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Archive for the ‘wow tips’ Category

Just a quick note… I camp (farm) Barrow Dens for obsidian ore alot because I can work on my web sites, then every 5 minutes or so, check and mine some ore. Other day refreshes seemed to take a while and I thought how it had seemed certain days refresh was real quick… and THAT day was not it!

Well, today is tuesday and it is afternoon… and NOW IS IT! It seems like even when I check after a few minutes, there is more ore to be mined already! And, this has been going on for about a dozen times. So, if you are doing Barrow Dens for the easy obsidian ore, make sure to check it out Tuesday afternoons if you can. Good luck and enjoy!

Watch out! The hard to acquire Chaos orbs are no longer soulbound and can be picked up on the Auction House (AH). This is BIG as now rare items such as the Banker Mule status symbol, the Embersilk Gown, can now be mass (relatively) produced for sale. Definitely a market change to watch!

Black Embersilk Gown is one of the newest and highest status garments for your bank alt. Part of it’s scarcity is that tailoring must be extremely high, like maxed out, and a chaos orb is required (which is soulbound and aquired in raids or dungeons or some such). Well, these gowns look great on the female toons. But, as I quickly found out on my first male dwarf bank alt, it leaves unsightly gaps of flesh exposed! Interestingly enough, it does not seem to do this on female toon (go figure). Anyway, poor male dwarf was looking like a transvestite (already got a male tauren bank alt that prefers elegant dress, and btw ran into another who had been doing the same about as long as I). What to do? I mean it really looked stupid.

Turns out that Stylish Red Shirt completes the outfit pretty nice. I just upgraded my Enchanting/Inscription/Bank Alt Gnome to lvl 75 and was converting him back to Bank Alt status (as opposed to field gear)… put the gown on (stripped my other bank alt to get it, LOL, oh, he is my tailoring/leatherworking alt and has a gown on AH that he can wear later), with the Bright Yellow Shirt already on… Yuk! Not a good mix. So, on with the Stylish Red Shirt, and… “You LOOK MARVELOUS!” (if any of you old-timers remember the Billy Crystal pop song… “It’s not HOW you feel, it is HOW YOU LOOK, and YOU LOOK MARVELOUS!”, I think this was in response to all the touchy-feely advice during the late 1980s, LOL).

Well, interrupted my World of Warcraft play for this quick tip… so, back to it! Bye!

Are you tired of how Blizzard has obsoleted so many cool recipes in World of Warcraft? I am creating this post because my poor alt toons have been spending thousands in gold for real promising sounding recipes… just to discover that either 1) they are Bind On Pickup, or 2) require a mat that is extremely rare and/or unavailable post cataclysm!

In the case of #1 above, it can be very frustrating when, for example, my priest gets a leatherworking recipe to create mail armor… and it turns out to be only usable to the crafter!! Doh!!
This is like buying soap on a rope from that guy in Shatt (or one of his many other great sounding placebos). Maybe a feather in one’s cap, so to speak, but not usable.

In the case of #2, you may be able to snatch some of the hard-to-find mats from the Auction House. But, good luck on catching the ignorant sellers who list it for the old price. Typically, AH banker types know very well what they have and overprice the stuff unrealistically. For example, I might go to 11g for wildvine, but I WILL NOT PAY 110g!

In another post on this blog I have begun listing those mats that have been discovered as missing or rare since Cataclysm. Should add Large (and actually small too) Obsidian Shard. Fortunately, I saved myself 2500g yesterday by researching a recipe I was going to buy from AH. It was Black Grasp *something or other*. Without Large Obsidian Shard the recipe is useless. And, yes, Blizzard has screwed the Player once again… the source for those mats no longer exist.

The recipe before that one, I did buy and had my toon read… went to make one of the new thing, and discovered it was Bind On Pickup AND mail (for a priest!). *Sigh* Blew my fortune for the week (typically a few thousand g) on that one!

