5.2 Thoughts

While you wait for the second round results of the Transmog contest (sorry, work slipped in the way…I should’ve looked at the calendar when I set the round two dates), which will be up later today, I figured now is as good a time as any to share some thoughts on the next big patch.

Isle of the Thunder King
This interests me, though I have a long way to go before I get to it.  In the same context of the Isle of Quel’Danas, it’s the new Daily Quest Hub.  Alas, I think it’s still going to have a Molten Front feel to it and I know that’s not going to go over well with many players.  That one can choose whether to do PvE or PvP quests is a nice touch.  Also, parts of the island become available based on a Realm level rather than an individual one.  That has mixed potential, but we’ll have to wait and see. 

Blacksmiths
We still don’t have dailies for every profession, which I think is absurd.  However, the Smiths are getting some love.  Proceed far enough on the Isle of the Thunder King and you’ll come upon the Lightning Forge.  Apparently this will allow for the creation of some very unique items, including old weapons that I’m guessing have been removed from the game over time.  Oh, Moggers are giddy with anticipation…or just me.

New World Bosses
I’ve always liked World Bosses and I’m sure the folks farming the Sha would love something different. Two bosses will be coming in 5.2.  One is part of the phased island, but it seems Oondasta the giant armoured dino will be found north of Kun-Lai Summit right from the get go.  Also with this comes a slight change to the World Bosses themselves.  Blizzard refers to it as “Tap to Faction.”  If your faction tags the mob, so long as you take part you have a chance for loot -whether you were in the initial raid or not.  However, you can only earn said loot once a week (and the bosses will spawn more frequently).

Pet Battles
-Pet bandages are now bind to account…thank goodness.  This will most assuredly save me some bag space (they also stack to 25) instead of having several on several toons. 
-The Nether Roach will no longer die during an Apocalypse.  I mean, it was unique and fun that it was the one that could, but roaches be roaches.
-Players earn xp for pet battles as well, so long as the battle is within five levels of your highest level pet (so for most of us that would be any pet battle in the 20-30 level).
-PvP Pet Battles can also drop Battlestones now.  Interesting.  It would be more ruthless if you had a chance to win one if it was in your opponent’s inventory.  Stealing it outright would cause pandemonium, but being able to receive an equivalent to the one in their bags would be fun. 
-If you flee a battle, the pet you were fighting no longer disappears, but the fleeing squad will suffer some damage.  I like that.  Penalty for a tactical retreat and it makes sense if you’re running from the critter that it doesn’t disappear.
-Elite Battle Pets.  Oh my.  I know people where these will become the bane of their existence.  They spawn by themselves, too, so I suspect Pet Battlers are going to be in for one hell of a fight.  But, if you can beat them all you’ll receive a Red Panda pet (yep, the one up top there)

Buy The Farm
Even now that Tumunzahar has started questing out there, the whole farming thing does nothing for me.  Not even for potential gold profit.  Seriously, get it away from me.  Having said that, I know exactly how popular it is and the chance to own the deed for the land you’ve been cultivating is no doubt exciting to those indulging.

Notable Class Stuff
Pretty much every class (at least the ones I am familiar enough with) has some sort of notable changes going on.  I would suggest checking out the notes for what’s coming to your favourite role.  Warriors losing a 10% damage reduction for defensive stance is certainly one of the ones that jumped out at me. 

Green Fire!
Speaking of class stuff, Warlocks are dancing in the streets…if they’re into dancing.  The opportunity for Fel fire spells is finally coming to pass with the quest line now in-game.

Cross-Realm Hot Topic

I was quite excited the first time I saw someone pop a Blingtron4000, and then disappointed when Semblance here was too low to use it (80 and up, in case you’re curious).  Fortunately someone had the tiger out as well so she happily bounced upon it for a little while.  As she sat there rocking away, I was reading up on the latest on Cross-Realm Zones.  Before I delve into them, let me just say how much fun it’s been to fly out of Stormwind 8 feet past the gates and then sit and wait while the new zone loads, allowing me to work on Hallow’s End stuff. 

