If you tend to be a strictly weekend-centric WoW Insider reader, you may have missed some of the best stuff to come out of the Wrath beta thus far: the eye candy! Class updates, mechanics changes, pfft, who needs that stuff? No no my friends, me, I'm all about the shinies. Okay, and I like all of that other stuff, too. Luckily, we have a little bit of everything, and in case you did miss our eye candy, let's take a look back at some of it, shall we? Be warned, however, that most of these galleries contain some minor spoilers. If you don't want to be spoiled, be careful!
The Borean Tundra The Borean Tundra, accessed from either the Orgrimmar zeppelin tower or the Stormwind Harbor, is one of two starter zones in Northrend. The Tundra houses Valiance Keep, Warsong Hold, D.E.H.T.A. the Coldarra (home of the Blue Dragonflight) and much more.
The Howling Fjord The Howling Fjord is the second of the two Northrend starter zones, accessed via Menethil Harbor or the Tirisfal zeppelin towers. The Howling Fjord is home to Valgarde, the Forsaken's Vengeance Landing, the Vrykul fortress Utgarde, and the Ember Clutch.
The latest beta patch included the base upon which Leatherworking will be built. There's only a small pool of recipes so far, leveling recipes starting at 350 skill and building up to a few at 375, so it's a start and not much more. I haven't seen any phat bloos of leet purps yet. None that are actually implemented, anyway.
It seems they start you off with two basic Leather sets. A caster/healer set and a melee set. The materials don't seem too awful really, but I haven't had an opportunity to run around with a character that has Skinning very much, so that remains to be seen. At the very least, the two types of armor kits you get look like simple skilling recipes, and they won't be a total waste. You won't want to spend a massive amount of gold getting higher quality enchants and armor kits for your leveling greens, but these will do just fine in that spot.
We've snagged screenshots of all of the currently implemented recipes, so click on the gallery below to take a look.
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.
Anyone watching Nihilum's recent achievement closely would notice a few odd things. It was notable that the kill was achieved without a single Rogue, or more appropriately, melee DPS class in the raid. Nihilum guild leader Kungen is renowned for his traditional views on class roles, although he is open to off-specs and has even taken a Retribution Paladin on a progression kill. But there's always a simple explanation behind each of their actions (no melee classes were on, can't have all Paladins specced Holy for this boss, etc.). Interestingly, my armory-trolling cousin pointed out something curious that a close inspection of Nihilum's raid make-up would reveal: only three members (including Kungen) aren't Leatherworkers. You read that right, that means even cloth classes dropped old professions in favor of Leatherworking. The thing is, this trend isn't restricted to Nihilum. The most dedicated, progressive guilds in the game have many of their members going for Leatherworking.
The explanation is simple: drums. In particular, the Drums of Battle, which increases melee, ranged, and spell haste. In an exclusive interview with WoW Insider last March, Neg of Nihilum remarked that the one thing that impressed him (and presumably Nihilum and their raid planning) was the effectiveness of haste. Haste is a statistic that became extremely prevalent in Patch 2.4, with many new items containing haste, including spell (currently AWOL) haste gems. Our raid specialist Marcie Knox wrote thoroughly about haste in a seriesof articlesunder her column RaidRX. It's a lesson that the top raiding guilds seem to know by heart. Nihilum was so impressed by haste that most of their core raid members leveled Leatherworking to be able to use drums, because it benefits the raid more than the individual unlike other professions like, say, Tailoring.
Before Patch 2.4 dropped, many members of the game's top guilds furiously leveled Leatherworking. With almost all raid members carrying the Drums of Battle, a raid can have an almost permanent haste buff that stacks with Heroism/Bloodlust. Having all your raid members level Leatherworking -- and basically for one item -- for raid progress is a masterstroke that shows the lengths that hardcore raiders will go to push the envelope. Clearly, it isn't the only reason Nihilum beat the Eredar Twins, but with a 6-minute enrage timer breathing down on every raid group doing the encounter, it certainly helps.
Continuing our craftingparade for patch 2.4 is Leatherworking. Leatherworkers get a total of four sets, covering a myriad of class/spec combinations. There is a physical DPS set for both Leather and Mail, as well as a healing set for both of those.
The -of the Sun and the Sun-Drenched sets cover healing. The -of the Pheonix set covers the Mail DPS, while the Gloves of Immortal Dark and Carapace of Sun and Shadow handle Leather DPS. A couple of those are quite a mouthful!
