Servers are Down

It's Tuesday! As we all know, its maintenance day, which means that once the server goes up, its the best time to hit the AH really fast. Lots of people immediately run out to see if anything got added, fixed or changed after the realms go back up. But not us, we go to the AH and get the deals before other people remember to go check them. Those shorter auctions are pretty much ours for the taking. Keep that in mind, and you will do well on any maintenance day.

-Whø

Gold Reviews are coming

I have my last two gold guide reviews coming shortly. I am still trying to find a server that is hard to make gold on. If you read this site, please just leave a comment or two, let me know what you want to see, and what server is hard.

Get some gold!

-Whø

Interview with Markco from 20k Leveling

The other day I had a chance to sit down with Markco over at 20K Leveling. I wanted to ask him some questions about his gold guide so I could share that information with you. I went ahead and wrote out what we talked about so you guys could see what I found out.

Whø- Thanks for sitting down to talk with me Markco. I enjoy reading through your blog and getting to see the great ideas that you have over there. I noticed you just released a gold guide, and I wanted to take this opportunity to ask you some questions about it for my blog. Firstly, what have you included in your guide?

Markco- Well thanks for having me! As far as the guide goes it is broken up into six sections, 1: Item Values, 2: Auctionhouse Guide, 3: Advanced Auctionhouse Guide, 4: Professions, 5: Finding a Niche, and 6: Example niches. The guide is viewable entirely from the web and there is no download, so it's instantly accessable to everyone that buys it.

Whø- It certainly looks like people are getting a good deal of information out of this guide. Could you tell us a little bit more about what is in each section?

Markco- Well I wouldn't want to give too much away, but basically I walk the reader through first making gold as a leveling character (yes you will make 20,000+ with this guide from 1-80) and then I slowly show them how to improve their strategies to find niches and makes tons of gold at level 80. It's a fool-proof system and so far the guide has a 98% satisfaction rate among customers.

Whø- Well I know the part I am most interested in, and I think everyone else will be too, is the fact that you are arming players with the ability to find their own ways to make money. This feature is great, since it transcends any and all patches, would you mind elaborating on this point?

Markco- The best part of the guide is the niche system! Not even I will know how a player makes gold with my guide, because they are going to find their own methods. That's the secret to making gold in this game and it doesn't matter what patch or expansion we're in, that's how you make the most gold in wow at max level. In case people are struggling with the niche system, I offer 60 ways to make gold at level 80 with the various professions.

Whø- That sounds like a great feature. It seems to be almost revolutionary with respects to current gold guides out on the market. Is there anything else you want people to know about your guide?

Markco- I've been working on video content to help players digest the 80+ pages of content in this guide. So far I've added 17 minutes of footage for the leveling and auctionhouse sections which have received a ton of positive feedback. A video guide to the niche section is coming soon.

Whø- It sounds like your guide is really well setup, and that it would be a worthwhile investment for people that need to learn the tricks of the trade. Well thank you for having this conversation with me Markco, I really enjoyed learning more about your guide.
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Anyways, remember to use your professions to the maximum on the weekends, keep an eye out for low priced goods and make sure that you buy out all the items that people are auctioning for less than vendor value (There is a search funtion in Auctioneer that will help you with this).

Also, I am still looking for a server that is hard to make money on so I can document the process for your perusal.

-Whø

(Dis)Enchanting

Ok, well still a little behind on the postings. So lets talk about the elusive fourth gathering skill people seem to believe exists.

That skill is Enchanting, or more specifically, a sub skill of Disenchanting. Now, I say that Disenchanting does not count as a gathering profession for a couple of reasons.