1. Time Zone Jumps
CRZ’s are currently capped where the realms that tie into the zone are no more than three hours apart.  I honestly didn’t know that and while part of the reason is for day/night jump limitation and the handing in of timed events, three hours is still three hours.  One solution being discussed is what sounds like a flatlining of the zone times.  Not 100% on how that’ll succeed, but it could be better than the current setup, that’s for certain.

2. Lag And Tech Issues
Resources, NPC’s, buffs and more can occasionally be non-existant when you change zones.  Blizzard admits this and is working on it.  Well, that’s a start.  As is finally acknowledging the horrid frame rate problem that many have reported (myself included) when hitting a CRZ.  A few people have suggested the zones weren’t ready to go live and these issues show that.  However, no one in their right mind should think this ever would have launched without any difficulty.  If they can sort it out, bonus for the game.

3. “We’re Blindly Happy With It.”
Sorry, I don’t know how else to paraphrase it.  The exact quote from Rygarius is as follows:

Despite a few lingering technical issues, we’re happy with how CRZ is populating the leveling areas with other players, and helping to once again foster MMO social experiences in the 1-85 content.

For the most part, I think some players would agree with this.  In the grand scheme of things, I might be one of them.  But the cynic in me can’t help but think node and mob stealing, npc pvp camping and more are not the MMO experiences I would want to be fostering. 

In fact, just recently Cheetah Dave was questing in Theramore and a Horde Druid was just camping a pirate needed for a quest.  He was doing nothing else, except sitting there at level 85 killing this pirate that anyone else in the zone would need.  Fortunately he had someone like myself who invited him to my group so that he could visit the quest location, but was guaranteed to do it on my server -which the Druid wasn’t on.  Not everyone has that option.

I’ve backed off the quasi “sky is falling” opinion I had when the Cross Realm Zones first came in, but that doesn’t mean I loathe them any less.  They have their place in the game but until a number of issues are fixed, being able to turn them off should be an option and probably the most viable.  Alas, that is the proverbial wishing on a star based on Rygarius’ latest (and still appreciated) comments.

Cross-Realm Makes Me Cross-Eyed

Property of ctrustnetwork.com

The other day I was flying on Liouxpold and all of a sudden I noticed his Skill Levels listed themselves in the chat window.  I thought it was pretty weird, but didn’t think anything of it.  I’ve since learned that’s the tell-tale sign you’ve entered into cross-realm phasing.

I won’t lie, when I first heard the idea I immediately thought “Guild Wars” ripoff.  GW 2 basically only requires a server for WvWvW PvP.  Otherwise, you can do most things cross-realm.  Again that was merely a knee jerk reaction.  I followed that up with “hey, I’ll finally see people in the low zones now,” and then “but why don’t they just merge some of the low population servers?”  Let’s face it, there’s servers out there where 2-3 of them could be merged and they’d still only be half a population.  I’m not knocking them, I’m just making said observation. 

Instead Blizzard has taken this phasing route and as I thought about it more it occurred to me this is great for group quests.  Then I realized there are barely any low level group quests anymore.  Sure, Horde get a series in Tarren Mill but it isn’t long before you can solo them (and still within the frame where it’s a decent xp hunk to do it).  Having taken two toons from level one into the 80′s, on both sides, I can’t think of too many cases where you needed a group -especially prior to Outland.

So the more I thought about it, the more I began to realize what a nuisance this could be for folks gathering.  Now the flip of that is what mats could start going for due to sparseness.  But you know what I never really thought of?  Exploitation.  I’m not even going to go into great detail on this, because Grumpy Elf covers it incredibly well in his random thoughts for today. 

