The Consortium on Investing for Cataclysm

Posted by Markco at 8:00 AM

Hello everyone! This is Sterling from The Consortium. I was offered the opportunity to post a guest blog here, so here I am. I'm certainly humbled by this, and hope not to disappoint. I'll be touching on a few hot topics here today (no, not Lady Gaga), including some fresh stockpiling advice and saucy beta coverage. Hopefully this can set some gears in motion over in the forums as well.

But first, a big thanks to Markco for making this happen. Markco understands the work involved in developing a website, and has been helping me out with site and community development in the past week. This is a man of class folks, a man of class!

If you haven't heard about The Consortium, we're a community very similar to JMTC. We focus on gold-making, and everything else that this may encompass. We were founded in February 2010, by Alaera of Twisting Nether US. Our site is 100% free and mostly public. We have a small forum reserved for distinguished members - we call them Wind Traders. Wind Trader status is earned on an application or invitation basis only. If you'd like to join their ranks, head over to our application page.

Our forums have a few fancy nick-nacks, including WoWHead tooltips, thread ratings, achievements, awards and reputation. The site is constantly being developed, and we love hearing suggestions from our users. If you have a suggestion for the site, just ask, we're listening!

So go ahead and register on our forums and introduce yourself. We welcome everyone with open arms!

But anyway, let's talk business. Straight face time.

This is a follow-up of my previous blog on stockpiling glyphs in preparation for Cataclysm and patch 4.0. As feverish discussion continues in the speculation threads, entrepreneurs are beginning to establish which items will be worthwhile in the Cataclysm stockpiling effort. Notable mentions include:

• Glyphs.
• Crafting materials of all kinds.
• Gems.
• Various items required in Legendary crafting.
• [Shadowmourne] quest line rewards.
• Zul'Gurub vanity items.

A good mix of the above nearly guarantees to yield profit in Cataclysm. However, I feel that a certain market has been grossly overlooked: bind-on-equip items. Preliminary discussion about this has already taken place between Cold and Markco. Check them out here and here. With the addition of two new races in Cataclysm and the revamp of the old world, we can expect very live and bustling low-level zones following the expansion's launch. As swarms of new Goblins and Worgen rush to 85, we will see unprecedented demand for sub-57 rare and epic quality items. Coupled with inflation, I believe most of these items will easily yield up to 400% ROI. Before jumping into specifics, we must first acknowledge a very important change; the itemization revamp. Blizzard announced that certain stats were being removed from the game in Cataclysm. What they forgot to mention is that most items currently in-game will have their stats adjusted so that "useless" items are hard to come by. More specifically, items with spirit/strength or agility/spirit are being re-itemized to be (far) more attractive. This list sums it up:

[WotLK][Cataclysm][Rakzur Club][Rakzur Club]
[Razor's Edge][Razor's Edge]
[Onyx Claymore][Onyx Claymore]
[Pysan's Old Greatsword][Pysan's Old Greatsword]
[Beazel's Basher][Beazel's Basher]
[Dreamslayer][Dreamslayer]
[Sword of the Magistrate][Sword of the Magistrate]
[Tanglewood Staff][Tanglewood Staff]
[The Minotaur][The Minotaur]
[Stoneraven][Stoneraven]
[Mugthol's Helm][Mugthol's Helm]
[Twig of the World Tree][Twig of the World Tree]
[Talon of Vultros][Talon of Vultros]
[Dark Phantom Cape][Dark Phantom Cape]
[Blush Ember Ring][Blush Ember Ring]
[Gazlowe's Charm][Gazlowe's Charm]
[Enormous Ogre Belt][Enormous Ogre Belt]
[Skibi's Pendant][Skibi's Pendant]
[Ring of Precision][Ring of Precision]
[Helm of Narv][Helm of Narv]
[Icemail Jerkin][Icemail Jerkin]

You'll notice I've grouped these up. Group 1 are items in contention with heirlooms in Cataclysm. They may very well be out-done by said heirlooms, so again, invest with care. Group 2 have been buffed outright, or are easily best-in-slot for their level range. Take a look at the new [Icemail Jerkin] - what a beauty! In the same vein, I suspect that blizzard may completely eliminate of the Boar (spirit/strength) and of the Wolf (spirit/agility) items from the game – or rather, modify their stats and rename them. These items can often be found at the AH for dirt cheap. Items with the of the Monkey suffix and of the Eagle fetch pretty penny at the AH. I've yet to find these suffixes at the beta AH... but it's not like the beta AH is very popular anyway.

