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Bucket list preparation for Mists of Pandaria
We may not have a release date just yet, but Mists of Pandaria is progressing quite nicely on the beta servers. I have one level 90 character already, and I'm leveling another one through just to see the changes, note any bugs I happen to still see hanging around (of which there are very few so far!) and get another look at the story behind the expansion as it plays out. It's fun, it's keeping me very busy, and sometimes I tend to forget that there's another Azeroth that I really ought to be addressing: the live one, where all my junk is at. I hate organizing things in game, which is really kind of odd because my life out here in the real world is pretty organized. I keep the house very clean and tidy. My library is organized in tidy sections by author, and my kitchen is immaculate. In fact, I get kind of annoyed when things aren't terribly organized or tidy at home. But in-game, I just can't seem to bring myself to addressing what is becoming an ever-increasing issue, and I'm really dragging my feet on getting ready for Mists. Getting ready? Yes, you heard me right -- I've found that if I want a seamless experience when I pick up an expansion and start to play, preparing beforehand is key. Plus, it gives me something to do while I'm waiting for the expansion to come out.
How to set up your alts for gold making
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Basil "Euripides" Berntsen and Fox Van Allen aim to show you how to make money on the Auction House. Check out Fox and Basil's reboot of Call To Auction, and email Basil with your questions, comments, or hate mail! One of the things I simply can't do is spend time on alts. Between the Auction House and playing my main, I simply don't have the time or interest to seriously use the other character slots on my account the way most people do. And then there's this guy: Hey Basil, I've been playing WoW for quite a few years now, and just recently stuck my pinky toe in the water that is the Auction House to profit from various sources. I have alts. Lots of alts. 8 at 85 currently. All of them are able to do HoT dungeons. Now my question is, is there an easy (or efficient) way for me to make multitudes of gold utilizing these alts at all? I would assume leveling as many professions as possible, but there has to be other ways I'm missing. Thanks for your time! Mellark, altoholic, Hyjal US. Having eight level 85 characters is a definite advantage when you play the AH. In fact, one of the things that holds me back to this day is lack of profession slots on level 85 characters. I have all the ones I absolutely need, but I'm missing some compared to a lot of my competition. Every character is an opportunity to have two professions, and each profession is a different way to make (or save) gold.
EVE Evolved: Hulk hunting in highsec
As it's a sandbox game, a big part of what makes EVE Online special is the interesting things players make and do within the game world that developers didn't anticipate. It's ultimately the players who collectively shape the game world, in extreme cases even overturning some of the developed game mechanics. Most players think of high-security space as a safe place to mine and run missions, with CONCORD police keeping a watchful eye on players and destroying any ship that breaks the law. But in EVE you're never truly safe anywhere but inside a station. With the right ship setup, it's possible to kill a target in the few seconds before the police ships arrive to turn you into a smoking wreck. In 2008, GoonSwarm alliance launched its infamous JihadSwarm campaign aiming to suicide gank every mining barge in high-security space. The imaginary safety bubble that miners had lived in for years burst, and highsec mining temporarily became one of the game's most dangerous professions. When Helicity Boson later kicked off the first Hulkageddon event, pirates competed to see who could destroy the most mining barges, and miners in high-security space were prime targets. Hulkageddon went on to become a regular event, with achievements to be won and billions of ISK in sponsored prizes. Recently, Hulkageddon V took an interesting turn when Goonswarm Federation pledged to keep the event running permanently by paying players 100 million ISK for every 10 tech 2 mining barges they kill. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at Hulkageddon from both sides of the fence, with tips on how to suicide gank mining barges and how to stay safe when mining.
Should you change professions for Mists of Pandaria?
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Fox Van Allen and Basil "Euripides" Berntsen aim to show you how to make money on the Auction House. Feed Fox's ego by emailing him, tweeting him at @foxvanallen, or sacrificing your first-born to him. Last week here in Gold Capped, I gave you a sneak peek at the alchemy profession in Mists of Pandaria, including some of the new potions, flasks, and transmutes available to those willing to put in the work. That column apparently got a lot of you thinking, because immediately afterward, I got no fewer than three emails from players asking if they should change their professions to alchemy -- or more generally, whether or not they should switch to a better profession. It's a question to which there's no easy answer. Each profession has the potential to be profitable -- some more so than others, sure. But one person might make millions of gold from inscription, for example, while another player struggles to make a few silver. Aside from knowledge (which you're all getting right here from Gold Capped, natch), what's the biggest factor regarding a profession's profitability? It's your playstyle. Certain professions lend themselves to the weekend Auction House warrior, while others reward daily persistence. So what profession is right for you? And should you change to that profession for Mists of Pandaria?
