Getting Ready For 4.3: Clearing Inventory

Posted by Aleithia at 8:00 AM

Bashiok, one of the Community Managers at Blizzard, recently posted on his Twitter feed that PvP Season 10 is ending November 29. Historically, PvP seasons end approximately one week before a new patch drops. It's safe to assume that Patch 4.3 (now in release candidate form on the PTR) will be available on live servers as early as December 6. What does this mean for the avid gold-maker? Time to get ready for the patch.

This week I'll look at the first part of getting ready for the patch: getting rid of stuff that will lose value soon. Next Friday, I'll look at what to invest in for 4.3. With the recent news that WoW lost another 800k subscribers, the outlook may look bleak for 4.3, but I'm expecting 4.3 to bring back some of those subs and cause demand to sky-rocket. So stop by next week for some tips on what to do to get ready for the new patch.

Out With the Old

The first step to getting ready for Patch 4.3 is getting rid of stuff that will lose value soon. There are a number of items to be concerned about, across multiple industries:

• Bind-on-Equip Gear
  If you've been trying to make money flipping cheap BoE gear, it's time to get out. The most notable drop will occur in 359 Plate Tank Shoulders (Pauldrons of Edward the Odd and Heaving Plates of Protection). Until now, those were Best-in-Slot items for Paladin and Warrior tanks who don't have access to raids. Hide of Chromaggus, popular with druids, was already hurt by the BoE Flickering Shoulderpads from Shannox, but this too will dip even further. The reason for this is that the current loot tables for 4.3 have iLevel 378 Shoulders for all specs in 5-man heroic dungeons. Other 359 BoEs like Soul Blades, as well as the current 378s from Firelands will see their value drop with gear of the same iLevel found in the new 5-man instances.
• PvP Armor/Items
  If you've got any PvP gear you're trying to sell, now is the time to get rid of it. Recipes will again be upgraded to a higher iLevel version of the PvP armor, so your current crafted gear will become nearly useless. If I had any lying around, I'd get rid of it for materials and a possible tip. Getting the mats back at a minimum allows you to hold them for crafting the new version when 4.3 hits and make way more money.
• Chaos Orbs
  If you're sitting on any Chaos Orbs, now is a good time to sell them via trade chat. I recently crafted and sold a 365 weapon for about a 5k profit. That's 1,000/orb (higher than I expected for sure). In trade chat they go for 200-300 gold. They will become Bind-on-Equip in 4.3, so you'll be able to pick them up on the Auction House (or sell them if you prefer). This will drive the supply up and prices down, so get as much as you can now for your chaos orbs. (Note: If you're a tailor, don't use your orbs until after 4.3. Your primary use for orbs is dream cloth, and the cost is dropping form 5 orbs to 4 with the new patch.)
• Darkmoon Cards
  This could be included with the BoE Gear category above, but I think it deserves it's own mention. There's one more Darkmoon Faire left between now and when the patch drops. 359 trinkets will all be replaced in 4.3 with 5-man drops, so sell what you can now.

What are you dumping prior to patch 4.3? What items did I miss? Sound off in the comments with your ideas.

I consider myself a somewhat casual auctioneer. I can be found via Twitter @Aleithia3. I also like getting email at Aleithia AT jasonthedce DOT com. Send me your questions and I'll try to write about them on the site.