The Return to Winterland event in Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator kicked off last week. Like the Cruising Greece event, Return to Winterland has both a personal goal and a community goal to work towards. The personal goal is to deliver to each of the five depots in Winterland: The Christmas Market in town square, Marigold’s chocolate factory, The Northstar Post Office, Rudolph’ Crafts, and the Snowy Peaks mountain resort. In addition, you need to make 15 deliveries to or from Winterland. Completing the personal goal earns you a Winterland themed paint job, 6 festive exterior lights compatible with the top tier trucks, and a World of Trucks Achievement.
The community event challenges players to deliver Winterland goods to and from every city on both games maps to earn snowflakes. Each city earns a snowflake after 1000 deliveries between it and Winterland with each city able to earn up to 5 snowflakes. Every 200 snowflakes unlocks a new tier and a new Winterland themed cabin accessory. You have to complete personal goal to be eligible for the community goal rewards.
I like that you can participate in this event from either ETS2 or ATS and your contributions to either goal carrier over to both games. I have been participating from ETS2 mostly because I was already playing there to complete the Greece event. Also, SuperToast has been completing deliveries from ETS2 so sticking to one game makes it easier to meet up when we play together.
Winterland cargo jobs are picked up from the external market. Most are short distance trips so they don’t pay very well or give much experience but you can chain them together pretty quickly. One the cargo is picked up, it’s time to head to a Winterland portal which seem to be located at rest stops not too far from each city. Once you’re stopped at a portal, you can travel to Winterland. This also seems to reset the fatigue meter so I don’t have to stop to sleep while completing these deliveries. Must be some of that holiday magic at work.
Winterland looks great! It’s a bigger map than I was initially expecting and it’s charming. All the roads are covered in a blanket of snow which makes driving slightly more challenging. I don’t really notice too much of a difference unless I’m flooring it through turns. I tend to do this frequently since there isn’t any traffic on the roads. I haven’t flipped a truck yet but I’ve had plenty of close calls…The sound effect of tires on snow is so crunchy and satisfying!
Winterland also sports some cozy holiday vibes complete with ice rinks, Christmas music, and decorated trees galore. Each depot has a place to stop to watch a short cut scene that shows off the surroundings. My favorite depot, Northstar, has a giant frozen lake that you can drive around on. Snowy Peaks also offers some great views of Winterland from above.
I have four more deliveries to complete before the event ends on January 12th so I have plenty of time. Now that it’s after Christmas though, I’m not sure if I’ll be using any of the rewards from the event. Plus, I don’t have a top tier truck yet anyways.
I have enjoyed both of the ETS2 events I’ve participated in thus far. The structure reminds me of Elite: Dangerous‘s Community Goals where everyone pitches in to accomplish something big. I have been trying to take jobs to and from cities that don’t yet have their first snowflakes. There are still plenty left, but it is fun to see a city with very few deliveries hit 1000 and get their first snowflake seemingly overnight.
Many Welps 