Starfleet/Klingon Strike Group

Sov asked me to post my hints to the Winter Wonderland event - which is a bit of a challenge as it hasn't started yet! (I guess she knows how I love these grindy ground projects!)

I will do so as soon as we see what evernts are being posted - but let me start with this piece of advice, since you may need to do some base work to get ready.

If you do not have the 8472 Reputation Counter-Command Exo-Armor Mk XII (from the 8472 Reputation projects) - GET IT! If you do not like grinding away on the races, the exo-armor can give you a decided advantage. After dodging or rolling (and you'll need to do this to come to a fast stop on the ice), you are granted a +25% runspeed for 3 seconds.

8472 gear should help ensure more first/second place wins for epohh marks (or whatever they are called this year) as well as fewer disqualifications for sliding out of bounds. More firsts, fewer disqualifications = more epohhs faster = less grindy grindy. Ditto for the daily race (tho getting disqualified here is harder; they are far more liberal with the 'out-of-bounds' markers for that race.

All that's left to decide is "Do I wear the frosty boots?" The added runspeed may not be worth the loss of traction - but more on that later. (but do get the frosty boots from the winter store, if for nothing more than zipping through tedious ground running in regular missions and episodes! It helps with things like the dino fights in Sphere ground BZ. We'll talk about that in another post!)

Now go get those isomorphic injectors!

It's Q's Winter Wonderland time again! OK, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but what the heck, it's a Tier 6 ship for minimal grinding! But it's Mom's job to make the grinding a little less grindy and a little more fun.

Let's start with the "Fastest Race on Ice" - the daily race that yields the autographed photos of Q that you need for the Breen Rezreth Dreadnought.

First of all, it's not a difficult race. To pick up the mission, visit the Breen race official at the main ice gazebo.


After doing so, go down the stairs, and find the Breen Race official near the bottom of the stairs. You should get the "Signal Race Official" prompt. When this happens, click the button. (You can get dq'd from the race if you and someone else click on this at the same time. Go see the race official and start again.)

You will be transported to the race start, and after a brief countdown, you start running.

It is you versus some alien creature - but you do get a headstart, which you don't really need, but takes the pressure off.

That said, start by running a straight line, rather than trying to make the tight corners in the first section. (This is going to remain the same plan throughout the race: CLIP THE CORNERS!) You can jump over the snow banks quite a bit, because, unlike the Fast and the Flurrious, the Fastest Race on Ice is pretty liberal on the race borders. You want to try to stay to the inside of the light fixtures, but as long as you don't slip too far, you can make it.

It's the slipping (the lack of traction) that creates the biggest problem. Despite liberal borders, you can slip so far that you will be 'disqualified' - which, should it happen, just requires you to go back the the Breen and get the mission again. Once it's happened a few times, you'll know how far you can get out of the 'lane'.

One trick I've found is to run on the edges of the track, where there is snow, and therefore more traction.
You can also double-click the forward button and roll, which will stop all forward motion. This however leaves you with having to start from a dead stop each time. A final compromise is to jump, which will kill forward momentum, but, with a little practice, allows you to land on a snowbank, and you can accelerate faster than from a dead stop. (I jump and turn at the same time, so when I land, I'm on target for the new direction.)

If you start to slide, stop running and let the momentum die, then start running again.

As for wearing frosty boots, well, they will give you extra speed, but they decrease traction.

Alternatively, the 8472 exo-armor grants you the ability to get a 3 second speed boost after a roll, and really reduces the problem of regaining speed. (As evidence of this, I won the Fast and the Flurrious twice in 10 minutes after donning my gear - a quick 24 epohh tags)

After completing the race - and be careful toward the end where there are several hairpin turns: you can clip them a little bit, but not too much.
If you've been keeping a constant pace, you will have more than enough time to be careful here and still finish ahead of your 'opponent.' Don't forget to return to the original Breen to get your photos (you can turn them in through the 'event' tab on the reputation bar.

The Fast and the Flurrious (aka, "Get Your Epohhs!")

The epohh race is a far less forgiving race than the "Fast the the Flurrious". It's easier to go out of bounds, and since it's a competitive race, others are after the precious epohh tags... What? You can buy them? Oh well...

That said, I like the race. It runs at half past and 42 past the hour. You can see the timer next to your mini-map, and once it's announced you still have time to get there. If you are at one extreme of the map, just opt for a different instance and you'll return to the ice gazebo.