You can’t help but read some of that, and then think of the recent Deathcharger fiasco (which you’ll recall I foolishly learned about only recently).  Apparently there’s rumblings of more items appearing in such fashion.  Part of me starts to feel a little dirty playing Warcraft.  Granted I’m not part of the problem, but the more prominent it becomes the less appealing things are.  Between fear of getting a hacked item and having someone griefing you because they can are not reasons to keep returning to Azeroth (and unfortunately some of these situations are unavoidable under the current circumstances).  That’s not me crying “the sky is falling” either, just how I feel at the thought of it.  My brain tells me it’ll all get sorted out over time.  By January I’m sure it’ll be forgotten.

I’m hoping by then cross-realm phasing is smoother as well.  To elaborate, I find I have a lower frame rate in a phased zone than I do in a city or raid.  That seems backwards.  Also, as Grumpy Elf pointed out, we should actually have the option of whether we even want to be part of a mixed zone.  Some people actually like, and desire, the peace and quiet of no one being around. 

At this stage I don’t know if it was a good idea or a bad one.  I stand by my thought that merging some realms would’ve been a more efficient move.  In six months, I could be proven wrong.  For now though, even Blizzard can’t argue that the system is not without its issues…many of them.

Economics 101

My Auction Housing is no secret.  I enjoy it, and even on the days my mailbag comes back half full of items, I am no less determined.  But I never go out to make a great deal in one fell swoop.  I’m more of the nickel and dimer.  Looking at my current balance, I’m ok with that.  Really, that’s all that matters.  If you’re on the up and up, and succeeding enough for your own goals, then your gold making life is good.

But in order to give yourself that opportunity, you have to have a key understanding of one thing: the economy of your server.  I’ve spoken about it before, how “item X” sells for far more on “Server J” than “Server “T” for example.  But I was asked a question that I have taken for granted all this time.  “How do you determine your server’s economy?”

First, I need to preface things a bit.  I’m going to explain how best to do it, but understand that if you follow along there is an incredible likelihood you are going to get an inaccurate representation which is exacerbated by the fact we know a new expansion will be live in less than two months.  The end of an expansion can be a hard enough time to gauge your economy, but the first month or so of a new one can be even worse.    Keep in mind not every niche is affected, but most are.  Also, as I’ve preached for some time…there’s a plethora of gold to come out of Pandaria and that’s going to no doubt inflate things even more unless people sink said gold into something else such as Pet Battles or the ever expensive mounts that are on the way.  That said, let’s press on.

If you want to get an accurate snapshot of your server’s economy (and remember this is just your faction as well, unless you start playing both sides), the first thing you should do is grab yourself an Auction addon.  There are several with varying degrees of what they offer.  Myself, I use AuctionLite.  It’s simple and lightweight, and for my efforts does what I need.  Regardless of choice, once you install it head to the Auction House and do a full scan.  This will give you a “current picture.”  Your results will vary as well based on your settings.  For myself, I go with a 20% or better opportunity for profit and a financial value of 1g or more.  This gives me a slightly longer list, but never underestimate how much Malachite adds up (to say nothing of the Mechanical Squirrels it’s good for).  The first scan usually takes a while, so it’s a great time to go putter afk or read a good blog (like this one!).

I’m going to reiterate this scan only gives you a snapshot of the current economy.  What you need to do from this point out is run a scan at least once a day if you can.  Personally, when I’m trying to get a true reading, I run mine twice a day, as opposite as I can.  Also, weekends are a must.  That’s when there’s the most activity.  Keep in mind, that’s also when items tend to come down in price because of supply and demand (and more undercutters, in all honesty).  After a few weeks, your numbers will start to settle and you’ll get a fair represenation of what’s worth what.  It really is as simple as that.

Also, the more you scan, the more you’ll start to connect the dots, or prices.  If you ask me about average materials and popular items, there is a good chance off the top of my head I can tell you what they’re worth on my main server to within 10%.  The items I keep on my favourites list (another scan option in most addons) will be even tighter.  You don’t have to keep track of what everything is worth, but knowing the values of the area you’re focusing on can help, as it saves you time.  If you just know what something’s worth, it means you immediately know whether to buy, sell, or ignore.  Like the Goblins say, “time is money.”

