vendor
Latest
World of Warcraft Patch 3.2 Loot Guide
WoW.com has covered patch 3.2 extensively. Everything from the surprising changes to flying mounts, to the latest and greatest loot, and all the changes in between. In our patch 3.2 class, raiding, and PvP guides we take a look at exactly what changes and how the changes will affect your playing.New instances and raids are fun and all, but let's not forget what we're all here for: the loot. With the new patch out on servers, there's a whole slew of new items and gear to win and collect. Here's a quick roundup of everything we know about the new loot coming in patch 3.2, from the badges you pull from dead bosses' bodies, to the sweet epics you can turn them in to get.
Need flying mounts? Mei Francis has you covered
Patch 3.1.2 brought it with the usual slew of undocumented changes, but here's one that appears to have flown under the radar for a while -- Mei Francis, Dalaran's exotic mount vendor, now sells basic Outland flying mounts (read: gryphons and wyverns) at both regular and epic speeds. This is great news for, well, anybody who doesn't want to go to Outland! I know that when my shaman hit 77 and I bought all of my flying skills, it was a pain to have to go to Shadowmoon Valley to buy my mount, so I can certainly appreciate the change. Of course, there are even more mount changes in store -- a 150% speed flyer at 60, for example -- so this is obviously part of the devs' mission to streamline the leveling and traveling process for players of all levels. A welcome and unexpected change for quality of leveling life -- that's what I like to see.
Phat Loot Phriday: Porcelain Bell
This is a weird one -- we've been doing Ulduar epics lately, but here's something a little different for you to hunt down.Name: Porcelain Bell (Wowhead, Thottbot, Armory)Type: Poor Salvage ItemDamage/Speed: N/AAttributes: Embellished with a figure reaching toward a swan. This is a grey piece of vendor trash, probably the worst quality item we've ever featured here. Wait a minute Mike, I can hear you saying, this is supposed to be Phat Loot Phriday. Why are you showing us a piece of vendor junk? Because, my friends, in the eyes of the vendors, this little bell is worth more than the Warglaives of Azzinoth combined (and you could even throw in Thori'dal, too). Yes, this little bell sells to vendors for... wait for it... 100g. %Gallery-33600%
Tracking the BoE market in Wrath
The folks over at WoW Economist have started up a blog on one of the most popular problems in World of Warcraft: making money, and lots of it. The truth is that it's not hard to do, whether you're working with professions, trying to hang in the AH, PvPing, or just starting out, but everyone's got a tip to share, it seems, and WoW Economist is no exception.This time around, they've got a good short analysis up of what might happen to green BoEs in Wrath of the Lich King. Once upon a time, there was actually a good market for BoEs on the AH -- some of them even challenged Karazhan gear in the early days of level 70, so anyone new to 70 could just spend some time in the Auction House and pick up some nice gear for running the basic instances and starting to build up blues and epics. But in my experience the market has thinned out lately -- while there's always a market for enchanging materials you can get from BoEs, people aren't that interested in buying green gear with epics so easy to get elsewhere. Most of the time, I get more from vendors for greens than I can actually sell them for on the AH.But WoW Econ says there's a bump on the way -- Death Knights are going to be shooting through 60-70 directly after Wrath, and they're going to want the level 66-70 greens floating around (plate gear with Strength and Stam on it), so that will probably sell well. But everything else is pretty much dried up -- DE it if you can, or just vendor it away and move on. The gold will come quicker in Northrend anyway.
