alchemy
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Zone location determines Living Elements transmute results
Once a day, resetting at midnight, alchemists at skill level 485 or above are able to transmute Volatile Life into a random other volatile. A little-known fact not documented in the tooltip is that if you perform this transmute in a specific zone, the result will not be random. For example, doing it in Uldum will always yield Volatile Air. This transmute, even when performed in a city, is likely the best use of the shared alchemy cooldown. For a lot of realms, none of the other cooldown-linked transmutes (Truegold, Pyrium Bar, and the pre-Cataclysm stuff) are nearly as profitable as the Living Elements transmute, simply because as a general rule, Volatile Life is always among the cheapest of the volatiles. Transmuting it to just about anything is profitable, or at least not a loss. Now that we can force it, it's going to increase drastically in profitability. Here's the list of locations and what they proc, taken from a blue post about a hotfix: Volatile Air: Uldum Volatile Fire: Mount Hyjal Volatile Water: Vashj'ir Volatile Earth: Deepholm Transmute-specced alchemists also enjoy the chance of a double proc; however, the additional volatiles are completely random. You can force the primary proc but not the secondary bonus. Based on the fairly low drop rate from the Electrostatic Condenser, air will be the way to go for a while. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.
TERA crafting and gathering videos sighted
En Masse Entertainment and Bluehole Studio have made action combat the focus of TERA's marketing campaign, and for the most part, that's all we've heard about over the past several months (well, that and how much some people are turned off by bikini armor). At long last, a bit of information about TERA's crafting and gathering mechanics (yes it has them!) has surfaced. The news takes the form of a player-written guide over at TERAfans, and it features a run-down on resources, professions, and raw materials. As it turns out, players can opt to pursue alchemy, armor and weaponsmithing, carpentry, or tailoring and leatherworking professions. The article also features two in-game videos showing the mechanics in action. Jump the cut for some footage of a player gathering ore and crystal as well as the crafting of a low-level staff. Keep in mind that this info hails from the Korean beta client and so is subject to change.
Countdown to Cataclysm: Profession updates and changes
This article is part of our Countdown to Cataclysm series -- preparing you for Cataclysm launch one day at a time. Cataclysm is going to change the world of professions -- so without any further ado, here are the most important changes. General The skill cap for all professions is now 525. There is a lot of content locked behind a phased area you can not unlock until you're level 84. The new elemental trade goods are called Volatiles. Herbing and mining now provide experience. Archeology will be trainable. Guilds can see links for all members' available professions.
Breakfast Topic: What was your favorite moment at BlizzCon?
This year's BlizzCon was a little more sedate than last year's, but there was still a fair amount going on. We found out a little about patch 4.1, saw the cutscene that's been missing from the worgen starting area and the new Cataclysm login screen, and are perhaps still a little farshikkert from the reader meetup. As with any BlizzCon, there were some intriguing, thought-provoking and funny moments, and we're interested in hearing your favorites. For me, it's a toss-up between the following, both of them from the general World of Warcraft question-and-answer session yesterday: Ghostcrawler's quip about the new alchemy two-person mount in Cataclysm: "Have you heard about the new alchemy mount? It'll be hard to get but fun to see who gets it first. It's awesome ... Who doesn't want to mount their friends?" A question came up on faction balance from an Alliance player on a Horde-dominated server, and the developers felt that more needed to be done to make the Alliance "cooler," that the "mythos and psychology" among players had developed to favor the Horde for PvP prospects. As the developers' answers ended, someone in the hall screamed, "Give us Saurfang!" BlizzCon 2010 is upon us! WoW Insider has all the latest news and information. We're bringing you liveblogging of the WoW panels, interviews with WoW celebrities and attendees and of course, lots of pictures of people in costumes. It's all here at WoW Insider!
Insider Trader: Making gold with titansteel
Insider Trader is a column about professions, written by Basil "Euripides" Berntsen, also the writer for the Gold Capped column. If you're looking for general auction house advice, you'll find it in Gold Capped, whereas Insider Trader will be focusing on specific profitable markets. Basil quickly realized that if he kept writing large comprehensive trade skill posts, he'd quickly run out of ideas for this column, so he decided to start deep diving into specific markets instead of trying to cram all the options into a single post. I mentioned this briefly in my mining post, but Titansteel Bars are one of those products that seems to be used for just about everything. Check out the Wowhead "Reagent for" tab, and you'll see what I mean. It is also used in very large quantities by the more popular items, like the iLvl 264 BoE crafted items. One way or another, titansteel is one of those things that seems to have bottomless demand and is therefore an excellent product to sell. High demand means high profit? OK, so it's not perfect. Titansteel may always sell quickly, but that just means you'll have more competition. Also, every buyer has a fairly good idea of what market price is, so when the supply dries up, you can't make too much of a premium. Let's look at your costs.
