I couldn't have imagined a month ago that I would feel poor with 200 gold in the bank, but alas, I do. Chris and I have a joint 'bank' account with his auction toon and that's the balance: 200 gold and a few silver coins. His playing a level 43 mage and I have dwindled down to one main and two alts, level 43, 38 and 32 respectively. 200 gold between four characters just doesn't seem like enough money to play comfortably.
I know that Chris' enchanting and tailoring is currently a huge money pit, but that's okay. I have done the math and both tailoring and enchanting will be making us money in the future. The near future, I daresay optimistically.
I do doubt whether my crafting professions are making any money. On weekend when five or six blue items sell for around 100 gold, I feel optimistic. On weekday mornings when I spend gold coin after coin to pick up cheap materials I can feel the money seeping away with a deathly finality. I fear I may never get it all back.
It's a game afterall and I am surprised to find myself hoping that more children will choose to play this particular game. It simulates world economy and personal finances pretty well from where I stand. There's room for a variety of different entrepreneurial pursuits and it's a difficult decision to choose any particular route. When I have a few additional bits and pieces left from gathering professions, I sell them on the auction house and feel as if they do not make enough money for the effort I put in. Conversely, when I buy these off the auction house it feels like day light robbery.
As for crafting professions, making 1 gold off an item seems small and insignificant, but when purchasing item after item, 1 gold per item soon becomes 10 gold. It somehow never sink in that selling 10 items will also add up to 10 gold. Not that 10 gold is a significant amount of money, of course.
I am learning quick. Making money is all about specializing and multi-tasking. Buy what you need only at bargain prices. Farm what you can farm quickly and efficiently. When crafting, first craft for yourself, then for skill-up and lastly for profit. "If you can keep your head when all about you are loosing theirs..." I wouldn't want to think of either this universe or the Warcraft universe as such a hostile world where Kipling's staunch self-reliant individualism is required.
Soloing as much as I do does make it feel at times as if I'm pulling myself up by the bootstraps when playing. But I don't mind. I'd rather be lost in my own imagination - that is after all my main goal for playing - than continuously reminded by other players that I am not a very good team player.
And so I spend my gaming days trawling the auction house for cheap items, selling any excess I have at market value and crafting and then selling rarer items in the hopes that one day, in the World of Warcraft, I'll be rich and able to buy the best gear to facilitate the best gaming experience. In the meantime, I plan to not dwell too much on any possible future and just enjoy playing, both the actual playing and the axiliary components of play.
Monday, 31 March 2008
Saturday, 29 March 2008
Fishing For Druids
Fishing, like most professions, only really make money later on. Fishing pays in weird and wonderful ways, such as when you catch a valuable item or nice pattern on the line or through cooking bonuses. Being well fed is never a bad thing. It's the mid- to upper level fish that begin to make a little money, like the raw sunscale salmon on my server. These puppies, sorry fish, sell for gold.
Druids learn their only teleportation spell at level 10: Teleport to Moonglade. Not only is this a nice bonus for training (simply teleport to Moonglade and then hearthstone back to wherever you were), it also come in handy for fishing at mid-level. Moonglade is a very safe level 40 - 50 area with plenty of fish that sell well on the AH. Teleport to Moonglade, fish and hearthstone back.
Your fishing level has to be at 205 to be able to fish in Moonglade and at level 300 to achieve a 100% catch rate. This is not as high as it may seem. If you pick up the aquadynamic fish attractor, which provide a +100 fishing and combine it with a nice fishing rods, which provide a +5, it's possible to fish in Moonglade as early as fishing level 100. If you truly dedicated, there are other items which will provide a bonus of +2 to +5, such as fishing hats, enchanted fishing gloves etc.
There's few things that annoy me more than 'your fish has gotten away' multiple times in a row when fishing. I don't want my fish to get away, I want to catch fish to sell and level up my fishing and both are difficult if I'm not catching much fish. I use the +105 fishing points I have to reach fishing level 300, at which point I have a 100% catch rate. (That is if I click quick enough and don't loose the fish because I was taking a bite of toast with breakfast.) My druid's fishing is now above 200 and with the added bonuses from my rod and lure, I am having fun fishing in Moonglade and then selling my catch of the day on the AH.
