From WoW: IncGamers World of Warcraft Wiki

When: Coincides with Chinese New Year, February 5th - Febrary 24th
Where: Booty Bay, Darnassus, Ironforge, Orgrimmar, Stormwind, Thunder Bluff, Undercity, Moonglade

Contents 1 Overview 2 Quests 3 Coins of Ancestry 3.1 Where to Exchange Coins of Ancestry 3.2 Getting Coins in other Faction Areas 4 History 4.1 Who is Elune? 5 Known Issues with the Lunar Festival 6 Elder Locations

Overview

To coincide with the Chinese New Year, World of Warcraft celebrates the Lunar Festival. The festivities begin on the 5th February, and the celebrations occur in Booty Bay, Darnassus, Ironforge, Orgrimmar, Stormwind, Thunder Bluff, Undercity and Moonglade. The end of the festival is 24th February.

Decorations will be placed in every capital as well as in the regions of Nighthaven and Moonglade. Revelers celebrating the Lunar New Year will be spread throughout the world (the revelers are concentrated in Moonglade, except for those that show up for the fireworks shows in Stormwind/Thunder Bluff/Booty Bay); the lunar festival specific NPCs can be found in each capital and in Moonglade. There are also other NPCs - spread throughout the world - which are ghost-like elders that players must find and honor, as noted below.

The World of Warcraft Lunar New Year events focus on the celebration of the inhabitants of Azeroth's ancestors. Quests can be found throughout the world offering holiday-related items such as fireworks and other memorabilia to celebrate one's elders and ancestors. A number of Elders can also be found throughout the world of Azeroth and each time a player finds a new Elder, he or she will receive a token that can be redeemed for special holiday related items.

Some holiday Items that players may recognize from the real world's Chinese New Year include:

• A variety of rockets and fireworks
• Festival Dumplings
• Costumes that depict festive Lunar holiday dresses and suits in a variety of colors besides red
• Recipes that will allow players to create red Lunar holiday clothing
• A special red lockbox with a surprise inside (Inspired by the "Hong Bao" that is given during Chinese New Year)

And much more!

Finally, there is a large raid encounter boss that only appears during this time of year named Omen. Omen's appearance is closely liked to the Lunar New Year and new players will be excited to hear that this will be the only raid encounter where newbies will be able to participate fighting a raid style boss! Omen is inspired by the tale of "Nian" from Chinese lore. In the Chinese version of WoW the boss' name will be left as Nian.

On the last night, one last firework show is held in Moonglade. This parallels the Chinese "Festival of Lanterns"; extra lanterns are spawned around Lake Elune'ara (the firework show occurs over the lake).

Quests

To begin the quests take the Lunar Festival quest from a Lunar Festival Herald in any of the cities which will ask you to talk to a Lunar Festival Harbinger in the city. On doing so you'll be given the Lunar Fireworks quest which asks you to let off some fireworks which you can buy from the nearby Lunar Festival Vendor. The vendor sells different coloured rockets, these are what they mean by fireworks. Only 1 person in your group need fire the fireworks, you're entire party is credited with the completed tasks. After completion, revisit the Lunar Festival Harbinger and you'll be rewarded with a [Lunar Festival Invitation] which lasts for 24 hours. You can revisit a Harbinger to get another one should you need it. Take the next quest Valadar Starsong.

Stand inside the shaft of Moonlight and right click the invitation that's in your backpack and you will be transported to Moonglade. Once there you'll notice more shafts of moonlight surrounded by revelers from each city. Use the shaft for the city of your choice when it's time to move on.

Full list with maps & co-ordinates of all the Elders

Coins of Ancestry

Each time you visit an Elder in the above list you will be rewarded with one [Coin of Ancestry] (Soulbound) and 75 points to your reputation standing with each of the races within your faction (see Talk ). There are a total of 50 Elders, some in instances, but you can only collect one coin from each Elder so there is a potential of 3750 reputation points with each of the four races within your faction.

You can take these coins to Valadar Starsong and his sister Fariel Starsong in Nighthaven, Moonglade to exchange for goods.