Mists of Pandaria Beta: The Angler's Wharf makes the perfect fishing hideaway
Fishing is both my favorite and least favorite WoW profession. I love sitting lazily around, watching a movie and click-fishing. That seems weird, but it's very relaxing to me, considering you don't have to move as much as you do in archaeology. But I digress. Mists of Pandaria is introducing a brand new faction, The Anglers, and their adorable fishing village to the new continent. This new hub features a cast of fishing characters, their village, daily quests, and a faction to work on with, presumably, rewards. We like rewards. The ever-angler, El, previewed the new fishing village, showing off the gorgeous buildings and the fun cast of characters. I'm sure that we'll get to know these guys pretty well over the course of the expansion, since we'll be hanging out with them on a daily basis. Well, at least I will be. In fact, hopefully Blizzard sees these new little hideaways as places players want to set their hearthstone in order to get out in the world rather than be cooped up in the capital city. If this little village has some cool features, like a secret bank or something, I might just never leave.
It's time for spring cleaning!
Void storage was an amazing addition to WoW, as far as I'm concerned. I've gone from having absolutely no bag space to having about 20 slots free (give or take 10) at a time. As you can see from the screenshot above, however, I could use more space. It's not a major concern right now, mind you, but we're about to head into a new expansion, which means even more stuff to gather and squirrel away for a rainy day. While you might be spending your days dawdling in Dragon Soul or messing around with dungeons, the subject of an upcoming expansion is actually one you might want to turn your attention to. A new expansion isn't just more levels to play -- it's more items to collect, a new market of trade goods to delve into, and a host of game changes you may want to prepare for. Prepare for? Yes, absolutely. After playing through three separate expansions myself, I can tell you with certainty that preparing for an expansion before it's released will save you a lot of headaches in the long run.
How to fix professions for Mists of Pandaria: An open letter to Blizzard
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Fox Van Allen and Basil "Euripides" Berntsen aim to show you how to make money on the Auction House. Feed Fox's ego by emailing him, tweeting him at @foxvanallen, or sacrificing your first-born to him. And be sure to catch the return of Basil and Fox's podcast, Call to Auction! Ladies and gentlemen who love the economic arts, today's column isn't for you. It's an open letter to Blizzard's game developers, with me begging on bent knee for them to improve our collective professions for Mists of Pandaria. Of course, you're free to read it too. In fact, I hope you do and add to it in the comment section. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a letter of complaint. Blizzard got an awful lot right this expansion, and I'm not going to be shy giving credit where credit is due. But there's always room for improvement. So let's roll up our sleeves, point out what needs fixing, and then hold the folks at Blizzard responsible for what we get next expansion. So, you with me? If so, let's begin. Dear Blizzard,
Trek through fire and flame in RIFT's Infernal Dawn raid
RIFT's Carnival of the Ascended is in full-swing in Telara, but there's something dastardly dwelling under the veil of the festivities. While the Ascended feast, imbibe, and debauch, the less-than-phlegmatic cults of the Golden Maw and the Wanton scheme to free their dragon overlords from imprisonment in the upcoming raid, Infernal Dawn. But no Ascended should go up against the dragons unprepared, so Trion Worlds' Adam Gershowitz has volunteered to take players on a short tour of the Earth Wing of Infernal Dawn, where they will be tasked with destroying the Golden Maw, the Wanton, and ultimately their leaders: the earth dragon Laethys and the infernal Maelforge. Infernal Dawn isn't the only new feature in the works. Gershowitz also reveals that the studio is working on new Instant Adventures set on the Ember Isle. Less pugilistic players will be receiving some new treats as well in the form of new tradeskills. While Gershowitz doesn't reveal any specifics on what these new tradeskills will be, he does hint that they "may or may not involve bodies of water." We've been fishing for ideas all day, but we're just not getting any bites. Oh well, we'll find out soon enough! In the meantime, check out the full video tour and prepare yourselves; Infernal Dawn is planned to go live in "just a month or two." Oh, and remember: Former RIFT subscribers can play free starting today until March 14th, so if you wanna get back into the world of Telara, now's the time. And finally, be sure to keep an eye out for our own Karen Bryan's RIFT coverage straight from GDC 2012, which will surely shed more light on these upcoming additions.