Of course, there is a second way that is more or less involved depending on your approach.  Over there, to the right, in my blogroll is a link called The Undermine Journal.  It’s not only great for determining your economy, but it’s a “must” point of reference for goldmakers.  Remember what I just talked about in terms of scanning?  The Undermine Journal datamines and records the information all the time.  For all the servers.  At any time you can head over there and check the information you want, including a great Current Deals list and what items are “hot.”  This doesn’t even factor in the ability of TUJ to show you a selling history on any item, including its value, the last time it was on the AH, and even the average price across the game.

So why not just use it as your source?  Great question, and you’re actually welcome to do so.  However, keep in mind nothing is perfect.  When you look at something such as the Current Deals List, the site will say “as of X min ago.”  If I’m not mistaken, that could be up to an hour.  Your in-game scan is real time.  That isn’t important for determining your economy, but it can be vital once you have it.  Also, in the time you spend looking at TUJ’s info, someone like myself may have come in and scooped up said item.  The Undermine Journal is an amazing site and resource but I recommend using it secondary to your addon of choice.

Something else I’d like to mention is that you’ll never truly know your economy.  You’ll have a pretty solid grasp of it, but it’s something that is always in flux.  So if you make the effort to understand it, but find it changing drastically, then there’s almost always a factor as to why.  Determining what that is, be it new raid content boosting gem and enchant sales, or a patch note that changes what a Glyph can do (or God forbid a class’ dependency on a certain stat), can help you adjust to the flux.  And don’t forget every server is different.  I’m on one right now where Elementium Geodes hover between 90 and 150g.  That’s an adjustment for me when everywhere else I see them for 200-300g.   It took some time, as I thought it might be a fluke that week, but I’ve learned that’s genuinely how it is.  Such is the adventure of learning the economy of a server.

The final point I would like to make is if you want to really learn the economy and generate some gold, then I can’t put enough emphasis on learning it for both factions.  That the two can be night and day is an understatement.  Learning both puts you leaps and bounds ahead of at least 25% of the Auction House players out there because if you have a means of getting your items to the opposing faction, then your benefits increase exponentially.

Happy Auctioning!

Days Go By

It was a long weekend here, and I was enjoying the weather and the family yesterday and even some WoW.  So things here were quiet, though I did stay on top of the Transmogolympics.  The contest was only announced a couple days ago and we’re already up to twenty participants.  In case you missed it, there is no limit on how many people take part.  However, if we manage to have more participants than factions, then some factions will merely have more than one representative; much like the real Olympic Games. Also, I wanted to take a moment to once again thank Tome of the Ancient for the logo.  I told her what I wanted and she delivered beautifully.  I’m also happy to have her, Matty, and Khizzara as fellow judges for the event.

We had another successful Laid Back Raids on Saturday night.  The only place scheduled this week was Trial of the Crusader, but that didn’t stop us from also kicking down the doors to Ruby Sanctum and Obsidian Sanctum. We had a solid turnout including, for the first time, both Repgrind and Ratters (and his daughter as well)!  It was great timing as Rep knew TotC and was able to provide some guidance, though we did zerg the sucker down pretty fast.  For the Sanctums, I filled out the group with my friend Valanyr and a couple of his buds.  Oh, and Tum even got himself a new set of wings.

In Azeroth over the weekend, there was a great deal of puttering about, or “faffing” as Godmother and Kamalia have come to tell me.  Fireflint is finally 75, and that means time to boost his Blacksmithing.  I’ll obviously have to gain a few levels before I can max him out on it, fortunately I’ll be able to hit the Darkmoon Faire before the week is out.  I also snagged a few levels for Carrera and Estheriot.  Plus, three new faces are showing up around here now.

I have no clue as to why internet demons have taken the Gnome’s face.  Fortunately she sent me a postcard of her hanging with faction leader of epic epicness,

Zero Zero One One One Zero One Zero!

