Not My Server.. No No No

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 2:22 PM

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Mommar here.

News flash.  Every server is different.   It has a different flavor,  a different style and amazingly different people.

Whenever people give tips and tricks on how to make gold there is always the fallout voice that says 'It doesn't work on my server'.   Transmog sales on one server might not happen on another.  High level raid gear and PVP sales might work on one server while on the other server, it becomes a barren wasteland of relistings for sales.

This is where you need to look at your sales and crafting practices and not always follow the same path.   Over the months just on JMTC we have offered hundreds of tips.  If you add all the other good warcraft podcasts,  journals,  email listings, then there are 1000's of tips floating out there on how to make gold in World of Warcraft.

The beauty of being a gold goblin is the ability to decide which ones worked at the time and place that you play on.  Finding the lay of the land on your server becomes key to your success.   Where I would love to say that I have my finger on the pulse of every server out there,  it is impossible for one person let along one journal to know everything.

But what is out there is the tools for you to learn how to interpret each tip and whether it will work in regards to your profit plan.  The plan you have developed over the months with your toon army to be able to create a profit flow that continually fills your needs and desires within the World of Warcraft.

So the next tip you see whether it is here (of course it is always here first, right?) or other places,  decide for yourself whether it will work on your server.  If you're not sure,  throw a few gold and see just what sticks to the wall and what ends up not putting gold into your pocket.

Good Luck and Good Profit Hunting

Maintenance Of Your Toon Army: Garrisons

The Art of Negotiation: Warcraft Style
Cooking For Fun and Profit
Cycle of Life
Road to WOD:   Finish Your Chores
Some Day I Will Learn
Garrosh Is My Friend
You Lost That Alpha Feeling
Too Many Coins On My Hand
We All Make Mistrakes
World Without The Auction House
Not So Smart Loot

Maintenance Of Your Toon Army: Garrisons

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 1:02 PM

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Mommar here.

If there is one thing I have said time and time again,   Time is money.   Granted, it isn't the most original of concepts (long before the Goblins adopted this idea).

In World of Warcraft this is translated to how much time does it take to make your gold.  Anyone can make gold if they try.  The determination is whether it is the simplest of ways (working on quests,  selling raw materials) or much more complex methods (Incarnations of the Saronite shuffle,  flipping items etc.).   Each of ways can make gold,  it mostly depends on how much time you have and just where you place your resources.

This is going to become even more important when the Warlords of Draenor open up its portals for business.  Many people will be running around the new version of Draenor when the expansion hits the shelves.  New items and new materials to craft and sell.  But one of the biggest changes with the garrisons and how they affect the market.

Remember that everyone will be able to create Garrisons.  It appears that they will be able to start creating them early in the expansion.  Halfhill had a limitation, you were required to complete and ultimately had to hit level 90 before the farm could be put into full motion.  Garrisons won't have this limitation it appears.  We already know that Garrisons will have all of the major and minor professions,  if not in a limited capacity.  This will probably mean that a regular miner who can get x amount of ore per node attached will be competing with a non miner who can get their own ore if they are patient.  The same thing applies to all of the other professions.

The other thing to keep in mind is that through the different notes and Alpha testing there is already been reported to have garrison only recipes.  The specifics are still wondering before a wall of silence from the testers.  Supposition basically says to the casual player they will not be needing as much raw material as has been sold in the past from the Auction House.

But don't panic just yet and start  creating an army of scribes.  There will still be a high demand for all of the professions.  Many players are impatient and let their gold they have accumulated overpower the time to create the materials and items on their own.  It just means that as a gold goblin you will have to be more shrewd with your time management. 

So as we start to count down to the beta release and full release of Warlords of Draenor,  keep your time management in mind.  How much time are you spending to obtain your raid necessities?  How much time are you spending to obtain that uber mount you want.  And how much time are you spending running around the dollars trying to find another dime.

Time is money.  And I've got my money on my time.

Good Luck and Good Profit Hunting

The Art of Negotiation: Warcraft Style
Cooking For Fun and Profit
Cycle of Life
Road to WOD:   Finish Your Chores
Some Day I Will Learn
Garrosh Is My Friend
You Lost That Alpha Feeling
Too Many Coins On My Hand
We All Make Mistrakes
World Without The Auction House
Not So Smart Loot

The Art of Negotiation: Warcraft Style

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 1:23 PM

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There are two sides to every deal.  The buyer and the seller.  Seems simple enough, doesn't it?   You have the buyer who wants to obtain something for the least amount of resources (gold,  time,  effort).  You have the seller that wants to get the most resources for the item/time they are offering.

I added gold,  time and effort into the equation because in the negotiations of World of Warcraft all three become commodities.   Your time and effort can easily replace gold simply from questing or running raids/instances.   Effort is just how much you will go somewhere to obtain what you want from the other person.