2 crafting professions that won't make you rich
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Basil "Euripides" Berntsen and Fox Van Allen aim to show you how to make money on the Auction House. Check out Fox and Basil's reboot of Call To Auction, and email Basil with your questions, comments, or hate mail! If you're trying to decide which professions to put on your character and you are considering their gold making potential, you'll want to avoid engineering and inscription. While they're not terrible if you consider their stat bonuses, they're not ideal for gold making on many realms. Of course, every realm has its own ecosystem, and as with all advice you'll read from this column, you should check that the assumptions hold for your realm and faction. That said, by far the most common problems I have trouble helping people with are related to these two professions. Inscription I'll start with the one that's going to get me the angry comments first. Inscription has long been touted as a cornerstone of the money making meta game -- heck, it earned my esteemed colleague, Fox, his first million gold on Darkmoon Cards. Before that, we had "glyphsmas" when 4.0 hit and a steady level of demand for glyphs before that. We still have the stupidly profitable fortune card market that lets anyone open a tiny, Blizzard-sanctioned casino. So what's not to like?
Trade skill crusader brings back customer service and sweat equity to crafting
WoW players today tend to consider the deterioration of the in-game community in terms of relatively recent influences like the Dungeon Finder and then the Raid Finder. We sometimes forget that design tweaks and new systems have been chipping away at the paradigm of Azeroth as a place to forge ongoing personal relationships for years now. Take a gander at the beginning of this analysis I wrote on the death of the Azerothian salesman all the way back in the hyper-modern era of The Burning Crusade circa 2007: Forget the endless debate over hardcore versus casual -- there's another moniker that we here at Insider Trader hold dear: salesman. What's that? You don't know any salesmen in WoW these days? You're not alone. Times have changed since craftspeople toiled to build reputations as the go-to traders on their servers ... when Ironforge was the hub of civilization, where a few elite enchanters held court over the entire server with coveted formulae from such exotic locales as Stratholme and Scholomance. It's a brave new world in today's Outland. Most enchanters don't enchant for the general public at all, unless you provide mats and a tip. And in any profession, with so many other players on the servers who have the same patterns (even rare patterns are generally available from more than one player) and so many easy ways to make money (hello, daily quests!), there's little reason to hang around town to build a regular clientele. Components provided or created by other professions are readily available on the Auction House -- there's no need to seek out and nurture relationships with another player from a complementary profession. Have the conveniences Blizzard has developed for today's crafters meant the death of the salesman? Most WoW players would agree that convenience and self-service is the way of today's game. But for one stubborn tradesman on Sentinels (US), life as an Azerothian salesman is anything but obsolete. Daen, a dedicated craftsman and proprietor of Daen's Crafting Emporium, single-handedly maintains what may be one of World of Warcraft's last remaining bastions of personal craftsmanship and trade skill service -- with a twist. This proprietor not only aims to provide personal service, but he does it at no charge, with the insistence that customers devote sweat equity to their mutual creations as well.
The curious case of Cataclysm potions
Remember how amazing cogwheels were? The concept was an inherently cool one -- engineers, much like jewelcrafters, could get their hands on something that would enhance their gear purely through their craft. For jewelcrafters, it's the ability to cut amazing gems, limited to the number they can use in their gear. For engineers, cogwheels were purchasable with crafted engineering items and could be used in a helm with cogwheel slots. You may be wondering why I'm using the past tense here. It's for good reason -- cogwheels are, essentially, a dead item. Introduced at the beginning of Cataclysm, they could be used in engineering crafted goggles, but that was it. Once players started raiding, those goggles were quickly replaced ... and we never saw anything with a cogwheel in it again. For something that had me really excited about being an engineer, the cogwheel was a letdown of sorts. But that's not the only thing that's been a little off, professionally speaking, with Cataclysm.