Black Lunar Pant Suit	Blue Lunar Dress

Where to Exchange Coins of Ancestry

Valadar Starsong Exchanges coins for the following goods
Item	Coins	Varieties	Stats
Festive Lunar Dresses	5	Green, Pink, Purple	None
Festive Lunar Pant Suits	5	Black, Blue, Teal	None
[Festival Dumplings]	1	Stack of 8	Restores 4% of your health and mana per second for 25 sec. Must remain seated while eating.
[Elune's Candle]	5	88 charges	Unique. Shoots a firework at a target. Cool down 3 mins. Use on Omen's minions before raising Omen in the Elune's Blessing quest.
Elune's Blessing		Quest	20 Man Raid. Summon Omen with the box of fireworks you are given when accepting the quest. Use [Elune's Candle]s on his minions before you summon Omen. Defeat him and gain Elune's Blessing (+10 to stats for 1 hour). Return to Valadar Starsong in Nighthaven. 2 bugs reported with this quest (details below).
Fariel Starsong - Exchanges coins for the following schematics
[Pattern: Festival Suit]	5	Not BoP	Teaches you how to sew a [Festival Suit]. Chest with no stats. Tailoring 250
[Pattern: Festival Dress]	5	Not BoP	Teaches you how to sew a [Festival Dress]. Chest with no stats. Tailoring 250
[Small Rocket Recipes]	5	BoP	Needs a launcher to fire.	Clvl 25. Eng 225
[Large Rocket Recipes]	5	BoP	Needs a launcher to fire.	Clvl 35. Eng 225
[Cluster Rocket Recipes]	5	BoP	Needs a launcher to fire.	Clvl 25. Eng 225
[Lunar Festival Fireworks Pack]	5	BoP	Needs a launcher to fire.	Clvl 25. Eng 225
[Schematic: Firework Launcher]	5	Not BoP	Teaches you how to make a [Firework Launcher]. Place on the ground to launch cluster rockets. Lasts 30 minutes. You can sell these schematics.	Clvl 45. Eng 275
[Large Cluster Rocket Recipes]	5	BoP	Last 30 mins. Do not need Engineering to use Rocket.	Clvl 55. Eng 300
[Cluster Launcher]	5	Not BoP	Last 30 mins. Do not need Engineering to use Rocket.	Clvl 55. Eng 300
With any of the above you will also get a Lunar [Lunar Festival Fireworks Pack] which contains an array of coloured rockets. You get no further reputation points for handing the coins in for these goods. In addition, for every coin you get you will also receive a mail, attached to which will be a [Lucky Red Envelope]. Open that envelope to find yet another goody. Such as this [Lucky Rocket Cluster]
[Lucky Rocket Cluster]		BoP	Throw into a cluster launcher! When launched it will also give you +250 Health for 30 mins
[Elder's Moonstone]		BoP	Summon a ring of light on a specific location that last for 3 mins. Doesn't seem to do anything other than look pretty.

Getting Coins in other Faction Areas

It is doable as the Elders will talk to you and won't attack. The same can't be said for guards who may be in the vicinity. If you have a mount use that to get in and out as quick as possible. You can stay mounted whilst talking to them. The following two maps should help you plan your collection route (Eastern Kingdom Elders & Kalimdor Elders) as they show just the flight paths and coin locations.

Coins across the World
Kalimdor Elders	Eastern Kingdom Elders

History

The Lunar Festival is a time of celebration. The people of Azeroth celebrate their triumph of many thousands of years ago, when an alliance of good races (Night Elves, Tauren, and Earthen - a proto-Dwarven race) defeated a terrible evil. It is also a time of remembrance for the valor and wisdom of that ancient age.

The demi-god Omen was a being of great strength and knowledge. Blessed by Elune, Omen wandered primordial Kalimdor, guiding hunters and gatherers and offering luck and advice to all he met. When the Burning Legion launched their attack, Omen allied with Azeroth's defenders. Omen fought bravely, but after many battles, his wounds from demonic forces plunged him into a deep, dreaming sleep where fel-inspired nightmares slowly consumed him. When he finally awoke, centuries later, he had fallen to madness.