I ran into this yesterday as I was in negotiations to purchase another guild.  I needed one as a hiding place for a couple of my up and coming toons.   It was a 4 slot guild that had 'some items' still in the bank.   Not going into specifics the seller offered in general chat the guild for x amount of gold.

There are certain questions I always ask when purchasing the guild.

1)   What is the name of the guild (don't really like inappropriate names for guilds I own)
2)    Does anyone else still belong?  (This is important because there have been some guilds that were sold
       Without other members knowing until they logged out the next day.)
3)    What level guild is it?   (The higher the level of the guild the more lucrative that the benefits can be)
4)    What items still exist in the guild bank (if they are good items you can easily recoup your investment)

So I offered what I considered a fair price opening up the negotiations.  Generally, I half the price that they offer unless it is an extremely good opening salvo.   They counter offered and then I accepted at about 75% of the original price they wanted.  Win/Win right?

So I logged over to my toon that would take over the guild I contacted the seller.  After a delay they informed me that someone had offered full price.   Disappointed that the seller didn't keep his word as far as the deal for a measly couple of gold I just thanked him and went my merry way.

But here is the thing to keep in mind.   I have said it many times that your word is your bond.  It may seem very fleeting when dealing with online gaming.  Players do not have the direct attachment to their toons that they have to their real lives.   If I make a deal with someone, then I expect them to keep up with them.  That expectation goes both ways.  I have sold items that others came along quickly and offered me twice as much gold.  I had to tell them the item was sold simply because my word was more valuable to me than ethereal gold.

I'm also someone who believes in Karma.  If you do good things then good things will happen to you.  If you do things that are questionable, then the questionable things will occur.  This may seem like an old concept, but it is one that has ruled both my gaming and my real world life for years.

So the moral of this little story?   There really isn't any.  Not everything needs a moral,  unless you want to add one of your own.  

Good Luck and Good Profit Hunting

Cooking For Fun and Profit
Cycle of Life
Road to WOD:   Finish Your Chores
Some Day I Will Learn
Garrosh Is My Friend
You Lost That Alpha Feeling
Too Many Coins On My Hand
We All Make Mistrakes
World Without The Auction House
Not So Smart Loot

Cooking For Fun and Profit

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:20 PM

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The basic sales techniques to make gold in Warcraft is crafted through either Jewelcrafting,  Leatherworking,  Blacksmithing, Inscription or even the Tirion of professions,  Engineering.

But many gold goblins forget that you can make a lot of gold, leveling and selling cooking supplies.  Middle level buff food as well as max level raiding food was making gold by the bucketfuls for many players.  It took time,  supplies and some farming obtain enough points with all of the different Halfhill residents to get the best recipes.

We already have rumblings that there will be similar gold making strategies with cooking during the WOD expansion.  There is already some ideas of just what raw ingredients will be needed and combined for in demand recipes.

So that's the good news.  The bad news?   Remember how you have never leveled fishing on any of your toons?   From the alpha notes and others who have played the game,  fishing is going to be heavily linked to your cooking.  Again the same happened with the Mists of Pandaria expansion..  It was possible to level your cooking without needing a high level fisher,  but it became that much more expensive.  

The other not so fun news is that many of the already revealed recipes have components that are obtained via Herbalism.  Most players who have inscription have an herbalist running around grasspicking,  but the others gold goblins abandoned Herbalism to level a more profitable profession.  

Warlords of Draenor are lining up to be a different headed beast when it comes to making gold.  Less mass production and more selective production of items.  If this trend continues, then a skilled gold goblin will need to learn how to mix and max professions in their toon army to keep profit margins high.

Still having 3 plus months of Pandaland exploration to go there is plenty of time to maximize your secondary professions on multiple toons.  Fishing and cooking could easily become the hidden goldmine that gold goblins exploit to their advantage.

Good Luck and Good Profit Hunting.

Cycle of Life
Road to WOD:   Finish Your Chores
Some Day I Will Learn
Garrosh Is My Friend
You Lost That Alpha Feeling
Too Many Coins On My Hand
We All Make Mistrakes
World Without The Auction House
Not So Smart Loot
It Was A Great Day
WOD:  Prepping For The Storm
Special Brand Of Stupid
Silver And Gold Have I None

Worth What Someone Will Pay For It

Darkmoon Faire Dead?

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:06 PM

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It was not that long since the Darkmoon Faire was the talk of the town.  The new island,  new games,  new reputation etc.  Everything just had that smell of new car and fun.

The Faire was also an excellent place to obtain quick XP for leveling toons (6 games per day that take about 20 minutes total to finish).  With the subtle changes in the prizes (giving Darkmoon Faire prizes with no xp for each 'game' and lack of new prizes has lessened the excitement of the Faire.

Even the introduction of a new world boss,  Moonfang, has not put the shot in the arm that the Darkmoon Faire truly needs.   So the magic question, does the Darkmoon Faire already need an overhaul?  What can be done to change the Faire to bring the mass amounts of players that attended during the original introduction?

