10Oct

WoW Mists of Pandaria Pre-Raid Itemization Guide – Holy Priest – Belts

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The most critical piece in a Holy Priest’s gear is the belt. Why? Because the belt holds up the Priest’s pants or skirt. Sometimes, Priests wear robes. In this case, the belt becomes more of an accessory, but you really can’t wear a robe without a belt. It would just look silly.

As you level your Holy Priest through the Mists of Pandaria, get a jump start on your foes by farming the auction house for the Repression Belt. This is a level 85 bind-on-equip item that will take you all the way to at least 87 if not 90. Yes, I know it has Hit, but you’re going to reforge it to Spirit because you’re a min-maxing fool.

Your pre-raid, best-in-slot belt (Klaxxi Lash of the Seeker) is going to come from your friends, The Klaxxi. If you’ve grown tired of them, then you’ll want to run yourself some Stormstout Brewery on Heroic mode for the Fermenting Belt.

Don’t deny yourself some PvP gear either! You know you’re a Tailor itching to make yourself some gear, so put your hands together and produce the Contender’s Satin Belt as soon as you hit 90. This will show those puggers that you mean business by wearing a PvP item in a heroic dungeon. Explain to them that you understand that it’s generally meant for PvP, but you’ve reforged the Mastery to Haste, and are taking advantage of the Intellect and Spirit stats on the item. Make it quick, though, before they kick you from the group.

ITEM LVL SOURCE SCORE
Klaxxi Lash of the Seeker 90 The Klaxxi Revered – 1,750 Valor 5,775
Fermenting Belt 90 Stormstout Brewery (Heroic) Yan-Zhu the Uncasked 4,249
Motherseed Cord 87 Overthrone (Quest) Dread Wastes 3,844
Contender’s Satin Belt 90 Crafted Tailoring 3,792
Tranquil Belt 90 World Drop BoE 3,788
Incineration Belt 90 Scholomance (Heroic) Darkmaster Gandling 3,754
Darkened Belt 90 World Drop BoE 3,618
Girdle of Endemic Anger 90 Temple of the Jade Serpent (Heroic) Lorewalker Stonestep 3,570
Cord of Bloody Evangelism 90 Just for Safekeeping, Of Course (Quest) Scarlet Halls (Heroic) 3,499
Repression Belt 85 World Drop BoE 3,378
Mistborne Waistband 88 Up in Flames (Quest) Townlong Steppes 3,130
Swampwalker Cord 88 Jung Duk (Quest) Townlong Steppes 3,084

09Oct

Shuffling Ore in Mists of Pandaria – Prospecting Results

Posted in Jewelcrafting, Making Gold | Leave a comment

Yesterday, I wrote about the great potential for making gold in World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria using the “ore shuffling” technique. Even though this was wildly successful for me in Cataclysm, I was hesitant to get into the market. After listening to others claim the viability of the process, I figured I would conduct a small experiment using actual values and compare them to the projections.

To begin the experiment, I bought 500 Ghost Iron Ore for a total of 2,770 gold from the Horde auction house on Earthen Ring (US). Using the spreadsheet provided by The Golden Crusade and values provided by The Undermine Journal, I expected a profit of 5,771 gold. Using actual values from prospecting and the auction house, I could expect to make 5,557 gold. That’s only a difference of 214 gold from the projections.

Yes, there were some variances, but nothing out of the ordinary. I would definitely recommend using the spreadsheet to give you a general idea of what kind of return on your investment you could expect by shuffling ore.

Here are some interesting points from this experiment:

So what’s next? If I craft Ornate Bands and Shadowfire Necklaces, I could make another 230 or so gold. However, for convenience’s sake, I will simply list all the raw gems and watch the Jewelcrafters that are trying to rush to 600 gobble them up.

I will report back with my sales to see if I was able to realize the 5500 gold profit. For now, this seems like a more than worthwhile market to enter, so long as the supply of ore remains high and I continue to bring my authenticator and spreadsheets with me wherever I go.

08Oct

Shuffling Ore in Mists of Pandaria

Posted in Jewelcrafting, Making Gold | 2 Comments

One of my favorite gold-making routines in Cataclysm was shuffling ore. Even if you consider yourself to be an average gold-maker in World of Warcraft, I’m sure you’ve heard of the ore shuffle. In Mists of Pandaria, the ore shuffle has returned, but with high volatility. However, there are tools out there for you to use to help you decide on whether or not it’s worth your while to participate in this gold-making scheme.

The basics of ore shuffling has been covered many times over on the Internet. If you are still not familiar with how it works, you basically use your Jewelcrafter to prospect various types of ore, and perform certain tasks with the prospected materials to turn a profit. These tasks can be as simple as crafting a rare gem, or constructing an item for disenchanting or selling on the auction house.

