Storms of Winter is the meta event in the GW2 Bjora Marches map. Also called the "blizzard meta" or "snowstorm meta," learn how to fight the blizzard and participate in the meta to get loot, XP, and the Raven's Favor achievement (Hero Panel > Achievements > Story Journal > Whisper in the Dark).

Bjora Marches Meta Timer

The Bjora Marches "Storms of Winter" meta happens every 2 hours at 35 past the hour. You can find a timer on the official wiki's article on the event. You will know the meta is starting when the map message on the right side of your screen switches to "A blizzard is approaching. Jora's Keep is building defenses in prepation of an assault by Jormag's forces."

Phase 1: Building

In the first phase, you have five minutes to build defenses against the coming attack. Interact with a Box of Repair Hammers (there's one near the waypoint) to pick up a hammer. Go to one of the orange wrench icons on your mini-map. These indicate build sites. Interact with the build site to start building the item.

TIP: Much like reviving a downed player, building goes faster as a team.

Phase 2: Fighting Waves of Enemies

In this phase, you defend the three Raven shrines against waves of enemies. This phase lasts for nine minutes, so get comfortable.

Frozen

As soon as the meta starts, the blizzard hits. Unless you get protection, you will see frost forming on the edges of your screen, and your character will start getting stacks of the Frozen effect.

You have three ways to defend yourself against the chill:

1: Bubble Dip into the protective bubble around the nearest Raven shrine. It will give you a bubble of protection against the cold.

2: Bonfire Stand next to one of the bonfires. It will slowly tick down the stacks of Frozen on your character. Don't get too close to the bonfire, or your character will catch on fire. Then you'll have Burning and Frozen. Confusing, and also painful!

3: Arrow Cart Players on arrow carts are immune to the chilling effects.

Raven Shrines

The Raven shrines are a capture point. As long as the ring around the shrine is blue, you're fine. The waves of enemies and the Svanir Bombers are not designed to damage the shrine. Instead, their intent is to knock players out of the capture point.

This is why the Svanir Bombs do not cause damage to the shrine. They are meant to blast players out of the shrine's radius. Thus, players should ignore the bombs and focus their attention on the waves of enemies.

Portals

Portals will occasionally open near the Raven shrines. Attack these portals to prevent more waves of enemies from entering your area.

Phase 3: Shards

When the nine minutes are up, a Claw of Jormag will fly by and drop Dragon Crystals on each of the Raven shrines, and Svanir will build ballistas nearby. Attack the crystal on the shrine to free it, then proceed to the Svanir encampment and destroy all three of the ballistas.

Phase 4: Giant Icebrood

In the final fight phase, a Legendary Icebrood Construct will start walking towards Jora's Keep. To defeat the Construct, players need to grab chains from the rocks nearby and attach them to the Construct. When at least 6 chains are attached, the Construct's legs will shatter, leaving it vulnerable to attack. The Construct's legs will regrow soon, so attack while you can!

Phase 5: Champs

If the meta is succesful, the blizzard will clear, and Raven will open the path to Asgeir's Legacy. Four champs will spawn in this zone. Follow the other players, who usually fight the champs one at a time, counter-clockwise. Be sure to grab the bonus chests and mining nodes while you are there.

Read more of our Bjora Marches articles.