The other question to ask:  Is it really important to overhaul everything in the game to make it new and shiny?   Brewfest just passed us once again, and after four years of the same games,  events and beer type of fun it also has lost it's luster.  Many players barely acknowledged its arrival.  Players were playing with their new shiny dailies in the Timeless Isle and didn't have the time to run back to their home area to zap to another area and play the same boring games once again.

We are not that far from a new expansion introduction for World of Warcraft.  Where few rumors have been flying around that the new expansion name is 'Heroes of the Storm' what new 'features' will be brought into the game?   And what time honored areas of Azeroth will get it's next spit and polish touchups.

Everything in a game can use spit and polish to bring out it's shine.  Adding one or two items unfortunately doesn't bring people back to areas that were once popular.  A favored area can always use new siding and a new paint job.  The Darkmoon Faire is no different in it's needs to get people excited once again at playing the warcraft version of Carnival.

Now if you will excuse me I have a date with a Dire Wolf. 

I am House Mommar and we always pay our debts.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

Want to get in contact with me? . Email me at Dragonbear @ gmail. Dot com or find me on twitter at "@JMTCMommar" You can find me hanging out on the Shandris Server, chat me up, and I will buy you a glass of juice. 

Golden Days
Tip For Timeless Isle
Be Prepared
Poor Poor Spirits of Harmony
Not Enough Loot On My Hands
10 Rules To Price My Golem.
Timeless Isle Tagging Is For Rich Chumps
Bring Me the Alchemist
Welcome To Loot Pinata Island
Last Minute Buys and Sells
Patch 5.4: Mental Preparation
You Found What????
Hearthstone:   The Beginning
Patch 5.4: Budgeting for the Patch
Get thee To a TradeSkillMaster 2.0
Patch 5.4 Prep:  No Sleep til Brooklyn
Customer First

Patch 5.4: It's a Date? Maybe?

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:39 PM

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So one of the powers that be (Tom Chilton) in an interview on a german fan site (yes,  we are multicultural here) that the 5.4 patch has been pushed back to September 10th (11th for the gang in Europe).

This gives everyone about 2 1/2 weeks to get moving on finishing their goals leading up to the new patch.   This new date isn't etched in stone but the background downloader kicked in a couple of days ago so the waiting was upgraded to 'sooner if not later'.

With all the changes that are going to occur with the new patch,  finishing up your honey-do list becomes that much more important.   Even my list has a large amount to work on:

-   Max out Valor/Justice Points on Three toons

-   Max out Honor/Conquest points on one toon

-   Finish Dailies in Barrens for Radical Mojo for armor upgrades

-   Look for deals for gahzrooki

-   Buy supply of Exotic Leathers and Ghost Iron Ore/Bars to cover daily crafting burn

-   Finish off leveling two crafters to 90 (yes I have been slacking)

-   Prepare to craft new glyphs (need more inks)

-   Gear up two farmers to farm new areas with 5.4

-   Keep addons updated (more on this later in the week)

-   Work with TradeSkillMaster 2.1 (Definitely more on this later in the week)

All of this along with listing auctions and flipping for profit.   It will be a busy two weeks waiting for the patch to download.   What is on your agenda to get finished?

Good Luck and Good Hunting

Want to get in contact with me? . Email me at Dragonbear @ gmail. dOT com or find me on twitter at "@JMTCMommar" You can find me hanging out on the Shandris Server, chat me up and I will buy you a glass of juice. 


Kill The Death Knight.. Kill It Now
Time to Remodel The Financial House
Sense Of Entitlement
Patch 5.4:   Golden Lotus Beatdown
Four Levels of Wow Activity
Patch 5.4:  Preparing your Farmers
Patch 5.4:  Easy Gear.. Easy Go
Prepping for Patch 5.4: The Beginning
The End of a Pricing Era
Patch 5.4 prep:   Do You Know Where Your Tailor Is?
The Pitfalls of Trade Barking
7.7 Million Customers and Nothing Sells
Priorities in PVP Gear Pricing
Prep for Patch 5.4: Long Term Goals
Weekend Is Here
Take Me To Naxx
Profit Anonymous

Kill The Death Knight.. Kill It Now

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 9:53 AM

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I have never fooled myself into the belief that I am the best World of Warcraft player around.  Over the years I have become better at playing certain toons.  But there is one class that has escaped my ability to be anything more than subpar.

Just like the majority of players,  when Blizzard introduced the Death Knight I ran out and rolled one as quickly as I could.  Starting to level her (I chose a Tauren Death Knight) It ended up feeling like a spam fest to me.  I would learn a rotation only to have it changed with another patch.  Doing my due diligence I researched the different options and playstyles to see which one would end up being the least complicated.

If you have been seeing some of the videos that get posted up,  Death Knights seem to be able to solo anything.  Even before the end of Cataclysm they were shown soloing bosses.  They were unstoppable in PVP and every raid group seemed to want to have at least one DK in their pocket for tanking duties.   But my poor lowly DK was feeling left out because she was crippled by the guy behind the keyboard controlling her.