The Golden Crusade released an excellent guide that includes a spreadsheet that will help you determine whether or not it is profitable for you to shuffle your ore. The instructions are detailed enough, but you’ll need to create an account with the Undermine Journal before you can access the market data for the particular realm you are trying to retrieve data for.

One point to note: the market data that you download and import into the Excel spreadsheet is not used to calculate your profit. It is only there as a reference for you so that you can determine what amount you are comfortable paying for the various types of ore.

So guides on the Internet are great and all, but what about reality? The Golden Crusade outlined sample results when using 100 stacks of Ghost Iron Ore at 200 gold a stack. At a cost of 20K gold, a profit of 4.3K gold was made. Sounds awesome, right? Yeah! However, instead of using the spreadsheet to speculate and calculate, I’ll be using actual values from the Earthen Ring (US) Horde market.

Here are the prices I paid for the ore using actual cost and market prices:

PRICE QTY PPI DATE
115 20 5.75 10/8/2012
115 20 5.75 10/8/2012
115 20 5.75 10/8/2012
115 20 5.75 10/8/2012
115 20 5.75 10/8/2012
109 20 5.45 10/8/2012
109 20 5.45 10/8/2012
109 20 5.45 10/8/2012
109 20 5.45 10/8/2012
109 20 5.45 10/8/2012
110 20 5.5 10/8/2012
110 20 5.5 10/8/2012
110 20 5.5 10/8/2012
110 20 5.5 10/8/2012
110 20 5.5 10/8/2012
110 20 5.5 10/8/2012
110 20 5.5 10/8/2012
110 20 5.5 10/8/2012
110 20 5.5 10/8/2012
110 20 5.5 10/8/2012
110 20 5.5 10/8/2012
110 20 5.5 10/8/2012
110 20 5.5 10/8/2012
110 20 5.5 10/8/2012
110 20 5.5 10/8/2012

This works out to a total of 25 stacks (500 ore) at a total cost of 2,770 gold (at 5.54 gold per ore). The Undermine Journal reported a market price of 5.95 per ore on October 8, 2012. So, in theory, I already made 205 gold based on buying the ore below market price. If I used the spreadsheet, though, I have a potential profit of 5,771 gold. Hooray! Wait, what? That’s not how it works? Okay.

So now it’s time to prospect! I will report back on my ore prospecting yields this week and break down the actual materials gained from the ore and compare them to the spreadsheet.

05Oct

Mists of Pandaria – Patch 5.1 PTR Coming Soon

Posted in WoW News | 1 Comment

The first major content update for the World of Warcraft expansion Mists of Pandaria will be available in the upcoming patch 5.1. According to Blizzard, patch 5.1 will be available on the test realms “soon” (as in “Blizzard Soon™”).

Here is an outline of the content features that will be made available in MoP 5.1:

Pandaria and the War of Conquest

New quest hubs will be placed throughout Pandaria, giving Horde and Alliance new faction-based daily quests. These quests will further engage players in the potential battle over who will ultimately control Pandaria.

While members of the Horde and the Alliance have been busy exploring the exotic continent of Pandaria, Garrosh and Varian have been gathering their forces in preparation for the struggle to exert the influence of the Horde and the Alliance over these long-lost lands. Players who have quested through Pandaria will find Horde and Alliance expeditions arriving in force on the shores of the unspoiled continent, bringing the tensions between these factions to the fore. New daily quest hubs and faction reputations will be available to adventurers eager to do their part in the brewing conflict.

Brawler’s Guild

WoW Fight Club!! This appears to be a hybrid PvE/PvP experience, offering players a chance to fight non-player “creatures” one-on-one. It could also be similar to what pet battles are for your pets… except this time you join the skirmish yourself.

Underground fighting rings have sprung up in Stormwind and Orgrimmar that will give brawlers a chance to earn bragging rights by testing their solo PvE mettle against some of the toughest creatures found in World of Warcraft. The first rule of brawls is you don’t talk about brawls. The second rule…

Pet Battles Improvements

The Pet Battle interface will see some changes in the upcoming 5.1 patch. One of the more interesting feature enhancements will be an option to upgrade the “rarity” of pets that you’ve captured.

Several UI and other improvements will be added to the Pet Battles system, including a way to upgrade the rarity of pets that you’ve captured.

Item Upgrades

Blizzard continues to try and find ways to reduce the number of items in the game. One new way will be providing players the option to “improve” their current gear using Valor Points. Similar to Enchanting, players will be able to permanently upgrade the item level and stats on their gear.

You will be able to spend Valor Points to improve the item level and quality of gear you already own.

