professions
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The puzzling problem of professions in endgame
I have a confession to make: There are five jewelcrafting mounts and one engineering mount that were introduced with Mists of Pandaria, and I have yet to make any of them. I have a tailor at max level tailoring, but she hasn't made a single Royal Satchel. I have a leatherworker who hasn't even touched any of the patterns introduced this expansion. In fact, the only things I seem to be making with any kind of regularity are cut gems, and glyphs for my alts. Why? Because the return on investment for any one of the mounts introduced is too low. I don't have the gold to randomly fling at things like mounts that will be used once or twice and then forgotten about. As for the tailor, the pattern for the Royal Satchel is locked behind the absolute, hands down, worst reputation grind in the new expansion -- and there's no way to get around that. I either have to log on every single day to grind out dailies that give an absolute pittance of reputation, or try to solo Warbringers, which is next-to-impossible for several classes. In short, none of these things are worth my time or gold. As a result, the majority of my professions have been completely unused for the majority of the expansion. And I have a sneaking suspicion I am far from the only one, here.
The Queue: No auto-play zone
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today. Sorry about that auto-play video yesterday, everyone. We thought we'd fixed it earlier in the day, but apparently not! mattprendo asked: I don't remember seeing an answer... what happens to garrisons in the next expansion? I know it's at least 2 years off but isn't it a waste to spend all this time building up a garrison then wow 7.0 comes out and poof they are useless. I understand gear being outdated, buff items... but garrisons aren't an item per say but an extension of our tools and utilities. Was it mentioned anywhere that we will be able to call u-haul or something and move these around?
Blood Pact: So you want to play a warlock
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill explores the beginning of MoP. The next thing is to write a "how to warlock" at 90 series, but I feel like I've done this before. The deja vu is strong with this one topic. Oh right! I wrote something like it back in 2012, when the big patch 5.0 first came out. Not all of the same advice is relevant -- well, Soul Link isn't what it was anymore, for one -- but the basics are all still there. I'll go over the specs in detail later, so let's start with the general introduction to warlocks.
Storyboard: Being who you aren't
There is, as I have discussed, a group of roleplayers for whom the game is the thing. If the game doesn't allow you to be a moisture farmer, then why would you want to pretend to be a moisture farmer? Similarly, if you're not actually a master of the marketplace or sitting on huge assets in the game, why would you want to pretend that you are? I am not one of those people. I'm playing a financial wizard partly because I am not a financial wizard. And it's not that I don't love games where that's a viable option, but that's a different discussion. However, this does raise the question of how you can pretend to portray something you aren't intimately familiar with. If I'm playing a doctor, I'm going to run into the simple problem that I'm not a doctor in real life (full-time writers rarely receive extensive medical training). All of roleplaying is some degree of pretending to be something you're not, but how do you do so when it's something that's a bit harder to fake?
What needs to happen to professions in Warlords of Draenor?
We've heard whisperings that professions are getting something of a rework in Warlords, both on Twitter from various Blizzard accounts, and from the panels at BlizzCon itself. There's something going on, and while there's been no official word from Blizzard on just what exactly, it's fun to speculate. And, of course, the important question is this: what would you like to see? It seems like a good idea to start by thinking about what's wrong with professions now. For starters, some of them are pretty awful to level. Leatherworking and Skinning are two that always seem to come up in discussions of the best and worst professions to level. And many of the crafting professions have material demands that so heavily outstrip supply that it's a hassle to get them done without raiding the auction house. Catching up and staying ahead The problem is less troublesome with professions that require gathering rather than crafting, such as Mining, Herbalism and Skinning, especially as the former two have a Pandaria catch-up system in place. Given how well those have worked, it's surprising that no such system has been implemented for Skinning, so it's likely to me that that's something coming with Warlords.
