Yule Goat Hunt

Yule Goat Hunt is an activity playable during the Winter Festival. It was added in 2019 as a stand-alone activity, but incorporated into the Winter Festivities in 2020 and following years.

Original Introduction Quest

Upon interacting with Alex, stationed in Moorland after the Christmas update, a cinematic triggers, showing Alex and James conversing about the Swedish tradition of making Yule Goats for the holidays and how the practice made its way to Jorvik. Suddenly an an explosion is heard, and the ground rumbles, while a column of light appears shining from the field next to Jasper's Old Barn. At this moment, the baby Yule goat (kid) James and Alex made comes to life and runs off towards the beacon. At this point the Player and Alex give chase. When approaching the area the Yule kid ran towards, the sky begins to cloud over and snow begins to fall, while the beacon of light eminates from a giant mountain of ice. Next to the mountain, a much larger Yule goat is seen standing next to three Yule kids. When approached, a ball of white light is shot out from the beacon and flies into the larger Yule goat, bringing it to life. When approaching the now stomping Yule Goat to investigate the Yule Kids are frightened off.

After the cinematic, the player can complete the quest, showing you the mechanics of a Yule Goat Hunt. 

Mechanics

Original

The mechanics are fairly straightforward and operate just like the Pumpkin Hunt, first shown in the starting quest. The player has to seek out a Yule Goat at one of the six spawn locations in the following areas Moorland, Fort Pinta, Silverglade Acres, Everwind Fields, and Hollow Woods. The Beacon from the ice mountain located in that specific area will occasionally shoot out balls of light, showing the locations of the current Yule Goat and kids. Once interacting with it by clicking on it, the three Yule Kids around the Yule Goat run off in different directions and a circle of mist forms, setting a boundary of the area where to seek them. They usually hide behind terrain obstacles, such as rocks, fences, trees or bushes, and when the player finds and interacts with them, they start following her. Once the player collects all three Yule Kids, they can approach the Yule Goat and interact with it. Upon interaction, one of the three following scenarios happens:

• The Yule Goat will begin to float in the air and will release a Yule Goat Spirit, which is then added into the player's inventory.
• The Yule Goat starts pursuing the player and a health bar appears above it. By successfully evading the Goat, the player depletes it, whereas by allowing it to catch her the bar fills back up. Once the health bar is fully depleted, the Yule Goat enters a "sleeping" state, allowing the player to approach it. The Yule Goat will begin to float in the air and will release a Yule Goat Spirit, which is then added into the player's inventory.
• The Yule Goat starts running away from the player along with its three Yule kids. To catch it, the player has to interact with it, making it enter a "sleeping" state. When interacted with again, the Yule Goat will begin to float in the air and will release a Yule Goat Spirit, which is then added into the player's inventory.

After one of these three scenarios happens, the Yule Goat's Spirit will fly off and re-enter the ice mountain it emerged from. Depleting the ice mountain's energy. After eight yule goats spirits have been sent back to that area's mountain, the beacon eminating it will disappear and the mountain will enter a sleeping state until the next day.

Current

The current mechanics as part of the Winter Festivities are similar to the original, but instead of being connected to the ice beacons in different locations, they are one of the possible activities that can show up under the Northern Lights markers. Clicking on the large Yule Goat will send the Yule Kids scattering, and the player will then have to find all three of them and return to the large goat. Three things can happen after clicking on the large goat again:

• The Yule Goat starts pursuing the player and a health bar appears above it. By successfully evading the Goat, the player depletes it, whereas by allowing it to catch her the bar fills back up. Once the health bar is fully depleted, the Yule Goat enters a "sleeping" state, allowing the player to approach it. The Yule Goat will begin to float in the air and will release a Winter Token, which is then added into the player's inventory.
• The Yule Goat starts running away from the player along with its three Yule kids. To catch it, the player has to interact with it, making it enter a "sleeping" state. When interacted with again, the Yule Goat will begin to float in the air and will release a Winter Token, which is then added into the player's inventory.

Sometimes, the large goat may be asleep when the player approaches it with the three kids. If the player approaches at a walk, trot, or canter, it will not be woken up and the player will immediately gain the Winter Token. But if the player approaches at a faster gait, then one of the two above events will still happen as usual.

Former Spawn Locations

Moorland

• X: 206, Y: 233
• X: 197, Y: 251
• X: 185, Y: 234
• X: 198, Y: 240
• X: 180, Y: 252
• X: 172, Y: 244

Fort Pinta

• X: 253, Y: 271
• X: 254, Y: 234
• X: 252, Y: 214
• X: 235, Y: 241
• X: 243, Y: 233
• X: 233, Y: 257

Silverglade Acres

• X: 244, Y: 171
• X: 182, Y: 190
• X: 223, Y: 182
• X: 157, Y: 185
• X: 229, Y: 196
• X: 160, Y: 230

Everwind Fields

• X: 186, Y: 125
• X: 195, Y: 150
• X: 149, Y: 141
• X: 162, Y: 132
• X: 199, Y: 128
• X: 180, Y: 123

Hollow Woods

• X: 252, Y: 142
• X: 219, Y: 153
• X: 245, Y: 111
• X: 233, Y: 152
• X: 224, Y: 133
• X: 262, Y: 114

Rewards

Original

The Yule Goat Spirits that could be obtained by the player during the 2019 event could be exchanged for rewards at any Yule Goat Vendor next to the ice mountains located in each area.

• for a single (1) Yule Goat Spirit the player could get 125 Horse XP
• for fifty (50) Yule Goat Spirits the player could get a Holiday Terrier running pet

In addition to the Yule Goat Spirits the player can turn in, every yule goat spirit that returns to the ice mountain will count towards an additional reward, that is given to the player automatically after the necessary amount of spirits are returned. The possible rewards were parts of the Sierra Snow set and a pet cat.

Current

This activity as part of the Winter Festivities rewards Winter Tokens, like the other activities. These tokens can be traded in at the vendor in the Winter Village for parts of clothing and horse tack sets.

Trivia

• In 2020 and 2021, the Yule Goat Hunt activity rewarded Warm Wishes like the other activities. This was changed to Winter Tokens in 2022 and the following years.