As I was going through my toons again it struck me that other than selling pets and a few supplies I hadn't played my DK through either Cataclysm or Mists of Pandaria.  7 other toons got my attention while my little dead eyed girl sat in Dalaran waiting for her chance.  One that probably wasn't going to happen in the near future.

Everyone has lost toons.  Ones that struck a fancy for a bit but weren't as enjoyable as they seemed at the start.  Deciding whether to delete them to roll another class,  or just let them sit in the hopes that they can be entertaining again after tweaking and changes.  The decision to delete can be a tough one.  Especially if they are the link to your storage guild you have then sitting in.  What is the payment that I am willing to make to change class and toons.  I could take all of the materials in the guild and mail it to another toon.  After that delete my mad cow and then roll another toon.  Then find another guild,  buy all 7 slots and then reload all of the materials back into the guild.  

This would seem like a huge waste of gold and time just because I'm not feeling like bringing out the uber god of death to the field of play.   But then I could always suck it up and see what the thrill that other players are finding.   Level her to 90 and the go PVP with her?   Let her run around when I"m bored and smack mobs for farming duties.   Re-purposing her from sitting on her buns and let her wreck havoc.

It is also not like I need to make these decisions now.  There is nothing wrong with having her sit a little bit longer deciding if I want to keep her or not.  I already have the other 10 toons to babysit for one reason or another.  But the longer she sits there without any purpose,  the farther she will need to level once it's her time to come out and play.

Decisions decisions decisions.  But isn't this just another part of the game along with making gold?

Good Luck and Good hunting

Want to get in contact with me? . Email me at Dragonbear @ gmail. dOT com or find me on twitter at "@JMTCMommar" You can find me hanging out on the Shandris Server, chat me up and I will buy you a glass of juice. 


Time to Remodel The Financial House
Sense Of Entitlement
Patch 5.4:   Golden Lotus Beatdown
Four Levels of Wow Activity
Patch 5.4:  Preparing your Farmers
Patch 5.4:  Easy Gear.. Easy Go
Prepping for Patch 5.4: The Beginning
The End of a Pricing Era
Patch 5.4 prep:   Do You Know Where Your Tailor Is?
The Pitfalls of Trade Barking
7.7 Million Customers and Nothing Sells
Priorities in PVP Gear Pricing
Prep for Patch 5.4: Long Term Goals
Weekend Is Here
Take Me To Naxx
Profit Anonymous


 

Patch 5.2: The Great Ghost Iron Ore Rush

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:03 PM

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With 5.2 now delayed at least a week (or two) this still gives some time to get some more material gathering for flipping.

Blacksmithing was given a huge game changer with the announcement that you will be able to level a blacksmith from 1 to 500 with just Ghost Iron Ore/bars.   This sounds nice doesn't it?

But don't get stuck into a trap of thinking that lots of people will start leveling blacksmithing at this point in the game.  They are more apt to level a more money making profession (Jewelcrafting,  Leatherworking, etc.).   Many players are dumping their old world stock and looking to flip Ghost Iron Bars for profit.  This is viable but ultimately will end up driving the market up to the point that players will turn again to the old world materials that end up being cheaper.

It will have a drastic effect on Jewelcrafting and Alchemy for their crafting timers.   The Jewelcrafting shuffle will end up becoming more expensive at the outset for those crafters that didn't stock up on their ore from the start.  The alchemist will be in the same boat from the high demand that will occur for Living Steel for the new patterns released with patch 5.2.

Just like any patch wave at some point this all will slow down and the prices will come down to a normal level.   The Ghost iron bar/ore price point will stay higher than it is now,  but once the miners get their stock out and players are happy with the their addition to their alt army the demand for the ore should be in a better price range.

Still,  Investing in a few stacks (a few depending on your level of funds available) should be a boost to your gold making.  If your in one of the heavy usage professions for ore (Blacksmithing,  Jewelcrafting,  Alchemy) then stocking up on what you need now will benefit greatly.   I would set my price point between 50-60g per stack and jump on anything that drops below that.   Again depending on your current money levels investing 5% of your stock should net you at least a 100% gain if the markets play out correctly.

Just keep into your eyes the status of your server economy.  If your economy is depressed then sinking gold where players won't be willing to buy is just giving away your fortune.  The same thing goes for a hyper inflated server,  buying just for your own personal use and not being concerned with resell will give you a steady step as you continue through Patch 5.2.

Bring on the Thunder King,  I have stuff to sell to him too.

Good Luck and Good Hunting


Want to get in contact with me? . Email me at Dragonbearjoe @ gmail. dOT com or find me on twitter at "@JMTCMommar" You can find me hanging out on the Shandris Server, chat me up and I will buy you a glass of juice. 

