Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.
This week, Insider Trader will be starting a discussion about trade channel in World of Warcraft, including its usefulness to its likability, abuse, and role in the game.
At first glance, trade channel is supposed to be a channel linking all major cities, providing a forum for craftsmen and buyers to meet up and exchange goods and services.
Within this context, players make a living, purchase gear and consumables, research goods and services, make friends and business associates, and learn the ins and outs of server economy.
Unfortunately, when asked their opinions of trade channel, many players describe it as annoying, useless, or offensive, and many keep it turned off permanently. Still others seem to hover in trade chat, spending a great deal of time in it either chatting, selling or sometimes, buying.
This week, Insider Trader will be taking a further look into the future of professions in World of Warcraft.
Although Wrath of the Lich King is still only in alpha testing, what little we do know, though it might change, helps us anticipate the direction Blizzard is taking.
In fact, we can even begin to see what the army of Death Knight Inscribers might take as their second profession, which will undoubtedly have repercussions on the market.
Not only will the amount of competition skyrocket, but opportunities to make a buck selling to lazy Death Knights will abound.
For these and more details, head on through the break.
Eyonix made a lot of players happy the other day by announcing the start of Season 4. It's something that a lot of players have been waiting for, even planning for. Some players will be making the mad rush to accumulate Arena and Honor points. Within the first week of the new season, players who have stashed away the maximum 5,000 Arena points will be able to purchase anywhere from two to three pieces of Brutal Gladiator gear, provided they achieve the required personal ratings.
For other players such as those who have only recently dinged 70 or those new to the PvP scene, the 75,000 maximum Honor -- or whatever Honor they have stashed away -- will likely be used to purchase Merciless Gladiator gear when it goes on sale. More seasoned players will use the Honor to purchase Guardian gear to round out their equipment slots. When Season 4 starts, players will be strutting around Azeroth in brand spanking new gear. For a select few, these players will look like walking piles of Gold. New Arena seasons flood the community with enchant-worthy, gem-hungry gear like no other event.
But Kevin G (who kindly sent us this tip -- thanks!) brings up another interesting profession topic -- just how are Death Knights going to deal with leveling up their professions? Surely, since Blizzard doesn't want them running around level 1 areas like noobs, they wouldn't actually have to level up from the beginning, would they? As hilarious as the thought of a black armorclad bringer of devastation chasing wolves around Elwynn for their leather is, it's probably a good bet that Blizzard will avoid that scenario.
But how? We have no idea yet. We do know that Blizzard wants to make things easier for people leveling professions all the way up (especially from the higher levels), so maybe there'll be a plan in place that Death Knights can get in on (maybe a quest to do, or a simple charge of a few hundred gold, since that's probably what it would cost to just buy the lower level stuff off the AH). Either way, hopefully we'll see a solution that's both easy on Death Knights and fair to characters who've leveled it up the hard way.
Every week here at WoW Insider, our columnists cover all aspects of the World of Warcraft, from professions to Paladins, and everywhere in between. Here's ten of the most popular weekly columns from the past seven days. If you missed them the first time, don't miss them again.
Answers from a lore nerd, part 1 You got us -- this isn't really a weekly column, but it's so popular (and such a good read) that we might just make it one.
Each Saturday, Arcane Brilliance jumps off the ledge near the lumber mill in Arathi Basin and Slow Falls all the way to your computer screens...at which point it PoM-Pyroblasts the guy defending the blacksmith and caps the flag solo...after which it gets killed by a Warlock at 25% health. Last week we discussed four of the seven crafting professions and what they had to offer Mages. This week we'll move on to the rest, including wild speculation about what Inscription might have to offer those of us who enjoy wearing dresses into battle.
When I started WoW and rolled my Mage, I asked around and perused the official website and learned that I should probably be a tailor. I wore cloth armor, so it seemed like a no-brainer that I should take the profession that would give me gear I could wear. I gave that strange undead man outside Brill my ten copper pieces and he taught me to fashion pants from scraps of linen I had removed from corpses. I have never really regretted that decision, though I have since learned that while Tailoring is a fine choice for a Mage, it's certainly not the only choice. Almost every profession out there offers something worth having to our wonderful class, and some of them might surprise you. Last week we went over the unique benefits of Enchanting, Engineering, and Blacksmithing (although that last one really doesn't offer much to us at all), in addition to Tailoring, the old stand-by. This week, we're going to explore Leatherworking, Jewelcrafting, Alchemy, and the three secondary professions.
Come back after the jump for the details, along with as much unsolicited commentary as you can stand.
