Event

For API events that can be handled by the UI or addons, see Events.

The Darkmoon Faire is one of the most iconic events in World of Warcraft.

Events in Azeroth (also known as World Events, Seasonal Events or Holidays when appropriate) run the gamut from small yet ferocious free-for-all skirmishes for loot, to world-wide friendly celebrations, to ongoing military campaigns. An event of this kind is defined, with one exception, by being only available in the game at certain times and not others, ranging from several times a day, to annually, to one-time historical happenings never to be seen again. Below are some of the events, which are fun if you ever get around to them.

Types of environment changes accompanying events include:

• caravans, tents, or wagons being added to an area,
• decorations on buildings,
• new fixed devices,
• new mobs, quest givers, vendors, or other NPCs,
• special drink and food,
• holiday-specific quests and quest rewards, and
• holiday-themed recipes.

Ongoing events

The Gurubashi Arena Booty Run helped to consolidate the popularity of PvP within Stranglethorn.

Over the course of Azeroth's troubled history, the times of celebration have fallen under the shadow of the conflicts that have shaped and scarred the world. Every day, as new challenges surface, new champions answer the call to arms, relishing the glory and the rewards of battles well fought. Below are details of some of the current disturbances warranting investigation - and participation - by the world's most adventurous heroes.

• Argent Tournament - Permanent, at the Argent Tournament grounds in northern Icecrown.
  • Despite being available at all times, Tournament achievements are listed under "World Events". It's possible this may once have been intended to be a one-time event leading up to the assault on the Lich King. The fact that "construction was completed" between its release and the next patch may also explain its event classification.
• Gurubashi Arena Booty Run - Every 3 hours, at the arena in Stranglethorn Vale.
• Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza - Sundays from 2-4pm, in Stranglethorn Vale.
• Darkmoon Faire - First week of each month, in Mulgore and Elwynn Forest, and primarily on Darkmoon Island.
  • Darkmoon Deathmatch - Every 3 hours at the southern pavilion of the Darkmoon Faire, during Faire week.

    

    Faction Assaults will only be available for a set period of time before they are gone, at least until the next one.

• Wanderer's Festival - Sundays from 9-11 pm in Krasarang Wilds
• Legion Assaults
• Faction Assaults - Introduced in patch 8.1.0, these consist of invasions by the Horde or the Alliance forces in Kul Tiras and Zandalar, respectively.

Seasonal events

The Feast of Winter Veil was the first seasonal event in World of Warcraft.

To help offset the strain and tension of constant warfare, the leaders of the Horde and the Alliance occasionally organize full-blown festivities for their people, centered around holidays and special events. What better way to celebrate the year's victories and other achievements than in the company of a few thousand of your closest allies?

Hallow's End decorations in Stormwind City.

The Brewfest holds the the Guiness World Record for the Largest Virtual Beer Festival.

Azeroth event	Time period	Related earth event	Additional info
New Year	31st Dec - 1st Jan	New Year's Eve	Gregorian calendar; added in patch 2.0.1.
Lunar Festival	Varies (Spring)	Lunar New Year	Chinese calendar; added in patch 1.9.0.
Love is in the Air	7th Feb - 20th Feb	Valentine's Day	Added in patch 1.9.3.
Noblegarden	Varies (Easter)	Easter	Added in patch 1.3.0.
Children's Week	1st May - 7th May	Children's Day - Japan Mother's Day - US (and in most other countries, including: Belgium and the Netherlands)	Added in patch 1.4.0.
Midsummer Fire Festival	21st June - 5th July	Midsummer Canada Day - CAN Independence Day - US	Added in patch 2.4.3. Also contains the Engineers' Explosive Extravaganza.
Pirates' Day	19th Sept	International Talk Like a Pirate Day	Added in patch 2.4.3.
Brewfest	20th Sept - 4th Oct	Oktoberfest - Germany	Added in patch 2.2.2.
Harvest Festival	27th Sept - 4th Oct	Roughly Thanksgiving - Canada, US (actually celebrated in October and November in Canada and US, respectively) Columbus Day - US US Stress Test ended: September 12, 2004	Added in patch 1.6.0.
Peon Day	30th Sept	EU Closed Beta began: September 30, 2004	Observed only in Europe, added in patch 1.12.1.
Hallow's End	18th Oct - 1st Nov	Halloween	Added in patch 1.8.0.
Day of the Dead	1st Nov - 2nd Nov	Day of the Dead	Added in patch 3.2.0.
WoW's Anniversary	16th Nov - 30th Nov
Pilgrim's Bounty	22nd Nov - 28th Nov	Thanksgiving	Added in patch 3.2.0.
Feast of Winter Veil	15th Dec - 2nd Jan	Christmas	Added in patch 1.2.0.