Previous Entries

5.2 Watch: Capping Justice Points
Language People.  Language
Patch 5.2: Know They Economy
New Leatherworking Pattern.html
Patch 5.2: Jewelcrafters
Patch 5.2: Thanks Uncle Blizzard for the Valor
Something Stinks In The Air
Get a Grip On Your Pricing
Patch 5.2:  Prepping for the rush
How Do You Effect The Market?
He's So Great He's A Fivefather
Patch 5.2:   Farming For Rep.. With A Farm?

Leveling Interest

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 7:00 AM

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Mommar here:

I'm finding something interesting as I level up my Shaman goblin goddess.   I placed three pieces of BOA gear giving her a 30% boost in her XP rate.   As I was finishing up Azshara I was noticing that most of the quests ended up being low level giving me a lot less xp than I expected.

Some of this is due to using the Random Dungeon Finder to level as well.   This is giving me a large amount of XP as I'm racing through the goblin controlled territory.   I use an add-on from WOW-pro.com as my leveling source (it goes step by step,  hits all of the quests in an area,  and best of all it's free).

Having the tendency to stay on track when using a leveling guide I was hesitant to jump to another area and leave quests unfinished.  Most of the gear that I received during the quests were vendored for cheap cash.   It surprised me just how quickly that my leveling outdistanced the quests in the area.  

Cataclysm had its own base of BOA gear with xp boost technology.   This gives a strong advantage 
to players as they level their next crafter or gatherer.   It also puts them to have to pay attention to make
sure they are getting as much xp as they can.    If you have run through the quests in Vanilla Warcraft as 
well as the Burning Crusade and Wrath expansions,  jumping ahead into different areas when the quests 
turn gray can become beneficial.   Adding up the biggest bang for your buck is just as important in 
Experience points as it is in gold making.

My goal is to have my shaman hitting 85 by the end of next week.  Not sure if I will make it simpler
because time is not on my side.   But that sense of urgency of wanting to get a task done is starting to 
build again.  So hopefully I will reach my goals and have my own MOP prep done.

I will keep you posted

Good Luck and Good Hunting


Want to get in contact with me? . Email me at Dragonbearjoe @ gmail. dOT com or find me on twitter at "@JMTCMommar" You can find me hanging out on the Shandris Server, chat me up and I will buy you a glass of juice. 

Previous Entries

Hype Hype Hype
No Shirt No Service
Too Much Stuff
MOP Prep:  PokeWOW Part 1
MOP Prep: PokeWOW Part 2
Time to close businesses..
Would You Save World of Warcraft?
Tips for the Junk Impaired
Its not being lazy,  it's being unmotivated
Lost Pets for MOP
Leveling Digging, Grass Picking O My
Is it Worth It?
MOP Prep:   Enchanters Pt 1
MOP Prep:  Enchanters Part Deux
MOP Prep: What to save for the Pandas Pt 1
MOP:  Powerleveling Leatherworking in the Vale
MOP Prep:   Prepping the Farmer
MOP Prep:  Get to the Points
MOP Prep:  Reduction in Inventory
MOP Prep: Stuff to Gold,  Gold to Stuff
MOP Prep: Setting the Lineup
MOP Prep: Setting up the Cartel
MOP Prep:   Zero Balance Investment

Breakfast Briefs

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 11:12 AM

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Mommar Here.

As I'm munching on my breakfast muffin (banana nut),   I was thinking about the last week and what occurred.   There are so many things going on with the new patch that it's difficult to keep track without extensive notes.  And to be honest,  it's enjoyable at times just to discover things without having them typed up on a web page.

Seeing that the Truegold cooldown had been removed on my alchemist was a pleasant surprise.   Where there isn't a huge demand in epic crafted item (Looking for Raid has made getting epic pieces much easier), it makes Truegold collection easier for crafting Vial of the Sands.

There were some very subtle changes in the major cities.   Finding the monk trainer in Orgrimmar was amusing (since monk class isn't available for play) so they looked extremely lonely.   I had started leveling a goblin (yes,  I know I'm late but thank you 11th slot) and remembered just how frustrating it was to run everywhere.   Flipping over to the new mount/pet tab and having non of them available to ride like the wind on was slightly depressing.

I've always said that when leveling the best combination to have is two gathering professions.   Later on switch  to powerleveling professions when needed.   Having added my new toon into one of my level 25 guilds I belong too gave me a lot of opportunities to gather more materials.  Bountiful Bags added a lot more materials to my bags.   Tied along with my Gnomish Army Knife I didn't run into any ruts that sometimes happen when gaining points in the professions.

It was nice to see the main cities start to become busy again.   Trade chat was more active with players looking for the new glyphs (including the ones that aren't released until Mists of Pandaria).  And the occasional crafted gem.  It was nice to get back into trade barking and answering requests.