So, before buying a new recipe on AH, check that you will be able to, at least, use it. Although, my purposes tend to be crafting for profit and resale. Then, remember to check if you will still be able to get the mats, and if the new market price still makes crafting feasible. I always check Wowhead on this (use to love Zam, but since Cata they have obsoleted it and absorbed into Wowhead, which doesn’t really provide the stuff I used Zam for, but oh well.) Unfortunately, sometimes the comments are all pre-cata and do not indicate the current state of things. Sometimes they do and it can clue you in quick that there will be trouble. I have found no current resource on the Internet which provides accurate up-to-date info on recipes and mats, so, this blog may become that resource! Feel free to bookmark us and check back when you are researching mats and recipes.

And, Blizzard has been NO HELP at all. It seems that at WoW support the left hand is ignorant of the right hand. That is, that Players who have bothered to contact World of Warcraft Support to report a lack of a particular mat as a bug, or find out if it is suppose to still be available, are told incorrect information that seems based on pre-cata data. Often other Players confirm that the Blizzard claims are erroneous and incorrect. Is Blizzard purposely eliminating these critical mats and cool items from the Game? Or, is it just incompetent blundering on change management?

On the one hand, I agree with Blizzard’s efforts to stir up the Game and make it fresh. On the other hand, I have discovered a long time ago, if a Player had to stumble upon or figure out all the intricacies of World Of Warcraft (that is, not have reference sources on the Internet)… it would quickly be unfulfilling and no fun to play. It would sit to the side, unplayed, like all the other computer games I have paid for, and will unsubscribe once it really sinks in.

Blizzard does seem determined to ruin the elements that make WoW unique and much better than the competition. It seems that those guiding development would rather try to beat the competition at their game… even at the risk of making it “just another MMOG”. Which is a shame. Because I have tried many of the other mmog, and always came back to World Of Warcraft.

Anyway, plan to start listing recipes that are no longer very feasible here. So, you might want to bookmark this post and check back.

Arbitrage in World of Warcraft is a very lucrative business! Many Players do not know how to properly list things in the Auction House (AH), and/or want a quick sale on items.

I have been playing a tauren on the horde side for a little while now and, as he is starting from scratch (as opposed to my ally toons who get twinked from my richer alts ) the experience of building from coppers to silvers to blessed gold is fresh again.

Okay, the tip here is that I have been finding it lucrative to pick up Glyphs for under a few silvers (maybe 20s max), then flip them for gold! I do not state a set amount of gold because it has been all over the board. I just listed some for over 70g!! But, the target for profitability is 1g or 2g…

Why are Players selling Glyphs worth gold for silver? Probably a number of reasons. Market saturation main one, I suspect. But, the Inscription market is very dynamic. This weeks glut is next weeks derth!

Also, they may be making many of a particular Glyph to level up, but then they want to dump them to clear bags and such… they are ready to move on.

You ARE providing the service of supply smoothed over time, so that when Players are buying, there you are with your product. One thing about the Glyph market, it is not very big, it takes very few in the AH to saturate the market at that time. But, again, that is why there is opportunity!

One last tip… My tauren has been doing very well with rare weapon arbitrage too! He does not have the funds to buy into the epic market (yet!), but picking up rare weapons for under 25g (often like 5g) and selling for more than 40g (sometimes much more!). Just the other day, wealth went from under 1g to over 100g because of 2 weapon sales! Probably a profit of 70g+… Have even seen a flip go where item was bought now and before end of day it has sold at huge profit!

This opportunity is not quite so hot on the ally side where our realm is more mature, but horde AH is a smaller, more primitive market. Two more insights before closing this post: 1) if an item has a special ability, that can make it more salable, 2) even though an item is low level where toons have less gold, there is always the chance a Twink will come thru with as much gold as it takes. And, wanting to power level the alt toon as quick as possilbe, which means the most powerful gear possible for the level!! I think this fact drives alot of the arbitrage potential. In fact, I try to stay away from the higher level items (like over 65), because by then, they can either buy better gear, or get better gear through raids and rep.

Hope this helps! Check back for more tips, I have a million of them from years of playing World of Warcraft… one of those, “Some day I should pass these on in a blog” sort of thing. LOL!