Of course, don't limit yourself to the above items. I've been running searches on 11-54 rare/epic items and sorting by % price level. Pick up anything you see as a good deal. Given the inflation we'll see in Cataclysm, you could blindly invest in any random items in this category and still turn a profit. But inventory space is limited, unfortunately. In my opinion, some great investments:
[Hurricane]
[Kang the Decapitator]
[Shadowblade]
[Axe of the Deep Woods]
[Bloodrazor]
[Nightblade]
[Robes of Insight]
[Destiny]
[Fiery War Axe]
[Staff of Jordan]
[Underworld Band]

And any sub-56 BoE epic item, really. One must be careful, however. Not every investment is without risk. Blizzard is nerfing several twink items in hopes of making room for heirlooms. For example, take [Talon of Vultros][Talon of Vultros]. Invest with caution! One must also be wary of items in the 55-59 range - these are quickly outdone by outland greens, and buyers know this. A general rule of thumb is to avoid these.

Be wary of the following twink items, as they are being nerfed in Cataclysm. These items in particular are going from amazing to average - don't invest too heavily in them. Pick them up only when you see a good deal:
[Claw of the Shadowmancer] [Claw of the Shadowmancer]
[Shadowblade] [Shadowblade]
[Assassin's Blade] [Assassin's Blade]
[Silvershell Leggings] [Silvershell Leggings]
[Petrolspill Leggings] [Petrolspill Leggings]
[Hotshot Pilot's Gloves] [Hotshot Pilot's Gloves]
[Vendetta] [Vendetta]
[Mantle of Thieves] [Mantle of Thieves]
[Miner's Hat of the Deep] [Miner's Hat of the Deep]
[Expert Goldminer's Helmet] [Expert Goldminer's Helmet]
[Monolithic Bow] [Monolithic Bow]
[Pendulum of Doom] [Pendulum of Doom]
[Mindthrust Bracers][Mindthrust Bracers]
[Keller's Girdle][Keller's Girdle]
[Plains Ring][Plains Ring]
[Night Reaver][Night Reaver]
[Caverndeep Trudgers][Caverndeep Trudgers]
[Pugilist Bracers][Pugilist Bracers]

The above list may be incomplete, but encompasses some of the most coveted twink items in the game. Gone are the days of flipping [Pendulum of Doom] for 40,000 gold. Conversely, some twink items remained untouched, or are now best-in-slot:
[Feet of the Lynx]
[Gloves of the Fang][Gloves of the Fang]
[Forest Leather Bracers]
[Ribsplitter] (of the Monkey)[Claw of the Shadowmancer]
[Tigerstrike Mantle]
[Ogron's Sash]
[Aquamarine Signet] (of the Monkey)[Sentry Cloak]
[Wrangler's Wristbands] (of the Monkey)[Darkweave Breeches]
[Elder's Hat] (of the Eagle)[Nightsky Gloves]
[Robe of the Magi]
[Frostreaver Crown]
[Thorbia's Gauntlets]
[Redbeard Crest]
[Thorbia's Gauntlets]
[River Pride Choker]

These are almost sure investments - besides the cloaks, helms and chestpieces (in contention with heirlooms). Again, if you find some candidates to be missing, join the conversation and I'll fix things up.

I should mention a very specific item here as well - [Blade of Misfortune]. With the large influx of Death Knights at the release of WotLK, we saw certain commodities such as [Blade of Misfortune] selling for astronomical amounts. I personally unloaded at least a dozen for over 800 gold in the early days of WotLK. I expect this to re-occur on Cataclysm's release, despite the availability of heirloom weapons. Goblin and Worgen Death Knights will be the target buyers, supported by occasional warriors/paladins on their way to 85. I’ve got [Blade of Misfortune] on my snatch list for 500g. I suggest you do the same!

Since I know people will probably ask for this - perhaps I should share my latest beta ventures. I've been exploring several zones in hopes of finding worthwhile investment opportunities. My adventures have been mostly fruitless - besides these noticeable changes:

• I could not find Harlown Darkweave in Ashenvale. He sells the limited-quantity, alliance-only [Pattern: Herbalist's Gloves]. This pattern is not taught by trainers on the beta.
• Jubie Gadgetspring is nowhere to be found in Azshara. She sells [Schematic: Deepdive Helmet]. Her friend, Blimo Gadgetspring, was also missing in action. He sells [Pattern: Blue Dragonscale Breastplate].

Could these folks have been victims of Deathwing's shenanigans? Could these items be the next [Recipe: Thistle Tea]? Likely not, but given their price, they are worth a shot. I haven't been able to explore every zone and every NPC. If you'd like for me to track down a specific NPC on beta servers, just ask.

The inside scoop on [Tome of Polymorph: Turtle]

The ultimate fate of this item is still unknown. Some players report that Polymorph: Turtle is trainable on beta servers. Luckily for you, I have verified this myself and can confirm that the spell is not trainable on beta servers. I suspect these false reports are indeed intentional - social manipulation is in the works! However, I wouldn't be surprised if blizzard re-introduced the item once the new ZG is complete.

I will keep a close eye on these items as blizzard continues to develop the world on beta servers - and you'll be the first to know when things change. If you've got anything at all to add, your input is certainly welcome. You can contact me by email or by PM on the JMTC and Consortium forums.

And that's all for today folks, thanks for reading!