JP) Blues? Newbie guide!

in A Very Merry Wintersday

Posted by: skullmount.1758

skullmount.1758

I’ll have to try the presents thing. Getting real tired of that section and its randomness.

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