Again, I find the 8472 gear helps, but being Caitian has let me win several times without any gear, so while nice, it's NOT necessary.

To start, you'll leave the central gazebo by the southwest facing staircase, then up the hill with the fences on either side.

There is a Breen official at the top, but you do NOT need to check in with him. Simply wait for the "Join the Race" button 1 minute before the race starts.

When the gate drops, run straight forward. In theory you are chasing an epohh, but don't worry about that. Just run. I try to stay to the left of the central ice ridge, then jump over the small ice boulder in the middle. Continue to run until you're near the middle of the turn, then jump or roll to kill your momentum. Turn sharply to the right and start running. If you banked enough, you'll be on the right side of the central ice ridge - and if you didn't kill enough momentum, you'll slide forward off this rather than going off the track. If you did stop enough, great.

Once again, you'll be facing a sharp turn to the left; I find that jumping and turning left at the same time will get you in line for the next straight run. Just ahead of you, you'll see a ridge of ice running across the track, with a fairly high 'bump' on the right side. Aim for the bump, and when you hit the top, jump. (BTW, when you aim for the bump, there is a patch of ice just ahead of it - hit this, and you'll slide, lose momentum and fall into the trench rather than going OVER it. So veer toward it only as you get close.) This will carry you over the trench and onto the next part of the track. (If you land in the trench, jump again, and you'll be out.) This is a view of the jump from the bottom of the track.

Run forward, then there is a sharp bend to the left.  There are several ice ridges on both sides and in the center that can serve to slow you down, and also funnel everyone together. Unless you got a jumping buff, try to run down the center. Otherwise you can bounce over the tops fairly easily and stay ahead of the crowd.

One last turn to the right, and here's where throwing your frosty boots on can help. It's pretty much a straight line (a few obstacles) so run for all your worth. However, you need to pick up the first, second or third place flag, so if you have a clear shot, aim for it, and turn off the boots so you don't slide past it!

First place is 12 epohh tags, second is 6, third is 3 and everyone else gets 2. Make sure you pick them up even if you don't win!

Now go see you the annoying epohh lady, turn in 6 epohh tags on the duty officer assignment; after the mission completes, you'll get an epohh pup, which you can raise, just like on Romulus. After they become adults, you can turn them in for reputation marks.

Snowman About Town!

Admiral Kethwa, native to the warm climes of Orion, is fascinated with the figures crafted in the snow. Here is her first encounter with these magnificent creatures by the hill leading to the epohh race starting line.

Having completed the race, she is stunned by another display of the awesome might of the snowman:


Seeing more of the figures at the pond, she suspects they are a idol of the local deity:

More snowmen by the pond - and Kethwas begins to suspect there is more to the awesome snowman than just a figure in the cold!

Taunted by their magnificence, she challenges them to honorable combat - and the pondside snowmen succumb to the might of Kethwa!

Snowmen! I must have more snowmen! Kethwa orders the construction of more snowmen in the nearby fields.

Having found an army of snowmen in the hidden valleys, Kethwa prepares to lead them into the fray!

She leaves the fields of the snowmen, mightily impressed - until she finds the valley of the misfit snowpeople.

Her illusions of the superiority of the snowarmy quashed, she prepares to deal them a final blow: hot, melty, melty caramel.

The Snowball Fight

The snowball fight begins approximately 45 minutes after the hour. Using your winter wonderland weapons, you need to defeat 150 snowmen across the map, then defeat the snow overlord on the pond.

While a bit of a challenge last year, it has been toned down a bit, making it easily completable in the time allotted. You can facilitate this by finding the hidden snowman army in the valley (see Kethwa's pictures above), placing a turret/mortar/gumdrop bomb, etc., in position BEFORE the mission begins, and then picking off any stragglers.



After this, it's often just a matter of 'pot-shotting' the individual snowmen around the map - but you can find small gatherings near the path leading to the "Fast and the Flurrious" race starting point and the misfit snowmen in a second valley near the army. For the most part, however, it's one or two snowmen, so there's some running to be done.


Once you've killed 150 snowmen, the snow overlord will appear on the pond. As you begin to get closer to the 150 count, start moving toward the pond; there are snowmen around the pond and they respawn quickly, and you will reach the 150 mark quickly.


Finally the overlord appears - but unlike last year, he's easy to kill. A team of 5 can take him out in minutes - but again, mortars, turrets, bombs, etc., will speed this considerable.


Rewards aren't impressive, but do reflect the speed and ease of the mission.