Okay, time for another tip… Spider’s silk! This is not a huge money maker, but is one of those mats that are a pain in the butt to farm (lots of work for little return) and toons are using regularly for mats to make cool stuff.

I am not going into great depth here as I am doing my thursday AH listings (Bonus Tip: thursday is best selling day of week on AH! eBay too, but that is another matter, LOL!) and decided to stop planning on blogging this tip and just do it!

If you do want to farm it yourself, my favorite spot is the Arathi Basin, expect about one Spider’s Silk per ten mob killed. Slow going, but if you don’t want to buy (or it is not available as sometimes happens!) from AH, and either need the mats or want to make some gold, it is not too bad. You get abunch of other spider junk along the way.

Back to making gold on AH… My personal rule of thumb has been, pay 2g or less per, and sell for 5g per. As a mat, I use to make Spidersilk boots and sell on AH, but over time they have not been a big money maker and now I sell the silk when the price is right.

And, they DO sell at 5g per because even though some list for less, the supply seems to dry up most weeks and some toon hits it when only the higher priced stuff is available! Keep in mind to sell from thursday thru sunday though or the supply may be plenty for demand.

Oh! And, careful you do not confuse Thick Spider Silk for Spider’s Silk! Been there done that! LOL! Thick Spider Silk is practically worthless and a careless click in buying can be a big mistake.

As always, good luck and have fun!

Want to make a quick 300 gold in World of Warcraft? Would you like to know how to increase your cash tenfold? Here is one of my favorite techniques to do this!

I have been playing World of Warcraft for about two years now. I play primarily a solo financial game.  Most of my toon(s) activity is actually on the Auction House (AH), LOL! And, for some time now it has seemed there are many of gold making techniques that I use regularly that would be appreciated by other fans and players.

Well, here is the first in what may become a series of cash (ingame of course) earning methods…

Rumsey Rum Black Label is a great buff for lower levels.  It increases stamina by 15 for 15 minutes and gets you drunk to boot! But, what really makes it special is that there is no level requirement! So, even very low level toons can use it. And, it is kind of fun too.

There are only two ways to get Rumsey Rum Black Label (aside from AH or another toon), 1) fish it out of floating wreckage (also known to happen in schools, I guess), or buy it from Barkeep Kelly in Old Hillsbrad.

You journey to Old Hillsbrad via the Caverns of Time and can only do that once your toon has reached level 68. Which is probably one reason why this opportunity is available. Anyone over level 68 COULD do this run, but most players are on to more interesting things by then and won’t want to spend game time doing this.

Before my Main reached the required level, I would make money on this buff by arbitrage. That is, if it was being sold on AH for less than 25s, I would buy it. And, then, turn around and sell it for 50s.

However, once you are able to go to Barkeep Kelly directly, the per unit cost is 2s… and, now, I typically sell for less than 25s!! Mostly, because it helps move product, but also, because I figure it is enough profit for the effort. Pricing gonzo maxed out is not always the best way to make money. (although it can be funny to see what it does to the market prices, LOL)

By the way, when I say “money” or “gold”, obviously we are talking about ingame funds. Unfortunately, Blizzard Entertainment does not allow transferring ingame gold to Real Life (RL) cash. There are other Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) that DO and even encourage that. I have tried Entropia and Second Life, which hopefully will be reviewed on this web site or an associated one. I have also tried EVE and Pirates of the Burning Sea (POTBS) as MMOG, these also should have reviews at some point. But, again, here we are just talking about getting your ingame toon wealthy. Which is still cool because you can twink out your toon(s) with rare and epic items! LOL!

Okay, back to Rumsey Rum Black Label… Next let me mention that there are other versions of Rumsey stuff… even a Captain Rumsey’s Lager, which gives a fishing buff. Don’t bother. Not for profitmaking anyhow. It is the Rumsey Rum Black Label that is special and has great opportunity!