Flameseeker Chronicles: We will control Guild Wars 2's horizontal and the vertical
While we're all exchanging our ugly knit goods for better presents, the official Guild Wars 2 forums are hard at work on the final collaborative development initiative thread of 2013. The topic revolves around horizontal and vertical progression in GW2, one of the more divisive issues frequently discussed by the playerbase. We're forever debating the merits of both styles of progression and trying to determine which of them has a place in the game. According to ArenaNet's Studio Design Director Chris Whiteside, there's room for both, and he'd like to get us brainstorming about how they can work for us. My brain is pretty stormy at the best of times, so grab an umbrella and let's talk progression.
Community Blog Topic Results: Account-wide professions
Last week we asked "Should professions be account-wide?" We got quite a few blog posts and comments on the subject, ranging from no to secondary professions only to yes, please. JeffLaBowski at Sportsbard suggests a couple of methods. As a guild perk. There would be a an NPC to interact with, you open up a window, select the profession, put your mats in. The recipe would have to be unlocked by someone who has that profession in the guild. As GH mentioned in his tweet, they could be account bound. Either using the NPC method, like with example 1. or you would simply be able to cycle through professions from a drop down menu on your profession UI.
The players and the auction house
Like many, if not most, players, I regularly use the auction house to buy and sell items that I need or want in WoW. And, like many players, I regularly experience frustration in doing so -- either I can't find what I want and/or it's exorbitantly expensive, or I can't sell what I'm trying to get rid of! I'm not sure which scenario I'd rank as more annoying -- not being able to buy what I want versus not being able to sell what I want -- but I find the latter to be exasperating in a particular way, especially if I know that what I'm selling is something useful. I admit it: I get really frustrated when things I want to sell don't sell. Relisting is annoying, and if I'm trying to sell an item, it's because I neither need nor want it, so carrying it around isn't something I feel inclined to do. Part of it is wanting to make gold -- who doesn't, after all -- but in addition, those bag slots are space I need for other things that I don't want to sell, like transmog gear. Hence, I am forced to admit that I can sometimes be one of the people that player Kidja complains about in this forum post. If I can't get a buyer on the AH for something at the price I think it deserves, I will sell it for as under-market as I dare simply to get the goods moving.
Community Blog Topic: Should professions be account-wide?
Recently Anne Stickney forwarded me this tweet and suggested it for a Community Blog Topic: @the4tracker Would love to see more discussion on this topic from players. Alts are cool, but alts just to get around the prof limit bug me. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) October 1, 2013 In Diablo 3, when you level up a crafting NPC, the level remains the same, regardless of what character you're on. But I wouldn't want to see each World of Warcraft character be able to level up all of the professions (or would I?). However, I would like to see a craft bench or something similar where you could access the professions you have on other alts.
Getting your Noodle Carts
There are 3 new cooking recipes in patch 5.4: Noodle Cart Kit (250 stats), Deluxe Noodle Cart Kit (275 stats), and Pandaren Treasure Noodle Cart Kit (300 stats). When you use one, you temporarily turn into a vendor and anyone on your faction (not just group members) can purchase up to 5 Noodle Soups for free! You can also do a few emotes while the cart is active, such as cooking, dancing, or inviting people to buy your soups. For my money, the carts are a lot nicer than the old banquets. Everyone in your group or raid can purchase five noodle soups from each cart, so you only need to drop a cart every 5 wipes. Quest Guide The quest chain to get all three carts is surprisingly involved for a cooking quest. It will take you from the Timeless Isle, into several dungeons, back to the Isle, and finally into the new cooking scenario. In order to begin this quest, you must first meet several requirements: 600 Cooking skill Have completed at least the first part of each "Way of Cooking" quest at Halfhill in Valley of the Four Winds (Way of the Wok, Way of the Brew, etc.). If you already have your Master of the Ways title you are good to go from start to finish.