The transformed Omen rampaged. No longer a creature of wisdom - but still possessing the strength of Elune's blessing - he tore through the land, killing and devouring. Terror rode before him, and death trailed in his wake.

Omen's spree of horror ended when a coterie of ancient heroes gathered in the village of Nighthaven and faced the beast. They called down the moon's wrath and Omen, blinded and stunned by the power of the moon goddess, fled into the deep waters of Lake Elune'ara. That day marked the end of his rampage, and symbolized a new beginning for the people of Azeroth, and the followers of Elune.

Today, the Lunar Festival is held by the druids of Nighthaven. Both the Horde and Alliance are welcomed to celebrate and shoot fireworks - a symbol of Elune's power. Ancient heroes of the past also appear throughout the land, offering gifts to those who find and honor them.

It is a time of happiness, fortune and celebration, but it has a deeper motive as well.

Omen, defeated so many centuries ago, yet remains in Lake Elune'ara. Although driven insane by the Burning Legion, the demi-god still possesses Elune's blessing and is, hence, immortal. During the Lunar Festival, he stirs. and heroes of the land are called to defeat him once again.

Who is Elune?

Over 10,000 years ago, the feral Kaldorei, who would become the Night Elves, worshipped Elune, the Moon Goddess. They believed she slept within the iridescent waters of the Well of Eternity during the day, and when the night fell she rose into the sky in all her pale splendor. The Night Elves believe that she watches over and protects her children and grants them the ability to meld into the velvet darkness of the night. Priestesses of Elune, such as the famed and ancient Tyrande Whisperwind, represent the grace and might of Elune in the mortal world. They use the power of their faith to fight her enemies and cloak themselves in silvery mail. The fearsome Night Elf huntresses also draw their strength from Elune, though they do not wield divine spells.

The Night Elves revere Elune and draw much of their martial strength and divine energy from this devotion. How the belief in Elune began is uncertain, as passing millennia have obscured her origins. Perhaps she does truly grant the Night Elves their unique ability to shadowmeld; perhaps they draw this power from an association with the Well of Eternity or some other force. In any case, though the actual existence of Elune may be unsure, one this is certain, she lives in the hearts and minds of her people, and this is all they need to call down her wrath.

Known Issues with the Lunar Festival

There are two known bugs/issues with the Elune's Blessing quest as detailed below:

1. Omen not appearing despite firing off huge amounts of fireworks (which are meant to awaken him)

2. Not getting credited with the quest completion because can't get Elune's Blessing from the moonbeam before it disappears

These were reported during the 2006 festival so expect them to be fixed now.

Elder Locations

There are 50 Elders in total. Each will reward you with a Coin of Ancestry and 75 reputation points to either Horde or Alliance, a total of 2500 reputation.

