Nights of the Dead


 * For an alphabetic listing of articles related to this topic, see Category:Nights of the Dead.

Overview
The Nights of the Dead (NotD) is the annual live event that roughly coincides with the real-world holiday: Halloween. Like the real-world holiday, NotD celebrates all things spooky in good fun with themes focused on candy and scares.

It typically begins in mid-October and ends in mid-November each year. It first appeared in 2005.

To check the exact dates, log into the game and click the EQ2 button in the bottom right of your screen and choose Calendar from the list of options that opens. Keep in mind that the start date and end of (most) events is midnight PST, due to the location of the main office of Daybreak.

Check your in-game mail for the announcement and clues about where to go to enjoy this event. If you accidentally deleted the in-game mail, a copy is near the end of this page.

New This Year

 * This section highlights new content added most recently. Please move any info into the main article below when/if newer content is live each year.

Added in 2016
This event will be on the live servers from Oct. 5th - Nov. 2nd 2016.

Quests
Pick up purple "shinies" around the various quest hubs and get either a collection item or Nights of the Dead Treats (Crafting Materials). (Quest hubs are described below)
 * New collection: A Swinging Wake

New Achievements

 * No new achievements were added in 2016.

Items and Recipes

 * Celebrations of the Dead IX - 16 new recipes, including one new black and orange scarf and a wide variety of house items.
 * 2 new petamorph wands
 * Petamorph Wand: Sand Dune Razorclaw (a scorpion)
 * Petamorph Wand: Cackling Skeleton (a classic EQ2 skelleton)


 * Two new illusion "costumes"
 * Nights of the Dead Ssraeshza Akheva Costume
 * Nights of the Dead Ssraeshza Grimling Costume

TLE Servers

 * The Time Locked Expansion (TLE) servers will feature the most of the event for the first time in 2016.
 * The Headless Horseman epic event can not be completed on the TLE servers, due to a bug that will not be resolved in time for the event; unfortunately, TLE players will not be able to loot A lost necklace while in the The Hedge Hollow.

Event Quest Hubs
The quests for this event are primarily found within the following areas:
 * The larger cities of Freeport and the Qeynos Capitol District, near the tradeskill societies and banks for both cities.
 * Loping Plains - specifically within Village of Somborn, after you pick up the quest This Won't End Well... in Freeport or Qeynos.
 * Nektulos Forest - in the area around the docks and beach.

The areas above are not the only places you may find quests, so keep your eyes open for unusual NPCs (Non-Player Characters) that could offer special event quests when you travel.

NotD Treats and Candy Corn
When you defeat monsters in battle while the event islive, you will loot a wide variety of candy and sweets-themed treats.
 * These serve as both a special crafting material and they can be turned into holiday currency.


 * Treats are from creatures typically associated with the real-world holiday, Halloween (skeletons, vampires, werewolves, etc.), but a wide variety of spooky critters may have candy and sweet treats too. You can get treats from creatures far below your adventure level too (a.k.a. "grey" MOBs).
 * All the treats can be exchanged with the Treat Trader (described below) for Candy Corn, which is used as currency to purchase some event items and Candy Corn can still be used to craft.
 * Additional candy sources:

See the Nights of the Dead Treats (Crafting Materials) page for details on the various treats you may loot and tips and tricks on getting more.
 * Starting in 2016, picking up purple shinies for A Swinging Wake can yield either a collection item or candy.
 * Players can also compete in the races (described below) and choose candy as a prize.

