Planetside 2 - How To Find Snowmen (Winter Event) Known Facts, Tips and Suggestions

[Update: Note that although these Tips And Tricks noted herein have been noted to be of note during the first year of note in this notable noting, they have been tested to be valid for successive Winter Events, meaning that these Tips are still viable and applicable and other terms that end in -able for following Winter Event years. Enjoy!]

 Merry Auraximas!


For those playing Planetside 2 at this time of year, there is a Winter Event from SOE going on, that involves hunting snowmen in the blowing snowdrifts of the continent, Esamir. Killing 10 of these somewhat-rare snowman spawns earns you a new Title for your Soldier. Killing the far-more-rare Golden Snowman unlocks a Golden Hood Ornament instantly! This post is a collection of tips, strategies and ideas to help you do these very things this winter season. But first, an introductory video to the Winter Events, from the Official Planetside 2 Channel:





Known facts about the Snowmen:

• The elusive Snowmen are not quite as tall as a human/soldier, but they are definitely not "small" - the main problem is that they are...white - on a continent of snow. [They are about 2/3 the height of a player/soldier] 
• To help with spotting them, they have NC gloves stuck in the sides of them, a TR hat put on them and a VS stylish scarf draped around their necks knife as a nose 
• The snowmen cannot be run over, spotted, or their visibility increased by using thermal vision, as they are snowmen and do not have souls are cold [they did appear stark white on night vision however, in my tests] 
• They do not take many bullets to kill, they seem to take about the same damage as a regular player/soldier. For instance, in one test, a snowman was done in by two knife/melee hits [they are not excessively hard to kill] 
• They are somewhat-random spawns. They seem to appear at the same locations, but the spawn timers are unknown
• They can be found in groves of trees, near rock formations and even in the nooks and crannies of building structures, but only on the Esamir continent [there may be a queue in your region/server primetime playtime]
• There are two types of Snowmen: Regular Snowmen and Golden Snowmen. They both seem to be able to appear on the same spots (share spawn points), as some have even reported that one type of snowman was 'inside' another type of snowman (they were 'on top' of each other/shared a spawn point)
• The main difference between the two types of snowmen is that Golden Snowmen are far more eXPerience, reward a Hood Ornament upon "killing", and it seems that there can only be one Golden Snowman on the continent in existence at one time - all of this making the Golden Snowman a much more rare (but rewarding!) find

Snowman found in grove of trees, not far from a road, with some rocks around

Tips and Suggestions:

• Although a Flash is fast and versatile, I suggest trying a Harasser, due to the difference of having a 360° rotating camera, while still being fast and relatively easy to steer/handle (and it can 'power' over some hills that the Flash cannot). You can also switch to the 2nd seat (hit the F2 key on your keyboard by default) and use the mounted weapon, even if you did not (or cannot) purchase any vehicle upgrades or add any weapons at all [the Flash would require a weapon-add upgrade] to kill found Snowmen (and contesting enemies)
   
• You can use an empire-specific fighter (jet), but it has been reported that the snowmen cannot be seen from very far away (and some are under overhangs, etc) so this makes it somewhat more difficult if it is true, even with the difference in travel time.. [I have not tested this bit of info at this time]. You'll have to make that decision for yourself. Many people have reported flying around (low to the ground) has been fruitful for them
   
• All classes have their strengths with this event [no doubt thought of by the developers]: Infiltrators can scan a wide area with their scopes, sniping the snowmen from a distance and can cloak if threatened (or fight). Engineers can refill their own ammo and repair their transport vehicle if it becomes damaged. Light Assaults can utilize their Adrenaline Pump ability to sprint faster to their destinations, as well as jump-jet up to higher points and over rocks [I prefer the Light Assault for these reasons, but the choice is up to you] - however this is just an example of some of the benefits of some of the classes for hunting
   
• They appear at the sides of roads a lot [I ran into most of my snowmen this way, driving down roads and veering off when I saw a grove of trees or an isolated rock grouping]. Rocks seemed to have far less snowmen [for me], but there have been reports of people finding them in rock formations and on mountains [I found a couple, in rock formations; but since many of them seem to be easily found from the road, just driving around on roads and keeping a sharp eye open may be the 'fastest' way, in my personal opinion, at least, when starting out hunting, at first]
   
• As you can see from the maps in the next section below, they are spread out pretty well - there are lots of places to at least have the chance to find one. Of course, it will help [be easier] if your faction controls the area you are hunting in; but even if not, it's a chance to engage the enemy for fun (or if you are less inclined to battle, you are allowed to create a soldier of a different faction on the same server, so you can choose one that 'owns' the territory you wish to go hunting in)

Snowman found by the edge of a road [I personally ran into most of my Snowmen this way, finding them along the sides of roads]

Snowman found near edge of road, while driving around in Harasser

Community-Created Maps:

Here are a couple of maps that were posted on the Official Planetside 2 forums (shared with cartographers' permission):

[This map has been added to since this version by many helpful people at the SOE Planetside 2 Forum here: https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2/index.php?threads/esamir-snowman-spawn-map.163625/ ]

Esamir Snowmen Locations, map by Slaudog
All markers can be either Snowmen or Golden Snowmen, circles mean more than one was found close to another
[Later versions of this map have more contributors, see the thread for updates]
(Click to see Full Size)

Esamir Snowmen Locations, map by MaxDamage
(Click to see Full Size)

Snowman somewhat-hidden by brush within a grove of trees, not far from a road

Snowman found near base structure, alongside a road

Snowman "kill", showing eXPerience gained. With the Double XP Weekend plus a 10% bonus, it seems that a Normal Snowman will give 500XP

With the great eXPerience that the Snowmen give, if you are a lower level (Battle Rank) you can literally rank up just from popping these party piles of pudgy powder [This one was found right next to the road]

I have already achieved the custom soldier Titles for a couple of my Soldiers since this event began and have started to help others find them and wanted to collect everything I've learned so far together in one post. Hopefully, you will find this information helpful in seeking out these little fellas, especially if you are just starting out - now get out there, start hunting, good luck - and See You In The Game!