* Instance

	Eastern Kingdom Zone, Location	Elder	Map Level	Faction	Coordinates
1	Dun Morogh, Ironforge	Elder Bronzebeard	0-10	Alliance	29-16
2	Dun Morogh, Kharanos	Elder Goldwell	0-10	Alliance	46-51
3	Elwynn Forest, Goldshire	Elder Stormbrow	0-10	Alliance	40-62
4	Elwynn Forest, Stormwind	Elder Hammershout	0-10	Alliance	21-53
8	Tirisfal Glades, Brill	Elder Graveborn	1-10	Horde	61-53
9	Tirisfal Glades, Undercity	Elder Darkcore	1-10	Horde	66-38
5	Westfall, Sentinel Hill	Elder Skychaser	10.-20	Alliance	56-47
6	Loch Modan, Thelsamar	Elder Silvervein	10-20	Alliance	33-46
7	Silverpine Forest, Sepulcher	Elder Obsidian	10-20	Horde	45-41
10	Stranglethorn Vale, Booty Bay	Elder Winterhoof	30-45	Contested	27-74
11	Stranglethorn Vale, Zul'Gurub	Elder Starglade	30-45	Contested	53-18
12	Searing Gorge, Blackchar Cave	Elder Ironband	43-50	Alliance	21-78
13	The Hinterlands, Creeping Ruin	Elder Highpeak	45-50	Contested	50-48
14	Blasted Lands, Dark Portal	Elder Bellowrage	45-55	Alliance	58-51
15	Burning Steppes, Dreadmaul Rock	Elder Rumblerock	50-58	Contested	82-46
16	Burning Steppes, Flamecrest	Elder Dawnstrider	50-58	Contested	64-23
17	Swamp of Sorrows, Sunken Temple	Elder Starsong *	50-60	Contested	By Weaver & Dreamscythe
18	Western Plaguelands, Scholomance	Elder Moonstrike	51-58	Contested	69-73
19	Western Plaguelands, Weeping Cavern	Elder Meadowrun	51-58	Contested	65-47
20	Blackrock Depths, Burning Steppes	Elder Morndeep *	52-60	Contested	Number 6
21	Eastern Plaguelands, Crown Guard Tower	Elder Windrun	53-60	Contested	39-75
22	Eastern Plaguelands, Light's Hope Chapel	Elder Snowcrown	53-60	Contested	81-60
23	Blackrock Spire	Elder Stonefort *	55-60	Contested	Across the bridge
24	Eastern Plaguelands, Stratholme	Elder Farwhisper *	58-60	Contested	Wandering Streets

	Kalimdor Zone, Location	Elder	Map Level	Faction	Coordinates
1	Darnassus, Cenarion Enclave	Elder Bladeswift	0-10	Alliance	33-14
2	Durotar, Razor Hill	Elder Runetotem	0-10	Horde	53-45
3	Durotar, Orgrimmar	Elder Darkhorn	0-10	Horde	41-33
4	Mulgore, Bloodhoof Village	Elder Bloodhoof	0-10	Horde	48-53
5	Mulgore, Thunder Bluff	Elder Proudhorn	0-10	Horde	73-23
6	Teldrassil, Dolanaar	Elder Bladeleaf	0-10	Alliance	57-60
7	Darkshore, Auberdine	Elder Starweave	10-20	Alliance	36-46
8	Barrens, Camp Taurajo	Elder High Mountain	15-30	Horde	45-57
9	Barrens, Crossroads	Elder Moonwarden	15-30	Horde	51-30
10	Barrens, Ratchet	Elder Windtotem	15-30	Contested	62-36
11	Ashenvale, Astranaar	Elder Riversong	18-30	Contested	35-48
12	Thousand Needles, Freewind Post	Elder Skyseer	25-35	Horde	45-50
13	Thousand Needles, Mirage Raceway	Elder Morningdew	25-35	Horde	79-77
14	Feralas, Dire Maul	Elder Mistwalker	40-50	Contested	32-61
15	Feralas, Lariss Pavilion	Elder Grimtotem	40-50	Contested	76-37
16	Tanaris, Gadgetzan	Elder Dreamseer	40-50	Contested	51-27
17	Tanaris, Valley of the Watchers	Elder Ragetotem	40-50	Alliance	36-80
18	Tanaris, Zul'Farrak	Elder Wildmane *	44-54	Contested	By Gahz'rilla
19	Azshara, Ravencrest Monument	Elder Skygleam	45-55	Alliance	72-85
20	Desolace, Maraudon	Elder Splitrock *	46-55	Contested	East of Rotgrip's Pool
21	Felwood, Jaedenar	Elder Nightwind	48-55	Alliance	37-53
22	Un'Goro Crater, Slithering Scar	Elder Thunderhorn	48-55	Contested	50-76
23	Silithus, Cenarion Hold	Elder Bladesing	55-60	Contested	49-37
24	Silithus, Crystal Vale	Elder Primestone	55-60	Contested	23-11
25	Winterspring, Everlook	Elder Stonespire	55-60	Alliance	61-37
26	Winterspring, Ruins of Kel'theril	Elder Brightspear	55-60	Alliance	55-43