Last week David covered pet control, in case you missed it. This week I'll be talking about a question people ask on the forums quite often: "What profession is good for a hunter?" Each profession, of course, has its pros and cons. Most professions, in fact, have a variety of professionals involved at all levels, and in many cases you couldn't get two of them to agree on their career of choice for love or money. A cursory look at the professions forum will confirm it most days. But over the years, and with several hunter characters, I've picked up a few ideas from my own experience and from that handed out in the forums. Herein, I'll share what I know, and perhaps what some others have taught me as well!
The "Basic Income" Not all players take pleasure in crafting. It can be tedious, time consuming, and the gear you produce can be replaced with drops in many cases at the same level. Hours can be spent running back and forth from auction house, to bank, to forge, to auction house, to forge, to bank, to Wowhead, back to auction house, and so on. If that doesn't appeal to you, the "Basic Income" might be perfect.
The problem many crafters run into is an age-old problem of "independent merchants and distributors" everywhere. In many cases, the stuff you can sell for the most profit is also the stuff you need to consume to make things. In many cases, professionals in WoW have to decide between leveling their profession and being able to afford pet food. One way to avoid that conundrum is to take two gathering professions. That way everything you gather, you can sell without consuming it, and you won't be worried about using up your ore to make armor or using up your herbs to make potions. You won't be able to make either!
Lileah over on WoW LJ has an interesting idea that I've never thought of before. Well, her guild does -- she has a question about Illusion Dust, which yes, is hard to find. Usually your best bet is to run through the old level 55-60 instances, so Scholomance, Stratholme, and so on, but your best bet is probably the AH -- lots of people who can craft greens DE those and put the Dust up for sale there. Pricy but probably worth the time you'd spend grinding for them.
But the reason she's looking for Illusion Dust is because her guild is paying out a 1,000g bounty to anyone who has two leveled professions by next week. That's a super interesting idea. I'm the kind of player who never seems to find time to level my professions -- I'm too busy killing stuff and leveling and gaining reputation to run around picking up herbs or mining nodes. But 1,000 is a nice prize, and definitely helps pay for not only my time running around, but also the extra costs associated with leveling a profession -- crafting mats and so on.
And considering how useful a 375 profession is to the guild, any guild that's raiding at a fairly high level should see benefits come out of having most of the guild crafting endgame items. Very cool idea -- if you have a guild that could use a few more crafters and some gold to spread around, subsidizing profession leveling might be just the ticket.
Despite the overwhelming support from our readers during our brief but flower-tastic adventures as HKO-Insider, I will be unable to delve any further into the professions of the Flower Kingdom. That's okay; they were prejudiced against jewelcrafters anyway.
Excellent article, very in depth and thorough. I'm eagerly awaiting the same treatment for my stalled JC.
How could I resist a request preceded by flattery? I might have even produced this last week, had patch 2.4 not have dropped; after all, we can't have all of our jewelcrafters stalled mid-level. I am looking forward to reading the comment section for this guide, as the cheapest way on paper always varies because of unique server economies.
For the first part of the guide, which will show you how to reach 355 jewelcrafting in the cheapest manner possible, pass on through the break.
Each week, Insider Trader takes you behind the scenes of the bustling sub-culture of professional craftsmen, examining the profitable, the tragically lacking, and the methods behind the madness. For more guides to maximizing your chosen profession, check out the final stretches for Leatherworkers and Alchemists alike. For a complete list of profession guides, feel free to peruse our directory.
In last week's lecture we discussed factions and reputations an Engineer might find beneficial for their career progression. In that lecture, it was mentioned that the only real decision to be made for an Engineer is between the Goblin Engineering school, known as the Goblin Experimental Engineering Korporation, or the Gnomish school, known as the Mechanical Engineering Guild, Associated. Making this choice is an important step in the career paths of many Engineers. It involves a lifelong oath of loyalty, a considerable investment of time and resources, and it steers the direction your tinkering will take for the rest of your career.
Well, almost. One can renounce one's affiliation with M.E.G.A. or G.E.E.K. but at a cost. Perhaps a cost too terrible to bear for many Engineers. The life expectancy of an Engineer is short, and thus his lifelong loyalty can be considered a less than permanent thing. Even so, the memory of an Engineer is long, and it is no simple task to convince those who were once your sworn (and "lifelong") rivals that you are now their sworn (and "lifelong") ally.
You should know before you even consider this the drawbacks involved. Other professions allow a change of specialization with relative ease and minor expense. It is, for many of them, simply a matter of purchasing a new school. They are not like the Engineers, though. The Dragonscale leatherworkers are not foes of Elemental leatherworkers, not to the same degree as are Gnomish and Goblin Engineers. For the Engineer a sacrifice must be made, in order to demonstrate to your prospective new associates that your intentions are good, and your commitment to them firm.
Herein we will discuss the method of changing one's specialization within Engineering.