As with the other tradeskills, the gloves of these sets require Sunmotes and the breastplates require Primal Nethers, so be ready to put some effort into acquiring these pieces. A lot of Wind Scales and Heavy Knothide Leather goes into these as well, so you may want to get a head start on those. Most of these pieces are very heavy with red sockets accompanied by relatively useful socket bonuses, which is ideal for most of the classes these are aimed for, though not all. For the classes that love their reds, this is a pretty sweet deal. For everyone else? It's not like you need those bonuses, this gear is impressive without them.
If you have any interest in these sets, hop on across the jump! Once again, my thanks goes out to Boubouille of MMO Champion for these images.
I love the profession system in WoW, but sometimes it strikes me as odd that we're basically paying money to go to work. I wouldn't run around the world and skin animals, pluck feathers, find rare threads and cause massive environmental destruction for a leather jacket in real life, but I'll gladly do all that to make an epic leather chestpiece in WoW.
Nevertheless, it's a good idea to pick up a crafting profession in WoW, just for the perks. (Unless you want to be one of those ultra-capitalists who take two gathering professions.) We've covered this in general terms before, but today we're going to focus on the crafting profession-specific BOP items and abilities that can really help out rogues in the end-game.
Alchemy
Honestly, alchemy doesn't have a lot of good BOP stuff. It's good for money-making and as a support profession for an alt (someone has to get all those transmutes done), but it doesn't offer a lot of enhancement for your main, unless you count "Being the guy at the raid who sucks up to everyone by giving them pots" as an enhancement. Which, for rogues, is not a bad thing -- there's enough of us out there that being an alchemist can help get you that coveted raid spot. But for pure min/maxing, it might be better to buy herbs off the AH or farm them on an alt and then have a guildie make you your pots. Particularly useful pots include Flask of Relentless Assault, Haste Potion, Insane Strength Potion, Fel Strength Elixir, Elixir of Major Fortitude, Onslaught Elixir and Super Healing Potion.
The Alchemist's Stone is one of two items that are only usable by alchemists, and though it's a good starter trinket, it'll be quickly eclipsed for everyday wear by more rogue-specific trinkets. It really shines for hybrid classes and mana-users, but rogues shouldn't be popping healing potions like bubble wrap in PVE. If you are, you have bigger problems than your trinket selection. The other alch-only item is the Mad Alchemist's Potion, which restores health and mana and gives you a random buff. Nice, but not reliable when you need it.
Check your in-game mailboxes today. Greatfather Winter may have sent you a recipe. Deacon sent us a tip this morning saying that he got a Tailoring recipe for "some fine green winter clothes", so I ran and checked Freja's mailbox to find that she had received a recipe for Hot Apple Cider.
It looks like if you have previously completed Greatfather Winter's quest, he may have sent you a recipe that was added in Patch 2.3, just for the Feast of Winter Veil. You do not need the required skill or level to receive the recipe. Here are the possible goodies you could have waiting for you in your mailbox:
Two weeks ago, I discussed how enchanters can make your shiny new level 70 rogue gear sparkle even more. But post-BC, enchanters aren't the only gear-enhancers in the game.
Leatherworkers can make armor kits and leg armor that can "enchant" gear that could previously only be enhanced by those stupid ZG enchants that drove everyone nuts. The Aldors and the Scryers are engaged in a constant war over what you put on your shoulders, and many places are offering relatively inexpensive head glyphs. And, of course, the jewelcrafters have a multitude of lovely gems to socket your stuff.
So rogues, if you're ready to squeeze the most out of your gear, head onward to glory! Edited to make it clearer that these are rogue suggestions as part of the class column.
General
Heavy Knothide Armor Kit: This 10 stam "enchant" is new in patch 2.3, and can also go on heads, shoulders, chests, legs and feet. If you need to stack stamina for PVP, give it a whirl -- it shouldn't cost you too much. 5/10 PVE, 7/10 PVP.
Head
Glyph of Ferocity: This 100g, Cenarion Expedition-revered head enhancement is really your only choice here, unless you have a burning desire to shepherd a group through Zul'Gurub a bunch of times. Luckily, at 34 AP and 16 hit, it's totally worth it. 10/10 PVE, 8/10 PVP.
Earlier today I posted regarding a change coming to the Chaotic Skyfire Diamond in a future patch. Not long after that, I noticed a couple of other posts on the WoW forums regarding more changes to two other new items that will help make them easier to sell on the auction house.
First off, Drysc let us know that one of the new ammo pouches will be changed. While its functionality will remain the same, the Knothide Quiver will no longer be tagged as a "unique" item. This will make it easier for leatherworkers to craft multiple copies of the bag for other players.
Secondly, in another thread, Drysc mentioned that the new engineering-created ammo machines will be easier to sell and purchase on the auction house. Currently they are not listed under "Projectiles", unlike all the other ammunition. This was making them difficult to find for some players and will be changed in a future patch as well.