Now, a word about pricing… Realms differ obviously and I only know 2, maybe, 3 realms, but on those I play horde so, really only one. By the way, that is another method of profit, although I do not bother anymore, play both sides of the factions. Moving valuable or scarce goods between markets via neutral AH in Booty Bay or Tanaris… again, maybe some other wow tip post.

Yeah, right, pricing (sorry)… It would seem that most common is 50s, which was my original target. And, they DO sell at that price. Try not to get much more greedy. Remember that it is lower levels that want this buff and except for twinking alt toons, players are not going to be able to afford to pay anything no matter how expensive. But, 50s is realistic and it does sell, although you may have to list repeatitively to sell volume.

Here is what I do instead, figure source cost is 2s, target 20s as a good profit, then add expenses on top of that. I think AH fee is like 21s and source cost of 2s makes 23s. So, I list a stack (10) for 2g 23s, and most weeks they fly off of AH!!! Later, when I am just relisting product I put buyout of 3g out of laziness and they still sell well. Oh, by the way, we are talking Buyout prices. ALWAYS put a BUYOUT price on your listings!

That is such a fundamental rule of the World of Warcraft Auction House the forgot to even mention it. Players (well, most unless they are financial players like me ) looking on AH want the item NOW! And, they will pay what it takes NOW. So always put a BUYOUT price on your listings. Best to beat current low range of listings, but make it higher if you  have a limit above market (or don’t list it if fee is too much).

Okay, back to the Bootlegger’s Run! We know how and why to list on AH, now we need to get supplies from our source. For this, it is worth maximizing bag capacity. I prefer Frostweave Bags (FB), they give 20 slots per bag.

Regardless, clean out your bags and replace special types such as engineering or mining bags. Carry only a minimum of items. You shouldn’t need them much for the trip to and fro. Also, you can reequip once the Run is done. One more thing, make sure you have enough cash on hand! And, keep your hearthstone! LOL, made that mistake once or twice

Okay, with only a hearthstone for easy return, my bags are showing 95 empty slots… a Rumsey Rum Black Label stack is 10 units, so, that will be 950!! But, let’s talk stacks and a minimum profit of 2g per… 190g once all are sold… or more! If we are willing to hold on to inventory until they sell at 5g, we could easily make that 300g (or more!), but, me, I would rather liquidate and reinvest or return for more supply later. Plus, I like the warm fuzzy feeling of helping a lower level twink abit, LOL.

Now, bags are ready and it is time to do the Run. We will assume you either know of the Caverns of Time in Tanaris, or know how to find out more about them. However, my Main is based in Dalaran and has found a shortcut that is most fortuitous…

Run into The Violet Citadel, go past the NPC near the entry, and up the stairs. At the top, turn left. There is a portal that takes you to the Caverns of Time!

Tell the Steward of Time to take you to his Master. Once there, mount up and run into the Old Hillsbrad instance… Hint: go west then north… Once out of the cavern, run past the dragon and NPC… we are on a mission here! Run straight down the footpath to Southshore and into the tavern. Barkeep Kelly is behind the bar by the pirate looking guys.

Don’t bother with the other drinks he sells unless you want them for personal use. I have tried them for profit and it ain’t worth it! Stick to the Plan, LOL!

Now, this is the tedious part. Each one purchased needs a click!

That is, nine hundred and fifty mouse clicks! Better get started! Just start clicking furiously… *click*click*click*… do not worry that you don’t see them appearing in your bags, it is all gettting queued up, but will not show up until you stop clicking and let the queue be processed…

Every now and then, stop clicking and let the queue process and fill your bags. A good technique here is to click like mad for awhile, then go take a break and come back or something. Remember, with each click you are making ten times your cost (or more!)!! Yes, it IS worth it. But, tedious, which is why you don’t want to have to come and do this often, LOL!

That pretty much does it. Hearth home and visit the AH. One last tip: If you don’t do engineering you may not be aware that since a recent update there is now a Steam-powered Auctioneer in Dalaran! Find it on the counter in “Like Clockwork”, the Engineer’s shop in Dalaran.

That’s it! Good luck and have fun! Maybe if this post gets some interest and attention, we will see what other valuable insight could be shared.