I'm not entirely sold on leveling trade skills in World of Warcraft.By leveling up professions you can create armor, weapons, and goods that theoretically benefit your character.With a little luck, you can even make some money from your trade.It usually takes a major investment maximize your professions and get the goods that you want.In most cases I prefer to wait until I've reached the level cap to start professions.
There are two exceptions to this.Whenever I roll a character on a server that's new to me, I invest in skinning and mining and sell the materials for gold for my mount and equipment.I used to level fishing too.Until Blizzard added the aggressive mobs on the shore of Dustwallow Marsh, I would swim past the Mirefin Murlocs and fish among the turtles for loot that was much higher than my level.I don't usually level anything useful for my class until I've crossed through the Dark Portal.
The Engineering flying machine has been out for a while now, and it's been a pretty big hit. It's a nice classic piece of Warcraft tradition and lore and good unique reward for someone with enough gumption to craft what may seem like hundreds of Adamantite Rifles on their way to 375 Engineering.
Of course, something that shiny is going to attract admirers and tons of people who want one for themselves. The issue crops up every few weeks on the general forums or the suggestion boards: Someone wants a crafted flying mount of their own without switching professions. If they got themselves up to 375 in their chosen skill and want to spend another thousand gold or so on expensive trade skill items for a flying mount, why shouldn't they? It'd be a great way to show pride in your trade skilling prowess and give one more way to shed that plain old Wyvern or Gryphon and set yourself apart from the crowd. You could go with, say a nice flying carpet for the tailors, maybe a flying mortar and pestle for the alchemists. Now, I tend to agree that it's probably good enough that Engineers are unique in getting a flying mount in the same way that, for example, Leatherworkers get drums or Blacksmiths get weapons and armor. But then again, I also have to say that Engineers already get some pretty awesome goggles for a unique reward anyway, and a flying carpet would be pretty sweet.
So what do you think? How about a leather-winged glider for Leatherworkers? Or do you think that it's enough that the Engineers have a mount that's taken from previous lore and people should stop asking for silly stuff that's never appeared in Warcraft before?
In a post entitled BOE Vortexes a SLAP in the FACE to CRAFTERSSolarissa of Korgath claims that changes on the public test realm for patch 2.4 would devalue the efforts of crafters.She says that allowing players to purchase or farm their own materials would greatly reduce profits for crafters who have invested vast amounts of time in farming materials for their epic patterns, such as the Belt of Blasting.Instead of hefty auction house prices, they would receive meager tips for their crafting efforts.Disenchanted crafters believe that this change would make it so there is no way at all to earn money with trade skills.
Responses vary from stalwart agreement to arguments that this change would actually drive up the prices for crafted items.Sylindra of Moonrunner is pleased with the change. She feels that it unfair for non-crafters to have to pass on Nether Vortexes since they could only be used by players whose primary characters were crafters.The materials could go into guild banks, or be given to non-crafters to sell on the auction house for a tidy profit of their own.
"We can dance/ We can dance/ Wearin' the Safety Pants!"
Engineering is a dangerous line of work. At every turn there's caustic chemicals, grinding machinery, explosive reagents, angry law enforcement officials, disgruntled fire brigades, out of control dragonlings, and steam tonks running amok. Many an Engineer has lost track of a finger or two from time to time, and many others have put considerable research, born of necessity, into the design of prosthetic limbs to offset such professional risk.
But there's no need for such damage to occur to a right-thinking Engineer. While we're no great hand (or hoof) at stitching together many garments, there exist plenty of items which can be worn not only for protective purposes, but also great aesthetic effect. Herein, we will discuss the varieties of Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE, available to Engineers, with an eye to not only safety, but fashion.
Head Protection: You'll shoot your eye out, kid. Headgear is where we'll start with this lecture, as it's the part of your PPE gear you're likely to be able to make yourself. Of course the signature of the Engineer's look has long been thought to be the goggles. This is the easiest part of the PPE ensemble to obtain. A monocular goggle is better than nothing at all, but any number of goggles exist which provide better coverage as well as better utility. Remember, always keep your head on a swivel, and keep that swivel calibrated to within acceptable limits of swivelocity.
For those Engineers who are unwise Goblin enough to be unconcerned with the eyes, there is also the pair of Foreman's Helmets: the Enchanted version for spell slingers, and the Reinforced version for mail wearers. Even the most staunch M.E.G.A. member must admit that the head is also important, though some Taurens in the workshop have never quite understood the need to protect their already well-protected (and some say solid bone) heads. The production of the Foreman's Helmets is left to those of you who are members of G.E.E.K. Hoof and Horn, as ever, disavows all knowledge, responsibility, or even vague understanding of the Goblin Engineer's craft.
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