The toon juggle
I have a confession to make. I have played WoW since late 2006, and I have yet to get a second toon to max level, in any expansion. I'm not entirely sure what's made this nearly impossible for me -- I've certainly had multiple toons since the very beginning, but never took another one to max after I hit 70 on my night elf druid. Then I never took one to 80. Then 85. And now 90. I have a few that are getting close, a paladin around level 83 or 84 right now, and a mage that has been steadily climbing over the last couple months and is now level 53. I would love to have a small army of alts. I dream wistfully of a self-sustaining pack of toons, who can farm and craft each other what they need without me ever having to drop 500 gold on a stupid gem ever again. Of course, even if I play madly until the next expansion comes out, I probably won't quite have that setup, but I feel like it's a reasonable long-term goal. Hopefully I'll achieve it within my next seven years of playing WoW, though.
Storyboard: You've got to make a living
Your character does something to stay alive. No, I'm not talking about fighting off demons or flesh-eating wolves or whatever else you blunder into on a regular basis. I mean that your character either needs to construct shelter, gather food, and produce clothes himself, or he has to pay someone to do it. Yes, most games probably allow for the possibility that those wolves contain enough meat, articles of clothing, and end tables to provide all of the above. That would be a separation of mechanics and story. It's much more fun than watching most of your characters die of infections caused by mild scrapes against rusty metal. As a roleplayer, you need to think about what your character does for a living, not just because it gives you an explanation for what's going on when you aren't playing (although that certainly helps) but because what we do informs a lot of who we are as people. It's always better to show than tell, and nothing shows quite as nicely as character occupations done right.
Ghostcrawler on crafting professions and leveling
Sometimes I actually love Twitter for how it can bring the players and the developers together in a more immediate way. Case in point, this tweet from Ghostcrawler. When asked about crafting professions falling behind as the expansion progressed, the answer was clear and unambiguous that Blizzard agrees it's a problem. @JakeSteel423 Yes, but no immediate announcements. We agree it's a problem. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) August 23, 2013 While it's light on specifics I'm glad to see they get the problem. At this point I'm only keeping blacksmithing for the extra sockets, and I know a lot of JC's who were mighty disappointed when they found out there would be no epic gems this time around. Maybe a return to BC style scaling items is in order? Maybe not. Making my original Lionheart Blade was a pain.
Leaderboard: What classes do you want in EverQuest Next?
OK, I know what some of you are thinking. That damn Massively! Just milking the heck of out EverQuest Next! And yeah, I guess we kinda are since we've had several SOE Live features, a Daily Grind, and now a Leaderboard focused on SOE's upcoming fantasy sandbox over the past few days. But you know what? We're not apologizing! It's an exciting time to be an EverQuest Next fan, even though we have as many questions as answers after last week's reveal. Speaking of, SOE has thus far mentioned but five of a reported 40-plus classes. We don't know yet if these will be starting classes, advanced classes, or really anything else about them other than that they're called Rogue, Warrior, Tempest, Wizard, and Blademaster. With that said, what other classes or class types would you like to see? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Breakfast Topic: Does your main character craft?
Crafting, to me, is an integral aspect of a well-rounded WoW character. I suppose that once you've played enough characters and run through the various professions and skills, there's no real reason that every new character you make should need to craft, too. But don't you feel like a half-baked shell of a character without professions? I know I do. Does your current main character craft? %Poll-83769%
Patch 5.4 PTR: New recipes for 300 stat food and more
The Vale of Eternal Blossoms may see some rough times in patch 5.4, but that doesn't mean that all the secrets it holds have been discovered ... yet. Perculia over at Wowhead has dug up a variety of new recipes from the PTR server that grant 300 of a particular stat. The excellent part of this? The recipes take a bare handful of ingredients compared to the 300 stat food that exists right now. And the peculiar twist to this is that all recipes use ingredients found in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Lest you think this is a walk in the park, it should be noted that all ingredients for these new recipes currently have a freshness timer of two hours. In other words, no stockpiling these ingredients. Along with the fresh ingredients that can simply be gathered, there are three different types of aged ingredients as well. While the aged ingredients don't spoil -- they are aged, after all -- at present time it seems as though they drop from rares in the Vale, specifically the rares once required for the One Many Army achievement. The origins of these recipes don't appear to have been uncovered at this point, although they all appear to be drops rather than a recipe learned at a trainer. As far as the Noodle Carts discovered quite some time ago, it appears they are tied to a new quest chain for aspiring chefs. I don't know about you, but having more than one method of creating 300 stat food sounds like a wonderful idea to me -- and it's nice to see that the Vale and its rares will continue to be useful as the expansion moves on. For more information about the recipes, check out Wowhead's excellent roundup of what they've found so far.