Micro-holidays

The Great Gnomeregan Run idea originally came from a player who organized it for charity purposes.

First introduced in patch 7.1.5, these new "micro-holiday" events offer brief holiday-style activities for players to take part in. Unlike the larger holidays like Hallow's End, which run for weeks, these micro-holidays usually only last a day or two, and often involve specific events taking place in the world or celebrate important moments in Azeroth's history. These micro-holidays are only meant for fun and therefore do not offer any significant rewards like permanent pets or mounts, but can still provide some variety and opportunities for hijinks, as well as breathing new life into some of the more static parts of the game world.

Azeroth Event	Date	Known reason for celebration
Call of the Scarab	January 21 - 23	To celebrate the opening of the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj.
Hatching of the Hippogryphs	February 19
Un'Goro Madness	March 17 - 19
March of the Tadpoles	April 5
Volunteer Guard Day	April 23
Spring Balloon Festival	May 8 - 10
Glowcap Festival	May 27
Thousand Boat Bash	June 6 - 8
Auction House Dance Party	July 22
Trial of Style	August 17 - 21
Great Gnomeregan Run	October 14 - 15
Moonkin Festival	November 12th
Kirin Tor Tavern Crawl	December 7

Unique events

The War of the Thorns was the first of the unique events to feature world quests.

A number of one-time-only World Events have occurred throughout the game's history. Most of these events have either directly resulted in changes to the game world or were pre-cursors to expansion packs. They are distinguished from removed content by the fact that they were planned to last only a short time after release (at most one major patch) rather than being removed due to either considerations for new content or gameplay concerns, updates, and other fixes. Note that simply being introduced and removed quickly (e.g. a quest added in patch 3.3.5 and removed for The Shattering) does not qualify something as a One-Time Event or part of one - it must be related to a unique period or occasion.

Operation Gnomeregan is an example of a unique pre-expansion event.

• Secrets of Azeroth — Discover secrets across Azeroth and other planets. This event provides transmogs, mounts, and pets and mostly everything are still available even after the event has ended. Only the  [Arcane Influence] was unique to the event and can no longer be obtained.
• A Greedy Emissary and Welcome to Sanctuary — Celebrated the launch of Diablo IV in 2023. The first event introduced new Diablo-themed items and brought back old items from Diablo's 20th Anniversary event. The second event provided an event-long buff that increased reputation and experience.
• Tempest Unleashed — Taking place with patch 10.0.0, this world event preceded the release of Dragonflight. The event had invasions in Tirisfal Glades, Badlands, Northern Barrens, and Un'Goro Crater.
• Death Rising — Taking place with patch 9.0.1, this world event preceded the release of Shadowlands. The event, similar to the Scourge Invasion event, had rares in Icecrown, a world boss in Eastern Plaguelands, and the Zombie Infestation started once again.
• World of Warcraft 15th Anniversary — This anniversary was unique by introducing a special version of Alterac Valley (Korrak's Revenge, a tribute to its earlier versions) and a Deathwing-inspired mount ( [Obsidian Worldbreaker]), acquired by defeating previous expansions villains in  [Memories of Fel, Frost and Fire].
• War of the Thorns - This was the Battle for Azeroth pre-expansion event. After the discovery of [Azerite] in Kalimdor, Sylvanas decides to assault the night elf territory, and eventually manages to burn down Teldrassil.
• Diablo's 20th Anniversary — Celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Diablo franchise.
• Legion Invasions — Taking place with patch 7.0.3, this world event preceded the release of Legion. The event featured the invasion of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms by forces of the Burning Legion. It was also the first pre-launch event in which characters as low as level 10 could participate in defending affected zones, thanks to new tech allowing mob level to scale to the player's.
• World of Warcraft 10th Anniversary — This anniversary featured Tarren Mill vs Southshore and Level 100 Molten Core.