Gold Capped: The fastest way to make 10,000 gold
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Basil "Euripides" Berntsen and Fox Van Allen aim to show you how to make money on the Auction House. Check out Fox and Basil's reboot of Call To Auction, and email Basil with your questions, comments, or hate mail! Every so often, I get asked something to the effect of "What's the fastest way to get 10,000 gold?" It's usually asked by someone who is perpetually poor in game and is looking to get a BoE or some other sort of reward that costs gold. The fastest way for me to get 10,000 gold is to log in and check my mail. My daily haul is many times that and scales based on how much time I have to craft, list, and relist. This isn't a useful answer to someone who lives paycheck to paycheck, though. So what advice would be helpful? First off, if you're below level 85, get to level 85. This nets you quite a bit of gold simply from quest rewards and vendoring gear you acquire. If you're already level 85, the first thing you need to do is identify how much money you can make per hour running 5-mans for valor points that you can use to sell BoEs. On my realm, I could sell a BoE costing 1,650 VPs for about 10,000 gold. That means every valor point I earn could be worth 6 gold, which makes the 150 points I get from a 5-man worth 900g. I can do seven per week per character with the requisite gear. Also, every trash kill and boss kill has a chance of awarding you with valuables, including enchanting mats (if someone can DE) and BoEs.
Addon Spotlight: Gear levels at a glance with iLvLr
Each week, WoW Insider's Mathew McCurley brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. One of the best ways for addon developers or fans of addon developers to get their addon some attention is to have it featured here on Addon Spotlight. If you're a developer who wants to see your addon in the spotlight or you're a friend of a developer looking to do your buddy a solid because of that thing you did in Cabo three years ago with the guy's on-again, off-again love interest, send me an email at mat@wowinsider.com and tell me to feature the addon. I try to read all my email, and you'll most likely have the experience JerichoHM did. Some time ago, I covered Skill Helper, an addon that was sent to me by its creator, JerichoHM, that made missing a skill point because of forgetting to train a thing of the past. Now, Jericho sends me another email discussing his newest addon called iLvLr, which adds new information about an item's ilevel and durability percentage to the character pane. Addons that add to the already existing user interface are some of my favorites, since I don't have to clutter up the screen with new pictures, boxes, and other crud.
The Daily Grind: Now that all Guild Wars 2 professions are revealed, which will you play?
Earlier this week, the internet exploded with a leaked reveal of Guild Wars 2's eighth profession: the Mesmer. The official reveal soon followed, with some of the most amazing skill videos and game mechanics to ever hit an MMO class. OK, so I'm a Mesmer fanboi. Sue me. But now that we can flip through the entire array of Guild Wars 2 professions, we're left with the question about what class to play... or play first. Will you be burning stuff with the Elementalist, bashing stuff with the Warrior, or shooting stuff with the Ranger? Perhaps you'd like to pander to your inner kleptomaniac by playing a Thief or dance with the dead as a Necromancer. Throw in the Guardian, Engineer, and Mesmer, and it's fairly impossible to pick just one. So which will you play first? Let us know your profession plans for Guild Wars 2 in the comments below. Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Guild Wars 2 is at G-Star with new items but no beta
With Guild Wars 2 appearing this weekend at the G-Star convention, there's been a lot of speculation about two potential pieces of news -- a date for the beta or the eighth profession reveal. Unfortunately for the speculators, the latest updates from Eric Flannum have put those rumors to rest. Flannum confirms that while there will be news coming out on the 11th, it will not include either of those updates, which are still on track for a later date. That being said, there's still some news to be found, including the preview of some high-level armor sets that are exclusive for the Korean demo. Flannum stated that there will be other elements unique to this demo, although he declined to elaborate beyond the armor. Guild Wars 2 fans will have to keep their eyes peeled for what comes out of the convention... and wait just a wee bit longer to find out when the beta will begin, or what the last profession will be.
Massively Exclusive: WindSlayer 2 dev diary gets economic
Now that we've gotten a look at the basics of WindSlayer 2's melee and ranged classes, it's time to delve into what makes the game's economy tick. So if you're a shrewd businessman, head on past the cut to the dev diary and find out how you can play the market in WindSlayer 2.
