Reach the finish line! (Lunar New Year)

Reach the finish line!

Location

The Crown Pavilion
(Divinity's Reach)

Event type

Dynamic event

Part of

Lunar New Year

Level

0

Given by

Race Announcer

Preceded by

A race is starting soon!

Interactive map

Interactive map path

Reach the finish line! is a mount race event that occurs in the The Crown Pavilion.

Objectives

• Total racers finished: x
• The race will end in: 7:00

Rewards

• 1st place: Little Lucky Envelope (6)
• 2nd place: Little Lucky Envelope (5)
• 3rd place: Little Lucky Envelope (4)
• Else: Little Lucky Envelope (3)

Walkthrough

This is a very long and winding race that can be completed on mount or on foot. Unlike previously released races, there are no enemies or traps on this course.

Mounted

While the race event lasts for seven minutes, completing it within 3.5 minutes (while the  Time Trial buff is still active) awards the Celestial Racer and (Annual) Celestial Racer achievements, and the  Ace Racer magic find buff.

Raptor with Canyon Jumping is a solid choice for this course.

On Foot

While the race event lasts for seven minutes, completing it within 5.5 minutes (while the  Time Trial—Sprinting buff is still active) awards the (Annual) New Year's Resolution achievement and the  Ace Racer magic find buff.

Permanent swiftness (33% movement speed bonus) is enough to finish the race within 5.5 minutes on foot. Possible sources:

•  Swiftness — Granted from profession skills or nearby players.
•  Superspeed — Granted from profession skills. Has the same effect as swiftness when out of combat.
•  Leader of the Pact III — Affects entire party.
• Speed Boon NPC — Speak with one of the priests in Divinity's Reach to be granted five minutes of a unique swiftness buff.

However, relying purely on swiftness leaves a very narrow margin of error, so mobility skills are strongly recommended as well. Suggested skills for core professions:

Guardian

•   Leap of Faith
•   Merciful Intervention (optional)

Revenant

•   Call to Anguish

Warrior

•   Bull's Charge
•   Rush
•   Savage Leap
•   Whirlwind Attack

Engineer

•   Rocket Boots
•   Jump Shot

Ranger

•   Swoop
•   Pounce
•   Serpent's Strike

Thief

•   Infiltrator's Arrow
•   Signet of Shadows (passively)
•   Shadowstep (optional)

Elementalist

•   Burning Speed
•   Ride the Lightning
•   Earthen Rush (optional)
•   Lightning Flash (optional)
•   Conjure Fiery Greatsword (optional)
  •   Windborne Speed (optional) (requires staff alternate out of combat)

Mesmer

•   Blink
•   Mimic (mimic the blink)

Necromancer

Very difficult without permanent swiftness. Consider using an elite specialization, racing on a different profession, or using a mobility-granting item (list below).

•   Signet of the Locust (passively)
•   Summon Flesh Wurm/  Necrotic Traversal

Example mobility-granting items:

Item	Type	Note
Choya Pinata Tonic	Tonic	A Path of Fire tonic bought with casino coins. Spam the second skill for great mobility.
Executioner Axe Toy	Toy	A gemstore item packaged with the Executioner's Outfit during Halloween. Use skill 2 to dash and skill 6 to cancel at the end of the dash.
Experimental Teleportation Gun	Bundle	One-time-use bundle sold for 32 copper a piece in Timberline Falls. Around nine or ten of them are required to finish the footrace within 5.5 minutes if no profession mobility skills are used.
Fiery Greatsword	Bundle	You can borrow one from an elementalist friend. The bundle only lasts for 30 seconds, but is good for a bit of a head start.

NPCs

Allies

• Gourdon the Racing Choya
• Boar
• Dog
• Ox
• Rooster
• Snake
• Horse
• Rabbit
• Monkey
• Dragon
• Rat
• Tiger
• Ram
• Pig
• Holomancer
• Race Announcer

Notes

• Successfully completing the race within 3.5 minutes (or within 5.5 minutes if racing on foot) awards the  Ace Racer effect, increasing Magic Find by 25% for 15 minutes while in Divinity's Reach.
• It is possible to finish the race twice in the time limit on a mount, getting credit towards Celestial Messenger for both completions.

Trivia

• All the racing animals represent the 12 zodiac animals (in order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat/Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig) celebrated during the Lunar New Year.
• The race itself is a recreation of The Great Race, a story from Chinese mythology.
  • Unlike the story, in which the rat won, the animal of the current year will always be the first animal to cross the finishing line. The rest of the animals will finish in the correct order, however.
  • Much like the story, the rat will jump on the ox just before it starts and ride it for the duration of the race.
  • The 'horse' is accompanied by the snake much like the story.
  • The ram, monkey and rooster run together as a team much like the story.
  • The pig will run into the chef's crafting area during the race presumably to eat, giving all other racers a huge lead.

Related achievements

• Daily Lunar New Year: Lunar Racer — Complete the race event in Divinity's Reach during Lunar New Year. (0)
• Lunar New Year: Celestial Racer — Complete the race event in Divinity's Reach during Lunar New Year in under 3 minutes, 30 seconds. (5)
• New Year's Customs: Celestial Messenger — Complete the race event in Divinity's Reach during Lunar New Year. (5)
• New Year's Customs: (Annual) Celestial Racer — Complete the race event in Divinity's Reach during Lunar New Year in under 3 minutes, 30 seconds. This achievement can be completed once a year. (0)
• New Year's Customs: (Annual) New Year's Resolution — Complete the race event in Divinity's Reach during Lunar New Year in under 5 minutes, 30 seconds without using a mount. This achievement can be completed once a year. (0)