Insider Trader: Alchemy in Cataclysm
So, alchemy in Cataclysm is starting to look pretty damned good. (Granted, all of the trade skills are looking good in Cataclysm, but I'm writing about alchemy this week.) Alchemy is one of the most stable crafts between expansions, though. You have your standard potions -- intellect, damage, healing, mana, health, stuff like that -- as well as your alchemist-only items like alchemist's stones. Things get a little more exciting in Cataclysm, though. One of the most interesting potions I've seen so far is the Potion of Deephome. On use, it teleports the user to Deephome. It's a pretty neat effect, but it definitely makes me curious about Deephome. The dungeon finder tool is incredibly effective for teleporting players inside dungeons, so I don't see why your acerage alchemist would have to use the potion. Still, for sheer flavor, it's fun to see potions doing more than just buffing stats. I think that's a nice little side effect that's been a long time coming.
Cataclysm Beta: Professions and trade skills
Step aside, class changes. Back off, world revamp. Now it's time to put what everyone really wants to see into the spotlight: trade skills. MMO-Champion, which is having some difficulty staying up and stable this evening, has what you're looking for amongst its Cataclysm information. Blacksmithing Tailoring Jewelcrafting Alchemy Enchanting Leatherworking First Aid Mining Fishing Herbalism Inscription Engineering Cooking Skinning Okay, trade skills aren't the most exciting thing in the world, but these previews give us a glimpse at what sort of stats we'll be dealing with on our gear in this expansion. Just look at the Elementium Poleaxe, Bio-Optic Killshades and the new gems. If those MMO-Champion pages aren't your style, there's also a good unofficial trade skill compilation on the Cataclysm forums. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it. Nothing will be the same. In WoW.com's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion. From goblins and worgens to mastery and guild changes, it's all there for your cataclysmic enjoyment.
Cataclysm: Alchemy mount hinted at on EU forums
European community manager Ancilorn posted in the Cataclysm forums that there might be an alchemy mount in the future. There are extremely little details for us to speculate on as this could mean something from a flying broomstick to a potion you drink in order to become a mount yourself. However, one thing that we can be sure of is that there is at least talk of doing this, but nothing is certain. We can probably also expect such perks to pop up in other places as all professions are getting a revamp in the coming expansion. And before your fire burns and cauldron bubbles, just remember that we're not even in beta yet and that a lot of things could change. Ancilorn Quote: Goblins should have a ogre as mount. If you have played WC3 the alchemist is riding on an ogre ( but it is the ogre who attacks and stuff ). You can always dream.blah blah blah You mention Alchemist and a unique mount, eh? ;) We may well have a surprise coming in the future for those who dabble in the Alchemy profession. Watch this space! I cannot promise it will be an ogre, though. :P source
Gold Capped: Meta gem deep dive
Want to get Gold Capped? Every week, Basil "Euripides" Berntsen takes a short break from building a raiding guild on Drenden (US-A) to write up a guide that will help you make gold. Check out the Call to Auction podcast, and feel free to email Basil any comments, questions or hate mail! I've talked before about meta gems, however I feel they deserve more than a paragraph buried in the middle of a jewelcrafting post. Like many of the best businesses, metas are purchased by all end game players and many leveling players. They provide a hefty bonus to PvE and PvP, come in a variety of flavors and (most importantly) get purchased every time someone upgrades their helm.
Mabinogi Goddess of Light update adds capital city
Nexon America brings word of a new update for Mabinogi, their free-to-play fantasy life MMORPG that boasts over one million registered players. The patch, called Goddess of Light, brings a new city into the world of Erinn, as well as jousting competitions, wine making contests, fashion contests, and an auction house. Players can now explore Tara, the capital city of the Allech Kingdom, to take part in all of the aforementioned events. Additionally, players can commission an in-game NPC to draw likenesses of their characters for display in player housing, personal shops, or on clothing. Finally, the Goddess of Light update introduces a new transformation ability known as the Awakening of Light, as well as new alchemy skills including Frozen Blast, Rain Casting, and Metal Conversion. View all the details at the official Mabinogi website.
