Glyph

A few days in and we’ve definitely got a feel for the new flavor of WoW. Yesterday I talked about the many immediate changes that bombarded us in the first minutes we logged in, but now the details can be absorbed a bit better.

Class changes are interesting. The only thing I had to do on Saintvache was choose two new talents. His action bars went nearly untouched. I could not say the same for Tumunzahar, Siori, and Liouxpold. Perhaps it’s an Alliance thing. Speaking of classes, many people found Burnt Glyphs in their possession now. Rest assured that’s just for Glyphs that are no longer in the game.

I completed the Iron Horde invasion on the Horde side, and while I don’t know the details of what is to follow, I really hope it isn’t done now. I came out of it with a title and a new pet, but incredibly underwhelmed. That and agitated because Thrally-Sue (which I think I’ll call him far more often now) had to be the one running around on the front line. Really? There couldn’t be anyone else? The guy had a whole expansion dedicated to him (Deathwing was merely supporting cast) and still we get him shoved down our throat. Not to rant too much, because up until the later parts of Cataclysm I actually liked Thrall. It’s just that Blizzard has overplayed him. Getting back to the Iron Horde, it seemed pretty linear and to the point. I’ll have to flip over and give the Alliance side a try before I really assess it but I can’t imagine it is all that different.

One no longer has to spend so much time in Pandaria. I logged into a toon and found it sitting at 100% XP, but hadn’t dinged yet. There’s no way in Dire Maul I would ever let that happen. The OCD in me would have to ding before I logged. Particularly because that’s less than exploratory XP. That’s more along the lines of “you dinged because the wind changed direction.” Now, to confirm this is the case, I played for a little while and had six bubbles in half an hour. At 88. Hrm, this place really might not be that bad anymore.

The final nugget of “huzzah” is stacking. Imagine my surprise when I had the bank open and decided to top up my stack of Dreamfoil and sell the rest. Suddenly I had a stack of 28! I began playing around with this immediately, finding eventually that stacks cap at 200 now. Between that and the Toy Box my bags are bordering on empty (and the bag sort feature is fantastic). But what it really excites me for is my guild banks. For Claws, it just means having a cleaner bank. For the auctioneer in me, it means more room to store goodies. I mean, just look at the difference in one tab.

It wasn’t 100% good news, though. On top of shelling out gold for some face lifts (I think I spent about 200g or so in total. Obviously someone with more 90’s than I spent even more), I found that some gear held onto its transmogrification, while others reset. Needless to say, many of my toons look incredibly goofy so I will have to correct that when given the chance to.

I’m sure many people knew about these changes already, from playing the PTR or reading about it. For me, I have been incredibly removed from these details of the game as I’ve been merely puttering in it for the past few months. I vaguely kept tabs on what’s going on and really didn’t read the changes ahead of time (of course I knew about character models). Thus, it’s all a surprise. It feels like a good surprise, and I have a feeling I’m not the only returning player to think so.

Make Lots. No, More Than That. Even More.

Do you have a scribe? Is said scribe ready for tomorrow? With extended maintenance, you can pretty well guarantee those Shattering rumours are true. That means, Goblin and Worgen aside, you will be able to roll new combinations galore. You know what that means?

If you answered “I finally get my Troll Druid,” I’ll give you a cookie. If you guessed “new characters means more Glyph demand” then you outright earn the recipe and can, from here on out, make your own cookies. The fact is whether you missed the last Glyphmas like I did, or you always have your ear to the gold ground, there’s another chance to exploit the need for Glyphs.

People have been dumping a great number of materials (at least on my servers) and that includes ink, pigments, and in some cases herbs. Midnight Ink alone has been about 2g each and quick math will tell you that most minor glyphs you’re selling are going to go for more than 6g a pop even after the auction house cut. Some are much more. If you don’t think that, then these columns aren’t for you. Getting back on track, even some of the popular glyphs themselves have dropped in price. Stockpiling hasn’t been hard, but even if you haven’t been stockpiling you should still be able to get some made in the next few days to week.

As you amass, or have amassed, your vast collection of glyphs you have two opportunities to sell fast. No, the first is not tomorrow. In fact, bid on anything low on the auction house and don’t list a damn thing. The realms will be down for far too long for anyone to buy from you, or outbid you (most likely). Most glyphs can’t be used until level 25, so a good chunk of the new combos probably won’t be at that level until the weekend (when they’ll really have time to go crazy with their new characters. That gives you a few days to stockpile, as I mentioned.

The other option, is to wait even longer. Sure, you’ll sell some in the next week or so, but you’ll sell a tonne come December 7th and afterwards. The characters that are going to be made this week will really be hitting their stride just as Cataclysm comes. Some will get much further (and those are the ones you want to lure in with your first option sales), but some will literally collect dust when the 7th hits for one of two reasons. Either the player goes back to their main…or they roll a Goblin or Worgen. Yes, that’s right. Even more glyph needing toons.

Regardless of whether you pick now, later, or both, if you can make the glyphs you will easily be able to sell the glyphs. People will be so entrenched in the new content by Christmas that there’s a good chance, though, you’ll see your profit margins close a bit during that time because people will be sticking with leveling/raiding or even making their own scribes. So, strike while your inks are fresh.