gww>RoyHarmon at 00:07, 27 July 2026

2026-07-27T00:07:34Z

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{{Otheruses|the arena|the outpost|Dwayna Vs Grenth (outpost)}}
{{arena infobox
| image = [[Image:Dwayna Vs Grenth map.jpg|220px]]
| region = [[The Mists]]
| party = 4
| victory = Return 5 [[Present (bundle)|Presents]]
| effect = [[Yuletide]]<br>[[Icy Ground]]
| priest-obelisk = [[Resurrection Shrine]]
| levelreq = Any
}}
[[Dwayna Vs Grenth]], also known as '''snowball fight''' and '''snowball arena''', is a [[PvP]] [[arena]] set in a modified version of the [[Shiverpeak Arena]] (relocated in the [[Underworld]]) that is accessible only during [[Wintersday]] and [[Wintersday in July]] events by talking to a [[Wintersday Priest]]. The name is derived from the annual battle between [[Dwayna]] and [[Grenth]] that takes place every year on Wintersday. The outcome of this fight determines whether winter is prolonged (if Grenth wins) or spring arrives early all over the world (if Dwayna wins).

== Skills ==
{{main|Yuletide}}
{{skill bar|Snowball|Mega Snowball|Snow Down the Shirt|Hidden Rock|Optional|Optional|Ice Fort|"Mmmm. Snowcone!"|t5=''God dependent skill''|t6=''Primary profession dependent skill''}}

== Mechanics ==
Players participating in this fight are randomly assigned to support one of the two gods every match. The format plays out as a [[w:snowball fight|snowball fight]] in which players attempt to bring [[present (bundle)|presents]] to their god. All health and energy is also standardized through the environment effect [[Yuletide]], and dead players are resurrected at a shrine every 5 seconds. Teams consist of 4 randomly chosen players, and to win a team must return 5 presents before its opponent. Presents spawn randomly at four locations on the map and real presents are mixed in with fake presents. The first present is dropped at 15 seconds in. All other presents will be dropped every 30 seconds after the first present. Picking up a fake present deals 250 damage to the player who picks it up.

''Note: Dying in this arena does not count as a death for characters pursuing the [[Survivor]] title.''

=== Rewards ===
* 100 [[Balthazar faction]] for each [[unique kill]]
* 50 faction, 3 [[Candy Cane Shard]]s and 15 [[Gamer]] points for each win
* 50 faction for a [[flawless victory]]
* 50 faction for every 5 consecutive wins

== NPCs ==
=== Dwayna (Red) ===
* {{x}} 24 [[Avatar of Dwayna (NPC)|Avatar of Dwayna]]
* {{x}} 1 [[Young Child]] x5

=== Grenth (Blue) ===
* {{n}} 15 [[Grentch]] x2
* {{x}} 24 [[Avatar of Grenth (NPC)|Avatar of Grenth]]

== Tips ==
===In general===
* While waiting for the gates to open, use [[Hidden Rock]] and [[Yellow Snow]]. It is often better to use Hidden Rock away from an opponent who could interrupt its casting.
* After the gates open, split 4 ways so that each player is near one of the spawn points to quickly grab a present when it appears.
* Always focus on the presents. Gaining [[Balthazar faction]] is nice, but you will gain neither [[Candy Cane Shard]]s nor [[Gamer]] points from killing foes. Carrying presents to your god is your main goal.
* Sides may change every match, so never get confused and carry the presents to the wrong side. You can see this easily by checking your cape color (your team color is blue as a Grenth supporter and your team color is red as a Dwayna supporter).
* Use [[Snow Down the Shirt]] on an opponent that wants to stop your "gift-runner". If you spam your [[Snowball]]s on a foe hexed with it, this will cause for a good shut-down of that player.
* Cast [["Mmmm. Snowcone!"]] if your health gets low. Consider that this will disable all your other skills for 10 seconds. If you use [[Ice Fort]] and immediately "Mmmm. Snowcone!", you can wait inside the Ice Fort for the disable time.
* Before attempting to kill a foe, consider whether teleporting them to their resurrection shrine would be an advantage for you or them.
* Sometimes, dying is good. There is no [[death penalty]] and you are resurrected directly to your side's shrine, which may come in handy.

