The Harvest Festival is an event which lasts for one week, during the month of September of each year. In 2011, the Harvest Festival begins on the 6th of September and ends on the 12th.

It is different from all other such events in that it provides no achievements and no titles, nor does it count towards the What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been (Alliance/Horde) meta-achievement.

This guide will provide you with all the information you need to know about the Harvest Festival.

1. Introduction↑top

The Harvest Festival is a yearly event, the purpose of which is to honor those heroes of the Alliance and the Horde who passed away in service of their factions.

The Alliance honors Uther the Lightbringer. Uther is best known for being the leader of the Knights of the Silver Hand, and mentor to Arthas Menethil. He died at the hands of Arthas, who had, by then, become corrupted by Frostmourne.

The Horde honors Grom Hellscream, chieftain of the Warsong Clan. He is best known for being the first orc to embrace the blood curse of Mannoroth, and for slaying Cenarius. In a redeeming turn of events, he rose up against Mannoroth and killed him, freeing himself and all other orcs from the blood craze, and dying in the process.

Both the Horde and the Alliance receive a quest each, which sends them out into the world to honor these heroes.

2. Summary↑top

This section will sum up what the Harvest Festival does (and does not) reward you with, enabling you to quickly tell if the event is of interest to you.

• This event provides no achievements.
• This event provides no gear.
• This event provides no vanity rewards.
• This event provides you with 4 types of unique foods and drinks, which count towards the It's Happy Hour Somewhere and Tastes Like Chicken achievements.
• This event provides you with For the Light! (Alliance) and The Horde's Hellscream (Horde). These are books which contain a tiny amount of written lore, and serve no gameplay purpose.

The event rewards players with a small amount of gold and 500 reputation with their respective faction (Alliance or Horde).

The sections below present the event in more detail.

3. Quests and Rewards↑top

3.1. Alliance

When the Harvest Festival begins, a new NPC, Wagner Hammerstrike, appears outside the gates of Ironforge. He offers the quest Honoring a Hero.

Honoring a Hero asks players to travel to Uther the Lightbringer's Tomb in the Western Plaguelands (in-game coordinates: 52, 82) and honor it. To this end, they are provided a quest item, Uther's Tribute. Simply using this at the tomb will provide quest completion.

The quest is then turned in to Wagner Hammerstrike (still located outside Ironforge), for which players are rewarded with For the Light! This is a book which contains a few verses describing Uther the Lightbringer's life and character.

In addition to this reward, players receive a small amount of gold and 500 reputation with the Alliance (the hidden faction which, as it appears, serves no purpose).

3.2. Horde

When the Harvest Festival beings, a new NPC, Javnir Nashak, appears outside Orgrimmar. He offers the quest Honoring a Hero.

The quests requires players to travel to Demon Fall Canyon in Ashenvale (in game coordinates: 83, 79). This is the site of Grom Hellscream's death, which players are asked to honor. To this end, they are provided with a quest item, Grom's Tribute. Using this item in the specified location will provide quest completion.

Returning to Javnir Nashak, players can turn the quest in and receive The Horde's Hellscream as a reward. It is a book which contains a few verses describing Grom's heroic deeds.

In addition to this reward, players are also given a small amount of gold and 500 reputation with the Horde (the hidden faction which, as it apears, serves no purpose).

3.3. Shared Rewards

Two days after completing your faction's relevant quest, you will receive an in-game mail from your faction's NPC, providing you with Bounty of the Harvest. This is an item which, on a 12 hour cooldown, creates 4 types of conjured food:

• Harvest Bread;
• Harvest Fish;
• Harvest Nectar;
• Harvest Boar.

It is worth noting that these foods count towards the It's Happy Hour Somewhere and Tastes Like Chicken achievements.

4. Final Considerations↑top

This concludes the Harvest Festival Guide. As you can see, the event is quite small in size and scope. The rewards are rather insignificant, but it offers players a good chance to find out more about their faction's important lore events, and also a chance to get out and about in the game world!