Choose My Adventure: Meet Alira
Everyone, I'd like you to give a warm welcome to my brand-new Final Fantasy XIV Choose My Adventure character, the Miqo'te Lancer Alira Zhyn. Before we get down to the nitty-gritty, let me go ahead and address the fact that yes, the top vote for gender was male, while the top vote for race was Miqo'te, and it's not possible to roll a male Miqo'te. I made an executive decision to allow race to override gender, as I feel race is a bit more of a deciding factor when creating a character than gender is. Now that that's out of the way, head on past the cut to read about Alira's first few days of adventure in Eorzea!
The Light and How to Swing It: A career guide for tanks
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. Protection specialist Matt Walsh spends most of his time receiving concussions for the benefit of 24 other people, obsessing over his hair (a Blood Elf racial!), and maintaining the tankadin-focused blog Righteous Defense. This column is, if anything, the result of my recent switch from engineering to alchemy on my paladin. One of the biggest drivers for my decision (other than the maddening smackdown that engineering suffered after Wrath of the Lich King) was the desire to once again have a profession that bestowed some kind of meaningful bonus for raiding. Just about every facet of engineering that had some appreciable effect for tanking was neutered (as you'll see ahead), leaving the profession a dried husk and a sad remnant of previous greatness. I don't have to tell you that profession bonuses are easily one of the best ways to get stat boosts, and using certain professions can be a powerful tool in the min-maxer's arsenal, in order to squeeze every last stat point out of their characters. Some are excellent; some are even so excellent they are overpowered; some are middle of the road; and others are just horribly lackluster. Let's take a look.
Prime: Battle for Dominus gets professional with new crafting details
A few months back, we got our first look at Prime: Battle for Dominus' profession and crafting system, but it was a bit scant on details. Thanks to the game's updated profession page, however, we're absolutely drowning in details. Drowning, I say! To recap, for those of you just joining us, the available professions are Armortech, Weapontech, Biotech, Chemist, Inventor, Harvester, and Soldier for Hire. Players can partake of any and all professions, but they can only choose to specialize in a single one. In order to create an item, players require schematics, which can be acquired in one of a few ways. Schematics can be learned from trainers, or they can be gained by reverse-engineering an item to discover what makes it tick. If you're the sneaky, saboteur type, you can even steal schematics from other factions and turn the enemy's own tools against them. The page features myriad details on all of the available professions, but perhaps most interesting is the new information about the oddball Soldier for Hire. The Soldier for Hire is not a crafting profession in the strictest sense but rather is more like a bounty hunter who can sell his services through an in-game interface. The new page reveals that players will have good reason to hire a Soldier for Hire over some random schmuck, as the Soldier will have access to gear and weapons exclusive to the profession. For the full details on the game's various crafting professions, head on over to the Prime: Battle for Dominus official site and have a look.
Breakfast Topic: How do you want WoW crafting to change?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. Face it: WoW crafting is boring. Learn a recipe, put in the materials, click to create. Repeat again and again to skill up and get new recipes. The end. We have exciting-sounding skills such as engineering and alchemy, but we have no experimentation and little customization! While we've gotten crafting dailies to make the skill-ups a little more fun outside the usual materials grind, Blizzard should probably update how crafting skills work. Personally, I'd love a system that favors some creativity. Imagine if materials for alchemists were in certain classification: increase or decrease, physical or mental, strength or speed, endurance or power, etc. If you mix an increase reagent with a physical, mental, or power one, you'll make a strength potion. Choose decrease, mental, speed, and endurance, and maybe you make a consumable potion that lowers mana/rage/energy/runic power/focus to targets within the blast radius. No premade recipes, just players experimenting with the game. I can see a similar situation for cooking (mm, spicy chocolate gator bacon!). Gathering could be redone a bit, too. Imagine if you could break down items to get certain materials, sort of like enchanting. Skinners can break down leather for rare hides, miners can melt down armor to retrieve rare minerals, herbalists could ... pick mushrooms out of pies? What would you like to see change in WoW crafting? Dyes added to change armor color results? Choosing blades and hilts when crafting a weapon? RP leather armor and whip options tied to custom emotes for those nights in Goldshire?