Breakfast Topic: A new recipe for anachronisms
This article has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. My guild runs all content. In doing this, we frequently find ourselves in Burning Crusade raids. Last night, for instance, we downed Lady Vashj. I got another couple of handfuls of Badges of Justice, essentially worthless currency even for someone who hangs onto things for nostalgia. We had a couple of level 70+ players in the group, new players who are leveling as fast as they can to 80. They asked what they do with these badges. We old hands laughed and said, "Not much." Beyond buying gems from the Isle of Quel'Danas to level my jewelcrafter's skills, there's nothing my level 80 finds interesting in BC badge gear. We talked about the changes in Wrath badge gear and how we wished for something to spend our accumulations on. This led to a discussion of the patterns that had just dropped and how they aren't relevant to anyone other than a newly minted 70. How nice it would be to find a use for all these patterns, recipes, schematics, etc., in addition to simply leveling a profession. I am an alchemist, and I've often thought it would be neat to combine some of the potions I know to make better potions. Combine rage and healing potions to make a potion for warriors that heals them over time, based on the amount of rage they generate during combat ... a spellpower and fire potion combo for fire mages or warlocks using fire spells ... a tracking and invisibility combo for hunters or druids or rogues ... Take it one step further and allow all sorts of combinations where on occasion, you get something you weren't expecting: a third eye, an extra arm, laser gaze, 3x growth. I'm a former dungeon master from Dungeons & Dragons; I know all about "side effects." There must be thousands of things in the game that could be combined in new ways to make them useful again as we progress to 85. What are your suggestions? Have you ever wanted to write for WoW.com? Your chance may be right around the corner. Watch for our next call for submissions for articles via Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. The next byline you see here may be yours!
The Light and How to Swing It: Gearing a new level 80 ret paladin
With the Light as his strength, Gregg Reece of The Light and How to Swing It faces down the demons of the Burning Legion, the undead of the Scourge, and soon, an entire flight of black dragons. As I said last week, I'm looking for action screenshots of retribution and protection paladins. I've gotten a lot of good shots thus far and am always looking for more (especially you retribution paladins out there, as I got a ton of protection ones). They can be any level between 1 and 80. I'll be using these for header graphics like the one above. Please send those as well as any other comments to my email at gregg@wow.com. If you've been following the column recently, you've seen the three-part series we did on gearing up a brand new level 80 protection paladin. We're going to take the same approach now to the retribution tree and work our way through the different types of items. First up, we've got craftables and reputation items. We'll be taking a look at stuff you'll be able to grab in dungeons next week and finish up the week after with a run-through of what all you can buy with the badges you got from all of that time in the random dungeon finder.
Blood Pact: Warlock professions
Blood Pact is your weekly warlock digest, brought to you by Dominic Hobbs. "The slightest loss of concentration is all it takes." -- Medivh. Selecting professions for your characters often comes down to a choice of utility; if you have several toons, you may want to make some gather and others be the crafters. If you only have the one character at 80, there is a greater desire to be self-sufficient. Professions are also one of those things that many people feel are a part of their character and help define them almost as much as their class. If you're uncertain which professions your warlock should take up then this is the place for you, as Blood Pact takes a look at all 14 and considers which are of the most use to the 'lock on the go.
Gold Capped: Making gold with alchemy
Want to get Gold Capped? This column shows you how. Join author Basil "Euripides" Berntsen, also of outdps.com, the Hunting Party podcast and the Call to Auction podcast. Alchemy is an awesome way to make money in WoW. As we've said before, some businesses are proactive, requiring you to invest time and money in order to make profits. Some are reactive, allowing you to use a cooldown to craft something that's in demand for smallish volume of sales at high profit. Alchemy is unique in the sense that it allows you to both! You can craft and sell potions, flasks and elixirs, and you can transmute an epic gem once a day and Titanium Bars without a cooldown since patch 3.3.
Gold Capped: The saronite shuffle
Want to get Gold Capped? This column shows you how. Join author Basil "Euripides" Berntsen, also of outdps.com, the Hunting Party podcast and the Call to Auction podcast. Saronite Ore is cheap and plentiful. Prospecting it with a jewelcrafter used to be extremely profitable back before the introduction of the disenchant option in dungeons, and the price of Infinite Dust was floored. It was so popular that we had our own name for it: The Saronite Shuffle. Well, it's back! It's no longer profitable to use it for making enchanting mats, however it sure is profitable overall!