- You dont need to go anywhere to "gather" the mats
- You only get skill ups for the first 50 lvls of the skill

Now lets compare:

Herbalism

• - Need to go out into the zones to get skill lvls up to a cap of 450 (WotLK)
• - Cannot make anything with the materials
• - Only gathers, no other purpose until the addition of the Lifeblood skill

Mining

• - Need to go out into the zones to get skill lvls up to a cap of 450 (WotLK)
• - Cannot make anything with the materials
• - Only gathers, no other purpose until the addition of the Toughness passive skill

Skinning

• - Need to go out into the zones to get skill lvls up to a cap of 450 (WotLK)
• - Cannot make anything with the materials
• - Only gathers, no other purpose until the addition of the Master of Anatomy passive skill

So, what extra skill does disenchanting give you? How do you level your disenchanting capabilities? does your disenchanting skill come with a viable use for your materials?

Saying that Disenchanting is a gathering profession would work if you had to go loot reagent nodes for strange dust or cosmic essences. Some things do not quite work the way we would like, but I would like your opinions on Disenchanting being a fourth gathering profession.

-Whø

Quite Late

Ok, so we missed Friday, and are getting close to missing Monday...

So where were your updates? I was checking out Warcraft Wealth so I could do a complete review of this guide for your perusal.

So lets get to the guide.

What comes with the guide?

- Warcraft Wealth - Advanced Techniquies
- Auction House Videos - set of 2 videos to help you work the Auction House
- Mining Maps - A map of a zone, with the best spots drawn on so you no longer have to guess where the nodes are
- WoW Basics - Gold for begginers

First things first, I was able to view a slightly dated version of the guide, so I wasn't able to see the updates they made for Wrath of the Lich King. This guide is great for raw begginers that have no clue how to make gold. To be more specific, the guide actually says "Sell x for y" which is great help for those who have no idea the value of an item.

Ok, so you've told me what I get, but what is inside of each of them?


Warcraft Wealth

- Advanced Methods
- Covers some Class details
- In-depth run through of at least two spots to net you some good gold

Auction House Video

- Real time footage of the guide at work

Mining Maps

- Spots are highlighted, not just a path to follow
- Every zone

WoW Basics

- Gives prices "Sell x for y"
- Great for begginers
- Easy to read
- Some good screenshots to help you along the way.

Warcraft Wealth has some great points to look at, and it certainly will help you along your way to making some serious gold.

As always, I am looking for some comments, tell me what you want to see!

-Whø

Mining

Good Morning!

So I am on track today. Lets hope this lasts... The plan is to have posts up by 8:00 AM EST, and to have no weekend posts. Weekend posts may begin to appear if I can get far enough ahead. I am still looking for a challenging server to make gold on, so I welcome any suggestions you may have. That being said, lets move to todays post.

Mining is a great profession to have. As with herbalism and skinning, you can level mining while you level your character. Just turn the tracking on and mine the nodes when you see them. While it is old news, one of the recent patches changed the looting system for mining, and made it so you only have to click once, just like herbalism. So now its even easier to loot the precious ore. Most races are all set to pick up mining right away, but there are some that dont do well with mining as a startup in their respective starting zone.

Now to the benefits of mining.

Who uses the gathered products of mining?

Blacksmiths use smelted bars (smelting is a mining skill) to create armor and weapons. While many of the recipies call for additional materials, the main component of every recipie is of course some form of metal bar. This profession also uses the various stones to make weapon buffs in the form of sharpening stones and weigh stones.

Engineers also use smelted bars to make quite a few items, ranging from modulators to casings. The also use the various stones to make powders.

Jewelcrafters use the bars to make jewelry parts, stones to make statues and gems to make cut gems and jewelry. This profession can also prospect 5 ore to get more gems.

What does this mean for miners?

Raiders need gems, so Jewelcrafters are going to be prospecting ore for the gems to cut. People like the Engineering products that dont require Engineering to use, and they need to get their bars from somewhere. Everyone needs weapons and armor, and Titansteel is popular right now.

What should I sell, and in what quantities?

Sell ores in stacks of 5 for prosepecting, and sell bars in odd numbered stacks to promote multiple purchases. One exception is Mithril bars, these you want to sell in stacks of 20 along with some odd numbered stacks. Mithril is used in such quantities by Blacksmiths to complete various skill levels that if they buy it, they are going to want as much as you can provide.