Druids learn their only teleportation spell at level 10: Teleport to Moonglade. Not only is this a nice bonus for training (simply teleport to Moonglade and then hearthstone back to wherever you were), it also come in handy for fishing at mid-level. Moonglade is a very safe level 40 - 50 area with plenty of fish that sell well on the AH. Teleport to Moonglade, fish and hearthstone back.
Your fishing level has to be at 205 to be able to fish in Moonglade and at level 300 to achieve a 100% catch rate. This is not as high as it may seem. If you pick up the aquadynamic fish attractor, which provide a +100 fishing and combine it with a nice fishing rods, which provide a +5, it's possible to fish in Moonglade as early as fishing level 100. If you truly dedicated, there are other items which will provide a bonus of +2 to +5, such as fishing hats, enchanted fishing gloves etc.
There's few things that annoy me more than 'your fish has gotten away' multiple times in a row when fishing. I don't want my fish to get away, I want to catch fish to sell and level up my fishing and both are difficult if I'm not catching much fish. I use the +105 fishing points I have to reach fishing level 300, at which point I have a 100% catch rate. (That is if I click quick enough and don't loose the fish because I was taking a bite of toast with breakfast.) My druid's fishing is now above 200 and with the added bonuses from my rod and lure, I am having fun fishing in Moonglade and then selling my catch of the day on the AH.
Farming Spots
I'm not really into group play - battlegrounds, dungeons, instances, raids, group quests etc. It's time consuming and requires longer sessions than what I can manage. An hour is still my limit for uninterrupted play and it's difficult to find anything group wise that would fit into an hour or less. Not that I mind all that much. I thoroughly enjoy soloing. I particularly have fun farming.
Throughout Azeroth there are spots made for farming. In south eastern Loch Modan, the spiders, bears and boars all yielded something useful and the respawn rate was under 5 minutes. There's also a nice little mining route for level 12 - 20 yielding plenty of copper, tin and silver. The north eastern coast of Tanaris is similar. At level 42, just about everything has a use for me. The 'hyena's' (starving something's in game language, but they look like hyena's to me) provide meat for level 250-ish cooking recipes, the scorpions (not sure what they're called in game) can also be skinned and supply scorpid scales used in leatherworking and the turtles (snapjaw something's) also yield leather as well as turtle scale when skinned and drop clams which contain zesty clam meat used in the artisan cooking quest. I spent my hour this morning farming and came away with:
Throughout Azeroth there are spots made for farming. In south eastern Loch Modan, the spiders, bears and boars all yielded something useful and the respawn rate was under 5 minutes. There's also a nice little mining route for level 12 - 20 yielding plenty of copper, tin and silver. The north eastern coast of Tanaris is similar. At level 42, just about everything has a use for me. The 'hyena's' (starving something's in game language, but they look like hyena's to me) provide meat for level 250-ish cooking recipes, the scorpions (not sure what they're called in game) can also be skinned and supply scorpid scales used in leatherworking and the turtles (snapjaw something's) also yield leather as well as turtle scale when skinned and drop clams which contain zesty clam meat used in the artisan cooking quest. I spent my hour this morning farming and came away with:
- 4 gold and change from selling looted junk
- Two fish cooking recipes bought for 2 gold each requiring cooking level 250
- 45 x heavy leather
- 40 x thick leather
- 2 x heavy hide
- 20 x turtle meat (used to cook 'soothing turtle bisque')
- 3 x tender wolf meat (also used in a favourite cooking recipe)
- 27 x turtle scale
- 1 x scorpid scale
- 20 x zesty clam meat
- And I managed to obtain 20 giant eggs for 2 gold in the Gadgetzan AH (Auction House), but that required an additional 10 minutes
Friday, 28 March 2008
Black Vitriol
I am ready to craft my philosopher's stone and looking on the auction house for black vitriol, I have been finding that most of it is sold in bulk. I simply do not understand this. As far as I am aware, black vitriol is only used as a reagent for one thing, and one thing only - making a philosopher's stone. Since each alchemist only ever crafts one, and each stone only require 1 black vitriol, why would anybody purchase more than one? So why sell it in bulk? I see this item in lots of 2's and 5's every day for the last fortnight and have come to the conclusion that (i) either the sellers are a little loopy and wrongfully expect it to sell or (ii) the buyers are silly and purchasing multiples when only one is required. I guess if you need one, but only two is available, you will invariably buy two in order to get one.