The Dark Portal Opens was the first pre-expansion event in World of Warcraft.

• Iron Horde Incursion — Taking place with patch 6.0.2, this unique world event preceded the release of Warlords of Draenor. The event featured orcs coming through the Dark Portal, ravaging the Blasted Lands and taking over Blackrock Mountain. An extensive quest line saw players battling the Iron Horde invaders in a phased, level-90 only version of the Blasted Lands.
• Battlefield: Barrens — Taking place in patch 5.3.0, this event transformed the Northern Barrens, introducing hundreds of new NPCs, new areas and a number of dynamic events, along with a range of rewards for participation. Focusing on the building conflict between Garrosh Hellscream and his loyal Kor'kron and the rebelling forces of Vol'jin's Darkspear Rebellion, adventurers from both the Horde and the Alliance were able to assist the rebels in their preparations for the coming war against the warchief. Players secured supplies for the rebellion by defeating Kor'kron units and their powerful commanders, escorting their faction's supply caravans through the zone and even stealing supplies from overturned Kor'kron caravans.
• Elemental Unrest — Beginning on 11 November 2010, this event is the precursor to the devastating events of the Cataclysm expansion.
• Operation: Gnomeregan and Zalazane's Fall — Beginning on 7 September 2010, these world events were the first precursors to the Cataclysm expansion and allowed Alliance and Horde players to assist in the retaking of Gnomeregan's surface and the Echo Isles respectively.

The opening of the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj was one of the first unique events in World of Warcraft.

• Night Elf Mohawk — This mini event happened in patch 3.2.2: Night Elf Mohawk NPCs were added in the starting zones, offering players the  [Mohawk Grenade] (only those who believed in them).
• Zombie Infestation — Introduced in patch 3.0.2, this world event was a precursor to the Wrath of the Lich King expansion and featured plagued crates that would transform players into zombies with the ability to pass the zombie plague onto others. It was followed by a reprise of the Scourge Invasion world event from patch 1.11.0.
• The Spirit of Competition — This event occurred simultaneously with the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and simply rewarded players for completing battlegrounds during the event.
• Battle for Sun's Reach — Introduced in patch 2.4.0, this world event occurs once per server and requires the completion of a number of daily quests on the Isle of Quel'Danas in order to allow the Shattered Sun Offensive to take over and rebuild the town of Sun's Reach.
• The Dark Portal Opens — Introduced in patch 2.0.1, this world event was a precursor to the The Burning Crusade expansion and featured the forces of the Horde, Alliance, and Argent Dawn fighting back against the demonic legions entering Azeroth through the Dark Portal.
• The Scourge Invasion — Originally introduced in patch 1.11.0, this world event involved an invasion of Scourge forces across the world to coincide with the release of the Naxxramas raid instance. During the invasion, several regions of Azeroth came under attack by Scourge forces. Members of the Argent Dawn organized a worldwide counter to the Scourge invasion, keeping an eye out for any necropolis sightings and passing on their information to all adventurers willing to aid them in their struggle.
• Gates of Ahn'Qiraj — Introduced in patch 1.9.0, this two-part world event occurred once per server (until patch 3.2.0) resulted in the opening of Ahn'Qiraj. It was comprised of a quest chain completed by a single player to obtain the Scepter of the Shifting Sands to open the gates themselves, as well as a server-wide war effort to gather materials for the Horde and Alliance to battle the insectoid menace that issued forth from the opened gates.
• Elemental Invasions — Introduced in patch 1.4.0, this event was marked by random elemental invasions in Silithus, Winterspring, Un'goro Crater and Azshara. This was recurrent event that happened approximately every 3 days, and it was only removed in patch 4.0.1.

Other events

• End of beta event
• Timewalking and Turbulent Timeways

External links

World of Warcraft Community Site In-Game Events page of the Official site.

World of Warcraft Europe In-Game Events page of the Official European site.