Mabinogi introduces farm land and more
Itching to grow a virtual garden, live off the land, and cultivate a harvest for yourself or for profit? Check out the latest update to Nexon America's Mabinogi MMORPG, where you can do just that and more. The free-to-play game has just added several new features including three new Shadow Missions which find players teaming up for death matches, battling Fomor monsters and collecting the ingredients that they protect. Additionally, the game update allows players to acquire two new Alchemy skills: Flame Burst and Sand Burst. The former is used for close range attacks while the latter allows players to temporarily disable opponents by blinding them with sand. More details are available at the Mabinogi website as well as the game's Facebook page.
Spiritual Guidance: The professional priest
Welcome back to Spiritual Guidance, hosted by the spectacularly dark Fox Van Allen. Though he should be preparing for his final showdown against gnome-sympathizer and lolsmiter Dawn Moore, he has chosen to instead pop a few Flasks of Vodka Tonic (with that sweet Mixology bonus) and spend all night kareoke-ing with Mike Sacco. He's not afraid of those sick 4000 damage crits that a holy priest can score with Smite! What's that? Casting smite *again*? Hard to do when your mind is flayed into pudding. We've bested Sartharion on a three-dragon run. We've looked into Sindragosa's icy maw and laughed. None of that is especially impressive if we're still living in our parents' basement cause we can't find a job. It's time to put that shadow priest of ours to work. The number one rated profession for shadow priests is being the WoW.com columnist, but since that job's already taken, the rest of you will have to settle for standard Azerothian fare. And, ideally, you're going to want the one that makes your pew pew skills look all the more impressive. When I was leveling my shadow priest, I wasn't thinking much about the end game. I grabbed a pair of professions as soon as the game would let me: Tailoring and Enchanting. They served me well through leveling. But a few months into level 80, I got to thinking -- did I make the right choice?
Time Is Money: Profit off the Titansteel cooldown removal
Time Is Money periodically allows Basil a place to post inane nonsense and market predictions which rarely pan out. Still reading? Don't say I didn't warn you. As we all read, miners will be able to smelt Titansteel after patch 3.3.3 with no cooldown. What will this mean for you, and how can you make money from this change? Let's start by quickly evaluating the Titansteel production chain. Saronite Ore is farmed by miners Saronite Bars are smelted by miners Titanium Bars are transmuted by alchemists Titansteel Bars are smelted with an Eternal Fire, Earth, and Shadow Where in this do we see people mining Titanium Veins and smelting the Titanium Ore? We don't. Since the cooldown was removed from the alchemist's transmute titanium ability, the ore is no longer worth smelting. Saronite is always cheaper.
Mabinogi fuses science and magic with new Alchemist update
In real life, alchemy was an early scientific movement that wound up stumbling upon a few concepts important to modern science. In Mabinogi, it's at the heart of the most recent update as a mixture of both science and magic, allowing characters access to new skills and abilities through research and magical prowess. The Alchemist update for the game has just been released into the wild, and brought with it a new form of gameplay, the aforementioned Alchemist abilities, and not one but two different holiday events for players to enjoy. Within the new zone, Taillteann, players will be able to explore both the Alchemist's House to research components of the new skills, or take part in the game's new Shadow Missions. If taking part in the missions and the new storyline isn't as appealing for the moment, however, there's also an event running for both Valentine's Day and the Lunar New Year, with both offering players a few carrots if they take part in the festivities. Mabinogi has been keeping a steady stream of content updates for some time, and this newest update promises to give players even more to explore within the world of Erinn.
The Light and How to Swing It: The low level tank part 4
With the Light as his strength, Gregg Reece of The Light and How to Swing It faces down the demons of the Burning Legion, the undead of the Scourge, and helps with the puppet shows at the Argent Ren Faire up in Icecrown. Here we are again with the final section on the low level paladin tanking guide. You can go back and read parts one, two, and three if you need to catch up. This final part deals with consumables, macros, and addons. As a dungeon runner, you don't have the high requirements usually associated with raids, but there are a couple things you'll want to keep an eye on. You'll want to keep reasonably buffed, have some useful macros to fall back on, and have some addons to help organize some of the more procedural steps. Let's take a look after the break.
