Once again, the Hallow’s End is coming to an end in World of Warcraft – and once again, the frustration at the end is great.
The Hallow’s End was my first real cool “holiday event” in World of Warcraft as a newbie. I believe there was already the Lunar Festival before, but it never sparked the fascination in me as the Hallow’s End did during Halloween.
Traveling through the world, collecting candies, riding around on the cool broom you could spontaneously hop on – that was always cool.
The Fascination of the Headless Horseman
I was really fascinated back then in Brill. I was traveling on my undead warlock when suddenly it roared through my headphones:
“Prepare yourselves, the bells have tolled! Shelter your weak, your young and your old! Each of you shall pay the final sum. Cry for mercy, the reckoning has come!”
When Brill was ablaze and you had to coordinate with other players to throw water buckets to extinguish the flames, it was one of my best moments. It was spontaneous, without having to search for a group – everyone just pulled together and extinguished the fire that kept trying to spread.
There was also the rhyming, headless horseman, who, floating above us, laughed and threw out his phrases.
“The town still burns, a cleansing fire. Time is short, I’ll soon retire!”
When the fire was finally defeated, there was another rhyme:
“My flames have died, not left a spark. I will send you myself to the lifeless dark.”
All of that I found so incredibly cool, so perfectly fitting for a Halloween event in World of Warcraft, which did not remind me “too much” of the real world and at the same time seemed creepy with the backstory of the headless horseman.
I was very excited when I found out that you could even fight the horseman. Back then, the guy at the monastery was still a really tough boss, where you could easily die because his abilities dealt real damage.
When I then found out that you could get his awesome, burning horse as a mount, I was on fire like Brill just hours before.
But it has not been meant to be until today. Because the drop rate for the mount is incredibly low. Every time the loot bag that you receive once a day per character mocks me with a damned blood elf mask. Thanks, Mr. Blizzard.
How Joy Became Frustration
I have no idea how many times I have defeated the headless horseman already. Roughly estimating, I’m definitely nearing 1000 kills of the horseman, maybe a few more or less.
I only know that every year before Hallow’s End, I desperately try to get as many characters to max level to increase my chance for the mount.
By now, I hate the horseman so much. The mount is not even beautiful after all these years; it is pixelated and significantly uglier than many of the new mounts. But it’s about principle. I just want to have it after all this time.
I hate you, headless horseman. I hate you so deeply. You were the coolest event in World of Warcraft for me. Why haven’t you finally given me your mount?
Next year, I will get your mount even if I have to level up ten more twinks to max level. Guaranteed.
Did you get the headless horseman’s mount? Or has it been languishing in your collection for years?
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