Merchants
All starter cities (those with player housing) have a NotD NPC who sells a staggering variety of times. (See the NPC page below for locations and a full list of items)
 * Nights of the Dead Merchant

Examples include:
 * Pumpkin Bombs - throw these at people/have them thrown at you. They are tied to several collections and an achievement. See the Pumpkin Bomb page for details.
 * A variety of spooky house items like the Bat Swarm Plushie, A sad jack-o-lantern, Harrowing Gravestone, etc.
 * Dungeon Maker System activators like the Hellhound (Berserker) or Scarecrow (Illusionist).
 * Fun appearance items like the temporary "costumes" that can be used to shapeshift the appearance of your character like the Baleful Scarecrow Costume
 * Eerie appearance gear like Bone Biter (a weapon) and Were-Hunter's Pelt (a cloak)

Treat Traders
A special goblin that hates candy corn is happy to trade with you and save space in your bank slots, backpacks, and a guild's harvest depot.
 * Visit Grabby Gigglegibber - like the merchant selling items, this goblin is found in several cities (see locations on the NPC page) to trade all of your looted treats for Candy Corn.

Gigglegibber Illusionists
If you have illusion forms enabled, you might notice some sneaky NPCs insist you get in the spirit and help them scare their friends by shapeshifting you into a variety of scary forms. You can opt in or out of seeing these illusions at any time. To do so press C to open the character window, click on the Options tab, and make sure the box to hide/show illusion from is checked or unchecked.
 * If you want to shapeshift on purpose, seek Gigglegibber Illusionists

Recipes
The following no-trade recipes all sell for while the event is live and the items within can be crafted all year long.
 * The previous year's recipes are always available and new recipes are usually added each year.
 * The items within can be crafted by anyone, no matter which tradeskill you have, but all require Nights of the Dead Treats (Crafting Materials).
 * The recipes offer a mix of spooky decor, some appearance gear

Available Recipes

 * Celebrations of the Dead II
 * Celebrations of the Dead III
 * Celebrations of the Dead V
 * Celebrations of the Dead VI
 * Celebrations of the Dead VII
 * Celebrations of the Dead VIII
 * Celebrations of the Dead IX (new in 2016)
 * Celebrations of the Dead VIII
 * Celebrations of the Dead IX (new in 2016)

Adventure Quests
In addition to the quest rewards, NotD quest zones have fun hidden masks and Lore & Legend books. Explore as you go or see quest pages for the locations of these clickable items.

Repeatable Once Per Year

 * Quests in Nektulos Forest:


 * The Headless Horseman is an Epic X2 Event
 * A Nightmarish Illness begins near the dock
 * Survive the Night (in Nektulos Forest) (Repeatable annually)
 * Quests within the Haunted Mansion:
 * Note: You must get the first quest from NPCs in the either Freeport or Qeynos before you travel to the Loping Plains.


 * This won't end well...
 * There Will Be Ghosts -unlimited repeatable
 * They won't miss it...
 * Quests found at McQuibble's Farmhouse (in Antonica):


 * Petrified Pumpkin Pies
 * Scary Scarecrows
 * The Troubling Truth (Repeatable annually)

Unlimited Repeatable

 * At Hedge Hollow (in Nektulos Forest and The Hedge Hollow)


 * A Nightmarish Return
 * Train to Zone! (Repeatable daily)
 * At the Haunted House (in North Qeynos or West Freeport)


 * The Haunting (Repeatable daily)

Guide Quest

 * My Creepy Catalog

Races (Unlimited Repeatable)
The Ghost Hunting races are held in two locations and have identical rewards.
 * It rewards Candy Corn and/or various house items and appearance gear, depending on how successfully you gather candy.
 * The races are one of the easiest, fastest ways to accumulate Candy Corn without combat.


 * Those who really work at it can even gain a special title.
 * Play in either location:


 * Ghost Hunter: Commonlands - just outside of the West Freeport gate
 * Ghost Hunter: Antonica - just outside of the Qeynos Capital District gate

Collections

 * The Hedge Hollow Collection - a normal collection quest with shinies only found inside the The Hedge Hollow.
 * The Hedge Hollow purple shinies have a question mark floating above them and will attack when you try to pick them up, so be prepared for battle.


