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The Game Update that didn't happen yesterday landed this morning much to the surprise of many EverQuest II players. Community Manager Gnobrin made the announcement last night in the official EQ2 forums. This is the starter's pistol shot that marks the beginning of the race to see which player of each of the game's 24 classes is the first to discover their class epic weapon.

But wait, there's more. It also marks the beginning of EQ2's Valentine's event, Erollisi Day. To herald two major events in one free game update, the EQ2 team has put together an excellent teaser video highlighting the major features of the patch. In the video, not only do they show off the incredible particle effects of many of the as-yet-undiscovered epic weapons, but they also give a very disturbing picture of what goes on behind closed doors during Erollisi Day between a female Troll Ogre and her suitor. It has to be seen to be believed. (FYI, you must use Internet Explorer to watch it. Firefox cries and hides in the corner.)

Keep an eye on the EQ2 official forums and here at Massively as we cover the unfolding of the epic weapons quests and track the first of each class to discover theirs.

Lord of the Rings Online and Turbine are nearly done for the holidays, but not before a Christmas-themed wallpaper featuring none other than Gollum ... or is it Sméagol? No prizes for guessing what he wants for Christmas. Not that there was Christmas in Middle-earth, it was more Yule-tide, but ... oh, you know what I mean.

Follow the link to download the full image at either 1600 x 1200 or 1024 x 768 resolution, or if you're the kind of LotRO fan to prefer something in-game, check out Dan O'Halloran's excellent Yule-tide quest guide.

The Lord of the Rings Online Yule-tide festivities are comprised of a single level 1 quest resulting in a snow-covered tree for your front yard. Not quite on the scale of the Harvest Festival, but something fun to do and the reward looks great on your virtual lawn.

The problem is that all the running around you do in the Shire can take forever if you didn't level a Hobbit. Massively has come to the rescue with your Yule-tide quest guide for Shire newbies. It's all you need to know to claim your tree and get back to farming for that Rift armor.

Overview

Lobelia Sackville-Baggins wants to play Grinch to the Hobbits' Yule-tide celebration. Somehow she has claimed the official title of Yule-planner and declared only wilty vegetables and an early bedtime for all, instead of an all night, multiple-course banquet meal and never-ending keggers of ale. It's up to you to find out how she wormed her way into the job and how to save Yule-tide for all the gluttonous, alcoholic, pipe-weed lovin' Hobbits.

1. Head to Hobbiton and pick up Yuletide Woes quest from any named Hobbit in town
   
2. Talk to all named Hobbits in area and find Invitation at Ted Sandyman's mill
   
3. Take Invitation to Mayor Whitford in Michel Delving
4. Find Bylaws book in the Great Smials library in Tookland and return it to the Mayor
5. Find 10 Hobbits in Hobbiton to sign petition to dethrone Lobelia
6. Present petition to Lobelia
7. Talk to Gamgee to receive reward

There are a lot of Fall seasonal festivals going on in MMOs right now. From WoW's Hallow's End with its flying broomstick mount and Headless Horsemen event to City of Heroes' Costume Contest.

Lord of the Rings Online is celebrating the season in its own way with Middle-earth's first annual Harvest Festival. Announced today, but starting on Friday, October 26th and running through November 11th, Tolkien lovers can enjoy a number of unique events.