The irony is that I every morning I search for it, I somehow expect there to be only a list of singles to buy. How silly am I...
The irony is that I every morning I search for it, I somehow expect there to be only a list of singles to buy. How silly am I...
Making money from professions
General advice always seems to be to start with two gathering professions, i.e. mining, herbalism or skinning and then to switch about mid-level to two crafting professions. That strategy is not my strategy. I suspect I may change my mind later, but for the time being, I still prefer the combination of one gathering and one crafting profession so that materials can be mostly farmed by the same character that uses them. The only exception to this for me is tailoring and enchanting, since neither require a gathering profession to farm for the mats. I prefer the typical combinations still:
I have a list of current materials and recipes that are skilling me up. I check these daily on the auction house and purchase any materials that are below market value. I also farm my own. In combination, I always have enough time and money to enjoy playing the game.
The secret so far has been not to try and collect crafting recipes. Some are cheap, some are expensive and there's hardly ever any need to have them all. I try to level up crafting with two goals: (i) levelling up and (ii) making money. The levelling up is the easy part. Simply make items that require the fewest and cheapest ingredients that is easy to come by. The making money part is now becoming easier too. For starters, blue items make better money than green. Purple better money than blue. Some blue items, particularly lower level blue items, are relatively easy to make and fetch 10 - 15 gold on the Auction House. I can comfortable make 1-2 per day, resulting in about 100 gold profit a week, since I majoratively farm my own mats.
The biggest secret so far is however to actually resist the temptation to always craft. At some point, even the best sellers grey out in terms of levelling up, making the crafting goal of levelling up on them moot. Sometimes, particularly when it comes to the best selling items, the materials may actually be worth more than the finished item. The shining silver breastplate is a good example on my server. The item sells for 10 - 12 gold, but the mats will sell for 15 - 18 gold. In this scenario, I sell the ingredients rather than the item.
Again, an exception to the rule: enchanting. Enchanting does not make money in the early days, it simply devours it. Goals should be long-term. I am still hoping beyond hope that in the end, enchanting will make money when highly skilled up, enough money to make a bigger profit than if we were to sell all the stuff we've been breaking.
Professions are my favourite part of Warcraft. It's just so much fun making money.
- Skinning and Leatherworking
- Herbalism and Alchemy
- Mining and Blacksmithing
- Mining and Jewelcrafting
- Mining and Engineering
I have a list of current materials and recipes that are skilling me up. I check these daily on the auction house and purchase any materials that are below market value. I also farm my own. In combination, I always have enough time and money to enjoy playing the game.
The secret so far has been not to try and collect crafting recipes. Some are cheap, some are expensive and there's hardly ever any need to have them all. I try to level up crafting with two goals: (i) levelling up and (ii) making money. The levelling up is the easy part. Simply make items that require the fewest and cheapest ingredients that is easy to come by. The making money part is now becoming easier too. For starters, blue items make better money than green. Purple better money than blue. Some blue items, particularly lower level blue items, are relatively easy to make and fetch 10 - 15 gold on the Auction House. I can comfortable make 1-2 per day, resulting in about 100 gold profit a week, since I majoratively farm my own mats.
The biggest secret so far is however to actually resist the temptation to always craft. At some point, even the best sellers grey out in terms of levelling up, making the crafting goal of levelling up on them moot. Sometimes, particularly when it comes to the best selling items, the materials may actually be worth more than the finished item. The shining silver breastplate is a good example on my server. The item sells for 10 - 12 gold, but the mats will sell for 15 - 18 gold. In this scenario, I sell the ingredients rather than the item.
Again, an exception to the rule: enchanting. Enchanting does not make money in the early days, it simply devours it. Goals should be long-term. I am still hoping beyond hope that in the end, enchanting will make money when highly skilled up, enough money to make a bigger profit than if we were to sell all the stuff we've been breaking.
Professions are my favourite part of Warcraft. It's just so much fun making money.