World of Warcraft is a game (yes,  I know you already knew that) but sometimes even I forget that I pay 15 dollars a month to play it.  It's not just about making gold and dominating the auction house front.  It is just as important to spend time with friends and enjoy a little bit of pixel on pixel violence.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

Previous Articles

Post Patch Weekend Arrives

An Open Letter To Inscriptionists

That Thing You Do

1500 conquest points and nothing to put on

MOP:  Powerleveling Leatherworking in the Vale
MOP Prep:   Prepping the Farmer
MOP Prep:  Get to the Points
MOP Prep:  Reduction in Inventory
MOP Prep: Stuff to Gold,  Gold to Stuff
MOP Prep: Setting the Lineup
MOP Prep: Setting up the Cartel
MOP Prep:   Zero Balance Investment
Long Term Vs Short Term Profits
Two Accounts.. Twice the Profit
Thanks Uncle Scrooge McBlizzard
Goblins, Pandas and Blood Elfs O My
The Secret For Investing for MOP
I know what the Rock is cooking (in PVP Gear)
How Much Effect Do Bloggers Have?
The Death and Life of Truegold
Time vs Gold Investment
Return to your Essence
Harmony - We Don't Need Harmony
Jewelcrafting dailies or something
Its All Attitude
It's the Little Things
The Doh Club
Psychology of Selling

MOP Prep: Whose up first?

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 2:00 PM

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Mommar Here.

So the past few days I've been steadily thinking about who to level first.  The new XP numbers seem to push the idea that it will take about 30 hrs give or take to level.

For the last two Expansion packs I looked to level one of my raiding characters first.  I started off with my Warrior (aptly named Mommar) who leveled in about 6 days.  I didn't spend 100% of the time I could to level due to extra things in my life.   Once I had him leveled and exploring the new world,  I turned towards my second character to level.   This was my hunter gathering toon (my Hunter Move).

She leveled through quests but spent a lot of time killing mobs for skins and getting ore to feed into Mommar (he is my Leatherworking/Blacksmithing specialist).  Slowly but surely I finished leveling everyone who I was going to level during the cataclysm expansion pack.  The last one leveled to 85 was my Paladin.  By this time I was slightly burnt out of questing in the New Azeroth (Doing the same 7 quests will destroy your will to visit any place.)

Spending countless hours with Auction House chores (by this time I was no longer raiding with my guild) I continued to work on gaining gold,  spending gold and overall just enjoying another aspect
of the game.  If I had to do things differently I would have probably concentrated more on obtaining
my professions maximized first and then worked on gearing.   

There are three different types of reasons someone chooses to level a character.

1.   New Class/New abilities to try out
2.   Play Style/Enjoyment
3.   Gold Making possibility.

The first two are self explanatory.  They are choices that a player has to make on their own.  Do you 
want to play a Panda or a monk?  Did you not roll a goblin with the last expansion?   These are going to 
drive a majority of the players on the choices they make.

For me,  I'm looking at strictly on a gold making level.   We know from the Betas that professions are 
going to have to level to at least 87 to be able to maximize out their abilities. Vale of Eternal Blossoms
is where the patterns are sold.   But the question is going to be what is the most profitable to get there.

A farming toon has a strong catalyst when it comes to leveling at the start of an expansion.   The playing
field is even because there are no real stockpiles of the new materials.   The farming toon has the ability
to command their own prices for what they collect while finishing up quests and exploring new territory. 
Other professions are dependent on the stock of others,  whether gathered by their farming toons or 
purchased from outside sources.

But one Profession can make and use their own materials.   The Enchanter has a distinct advantage over
the rest of the professions.   They can recycle their items that are no longer useful into materials that can
be crafted into something else.  Or sold on the open market.   Putting together both a crafter and tailor
(which is my toon Mosiac) becomes a very powerful combination from the start.  Nothing ends up going 
waste or is vendored just for gold.   

So I decided that when MOP starts I'll be pushing heavy to level my Enchanting/Tailor combination first.  
At least to 87 to open up the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.  Most of my other characters will follow in suit 
with my two raiding characters as well as my backup band.   

What reasons are you looking to level specific toons?  Who's on first when the gates of Pandaria open?

Good Luck and Good Hunting


Previous Entries

MOP:  Powerleveling Leatherworking in the Vale
Long Term Vs Short Term Profits
Two Accounts.. Twice the Profit
Thanks Uncle Scrooge McBlizzard
Goblins, Pandas and Blood Elfs O My
MOP Prep:   Prepping the Farmer
MOP Prep:  Get to the Points
MOP Prep:  Reduction in Inventory
MOP Prep: Stuff to Gold,  Gold to Stuff
MOP Prep: Setting the Lineup
MOP Prep: Setting up the Cartel
MOP Prep:   Zero Balance Investment
The Secret For Investing for MOP
I know what the Rock is cooking (in PVP Gear)
How Much Effect Do Bloggers Have?
The Death and Life of Truegold
Time vs Gold Investment
Return to your Essence
Harmony - We Don't Need Harmony
Jewelcrafting dailies or something
Its All Attitude
It's the Little Things
The Doh Club
Psychology of Selling

Gold-Making 101: Your First 100 Gold

Posted by Aleithia at 8:00 AM

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Join us on a journey from rags to riches. The Gold-Making 101 series will walk you through the basics of getting started on your road to the gold-cap. This week we cover some of the basics that will be the foundation for your gold-making journey.