Nearly every patch includes new items for players to farm up. While these additions are typically new tradeskill recipes, occasionally other goodies are thrown into the mix. The upcoming patch 2.3 contains both of these types of items for your farming pleasure (or annoyance). I'll quickly cover the items, where they're dropping and the creatures that drop them in order to create a consolidated resource to help plan your farming once the patch hits the live realms.
First off is the new leatherworking bag. The pattern for the Bag of Many Hides can be found through the mass slaughter of the Gordunni ogres in the Barrier Hills above Aldor Rise in Shattrath. This recipe will allow a leatherworker to create a 24 slot bag to hold the essential tools and materials of their trade.
Insider Trader is your weekly inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.
What's in store for your profession in patch 2.3? Without further ado, Insider Trader is here to update you on what craftspeople should be looking out for, now on the test realm. (Sure, you could read the official PTR patch notes -- but then you wouldn't get links to all our helpful posts at WoW Insider!)
The big news for professions, of course, is the new engineering mounts. Now that the mats list for these sweet little rides is out, we know you're all revving your engines to get those last engineering skill points. Early next week, we'll run a special engineering leveling guide with some inside advice on that brutal stretch of leveling from 300 to 375.
Until then, here are the collected notes for profession changes in patch 2.3.
Insider Trader is your weekly inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.
If you missed out on playing a bard in EverQuest, you can still get your drum on in today's World of Warcraft. Beginning with The Burning Crusade expansion, leatherworkers can create and use a handful of charged drums that create short-range AoE spells affecting party members or enemies. While some players rail against their utter uselessness and others rave about their OP-ed-ness (let's add that to the dictionary, shall we?), players who are slaves to eking out that last bit of buffage and leatherworkers who are slaves to eking out those last few skill points turn to banging the drum.
First, a few banging basics: Only leatherworkers can make drums, and only leatherworkers can use them. Druids are at a slight disadvantage here, since drums are similar to potions in that they cannot be used in feral form (although they're fine in Moonkin and Tree of Life forms). Also like potions, drums do not work in arenas. Drums affect all party members within range but do not affect raid members not in the drummer's group.
We've covered many different aspects the world of Roguecraft has to offer thus far -- from class quests to gear to number crunching. However, one of the things I've heard from people who are new to Rogues is the question of what trade skills are useful to take up and why. As such, this week's edition of Encrypted Text will contain some of my views on what each trade skill can offer a Rogue. Obviously, short of starting a wiki -- this is not going to be a fully comprehensive version of all that Trade skills can offer. But hopefully between my experience of bouncing between many, many trade skills, and comments from the seasoned Rogues in the WoW Insider crowd, we'll be able to de-mystify one of the earliest choices facing the new Rogue.
Insider Trader is your weekly inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.
Nothing interrupts a peaceful night of crafting like a lunatic guildmate ranting about learning a coveted new pattern, only to find that it's already green in skill level – nothing, that is, except that sickening feeling in your stomach as you consider what you'll do when your favorite patterns go green. Skilling up a profession can be a rollercoaster ride, if you don't hit the right patterns at the right time. (Of course, all the professions have those infamous "dead zones," when skilling up seems to be based on either unfathomable luck or unfathomable finances – or maybe both. But we'll cover dead zones in another installment.)
Skilling up in a profession can happen when you create an item that's listed in green, yellow or orange in your tradeskill window. Items listed in grey will not give you any skill points for creating them; red listings anywhere means you don't have the required skill level. Just as it does with creatures you fight, pattern color indicates difficulty and skill-up potential. Green items raise your skill occasionally, yellows about half the time and oranges every single time. (The exception to orange skill-ups occurs in skinning, in which successfully skinning an orange creature does not guarantee a skill-up.) As a burgeoning crafter, your goal is to find patterns that are relatively easy to get the materials to make while providing a solid shot at skilling up. While orange patterns offer a guaranteed chance of gaining a skill point, the best bang for the buck is often a yellow pattern.
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Earlier today I 
Nearly every patch includes new items for players to 
Nothing interrupts a peaceful night of crafting like a lunatic guildmate ranting about learning a coveted new pattern, only to find that it's already green in skill level – nothing, that is, except that sickening feeling in your stomach as you consider what you'll do when your favorite patterns go green. Skilling up a profession can be a rollercoaster ride, if you don't hit the right patterns at the right time. (Of course, all the professions have those infamous "dead zones," when skilling up seems to be based on either unfathomable luck or unfathomable finances – or maybe both. But we'll cover dead zones in another installment.)
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