How Halloween is celebrated in online gaming

Fans of MMORPGs and other multiplayer entertainment know that games have holidays from time to time. Developers celebrate the anniversary of their project, or some festival, or create a new atmosphere at Christmas. Among the brightest events traditionally includes Halloween, when virtual worlds are decorated with spooky decorations, pumpkin lanterns are lit everywhere, and heroes are called for adventure and rewards. So that you don't have to look for such events, we'll tell you about the best of them, and at the same time we'll explain what you can do there and what you'll get as a prize.

Let's start with the MMORPG genre, which allows you not only to hold any holiday, but also to decorate it properly. This is what Guild Wars 2 developers did on the eve of Halloween. Pumpkin lanterns appeared on the locations, monsters came from nowhere, and the heroes received carnival costumes to fight with the servants of the Mad King. The boss battle is led by a jumping puzzle - it must be solved by running away from miasmas. Then the group of brave men gets into the dungeon, where the Mad King and his minions dwell. You will also be waiting for mini-games and competitions on the race track, where the participants saddle their pets (beetles, for example, or wolves) and rush to the finish line.

All event participants receive Trick-or-Treat bags, which is a phrase that costumed children say when collecting Halloween candy in real life. It can be translated as "trick-or-treat." Inside the bags are also many attributes of the holiday, including corn, which can be exchanged at merchants for different types of appearances, miniatures, recipes and other valuable items. By completing daily quests and fighting monsters, users earn armor, weapons, and jewelry. Among the latter are traditional masks in the form of paper sacks with painted faces. The celebration in the game will last until November 7.

Even longer, until November 15, Nightveil Hallow participants will celebrate Halloween in New World. First of all, as tradition demands, the heroes must put on special costumes, and then go to the cities where baskets with treats are hidden. Inside these chests are waiting for elements of Baalfazu armor, event tokens and candy. The first ones will be used to equip the characters themselves, the second ones can be exchanged with merchants for something useful, and the sweets hold surprises. In addition, gamers are allowed to hooligan, because their holiday attire gives them the opportunity to attack civilians to demand from them the coveted Trick-or-Treat.

The boss of the event is the same Baalfazu, to be fought, of course, by the whole squad. This Marquis of Terror, who gathered around him a horde of pumpkin monsters, shares his treasures with those who will be able to defeat him. But only level 66 players are able to take up the challenge. To start cleaning up Eternum from the nasty creatures, you must first turn to the madman Salvatore, and then call your friends for help, rush into battle and return to the customer with a trophy that proves your success. Whoever defeats the boss will receive his armor, costumes and the same tokens to exchange for items in the shop.

The Ancient Scrolls universe is no stranger to the theme of ghosts and witches. Until November 7, participants of the Festival of Fear can fight any monsters of Sirodil and get double experience for it. But not everything is so simple, because the heroes themselves will be transformed in the style of the holiday: if you get a magic whistle, you can blow it and turn into a skeleton to fulfill the quest "Deal with the witch-mother". And if you sip from the witch's cauldron, it will bring various rewards, including reagents, furniture recipes, treasures and insect parts. Similar sets of gifts braves will receive for each fight with the boss - in addition to the main trophy, the winner will receive a skull with valuable items.

In addition, defeating the first monster of the day brings a pair of tickets to the festival, which means that by the end of the event an active user will have collected 26 tickets. For tickets you can get a unique pet, enchanted silver flute, mystical notes, blessed honey, style pages, souvenir tomes, furniture, repair kits and a collection of vampire items. It's interesting to note how the Bethesda staff has tied the Halloween celebration to the game's upcoming events. Right now, you can collect blueprints, fragments, and recipes that will come in handy for missions in the future.

Naturally, the matter is not limited to the role-playing genre. The spirit of Halloween has stopped by and on the expanses of online action game DayZ. And the entourage here is suitable, because in the game the heroes survive in the world after the zombie apocalypse. But now there are themed locations on the map - they are not only decorated in the style of the holiday, but also offer additional conditions. For example, the cold, forcing characters to dress in warm clothes. There are also ghosts here - quite a logical addition to the crowds of walking dead. Which, by the way, got a new appearance design, that is, they put pumpkins on their heads or wrapped themselves in bandages to resemble mummies.

Even the animals have succumbed to demonic influence - if you follow the herds of goats, you will notice that they behave strangely. No way the evil forces have done their best. Among the loot (loot hidden on the map) appeared special things timed to Halloween. These include warm clothes, hooded ringlets and carnival masks. You can find them until November 7, and at the same time make a screenshot to take part in the contest. However, such activities are available locally. And those users who do not want to celebrate anything, are free to play without pumpkins, possessed animals and other devilishness.

But in another survival simulator, Rust, there are usually no zombies. But that didn't stop Facepunch studio staff from organizing a real horror festival for gamers. The fun begins with a hunt for candy, when users race to collect candy in bags, trying to make it in three minutes. The leaders of this competition are awarded various rewards, from building materials to weapons. In addition, you can collect body parts to make your own Frankenstein monster and awaken it by pressing the "P" button. But first you have to build a special table. And the animated monster will do your bidding - for example, protect you in battle.