Getting Started
The hardest step in your gold-making journey is going to be your first few steps. If you're continually low on cash, can't pay repairs, can't afford enchants and gems, or are just scraping by, you need to invest some time and effort into making gold. Generally speaking, gold-capped is reached through discipline and doing small tasks consistently over time. There are very few "get rich quick" schemes in life and there are very few in the World of Warcraft also. Every gold-making empire is built on doing small tasks consistently over time.

I'll be assuming you're starting from scratch with no gold and no level-capped characters. If you have some character assets to start with, great! You're ahead of the game! But what if you don't? Well, the first step is to create some. Their race and class don't matter at this point. The point is that we need something to work with on our way to gold-cap.

The Bank Alt

One of your characters is going to function as the banker for your gold-making empire. While race and class don't matter a lot, you might consider races/classes that have speed-boosting abilities. Worgen have the racial Darkflight, which grants a running speed boost. Rogues, druids, shaman and mages all have some sort of speed boost. This will help save you some time while you run around the city. It's a minor advantage, however, so don't get too caught up on it.

You'll want to level this character to at least level 5, then head to the capital city for your faction. Horde should ultimately end up in Orgrimmar, Alliance should end up in Stormwind. This will give you access to face-to-face deals with people in the future. There are also some low-level gold-making opportunities in these cities for this character to take advantage of.

The Adventurer

The second character is the one you're going to be using to adventure and make money out in the world. This might be an existing character, or it might be a new one. You'll use this character to complete quests, farm materials, level professions and generally be your "main" character. Pick a class and race that you enjoy playing. While there are some advantages for different races with different professions, they aren't so overwhelming that you need to worry about them now.

Your First Steps to Gold Cap

Now begins your journey to the gold-cap. Here are some things you should be doing with each character:

Adventurer

• Your first priority is getting to max level. A mix of dungeons and questing will probably be the fastest, though questing will generally provide you with more gold along the way, which should be useful for you in the future. 
• Don't buy upgrades. Nothing is so difficult while leveling that you'll need upgraded gear from the Auction House to overcome it. Questing and dungeon drops provide all the power you need. Don't buy enchants or gems (levels 60+). If your class has a glyph that will help you level faster, buy it if they are reasonably priced. However, you can always come back to this later when you have more gold.
• Buy upgraded bags. Every rule has an exception. The one upgrade you should purchase is bigger bags. Netherweave are a great bang for the buck at around 10 gold on many servers. If you don't have that, there are faction bags available from the capital cities (There are 6 bags in all for each faction, from each of the playable races). These bags are 2 gold once you reach revered, which you should do in no time while questing in their zones.
• Sell everything you get. Back when I was a guest writer for this blog, I wrote an article about how to optimize the gold-making process while leveling. You should read it. Most of that still applies today. One thing that's new since then, however, is Transmogrification (or mogging for short). Mogging allows people to change the look of their armor/weapons while keeping the stats of their high-level gear. So gear for a level 85 character can be made to look like a level 30 player if you wanted to. (Note: Control-Click gear to see what it looks like on your character to evaluate if it's worth selling) There's a big market for this gear, especially:
• Head, Shoulders, Chests, Legs, Hands, Feet, Cloaks and Waist slots. These are the visible pieces of armor.
• Weapons, especially if it has a more unique look to it.
• Anything black. Black boots might be worth 3-4 times as much as green boots with the same model.
• Headpieces that show the face while active. 
• Learn a gathering profession. You can learn professions at level 5 from trainers in the capital cities or other locations around the world. I'd suggest mining and skinning, mostly because I find herbalism to be the most difficult to keep up with my level. Farm as you level and you can make some good gold. 
• Pick up recipes from vendors as you find them. Generally speaking, if a vendor sells a recipe and it's not bind-on-pickup, you can sell it for a profit on the auction house. Send them to your banker for sale. WoW Confidential has a pretty comprehensive list of what's out there, though the page requires Internet Explorer to see it correctly. You can download the spreadsheet version of  the list directly here.