 * The Great Haunt is a meta-collection, which simply means it's comprised of collection items given to you when complete and turn in other Nights of the Dead collections.
 * In order to complete the meta-collection you also need to buy Pumpkin Bombs from A Nights of the Dead merchant to get the rare collectible (Jack's Lantern). See the Great Haunt or the Pumpkin Bomb page for details.

Achievements

 * Boneafied Threat - Help cleanse the land of the undead scourge by defeating calcified skeletons during Night of the Dead. Achievement advances to Dead Wringer.
 * Candy Crusher - Collect as many different types on candy as you can by hunting all the spooky creatures in Norrath. The collection, A Swinging Wake, has shinies that can be either the needed collectibles or the candy needed to complete this achievement too. Traded or broker-purchased candy will not count.
 * Closet Full of Skeletons - Craft a mix of Nights of the Dead bone-themed house items
 * Tricky Treats - Cook up a mix of Nights of the Dead decorations and treats.
 * Ghost Hunter Extraordinaire - Complete the Ghost Hunter competition in both Antonica and Commonlands.
 * Nights of the Dead Devotee - Complete all of the Nights of the Dead quests (replaces the quest that in previous years started with a coin received in the mail)
 * Pumpkin Pulper -throw Pumpkin Bombs at people/have them thrown at you. See the page for details.

Titles
The following titles are tied to achievements:
 * The prefix title Gravedigger
 * The suffix title the Gravedigger
 * The suffix title The Pumpkin King
 * The suffix title the Bone Rattler
 * The suffix title the Bone Breaker

Notable Quest Rewards and Merchant Items
This section is not meant to be comprehensive. Instead, it gives some examples of items from the event that many players find very appealing.
 * Plague Cloud - a ground mount that looks like a putrid green cloud with flies
 * Dracolich - a skeletal dragon that wanders in your house. This is one of many pets and plushies.
 * - a golden tile used in housing
 * - an orange tile used in housing

In-Game Mail
Each year players get an in-game mail announcing the event. The body of the mail may change somewhat if new quests are added. The Letter All players will receive an in-game letter:
 * From:Grabby Gigglegibber
 * Subject:Nights of the Dead!
 * Boo "Player Name"
 * New and returning stuffs to celebrate during Nights of the Dead! Buy costumes or get one of the Gigglegibber cousins to cast an illusion on you! And join us goblins and ghoulies, in your city, but go away from Deekat, Gigglegibber faker! Trap! Instead, visit our haunted house in North Qeynos or West Freeport, or hunt ghosts in Antonica and Commonlands! Help cure-heal a mysterious icky-sick man at the Nektulos Docks. Grab others to help squish the Headless Horseman in Nektulos Forest or the Scarecrow King in Antonica. And no forget to squish creepy crawlies and bump-night things for special treats. They be to craft items! Me tummy rumble for all candy-treats cept candy corn. Icky! So, you come to me with any Nights of the Dead treats and I give you candy corns. Deal? Yay!
 * Grabby Gigglegibber Treat Trader

Trick or Treating
First introduced in 2005, this activity was a timed quest in which players ran around and hailed NPCs in Freeport or Qyenos to trick or treat. Afterwards, treats were taken to goblin; depending on which treats you had and which treats he wanted, you were awarded a choice of several NotD masks.

granted players many fun Halloween masks like that looked like monsters found in Norrath, like a skeleton head, a black cat, a goblin and so on. Some masks are still available as gathered items within the present quest zones, so be sure to check the tips and tricks on quests to find location where they can be picked up.

Trick or Treating was removed when Freeport and Qyenos were updated (2012) with a improved graphics and merged to cut down on needless zoning between areas of those cities.

Night of the Dead Devotee Challenge (Changed)
In the past, players used to get an in-game mail with a coin that offered this as a quest. Players had to go to various locations to find and click on items.

In order to get the titles once offered by this now players must simply complete all of the various achievements listed Achievements section above. La nuit des morts