Can I make a lot of money mining?

Yes, you can make a lot of money by mining and selling the gathered items. It doesnt matter if you sell ore or bars, but to maximize your proceeds you need to see which is more valuable on your server. For example, when Death Knights entered the game, people were buying tons of ore to speed level their mining by smelting ore. In that case, ore was the better seller, but it can fluctuate based on the number of professionals on your server. By professionals, I mean people with professions that take advantage of mined materials.

You just said I can level mining by smelting?

Yes, you can powerlevel your mining by smelting ore at a forge. It might even be the best route for leveling mining! If someone is selling ores for cheaper than the value of bars on your server, simply buy the ores, smelt them for skill levels, and then resell at a profit! Or, if it wont be a profit, you should be able to get minimal losses by doing this.

This all sounds great, but this isn't quite enough money for me, how else can I make money by being a miner?

Sell your cooldowns when you have them. Some of them escape my mind at the moment, but I know there is Smelt Titansteel. Sell the cooldown for some gold, ore or bars. Smelt ore for people in general. They want to get a Blacksmith to make an item for them, but they want to bring bars to the Blacksmith, but ore is cheaper. So they buy it, send a message out for someone to smelt for them, and you answered. Specify what your fee is upfront to avoid any confusion later. Or, tell them you work on tips, and if they are generous, you get a good tip, if they felt the quality of work (i.e. speed) could have been faster, you get a smaller tip.

That pretty much wraps up the so called "main" gathering skills, but I have had discussions with a guildmate about the elusive "fourth" gathering skill. I will likely do a post on it as well. If these profession posts have helped you, please leave a comment regarding the posibility of further profession posts. Always remember, if you have a question, I will answer it to the best of my abilities. If you want to see a post about something, leave a comment. I do read the comments and take them all into consideration.

Go earn some money!

-Whø

Herbalism Afternoon

Good Afternoon!

I was a little late in getting this post together. Lets just say I am doing some reviews of guides to help you guys know what they have to offer and what their features are. I was able to take a look at WoW Tycoon, Zuggy's guide and also Warcraft Wealth. I am really excited to be able to tell you guys all about them. The only downside to getting these reviews typed up and the guides read is that I tend to be behind on posts here. So without further ado, here is my take on herbalism.

It's easy to level while you are questing. All you need to do is throw the tracking on and runa around doing your quests. If you see a node, go pick the herbs and get the level. Its very straight forward, and typically you will be able to pick about half of the zone when you start, and the other half after you have leveled up your herbalism on the first half. Also, if you are leveling herbalism as you yourself level, you will notice that the herbs that are appropriate for your skill level are typically found in the area that is appropriate for your character level. While you will be gathering quite a few herbs, it is going to help you if you send the herbs off to an alt when you can.

Who needs herbs?(no not me...)

- Inscription
- Alchemy

So I can only make money selling my herbs to these people?

While those are the professions that deal with herbs, take a look at those professions. They make glyphs and potions. Who uses glyphs and potions? Everyone does! So your mats are being sold to all the raiders out there that need to get those potions made for the next big run. Or they are going to go to the inscriptionist to make glyps to sell.

Why don't they just farm their own herbs?

People are lazy. Some people just dont want to run out and do the farming. Other people dont want to give up their high level professions they have spent lots of money leveling. Still other people simply put a value on their time, if the time required to get the herb equals out to 5G, and you are selling for under 5G, then they just saved themselves the time.

What stack sizes should I use?

When you sell these on the AH, you typically want to list stacks of 5, as this will get you the best chance to sell. Most potions take multiples of 2 or 3, so either way they will buy more than they need, and inscriptionist will need stacks of 5 to mill.

As always, use auctioneer to help give you an idea of what the herbs are worth. If you have another profession that uses herbs, make sure you check both the value of the raw herb, and the value of a crafted item made by you. If you can make more money selling the herbs, sell them as herbs. If you can do another 3 clicks and double your profit, sell as the crafted good.

Best of Luck!

-Whø