Apprentice Scribe: An Inscription FAQ
Inscription was just added to the game two days ago, but many people have it at 350+ already. Understandably, there are a lot of questions. In this post I will attempt to answer some of them. This post is aimed at people who are scribes, or are interested in becoming scribes. If you're just interested in how to use glyphs to enhance your skills, but not in making them, you may want to look into the glyph FAQ.
So what's this Inscription all about, then? Inscription is a new primary profession to make glyphs (permanent enhancements to spells), mostly. Scribes can also make scrolls, and for themselves, shoulder enchants and caster-oriented offhands.
What goes into making a glyph? Herbs, primarily. Lots of herbs. You mill them into pigments, turn the pigments into ink, and put the ink down on parchment to make glyphs.
What's the difference between a major and a minor glyph? Major glyphs make big changes to spells, minor glyphs make small ones. We have slots for both; you can't put a major glyph in a minor glyph slot, nor vice-versa. At level 70, we have two major slots, and three minor. At level 80, we'll have three of each.
How do I learn to make minor glyphs? As you may have noticed by now, Inscription trainers only teach major glyphs. Minor glyph recipes are obtained exclusively through Minor Inscription Research, which is on a 20-hour cooldown and produces random scrolls and vellums, with a chance to learn a random new minor glyph recipe.
Vellum? Ah yes, the other crazy-useful thing scribes can make. Vellums allow enchanters to sell their enchantments on the AH, basically. It goes like this:
Scribe makes vellum.
Enchanter buys vellum.
Enchanter casts enchantment on vellum.
Player buys enchanted vellum.
Player right-clicks enchanted vellum to cast the enchantment on their gear.
There are different vellums for different types (armor or weapon) and levels of enchantment, such as Armor Vellum II. I hear vellums are a bit cost-prohibitive right now, but I'm sure it'll even out eventually.
Why don't the scribes just give the glyphs away? Yes, I've actually seen this question. A lot. The answer, of course, is that scribes are pumping a lot of money into creating the glyphs, both in terms of leveling up their inscription and in terms of the direct mats for the glyphs. Herbs aren't free, you know.
There don't seem to be any recipes past 350 that aren't green. That's true; it's not really worth it leveling past 350 at the moment, given that no recipes currently require skill any higher. Wait until Wrath when you have some new recipes to play with.
Any further questions on inscription?