The Quest Continues

Did someone say Legendaries? Yes, that’s right, additional quests and content will be added to the game that will grant players opportunities to experience epic storylines that end with Legendary-level rewards.

Wrathion is keenly interested in the conflict exploding between the factions on Pandaria’s southern shore. He’s sure to have additional tasks for players to complete as they continue their quest for Legendary gear.

Source: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/7481208

03Oct

Don’t Bother Fishing in Pools in Mists of Pandaria

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So there you are, in your van, down by the river. You step outside to get a whiff of that warm, Jade Forest air. You turn around, grab your rod, and exhale. It’s time to start fishing!

So where should you go? You’ve learned the “Find Fish” ability, so you can see pools of Jade Lungfish nearby. Those big tigers though… you’d have to beat on them with your pole and you’re not that hard up. Ah, there it is! It’s your spot… that giant rock right in the middle of the lake. You can setup camp there and have plenty of space to stretch out. Wait. No pools there! What to do, what to do.

This is the mindset of the typical fisherman fisher person in the Mists of Pandaria. However, fishing is about relaxation. Becoming one with all your chi and what not. And getting that screen all blurry from too much Hozen Cuervo.

If you are interested in maximizing your time for making gold or getting items for your daily quests done, don’t bother seeking out fishing pools. You’ll waste more time traveling around, and there’s literally no benefit. You can get the same items from fishing in any spot that you normally would from a pool.

However, some will argue that pools are better to fish in. Here’s why one would seek out fishing pools:

  • Fishing pools can be fished in by any character that has at least one skill point in fishing (if you’re not at-level for the zone, you won’t be able to fish in open areas)
  • Pools typically yield one type of catch, so if you are seeking out one particular kind of fish, then you’ll want to find an appropriate pool
  • You still don’t have your Sea Turtle mount

That’s it though. There is no achievement for Mists of Pandaria that requires you to catch every fish native to the expansion zones from a pool. So get on out there and don’t sweat riding around for pools. Find your happy, in-game place and get your fish on!

02Oct

WoW Mists of Pandaria Pre-Raid Itemization Guide – Dual Wield Frost Death Knight – Main Hand Weapons

Posted in Death Knight | Leave a comment

My Death Knight plays dual-wield Frost. It’s the best spec by far despite what other blogs will tell you. Actually, I play a DW Frost DK because it’s fun. I know, I know… crazy, right?

As a level 85 looking to level quickly and get into heroics, your best bet is to farm the auction house for either the Porter’s Tooth-Marked Mace or the Horrifying Meatsaw. These will set you back 2K-3K gold, but you’ll use one or both of them from level 85 to at least 89 if not 90. If you can hold out until 89, you can obtain a couple of decent options from quests.

When you hit level 90, you’ll want to pick up either the Amber Espada of Klaxxi’vess from The Klaxxi at Exalted, or buy/craft the Masterwork  Phantasmal Hammer. Both weapons have almost an identical DPS score, so pick whichever one suits your play style.

For best-in-slot, look no further than the Inelava, Spirit of Inebriation. This iLevel 476 axe drops in regular Stromstout Brewery. It has a very low drop rate, but well worth your troubles as you prepare for end game.

ITEM LVL SOURCE SCORE
Inelava, Spirit of Inebriation 90 Stormstout Brewery Yan-Zhu the Uncasked 22,320
Krol Scimitar 90 World Drop BoE 21,029
Ook’s Hozen Slicer 90 Stormstout Brewery (Heroic) Ook-Ook 19,721
Dubious Handaxe 90 Temple of the Jade Serpent (Heroic) Sha of Doubt 19,683
Amber Espada of Klaxxi’vess 90 The Klaxxi Exalted 19,634
Masterwork Phantasmal Hammer 90 Crafted Blacksmithing 19,632
Siege-Captain’s Scimitar 90 Siege of Niuzao Temple (Heroic) Commander Vo’jak 18,573
Gao’s Keg Tapper 90 Stormstout Brewery (Heroic) Yan-Zhu the Uncasked 18,572
Crescent of Ichor 90 Shado-pan Monastery (Heroic) Sha of Violence 18,541
Masterwork Ghost-Forged Blade 90 Crafted Blacksmithing 18,419
Amber Sledge of Klaxxi’vess 90 The Klaxxi Revered 18,394
Masterwork Forgewire Axe 90 Crafted Blacksmithing 18,241
Axe of the Rikkitun 89 The Horror Comes A-Rising (Quest) Dread Wastes 15,594
Bloodseeker’s Mace 89 The Scent of Blood (Quest) Dread Wastes 15,594
Porter’s Tooth-Marked Mace 84 World Drop BoE 15,183
Horrifying Meatsaw 83 World Drop BoE 14,720