Gear Wishlist tells you where to go next
I've been looking around for something exactly like this -- while Kaliban's Class Loot is a great resource for figuring out what kind of loot to dress in right before the endgame, and our gearing for Karazhan guides are a great resource for good drops and pieces around that level (including the rep sets you can get for each class and spec), the next biggest question to answer is "what comes after that?" And Gear Wishlist, a site made and sent to us by Darrell Anderson, tries to answer exactly that question.After putting in your character and realm, you get a list of all the gear you've got equipped, matched up against a list of all the gear available at the item level you're looking at (you can customize exactly where the item levels come from, if there's a site whose estimations of the gear you value more), with yours highlighted. So basically, you get an up and down list of where to go from the gear you've got, and you can easily see where it all comes from and what kinds of stats it gives.Of course, this is still more of a guideline -- just because gear appears above yours on this list doesn't mean that it's better than yours for your class and spec. And attainability is a big factor as well -- if you're not in a raiding guild, your time might be better spent grinding rep rather than trying to suffer through with PuGs. But as an overview of the gear available to you, Gear Wishlist works great. Hopefully the site will stay up under our linkage, and if it doesn't, check back in a few days to see if it's slowed down.
Let me get a 12" Ornate Triple Pepperoni Blunderbuss
Reader Jacckk sent along this funny bit of WoW, hidden in a strange place. On the menu of one Eden's Pizza in St. Paul, Minnesota, there is an item for an "Ornate Triple Pepperoni Blunderbuss," right in between the "Mean Supreme" and "Sicilian" styles (actually, the "Rastafarian" sounds really good, too). And yes, for those of you who've done some gun shopping in Azeroth, the artery-clogging pepperoni with mozza and feta monstrosity is apparently a reference to the old Ornate Blunderbuss, a vendor weapon available pretty commonly throughout the game.Why they'd name their pizza after a vendor weapon in WoW, we have no idea, but there you go. If you do call them up to order the pizza though (think they'd deliver me one to Chicago?), make sure to get a side of Sulfuras Buffalo Wings, too -- they'll make you "taste the fire of Sulfuron!"** I also would have accepted "Sulfuras Buffalo Wings: By fire be purged!"
Test the loot items on the PTR
We've never seen this one before, but then again, we've never seen a loot item as complicated as that Ethereal Soul-trader before. Blizzard wants to test those new Upper Deck loot items on the PTR, so if you go Landro Longshot in Booty Bay on the test realm only, you can input special test codes for each of the new items: 1111 for the Path of Illidan item, 2222 for the D.I.S.C.O. ball, and 3333 for the one everyone wants: the Ethereal Soul-trader.The only news coming off of the PTR is that the disco ball object still has the placeholder tag on it ("[PH] Disco ball"), which means the name might be a little more formalized when it actually appears on the live realms. But this testing might answer one of the more pressing questions we've got about the Soul-trader -- we already know that any player (not just the one who summoned it) can exchange the "Etherium" currency that you use to buy items off of the vendor, but does that mean that any players who kill mobs that give experience or honor near the trader can gain currency, or only the person who summoned?We'd assume that everyone can do it -- in that sense, getting this card is really like opening up a special vendor rather than just getting all the trader's items for yourself. And there's one more bit of news we can take from this: since these cards are going into stores on July 1st, we'll very likely see patch 2.4.3 on the live realms before then. To the PTR!
Phat Loot Phriday: Vengeful Gladiator's Touch of Defeat
We haven't done a lot of PvP gear here (any, I think) on Phat Loot, but I figured this phat wand might be a good place to start.Name: Vengeful Gladiator's Touch of Defeat (Wowhead, Thottbot, WoWWiki)Type: Epic WandDamage/Speed: 252-468 Fire / 1.90 (189.5 DPS)Abilities: +18 Stamina, +14 Intellect Improves your resilience rating by 14, which is standard for PvP arena gear -- anything to counteract those big crits. Increases damage and healing by magical spells and effects by up to 18. Which doesn't seem like a lot, but for a wand, it's pretty good. The big difference between this and the other PvP season 3 wand, the Piercing Touch, is that this one doesn't have spell penetration on it. The tradeoff is the Intellect, and a few damage points, so it's up to you. Higher end players might go for the penetration (that's the only way you can get past resistances), while a player who is in the Arenas only in between raids might grab this one. It's up to you. How to Get It: Like we've said, you need to play Arena PvP to grab this one. It's available from the Arena vendors for 1000 points, which doesn't require too long to get, as long as you're a good and steady player. Holding onto a 1500 rating in a 5v5 team will get you a little over 300 points a week, which means it'll take 3-4 weeks to gain this many points (and of course you've got to play 10 games a week and make sure you're playing a good percentage of the team's total battles).But there's another catch -- season 3 added personal and team requirements to purchase the weapons. So to actually buy this, not only do you need the points, but you need to have a personal and team rating of 1850 to buy it. You don't need to keep up that rating to keep the weapon, you just need that score when you buy it. Wrong. No rating needed for the wand. Never mind.Which gets us back to the reason why we stay away from PvP gear here on Phat Loot: no matter how much you covet this, if you're not a good player, it's not yours. In the future Arena seasons, we can expect this loot to come back down: next season it'll be cheaper, and the season after that it might even be available for BG honor and tokens. But right now, it's be good or go home for this high-end Arena gear.Getting Rid of It: Vendors won't buy it, and like most PvP gear, it doesn't disenchant. But you worked hard for that rating -- while you could destroy it if you happen to find a better wand in Northrend, you might as well keep it as a trophy of your winnings.