=== Character control ===
* Use key shortcuts to pick up the presents quicker and target enemies. For instance, bind a key to the "Target nearest item" function. Then when you or your ally drop a present, press the bound key, then your attack button instantly for a fast pick up.
* If there are any opponents near an ally of yours who is carrying a present, go "guard" your ally by standing right next to him as he walks. As soon as he drops the present, pick it up instantly using the keyboard shortcut described above. This will prevent your opponent from getting the present most of the time.
* [[Body block]] when trying to prevent an opponent from scoring and when defending an ally present bearer from getting chased down.
* If your opponent body blocks, use your keyboard to move instead of letting your character automatically walk, which could cost you time.
* Very skilled players bind a key to "Drop item". They make use of an engine mechanic in which players can pick up [[Area_of_effect#Adjacent_to_target|adjacent to target]] range objects. They will pick up the present, drop it immediately, step forward slightly within the range limit and pick the object back up. This method of movement is difficult to counter because it does several things simultaneously.
** Intermittent movement causes snowballs to miss.
** Normal movement speed, even if intermittent, easily defeats a body block.
** Player has very high chance of picking the present back up since he knows exactly when to start hitting the pick up key.

=== Environment effects ===
The frozen lake in the middle of the map causes [[Icy Ground]] if a players stops walking. Knowledge about this powerful [[snare (tactic)|snare]] can be used to your advantage:
* Never stop on the river if possible.
** Icy Ground ''can'' be avoided when picking up presents on the frozen river if players move quickly enough: Immediately after you have clicked on the present, move with your keyboard while you are picking up the present.
* If your opponent walks over the river, try to knock him down because he will then suffer from Icy Ground.
** If your opponent has picked up a present on the river, walk over the river to their side, stand in his way and knock him down.

=== Knock downs ===
* Use [[Snowball]]s affected by [[Hidden Rock]] and [[Mega Snowball]] to knock opponents down and force them to drop their presents. [[Knockdown]]s at close range allow you to steal their presents before they can retrieve it themselves.
* Snowballs can be [[Line of sight|dodged]] given sufficient distance.
** Very skillful players carrying presents will drop a present, dodge an otherwise unavoidable knockdown snowball and then quickly pickup the dropped present.
* Use [[Ice Fort]] when expecting knockdowns that are too close to dodge. Skills can be used while inside the Ice Fort. Ice Fort will not prevent you from dropping a present, but allow you to pick it right back up.
* Knock downs, [[Avalanche (skill)|Avalanche]], [[Icicles]] or [[Icy Ground]] can keep opponents inside the area of [[Holiday Blues]] longer.
* When Mega Snowball is available and you have Hidden Rock, use a normal [[Snowball]] first to knock down the enemy twice, so Hidden Rock isn't wasted on Mega Snowball which already knocks down.

=== Gods' skills ===
* [[Avalanche (skill)|Avalanche]] is a good snare. It has also an [[AoE]] range, but focus using it on the "gift-runner". Or use it so your gift runner might deliver his present.
* [[Yellow Snow]] is the only [[condition]]-removing skill in this minigame.
** When running presents, it is more important to save this for removing the cripple caused by Avalanche.
** You can stack Yellow Snow and [[Hidden Rock]].

=== Professions' skills ===
==== {{w}} Warrior ====
* Try to help your teammates, especially those with the presents, with [["Let's Get 'Em!"]].
* You may also use the speed buff if running to the present. If you are faster than your opponent, you save one knock down to get the present back.
* If teammates are nearby, consider using the shout to quickly charge [[Mega Snowball]].
* Do not use [["Let's Get 'Em!"]] on an ally who has the [[Icy Ground]] effect hindering them, as it will have no effect until they are not hindered anymore.

==== {{r}} Ranger ====
* You are equipped with a spammable [[AoE]] skill. [[Flurry of Ice]] deals 50 damage per foe, but does not grant you any adrenaline.
* It can be useful to use this skill instead of normal [[Snowball]]s even if you only hit one foe, given the faster activation.

==== {{mo}} Monk ====
* Try to cast [[Ice Breaker]] on the teammate with the present, that will not only give him [[health regeneration]], but also confound the opponents trying to catch him. As one will be knocked down after attacking your teammate, he will be unable to steal the present alone.