Also on the map there are portals leading to the tunnels of the R.U.I.N. experiment. That's where the zombie-like creatures are. On the other hand, it's an opportunity to get a lot of resources. The key is to venture in. Especially on the occasion of Halloween characters are given to dress up in a cloak and mask of Dracula, and also to take with you an aspen stake to fight the evil. This set is completed with purchased items - like a hockey mask, bits, torches and, of course, a rich selection of skins. And who would like to earn real money, let him take part in the pumpkin carving contest.

The fall mood has also changed in the Warface shooter, where the Cyberheim event was launched on the occasion of Halloween. The main rewards for participation in it are items from Brimstone and Helheim sets - rifles, axes, knives, tactical gloves and helmets decorated in the style of zombies and hellish lava. Dressed up in such items, anyone will impress the enemy. There are also themed contracts from Cyberheim and Black Market series. And since the game is about the future, a lot of attention in the holiday patch was paid to the topic of crazy cyborgs, which is dedicated to the new PvP-mode "Spoils".

According to the rules of this fight sixteen people appear on the location, but one of them is "patient zero" - a cyborg with enhanced abilities. His task during the fight is to kill people, who then turn into robots themselves and replenish the squad of "dead". The fight lasts until one side wins. To succeed, human characters need to use various reinforcements hidden on the map, while their former comrades simply shoot anything that moves. Another important part of Cyberheim was PvE-activities, such as "Pripyat", "Cyber-Orda" and "Black Shark".

The "Festival of the Dead" will last in Destiny 2 until November 7. It is already clear by its name what the authors of the multiplayer action game are celebrating. And they did it in an original way - they asked gamers in advance what decorations they would like to see in the game. And, having received the answers, simply embodied these ideas. That's how the headdresses in the form of buckets with slit holes for eyes, insect masks, spider costumes and decorations of glowing faces in pumpkin lanterns, or, as they are more often called, Jack's lamps got into the fantastic universe. The eccentric appearance of the characters is not available for nothing - you'll have to shell out candy for it.

Interesting appearance types became available and for enemies, among which appeared Headless - monsters with pumpkins on their shoulders. Dealing with them, you can earn candies to exchange them for various items. For example, for a heavy grenade launcher "Akosmika". Engrams can also be customized to earn special gear, including Halloween-themed armor. The event, of course, has a challenge map, passing which earns tickets - these too can be exchanged for useful items like emblems, shaders, gestures and ships.

It's unexpected to see Halloween trappings in such a serious shooter, which is famous for large-scale battles on a distant planet. Nevertheless, Rogue Planet Games studio has decorated everything properly, including garlands and giant pumpkins with faces carved on them. If you shoot at them, you can get presents. Plus, hunting pumpkins allows you to complete daily challenges, gain some experience, and earn the title "Infernal." But it's not limited to gourds - the game has added a holiday directive and a demonic aircraft carrier.

The Ghost Bastion event is associated with the latter - the aircraft carrier will return to the battlefield even after its destruction, so the developers advise you to keep a closer eye on the sky. Appearing, this giant makes some parts of the map inaccessible to challenge and capture, and the probability of calling the aircraft carrier the higher the more space pumpkins destroyed gamers. Ground vehicles are also allowed to be decorated - for example, you can put spikes on an armored car or change the sound of the horn. Unfortunately, the festive events will not last long - until October 31. So hurry up to take part in them.

The popular "battle royal" Fortnite didn't miss Halloween either. And its authors, as we know, know how to celebrate in a big way. Until November 3, Fortnite users can fight a vampire using the Aspen Stake shotgun, Thorne's Blade and Pumpkin Vault, and ride a witch's broomstick to soar through the air. Power-ups will give fighters candy - taffy, marmalade, and bouncy lollipops. Eating any of these candies will give you new abilities, and for completing tasks you will be given prizes. These include back jewelry, emblems, emotes, and a stylish hang glider called "Vampire Wings". There will be something to fight off waves of enemies in the returning mode "Onslaught of the Horde".

The themed costumes are traditionally chic - the characters can be decorated really in the spirit of the holiday. You can dress up as a creepy monster, a mummy or a Goth outfit. Those who are fond of fanservice can pay attention to the set "Pumpkin King", where there is a place for the skin and equipment of Jack Skellington from Tim Burton's cartoon "The Nightmare Before Christmas", sets of Michael Myers and Alan Wake. All three of them use items suitable for their roles - Michael, as he should, wields a cleaver, and Alan Wake dispels the darkness with a flashlight.

Other "battle royales" also keep their noses in the wind. But while PUBG creates a festive atmosphere by collaborating with fast food chain KFC, the authors of Apex Legends use more traditional methods. In Trick N' Treat mode, players play in threesomes and, in addition to fighting with opponents, collect candy on the location to get additional rewards in battle - experience points, ability boosts, and shield regeneration. If you're not lucky enough to find candy, you can pick up a Copycat Kit, a new item that gives your legend one more ability on top of the existing ones. It's only active until the end of the match - you'll be running around with it the whole time.

Halloween jewelry collection contains 24 items at once, not counting legendary character skins. You can trade all these cosmetic items for Apex coins, and if you collect the full set, you will get the legendary Revenant skin - Apex Nightmare. Parachutes with themed designs are also available. In total, the holiday activities allow you to gain up to 1400 task points per day and thus unlock stages of the battle pass. It turns out to be not only fun, but also progress. What online games do you intend to celebrate Halloween in?