She joined the ranks for a few reasons.  The first, is admittedly, I had a sudden fetish to have a character with the Very Light Sabre.  As I pointed out to Mrs. Amateur, it’s a coincidence I gave her the Leia hair buns.  Also, I rolled her on Fenris (US).  I’ve heard horror stories about the economy and thought I would check it out for myself.  I farmed up some quick Peacebloom and Silverleaf, and threw that on the Auction House.  Neither was a full stack and it resulted in about 10 gold in her pocket.  That allowed me to grab a couple of items off the Auction House to sell, as well as purchase some of the rabbits from Amberstill Ranch and see if I can get a few coin for those as well.  So, so far things don’t seem too strange.  Hopefully the Schematic: Mechanical Mithril Dragonling sold at the behest of my advice.  I managed to sell one with Tumunzahar yesterday on Runetotem for 85g.  I still think that’s absurd, but if folks aren’t going to go get it out in the Hinterlands I may as well.  It didn’t hurt I was getting a couple points in Archaeology at the time either.

In closing, let me just tell you how strange it is to see “Semblance” in Trade chat.  Even merely as a name, it seems to look out of place.  Funny that.

People!

Tonight after work I hopped on briefly, in cognito.  That basically means on my trial account because I wanted to fart around with MogIt without chatting with people.  In doing so, I created a character on a server (as opposed to where?  a napkin?), and as you can see from the picture it was a Night Elf.

In the picture, I count eleven toons.  This says nothing of the sheer number if I turned myself to the left or the right.  I was puttering around on MogIt for a good twenty minutes and while people left, more kept showing up.

I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw a start zone so populated, unless there was a specific reason, and in this instance it never came across as that was the case.  Though one has to wonder if there was a discount on Night Elf Hunters…

Speaking of Transmogrification, Neri announced her winners for May and is now running monthly contests.  You have until the end of June to enter the red carpet.  Sadly, my time spent on MogIt did not yield any solid ideas just yet.

Heirlooms And Servers

When the notes on Patch 4.1 were released, people were elated since Blizzard was finally making BoA items exactly that – account. Unfortunately, reading it closer brought that dream crashing to the ground again.

Courtesy of mmo-champion

Instead of finally being able to help out our alts on other servers, Blizzard instead gave us the opportunity to transfer BoA gear to toons on other accounts that are under the same battle.net ID.  So, unless you are a boxer, you’re really not benefitting from it.  Blizzard’s official comment is they are “working on it” when it comes to server transferring of heirlooms.  That means we could have the feature next week or never, and I would honestly buy into the latter.

Don’t take this as a tinfoil hat conspiracy, because it’s not.  I just thought about the process rationally today and it makes sense not to make this feature available.  A great source of income for Blizzard is character server transfers.  People change servers for a myriad of reasons and many want to take their toons with them, one of which is the idea of 1-85 all over again having no appeal (largely because of the time factor).  Using a close friend of mine, he says he would level his Alliance alts on my server (his main Horde toons are elsewhere) if he could give them all the heirlooms he acquired pre-Cata.  You can probably see now where I’m going with this.  If BoA items are able to be moved to characters on other servers, it reduces the desire to pay to transfer characters.  Sure, those 85′s are quite often still going to pay to leave regardless, but there are a good number of people who will not.  From the model of a business, why would you shoot yourself in the foot like that?

Now, if Blizzard really does want to make the cross server dream a reality, there is another option.   All but never happening is to treat them like the sparkle pony and vanity pets from the shop.  If you buy the item on any server, any time you have a single character on a server, it receives those BoA’s in the mail just like vanity pets do.  Or, make it really easy by having them show up on any Death Knight you roll (since you can only have one on a server).

Am I just fantasizing at this point?  Absolutely.  I can’t imagine Blizzard ever adopting that idea.  But as the days go by, I find it harder to believe Blizzard will truly adopt (and implement) the phrase BoA when it comes to gear.