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Epic gems are 15 Badges after all
Remember a few weeks ago when it was discovered that the Armory was listing the new Badge of Justice-reward epic gems at 10 badges each? Yeah, turns out that was just an Armory bug (which we knew was a possibility). They're 15 Badges after all, as they were on the PTR. The way we know this now is that Proudmoore-US, first in all things Shattered Sun, has done Discovering Your Roots enough times to unlock Shaani, the vendor who sells you the gems. Thanks, Proudmoore! Grinding for knowledge. And everyone else, get on that quest. It's a fun one -- everyone gets a pet so they can pretend they're a hunter for a little while -- and you'll help your server along.Assuming the epic gems sell for around 500 gold, which seems reasonable given the order-of-magnitude increase in price between uncommon and rare gems, this yields a 33 gold per Badge conversion rate (if you buy gems with your Badges and sell the gems; they're not bind-on-pickup). That's right on target in terms of gold per hour. I figure it takes about 20 minutes on average to earn a Badge, which means 100 gold per hour -- pretty much the same rate I make through dailies or grinding. And given that any activity that earns you Badges (i.e. raiding or heroics) gives you a chance at gear as well, it looks like the PvE endgame is fairly rewarding right now.
Investigation into missing spell haste gem cuts is "underway," says blue poster Syndri
So when patch 2.4 came out, you might remember a certain line in the patch notes: "Added several new tradeskill items to the new Sunwell Daily faction vendor: Three jewelcrafting recipes to cut gems with spell haste from Dawnstones, Talasite, and Noble Topaz." Here's the problem: Those recipes actually don't currently exist anywhere in game, or at least haven't found their way to any Jewelcrafters. You can find Quick Dawnstone, Reckless Noble Topaz, and Forceful Talasite on all the WoW item database sites, but the recipes themselves seem to have gone missing, and aren't on Eldara Dawnrunner, nor do they so much as appear to drop from any mob. Don't worry though, Jewelcrafters, all hope is not lost.
Insider Trader: Rounding up 2.4 professions changes, part 2
Last week, we rounded up all of the professions-related changes coming with patch 2.4 for various reagents, mining, blacksmithing, engineering and fishing. If you were feeling left out, have no fear; the rest of the professions are here! From new enchants and gems, to new recipes and craftable gear, every profession is getting a bit of a boost this patch. Once again, keep in mind that because this is information from the Public Test Realms, the specifics may be changed. If you see a Wowhead tooltip, and I have provided alternate materials next to it, that is because websites like MMO-Champion have since discovered updated information.Jump through the break to see what's in store for jewelcrafters, enchanters, alchemists, herbalists, cooks, leatherworkers and tailors!As always, for the details on anything and everything patch 2.4-related, check out our Complete Guide.
Epic Gems for Badges on the PTR
Here's some news from the PTR hot off the presses via MMO Champion: Shaani the jewelcrafter is now selling epic gems previously only dropped in 25-man dungeons for 15 badges apiece, and all the recipes to cut them for gold at various levels of Shattered Sun Offensive Reputation. So if you don't raid, and don't mind doing 3 or 4 heroic runs for each gem, you'll be able to socket all that new badge gear too. It looks like it was unlocked with the Razorthorn Root daily, so if you want those gems, be sure to get your friends and guildies on doing that daily once it's unlocked on your server come 2.4 While you're there, you can also grab a new daily from Mar'nah the alchemist which will reward a Bloodberry Elixir, which provides +15 to all stats for an 2 hours, but only on the Sunwell Plateau itself (thanks for catching the Sunwell-only restriction, Aikiwoce). The badgification of epic gear continues apace. What will be interesting to see is if Blizzard is primarily doing this to close the gear gap between casuals and raiders for WoTLK, or if this marks a new loot philosophy that will continue into WoTLK. Will we be able to buy Icecrown Glacier gems for badges as well?
