Hearthpwn

Faire Minded - What Do You Want From The Darkmoon Faire?

It's hard to find people who do not like anything from a Faire, between the attractions, the food, the other people there or the somewhat sinister background, the Faire usually has something for everyone. So we are going to lay out some of the things you can find on the Darkmoon Faire and let you shout out which thing you like best!

The Attractions

Every Faire needs attractions, otherwise what's the point, and the Darkmoon Faire has loads of them, with something for everyone. Here's what we think is the full list:

• The Cannon
• Banned from most Faires, this is one of the more active attractions on the Darkmoon Faire. The Cannon loads you up and then shoots you high into the air, across the entire Faire grounds, and into the ocean at the other side. You get bonus points for precise landings!
• The Whack-a-Gnoll
• In the good old days this was probably done with live Gnolls, but with D.E.H.T.A. being a thing these days the Faire now just uses wooden Gnolls that pop out of barrels to get clobbered. It's more humane, and they last a lot longer too.
• Tonk Driving
• Take control of a miniature tank and shoot at targets scattered around the area. You get points for hitting them, but watch out, because getting hit by the toy airships overhead will knock you out of the game!
• The Shooting Gallery
• What's a Faire without a shooting gallery? Dads around the world have tried to get enough points to get their children the fantastic and cheaply made prizes, enriching the stand holders in the process. A must-visit!
• The Ring Toss
• Pretty much everyone will have done the Ring Toss on a Faire in their childhood. But have you ever had to toss the rings on a giant Turtle? How about a moving giant Turtle?! The Darkmoon Faire does things in its own way!
• The Firebird Challenge
• So you thought this was just going to be the same boring old Faire attractions as everywhere else? I THINK NOT. For this attraction you get a pair of fiery wings and get to fly high up in the air, but beware, because you will need to keep flying through fiery rings up there to stay airborne!
• The Darkmoon Races
• Most faires will have some kind of racing attraction, and the Darkmoon Faire is no different, though their race track has special traps all around to make life hell on the riders. There's no actual track either, you just ride through the woods, past checkmarks to measure your progress. For the beginners there's a shorter race, but the real race fanatics will go for the longer one, which spans most of the island!
• The Carousel
• A fan favorite, the Merry-Go-Round has been part of Faires around the world since the moment mechanized attractions became a thing. Not every Carousel has quite the eerie music that the Darkmoon Faire one has however!
• The Zoo Bizarre
• Live animals in neat stockades, close enough to touch (and smell). Who wouldn't want to pet one of the exotic and often majestic animals the Darkmoon Faire has on display, from areas all around Azeroth! There's even a dancing bear!
• The Roller Coaster
• The hot new attraction on the Darkmoon Faire is the Roller Coaster. Fully made of wood and questionable metal parts it gives you the thrill ride of a life time. An amazing experience.

The Concerts

A great mind once called music "A magic unlike any other" and the Darkmoon Faire gives us it's share with not one but TWO live concerts, performed regularly. The more famous one is by the band "Elite Tauren Chieftains" often abbreviated by its fans to ETC. They love to perform their greatest hit "Power of the Horde" on the main stage, right on the Faire's main path.

There's also another concert however. Smaller. Rougher. More dangerous. And definitely more metal. This concert is played by Blight Boar, a Forsaken death metal band, who have a long standing feud with the Death Metal Knight, who will occasionally turn up to try and ruin their concerts.

The Free For All Combat

"A fight? COUNT ME IN". To some people getting into fights is just part of any Faire visit and the Darkmoon Faire has several ways to do this, none more obviously so then the aptly named "Darkmoon Death Match". This no-holds-barred, anything-goes, bare-knuckle, fight-to-the-death, lasts until someone successfully opens the treasure chest in the middle of the Arena. Or just any time 2 peope enter the arena and want to go at each other. There's no loyalties to anyone or anything once you are in there.

There's also some less in-your-face brawling on the island. You can try to summon Moonfang, a Wolf boss who's spawn still rulle over the island, or you can try to find the elusive Darkmoon Rabbit in its cave on the shore. But beware, because this Rabbit is inspired by the Monthy Python movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and it is the deadliest Rabbit in all of Azeroth. Bring some friends!

The Food & Atmosphere

For some people the food and atmosphere is why they visit the Faire, and the Darkmoon Faire is home to some of the best cheap culinary experiences Azeroth has to offer. Wether you want hot buttered popcorn, cornbreaded sausage, deep fried candybar or pickled kodo feet, you can find it here. Quench your thirst with some cheap beer for the total Faire experience.

And if you want atmosphere, the Darkmoon Faire oozes it. From the distinct yellow and green tents and color scheme to the Fire breathers, and the music washing across the grounds, it's all enough to really make you feel that special excitement that comes from visiting the Darkmoon Faire.

Then there's the chance to watch the people that visit the Faire from all over Azeroth. You can see the old and young, rich and poor, the beautiful and ugly, all gather on Darkmoon Island once a month.

The Sinister People in the Background

Watching the people that visit the Faire is one thing, but there's also the people that work there. They typically fade into the background unless running an attraction or stand, but they are around everywhere. And some of them are quite peculiar... Take the Gnoll Sayge for instance. He is a fortune teller by trade, and a thumping good one too. How did a Gnoll of all races become a Fortune teller, and how did he end up on the Darkmoon Faire?

If he's a curious fellow, he's nothing compared to Rona Greenteeth, a food vendor way out in the woods. She always acts suspicious and sells food items like Silvermoon Steak, Mulgore Meat Pie and Troll Tartare. Sorry, Troll style tartare. Wouldn't sell tartare made from actual trolls, I'm sure. Haha... At least, I think I'm sure...

And then there's the owner of the Darkmoon Faire, Silas Darkmoon. What law abiding citizen would need a ruffian like Burth the ogre to shadow their every move and act as a body guard? And he's never told anyone how he found this island the Faire is on, and what kind of deals he had to make to be allowed to put his Faire up here. There's some definite shady dealings going on there if you ask me.

The...Old Gods?!

There are hints and rumors about the Faire being more sinister than we give it credit for even in this article. Rumors that they are involved with factions better left unmeddled with. Groups that you don't want to be seen with. And they might be right. Take that creepy Eye logo the faire has always had, and the way that eye on the main entrance banner seems to follow you around when you go through... The only entity we know of with an eye that creepy is the Old God N'zoth. And surely they wouldn't have made a deal with him, would they...?!

What do you want from the Faire?

That's it for this small peek at what the Darkmoon Faire has to offer. Let us know in the comments what interests you most or what you want to see in the next expansion!