Monday, 24 March 2008
Terminology
Each subject generally has it's own terminology and the better versed you are in any subject, the larger your subject specific vocabulary. As a newcomer to all of this, my Wow relevant vocabulary have expanded exponentially over the last few weeks. I would thoroughly recommend having a good look at the Glossary provided in the World Of Warcraft manual, it provides a good overview of all frequently used terms. Talking about the game and in game, there is definitely a Top 5 list of terms for me:
- PvE / PvP (Player versus Environment, Player versus Player)
- NPC / PC (Non Player Character, Player Character)
- Noob (It's always good to know when you're being insulted and what the meaning of the insult is, i.e. a noob is an insult used when something makes an amateur mistake that gets them or their group into trouble)
- GM (Game Master)
- AFK (Away from keybord)
Saturday, 22 March 2008
Staying in or going out
Familiarity is comfortable. An old pair of shoes. A favourite outfit. A long-term partner. A usual restaurant and order. A favourite bookshop and beverage. The things we do over and over creates a little cocoon around us. There's no need to stretch your mind, or legs for that matter, when all your needs are fulfilled by doing the usual things and frequenting the usual places. The pop psychology term 'comfort zone' immediately springs to mind.
The lyrics of a Fiona Apple song also springs to mind: "I certainly haven't been shopping for any new shoes... I still only travel by foot and by foot, it's a slow climb, But I'm good at being uncomfortable, so I can't stop changing all the time." Change can be good. Without change, there is no progress, no room for improvement, no opportunity to make something better of yourself. If you stay exactly the same life may be comfortable, but growing as a person is not something to miss out on.
I find that the need for security, predictability and familiarity rival a thirst for knowledge,and the spirit of discovery. I am reminded of Sam's response in The West Wing to the question - why should we go to Mars: " 'Cause it's next. 'Cause we came out of the cave and we looked over the hill and we saw fire. And we crossed the ocean and we pioneered the West and we took to the sky. The history of man is hung on a timeline of exploration and this is what's next."
It seems a little ridiculous to talk philosophy on a seemingly trivial subject, but I don't think metaphysics only apply to life and death situations. I find it comforting to stay within familiar zones in warcraft as well. I find myself returning to the Hillsbrad Foothills and Arathi Highlands with character after character. I find myself reluctant to enter new and unfamiliar territories where the unknown awaits dangerously.
But when I do, I find that the sense of discovery is more pleasurable than the tedious repetition of the known. Discovering new things, new places, even in a virtual reality, simply inspires new thoughts and new ways of being. It's more fun to be challenged, even when you come up short and trust me, at some point or another, you will loose when taking a gamble on something unfamiliar. It's just more fun to expand the horizon. Ironically, it also makes the home coming to familiar territory even more pleasant. It's so much easier to look at familiar things with rose-coloured spectacles when you have had the opportunity to miss it.
The lyrics of a Fiona Apple song also springs to mind: "I certainly haven't been shopping for any new shoes... I still only travel by foot and by foot, it's a slow climb, But I'm good at being uncomfortable, so I can't stop changing all the time." Change can be good. Without change, there is no progress, no room for improvement, no opportunity to make something better of yourself. If you stay exactly the same life may be comfortable, but growing as a person is not something to miss out on.
I find that the need for security, predictability and familiarity rival a thirst for knowledge,and the spirit of discovery. I am reminded of Sam's response in The West Wing to the question - why should we go to Mars: " 'Cause it's next. 'Cause we came out of the cave and we looked over the hill and we saw fire. And we crossed the ocean and we pioneered the West and we took to the sky. The history of man is hung on a timeline of exploration and this is what's next."
It seems a little ridiculous to talk philosophy on a seemingly trivial subject, but I don't think metaphysics only apply to life and death situations. I find it comforting to stay within familiar zones in warcraft as well. I find myself returning to the Hillsbrad Foothills and Arathi Highlands with character after character. I find myself reluctant to enter new and unfamiliar territories where the unknown awaits dangerously.
But when I do, I find that the sense of discovery is more pleasurable than the tedious repetition of the known. Discovering new things, new places, even in a virtual reality, simply inspires new thoughts and new ways of being. It's more fun to be challenged, even when you come up short and trust me, at some point or another, you will loose when taking a gamble on something unfamiliar. It's just more fun to expand the horizon. Ironically, it also makes the home coming to familiar territory even more pleasant. It's so much easier to look at familiar things with rose-coloured spectacles when you have had the opportunity to miss it.