Phat Loot Phriday: The Decapitator
After a short hiatus last week (due to the Friday evening patch 2.4 mayhem), the phat loot is back, this time with an axe that not only has one of the best names in the game, but can give you a little ranged help as well.Name: The Decapitator (Wowhead, Thottbot, WowDB)Type: Epic One-Hand AxeDamage/Speed: 167-312 / 2.60 (92.1 DPS)Abilities: Improves crit strike rating by 27 Use: Hurls the axe through the air, directly at a target's head (very "vorpal," if you get that reference). Causes 513-567 damage with a 3 minute cooldown. It's a 40-yard range, instant cast, so definitely very nice for pulling. Shows up as a black version of the Paladin's ranged attack. And it was rumored that this was counted not as a melee attack, but as a spell. However, players have apparently confirmed that spell damage does not add to it, although we're still not sure if spell crit helps the percentage. Maybe commenters can shed light on that one-- I don't have this one around for testing. Bosses, as you may expect, are immune to the throw. But it is pretty easy to put together a macro which will let you use the throw ability to pull, and then switch over to your usual tanking weapon. How to get it: Pretty simple-- drops from Prince in Karazhan. People are downing him with PUGs nowadays (and odds are your guild, if they're raiding at all, has like three groups clearing it every week), so hope for the 13% percent drop chance to kick in, win the roll (tanks and shammies might be rolling on it, but by now, everyone who wants one probably already has it), and it's all yours.Getting rid of It: Sells to a vendor for 12g 44s 56c, and disenchants into a Void Crystal. That's all I got-- I guess you could destroy it if you want, but this is the kind of item where the proc would probably come in handy at almost any level. Have a good weekend.
Around Azeroth: Revenge of the Patch
Today's Around Azeroth comes to us courtesy of Dameon, level 70 Disc/Holy Priest of the Nazjatar Server. He said this about the above picture:This was taken 10 minutes after 2.3 went public and the Nazjatar realm was back up. With the release of new items from the Heroic Badge vendor, it looked like half of the server was there.Considering we have Arena Season 3 coming, I suspect this will be repeated -- only this time at the PvP gear vendors, and not at the Heroic Badge vendors. Well, except there will likely be a lot of bodies laying around them on PvP servers as players kill each other for the chance to get their gear. Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! You could find your pictures and story featured next on Around Azeroth! %Gallery-1816%
PTR Notes: New reputation ammo
MMO Champion has reported that new "Specialty Ammunition Vendors" have been discovered on the PTR in patch 2.3. These vendors, Archer Delvinar and Marksman Bova, can be found in once empty structures in the Scryer and Aldor areas, respectively, in Shattrath City. Not only do they sell the best types of normal vendor ammunition outside of Halaa, but they also stock ammunition that has reputation requirements. Instead of running over to the Cenarion Refuge in Zangarmarsh every time you need to stock up on Warden's Arrows, you can now buy the same ammo in Shattrath. The same vendors also carry ammunition that is currently only available from vendors in Honor Hold/Thrallmar and the Caverns of Time. Currently the cost of all the ammunition sold by these vendors appears to be tied to Aldor/Scryer reputation level, but still requires the specified faction requirement to actually purchase and use.Of course, the best news is that these vendors also carry a new type of ammunition. The Mysterious Arrows and Mysterious Shells require revered reputation with the Violet Eye and provide 46.5 additional damage per second. A stack of 200 costs 1 gold without any price reductions from reputation. Clearly these new items are meant to fill the gap between Adamantite and Timeless ammunition and help hunters that are tackling Magtheridon, Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep increase their damage output. With the new Adamantite Stingers also being added 2.3, hunters will have more options than ever before when choosing a type of ammunition.