Gold Capped: Sha Crystals are about to get a lot cheaper
WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Basil "Euripides" Berntsen aims to show you how to make gold on the Auction House. Check out Basil's gold making podcast, Call To Auction, and email Basil with your questions, comments, or hate mail! I hope you don't have too many Sha Crystals saved up for this upcoming patch. The 5.4 PTR has new epic craftable PvP gear on it which will likely disenchant into them, and some of these pieces will take very few materials. Six Bolts of Windwool Cloth, for example, will make you a nice disenchantable purple cape. The Sha Crystal from this can be turned into two Ethereal Shards, each of which can make three Mysterious Essences. Right now, the vast majority of enchanting materials are made through disenchanting gear crafted by tailoring or jewelcrafting. Jewelcrafters turn green quality gems into rings and amulets which DE into a lot of dust and a few essences. Tailors make blue PvP gear that disenchants into shards. Sha Crystals are only made on the daily cooldown that enchanters get, or through disenchanting epic gear obtained in other ways than crafting. Patch 5.4 will change everything. These methods will still work, but it'll get you more materials per bolt of cloth if you use the new recipes. Each purple Crystal will be able to be broken down into two blue Shards, which can be broken down into 6 green Essences. This new way will make more enchanting materials per cloth than the existing ways.
A beginner's guide to WoW's secondary professions
We've talked about WoW's crafting and gathering professions which only leaves the game's four secondary professions left to discuss. Unlike primary professions, you can take as many secondary professions as you want, so there are no hard choices here: if it's interesting to you, take it, and if not, ignore it. So just what are these secondary professions? Cooking, fishing, first aid, and archaeology. And, we know, these might sound a bit on the dull side -- do you really want to spend your video game time cooking? But whatever you do, don't write secondary professions off as optional or unimportant, because they can definitely come in handy for players of all types. So let's take a look at the secondary professions and just what they can do for you.
Neverwinter to launch with alchemy profession
Neverwinter formally launches in just two days, but it appears as though the folks at Cryptic aren't quite done adding features to the game. The company has just announced that an entirely new profession, alchemy, will go live at the same time as the game's official launch. This brings the total number of professions in Neverwinter up to six. Alchemy works in the way you might expect: You use resources gathered from the environment to make potions that enhance your abilities or restore your health. There are also unstable concoctions that provide random buff or debuff effects depending on your luck. Alchemists will be able to create dyes that can be used for color customization. Alchemy joins endgame PvE and PvP dungeon Gauntlgrym as day-one new content for Neverwinter players. Neverwinter is set for officially official release on June 20th.
Patch 5.4 PTR: Item enhancement changes for low-level players
In patch 5.4, it's going to be a little easier to deck your character out in some pretty fantastic gear. According to the patch notes, all item enhancements from Enchanting, Engineering, Leatherworking, Tailoring, and various vendors and quests will be able to be applied to any piece of gear, regardless of item level. What does that mean for an aspiring alt? It means that all that wonderful heirloom gear you've managed to acquire over the years can finally be enchanted. There are limits to these enchantments, however, so don't bust out the Mongoose for your max-level character just yet. Although high-level enchantments applied to items equipped by low-level players will have their power scaled down to be more appropriate for that level range, low level enhancements will not scale up beyond their intended level range. In other words, it appears as though the enhancements aren't exactly scalable. From what can be gathered so far from the patch notes, it appears as though you'll be able to simply enchant your gear as you go. If you use a high-level enchant, it'll be scaled down to you. Players looking for a way to improve their heirloom quality gear now have a method of doing so. Although the patch notes aren't 100% clear on this mechanic, we'll know more once patch 5.4 hits the PTR servers.
