Frost Wind Celebrations

> *"Ho ho ho! It's that time of year again!"*
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The holiday season has come once more to Heathmoor, and with Heroes wishing to take some time off to celebrate, *For Honor* brings to you the Frost Wind festivities once more in the form of the **Frost Wind Celebrations**!! This year's seasonal event will run on all platforms, from December 9th until the 30th, 2021. Much like the winters before, Ice Brawlers makes a return once more, together with fresh winter loot that will only be around for the event, so bring what presents and hugs you can to the battlefield to show everyone your holiday spirit!

## Overview

Having survived the harsh waves of the storm, warriors return to winter festivities at the start of this season. Start this season with another winter of festive celebration together with Gryphon and the other Heroes! Named the Frost Wind Celebrations, take the coming three weeks from December 9th to the 30th to celebrate not only the winter season again, but to also collect together what cosmetics you can that is based off the frigid cold ice that hides a deadly cephelopod below! Everyone's favourite Ice Brawlers makes its return once more, this time with a cheering crowd to root for all who stand on the shakey ice.

But as you hug and cheer with your friends, be wary of the boats that sail in the distance. New faces have appeared on the shores, and while they make the air all holly and jolly, they might have something up their sleeves to come...

The festivity will last from December 9th to the 30th, so grab what presents you can while it is available during this winter holiday! May it be filled with lots of fun and with many ledges.

## Ice Brawler

> *"Step onto a frozen lake and brawl it up! Just keep in mind that ice... breaks."*
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Ice Brawler makes a return once more. Two teams of two Heroes fight it out on the icy surface of a frozen lake. Unlike the out-of-five matches normally, brawls over the ice is out-of-nine.

However, watch out! Each panel of ice will break under the weight of any player standing on top, especially if there is more than one. The ice has three breaking stages, which can be seen visually as water splashes and the ice breaks further, where at the third, it is guaranteed to completely break in a few seconds, plunging any poor soul into the shivering cold waters. Gladly, during the first two breaking stages, the ice will maintain if there is no one on top.

Unlike before, an audience will be peppered on the other islands off the ice, cheering on for their favourite champion. Is that champion your team... or the other?

## Other Changes

### Cosmetics

Outside the Event Order, players who participate in the event can plunder the free event pass which contains Frigid Squid Effect, Opulent Sailor Ornament, and the Crystal Squid Outfit! They can also scower the battlefield for some special Sailor weapon visuals; weapon visuals looted are limited to the Hero played during the match or who they are salvaged from.

Players can also opt to purchase the special items that are exclusive to the event. New paired emotes will be available to allow everyone to take part in the friendly celebration. You can offer gifts to you friends either with a hug with the All is Bright pair emote... or with coal with the Wolf's Might pair emote. The free pass will even offer a free paired emote at its first tier, where you can offer friends a nice *bise* kiss greeting with the Kiss Exchange pair emote! There is even the Gryphon's Fireside emote available during the last week, where you get to sit in a rocking chair with some hot chocolate, just as Gryphon did for the 24 hour Yule Log.

If you want to keep all of these holiday goodies for the whole-year-round, then snag these event exclusive cosmetics before they are gone in the snow.

### Orders

During the Frost Wind Celebrations event, the daily orders and Event Orders depict not only the festive season, but drop hints of our mysterious guests who comes under the red sails:

#### Daily Orders

* **Winter Settles In** - "Once the rains ceased, the weather changed. The wind calmed down, and the skies cleared. The high waters surrounding Heathmoor froze as winter settled in, covering the lands with heavy snow."
* **Ceasefire** - "Amid the Celebrations, rumors are that Gryphon and Astrea met one another in the frozen harbor. While they were both armed, it's said that the two met not to talk of war, but to discuss the seafarers."
* **A Time of Celebration** - "As winter began, the hostility between factions seemed to alleviate. It wasn't that a new peace or truce had been reached but more that, after so many hardships, warriors felt more like celebrating than fighting."
* **Astrea's Past** - "Years ago, Astrea ventured across the sea. In a land far away from Heathmoor, she crosssed paths with the leader of the seafarers. They even briefly joined forces against a common enemy, before they went their separate ways."
* **Gryphon's Travels** - "As a mercenary, Gryphon had heard tales from fishermen about pirates far out on the water. He had learned of their code and thought these voyagers could make for valuable allies."
* **The Eternal Returns** - "After the fall of the Eternal, the legendary Centurion returned, seeking the Savior. He used the cover of the festivities to get close to his sworn enemy, but several seafarers stopped him from getting his revenge."
* **Ancient Rellics** - "The seafarers have begun trading with the people of Heathmoor. They have brought with them intriguing trinkets from their travels, some of which speak of tales from a past long ago forgotten."
* **Tall Tales** - "As they drink and join the festivities, the seafarers tell stories of strange lands the people of Heathmoor have never heard of before. Most take them as nothing but tall tales, but others have no trouble believing them."
* **Spectre in the Night** - "As the seafarers travel through Heathmoor, their ship remains anchored in the distance -- a quiet, lifeless spectre. Yet some swear they have seen a silhoutte walk across the deck in the dead of night, observing the shore."
* **Covenants Questioned** - "As the Celebrations approached their end, some wondered what this would mean for the Covenants. The hostilities eased, and the status of certain allegiances was put into question. What would this mean for the ongoing war?"
* **Mysterious Leader** - "Many welcome the arrival of the seafarers, who have brought some welcome change to Heathmoor. But others remain wary of these strange visitors because their mysterious leader has yet to reveal themselves."
* **A Life of Piracy** - "The seafarers are loud and brash. They have no knowledge of alliances or factions, and they don't care about them either. What they do care about is treasure. Whatever they can get their hands on, they take for themselves."
* **Families Reunited** - "Families and friends are finding each other again. An Orochi was reuninted with the wife and son he thought lost during the storm. The rains of the tempest simply couldn't rival the amount of joyful tears shed that day."
* **Red Sails** - "As the people of Heathmoor celebrated in the warmth of their homes, very few saw the arrival of a massive boat with red sails that reached the harbor. It looked Chinese, but the Wu Lin swore it wasn't one of their own."
* **New Visitors** - "The seafarers that traveled by boat have quickly mixed in with the people of Heathmoor. While they are rough around the edges and have very little tact, they are jovial, and their enthusiasm is infectious."
* **Calm After the Storm** - "A dense fog hovers over the frozen waters. It has brought an odd sense of tranquility, one that the people of Heathmoor have come to see as a much-needd calm after the storm."
* **Thankful Villagers** - "Heathmoor survived a brutal drought and a devastating storm. Now that a reposeful winter has come, the people who have endured so much consider themselves lucky to be alive."
* **A Scribe's Journal (1)** - "During the Celebrations, I saw a Horkos Warmonger and a Chimera Shinobi locked in a duel. The Warmonger got the upper hand but, shockingly, they chose to spare their opponent's life. It was a rare sight to behold."
* **A Scribe's Journal (2)** - "I had an encounter with one of the seafarers, and they were far more pleasant than I had anticipated. They asked me information about an ancient ornate goblet, but I had no idea what they were talking about."
* **A Scribe's Journal (3)** - "A few of us were having a drinking contest near the shore. But the game reached another level when the seafarers' leader approached us. They put us all to shame, winning easily. And I believe they stole my coin pouch."

#### Event Orders

Each week, there will be a unique Weekly Order.

* **Behind Bars - December 10 - 13**
	+ "A key to the future."
		- *Be the faction with the most Ice Brawler matches won.*
* **? - December 17 - 20**
	+ "ASO!ONAMLRCGUDRITEEN"
		- *Be the faction with the most Takedowns performed in Ice Brawler matches.*
* **A Rare Bird - December 24 - 27**
	+ "Who is the seafarers' mysterious leader?"
		- *Be the faction with the most Executions performed in Ice Brawler matches.*

## Trivia

* With some of the game's description and one of the order lores referring to the boats having "red sails," it is likely that the Hero leading these seafarers is meant to be a reference to the Chinese pirate leader Zheng Yi Sao (鄭一嫂), also known as Ching Shih (鄭氏), and her fleet known as the "Red Flag Fleet."
* The first and second weekly Event Orders form a puzzle:
	+ The first order refers to a location on the Harbor map, which has been modified for the season to include pirates. Behind the Marketplace Point is a barred gate. Behind these bars is a set of numbers: 51423
	+ The second order is a set of letters that needs to be decoded with a cipher. Using a Transposition Cipher together with the numbers from the first order, the letters rearrange to read as the following: "OUTLANDERSARECOMING" which would be "Outlanders are coming."
		- The formation of these letters differ between languages (the above is the English language's letters). For example, in Japanese, the letters are "AGTUONAELRTRUDYKTEAU," which reform with the cipher to "OUTLANDERGAYATTEKURU." When split properly, it is "Outlander ga yattekuru" (Outlanderがやって来る) which means "the Outlanders are coming."
	+ The third order does not offer any clear hint, than the possibility that the upcoming Hero will be named after a rare bird.