Phat Loot Phriday: Tabard of Laos Flipor
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/The_Tabard_of_Laos_Flipor'; When Blizzard introduced the Tabard of the Protector, it was pretty much a given that before long, we'd see more useful tabards coming in the game. And now, after the latest patch, players have unearthed this piece of phat loot.Name: Tabard of Laos FliporType: TabardArmor: NAAbilities: It's a tabard with stats! +10 Strength, +10 Agility, +10 Stamina, +10 Intellect,, and +10 Spirit (kind of like The 1 Ring, but ten times better!) You may not think +10 is much of a bonus, but +10 Intellect means an extra 150 mana. And +10 Agility actually grants a whopping +20 Armor. Added up, these all mean a lot, and the fact that they're on a tabard makes them just icing on the cake. Laos Flipor, if you weren't already aware, is a little-known lore figure-- she used to be a jester in the Court of Lordaeron. She was known for telling bad jokes, and apparently she told one too many and got Arthas angry at her. Right after he murdered Dad in WC III, he offed her, too. How to Get It: If you've ever done the CLUCK! quest in Westfall, you'll be able to do this one. You can get the tabard from (where else?) the guild tabard vendor in every capital city. But they won't offer it to you unless you can prove, like Laos, how funny you are. So just go up to a guild tabard vendor, target them, and do the /silly emote 200 times.200 jokes later, a ? will pop up above the tabard vendor's head, and this baby is yours.Getting Rid of It: It's BOP, but any vendor will give you 4 silver, 1 copper for it. Then again, at that price, you'd be a fool not to keep it!Update: Pishnaa (thanks, this is awesome) has given us photographic proof! And if it's in a screenshot, it must be true.
Why buy from vendors?
Undying just dropped an interesting question in our comment box: "Why," he says, "buy stuff that a vendor sells?" Of course there's exceptions, he adds-- reagent and tradeskill vendors sell some things you can't get anywhere else. And some rep vendors sell stuff that's better than you can find anywhere in the world, leading to what amounts to "item overpopulation" (I've seen all the thousands of you out there wearing the Immovable Object-- Lemmings! That's what you are!). But what Undying asks is why anyone would buy those white items vendors sell at all, when it's easy to grab something dropped from an instance, or even buy it off the AH for cheaper.Which is a good question. There's a lot of good reasons to buy some things from vendors. I always keep an eye on what they're selling in terms of recipes and magic items-- Auctioneer will sometimes tell me that I can resell a vendor item for more on the AH, and that's easy money. And I have-- only once-- bought one of those white items from a vendor. My warrior was in Stranglethorn Vale, and I was leveling up so fast I'd forgotten to get a new weapon, so it turned out the vendor's axe was better than the one I had equipped, so I used it until I could make my way into an instance and get an upgrade. And I know some level 60s that will buy some cheap boots from a vendor, just to put Mithril Spurs on for riding.But Undying's right, especially at the higher levels, the stuff the vendors sell seems, well, filler. Is there a reason to buy from vendors at all? Or are they just the garbage receptacles of Azeroth, destined to take your trash and never sell any of their own? And what exactly do they do with all those Bear Gall Bladders, anyway?