==== {{n}} Necromancer ====
*You can cast [[Holiday Blues]], a powerful [[Well spell]] that causes -15 [[health degeneration]]; however, health degeneration is capped at -10, so all foes will only suffer -10 health degeneration, including foes that have [[Ice Breaker]] on them. Unfortunately, you will lose half of your maximum health instantly after use, so make sure to use this skill wisely.
** Use this skill if you know that you will die anyway.
** If you are below 50% maximum health, use this skill for a quick teleport to your side of the map (via resurrection).
** Consider in which situation using Holiday Blues might be better than healing oneself with [["Mmmm. Snowcone!"]].
** If you are on your team's side and below 50% maximum health along with being stressed with [[condition]]s and/or [[Snow Down the Shirt]], do not fear from using this skill. You will be immediately resurrected.
** Consider using knock downs to keep opponents inside the area of Holiday Blues longer.
**Consider using Holiday Blues on opponent's [[Jack Frost]]s, which will cause the spirits to be automatically killed.

==== {{me}} Mesmer ====
* Watch for opponents that try to cast [[Mega Snowball]] or [[Hidden Rock]]. With [[Blinding Snow]], you can interrupt this opponent.
* Blinding Snow's added condition is useful as a quickly applied [[cover]] condition for [[cripple]].
:''Note'': [[Blind]] does not cause spell [[projectile]]s such as [[Snowball]] to [[miss]], but does make them more likely to [[Line of sight|stray]].

==== {{e}} Elementalist ====
* This profession has a [[snare (tactic)|snare]]. [[Icicles]] can negate the effect of [["Let's Get 'Em!"]], so this can be very useful against the "gift-runners".
:''Note'': Although Icicles states that it inflicts [[cold damage]], that damage ignores armor.

==== {{a}} Assassin ====
* Beginners should use [[Side Step]] mainly as self-heal. Using the skill causes a random [[shadow step]] which can be advantageous, but also teleport you to the unwanted direction.
** Beware if you are carrying a present because you will leave the bundle at your previous location.
** In some situations, if you have a partner that walks with you, you may use it and allow your teammate to recover the present.
* Skillful players use Side Step to dodge snowballs thrown from close range when carrying presents. They avoid a [[knockdown]] and pickup their dropped present quickly.

==== {{rt}} Ritualist ====
* This profession should cast their [[Binding Ritual]] in a strategic area.
** The first [[Jack Frost]] can be cast shortly after the start before the first present has spawned.
** There are four fixed spawning places for presents. Accordingly, you should cast it near those places, as your foes will most likely walk towards those places.
* Jack Frost can help interrupt players hexed with [[Snow Down the Shirt]].

==== {{p}} Paragon ====
* [[Steady Aim]] is at its most useful when the distance between teams is great, such as when catching a "gift-runner" with a fast knockdown. It can also be helpful for a fast interrupt of foes hexed with [[Snow Down the Shirt]].

==== {{d}} Dervish ====
* Be aware of the [[aftercast delay]] caused when your [[form]] runs out, as it will [[interrupt]] any skills you are activating at the time. If you are carrying a gift when your form runs out, you will not drop it, but you ''will'' stop moving.
* [[Snowball]] and [[Mega Snowball]] are the only skills which incur the health benefits of your forms.

==Trivia==
* During [[Wintersday 2012]], players could initially use [[Gift of Battle (bundle)|Gift of Battle bundles]] to score a point like any Present bundle would. The [[Gift of Battle]] effect also helped score points faster using Gift of Battle bundles. This was fixed in the [[Feedback:Game updates/20121217|December 17, 2012 update]].

===Tournament format===
Beginning in Wintersday 2013, the 8-versus-8 [[automated tournament]] format of Dwayna Vs Grenth is no longer available ([http://wiki.guildwars.com/index.php?title=Template_talk%3ASpecial_events_lookup&diff=2559921&oldid=2559054 source]). The automated tournament format rules were similar to the random team format with these exceptions:
* Was accessible only during [[Wintersday]] (not during [[Wintersday in July]]) by talking to [[Tolkano]].
* 8 members on a side instead of 4 (see [[Automated tournament#GvG tournament requirements for participants|tournament requirements]])
* 10 [[present (bundle)|presents]] must be returned instead of 5
* There was a 10 minute time limit
** If no team has scored 10 points, the higher score won.
** Ties go to the last team that scored a point.
* The tournament mechanics are the same as standard automated tournament matches for [[GvG]] tournaments except there is no entry fee.
* Beginning in [[Wintersday 2010]], Dwayna's side did not have [[Avalanche_(skill)|Avalanche]]; both sides had [[Yellow Snow]].
The rewards were:
* [[Tournament Reward Point]]s
* 40 [[Balthazar faction]] for each [[unique kill]]
* 1,000 Balthazar faction, 7 [[Candy Cane Shard]]s and 40 [[Gamer]] points for each win.

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gww>RoyHarmon at 00:07, 27 July 2026