Banker

• Scan the Auction House. Get an addon like Auctioneer, Auctionator, or Trade Skill Master (I prefer Trade Skill Master with the automatic updates. Faid at Clockwork Riot has some great videos that go over how to use Trade Skill Master if you've never used it before. Your goal here is to look for good deals on items that are low-priced to purchase and resell for a higher profit. Much of my early gold-making success was built on flipping a small variety of items like low-level gems (Malachite, Citrine, etc.) for profit. The way to tell if something is underpriced is to have good auction data to work from, so scanning the auction house regularly (if you don't use the auto-update feature) is critical.
• Buy Low, Sell Normal. This post from 2009 is still applicable today and goes over the strategies to make this successful. As you look at the markets, you'll start to notice trends and get pretty good at flipping items. Snatch lists are going to be your friend here.
• Systematically sell your drops. Did you read that article I linked earlier? Read the part about using Trade Skill Master again. There's some work involved setting up the initial groups and systems, but once you do, you can re-use it for your next character that you level, and the one after that, and the one after that. You can easily make 10,000 gold on the way from level 1 to level 85 (or 90 in Mists of Pandaria) by just selling your drops. If it's green, blue or purple, chances are it has some value on the auction house.
• Check the capital city for goods to resell. The Gold Queen has a good overview of items and why this works. Again, if it's a recipe, or it has a limited quantity available (it's limited if there is a number in the bottom right corner of the icon), it's worth something on the Auction House. Find out which ones sell well on your server and focus on those things. These aren't big profit makers, but as you get started, they can help get you going quickly.

If you missed any in the series, check read up on the rest of the Gold-Making 101 series:

• Gold-Making 101: The Basics

Mists of Pandaria Preparation: Alts

Posted by Aleithia at 8:00 AM

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In the World of Warcraft, fortunes are made on patches and new expansions. Each new expansion and patch brings the opportunity for you to get gold-capped. Will you be the next in Mists of Pandaria? Now is the time to prepare! This series is about preparing for the next great gold rush in WoW: Mists of Pandaria!

Multiple Max-Level Characters

One of the most critical cogs in the gold-making machine is having multiple markets in which you participate. The more professions you have, the more gold you'll be able to make. But in order to get more professions, we need to have more max-level characters.

Unless you've already maxed out your character slots on your server, this is going to be an important step for you as you look to make your fortune. If you're sitting on only one or two max-level characters, this step is even more critical. Thankfully, leveling characters has never been easier. However, there are still some tips to share about the leveling process to maximize your efficiency while also making some gold along the way.

Simultaneous Leveling

Historically, I've committed to a single character and brought them up through the levels until they were level-capped, then started on my next character. While this is a workable solution, it's often not the most efficient. It's actually much faster to level multiple characters at the same time. Here's why:

• Rested Experience
  Whenever you log off, your character will accumulate "rested" experience. When you are in an inn or capital city, you gain one "bar", or 5% of a level, of rested XP every 8 hours. You'll know you're receiving it when you see a little "zzz" in the bottom left of your portrait. In 10 days, you'll gain the maximum 1.5 levels of rested XP. When you return to your adventures, you will receive double XP for all kills, farming (herb/ore) and archeological digs. So if you level one character, then let them rest while leveling the next 2-3 to the same point, you'll return to some rested XP bonus.
• Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
  If you don't mind the repetitive grind, level all your characters in the same zones. I've liked revisiting the remade starting zones, but I find it's faster to level through zones I know already. The first time through, I'm constantly checking the map and quest text for directions, but the 2nd and 3rd times through go much faster. If you're chain-running your alts through a single zone, you'll find the subsequent trips to get faster and faster as you learn the routes and locations for quests. You might consider taking each character through the zone, then starting back with the first for your next zone and repeating the cycle.
• Shared Drops
  Another point in favor of simultaneous leveling is that your characters will be receiving the same "junk" as they level. Read my post about optimizing gold while leveling for some tips on how to sell the valuable goods (and how to identify what's valuable). Trade Skill Master will be critical to your success here. Use your first character to set up groups for the items. (TIP: The TSM tooltip tells you what group an item is in. If it's not in one, nothing will be listed so you know you should add it.) At the end of each zone (or whenever your bags get too full), mail all of the auctionable stuff to an Auction Alt and post away. I like to price this stuff to move out of my inventory, not necessarily make the most gold. If you want until all your characters have been through the zone, you'll be able to list everything in the largest groups possible.

Professions While Leveling

Next week's post will go into more detail about professions to use, but a quick word here about them. For most of my characters, I've opted to level with one or two "gathering" professions. Generally speaking, I don't like to level my production professions until I hit (or get near) max-level. I've found skinning to be the easiest to keep up to date with my current level, followed by mining and herbalism. But if you're using heirlooms, you're likely to out-level your gathering professions and will need to spend time "catching up." I like to build up rested XP (see above) and then use that on catching up the gathering professions.

I then use the resources from this farming to level my production professions later. If you have a lot of gold already, you might consider skipping the farming as it will definitely slow down your leveling overall if you have to go back to level your gathering skills. If you're short on gold, you'll want to do this and save the materials in your bank for leveling your production professions later.

One exception here: if you know one of your characters is going to be an enchanter, it's worth leveling it enough to be able to disenchant your unneeded quest rewards and old gear, which in turn helps reduce the cost of leveling your enchanter. You can also send the enchanter all your Bind-on-Equip gear you find while leveling if it doesn't sell for disenchanting.

Next Week: Professions