It’s been a little while since I did a WoW article. Not that I stopped caring, I’ve just been preparing for an exam and dealing with assholes at work. Sometimes you just don’t have enough hours in the day to play around online. So I got the idea yesterday whilst running around looking for a certain place that sometimes having a simple JPG map just isn’t enough.
Sure, you can google the damned place you wanna go, but I’ve found that a lot of times you’ll get someone asking a question, and then a very shallow-detail answer. For instance:
CANZ SOMEONE TELL ME HOWE TO GET TO BURNNING STIEPPES?
I’m sort of reverse paraphrasing there, but for some reason when people ask questions online they become lolcats and can’t spell for shit. And then you get this kind of answer:
GO THROUGH RIVERSHIRE.
Okay, I’m probably sure that if you asked for directions to someone’s house, they wouldn’t give you the name of a street next to it and that is it. That would be absolutely ridiculous. Unfortunately, that is how most internet roamers think, ridiculously. So I did a little searching, and I came across this website.
It works just like Google Maps. Here’s a few of the things you can have come up on the screen right next to the map itself:
Show Alliance Travel Path
Show Horde Travel Paths
Show Names for Locations
Show Names for Zones
Show Herbs
Show Outland Herbs
Show Ore
Show Outland Ore
Show Treasure
Show Outland Treasure
So go ahead and check it out. I’m sure you’ll find it an invaluable source of information when trekking around the lands. I used it to map out a mining run, and made a killing off it.
Hopefully this won’t be my last WoW post for a while. I plan on blogging more often. But I’m human just like you guys… and shit happens.
Many hardcore Warcraft gamers use add-ons. Basically, they make it possible to rearrange things for ease of use and to make your interface much less cluttered. There are bars that make all your buttons 1/4 smaller than original, letting you fit more buttons into a smaller area. There is an add-on called Necrosis, which is a great tool for Warlocks. It shows how many soul shards you have left and has small buttons with quick access to your demonic spells.
How do you choose the best add-on for your character? You can simply Google, or you could check out http://wow.curse.com/downloads/addons/
There are hundreds of different tools to help you level faster, guide you through quests, raid more efficiently, and make vast amounts of gold to quickly turn you into a tycoon. Many people are kind of stand-offish on the idea of editing the contents of an installed software folder. That’s why I’m going to guide you through installing your add-ons without screwing up your game. Nothing takes longer to reinstall that World of Warcraft.
Download the tool that you wish to use.
Extract it to a folder on your desktop. Make sure there is only one parent folder containing the files.
Make sure that WoW has been shut down and you have exited the software completely.
Navigate to your WoW install folder. By default this should be C:\World of Warcraft.
Open the “Interface” folder. If there is not one then create one.
Open the “Addons” folder. As before, if there is not one, create it.
Copy the folder containing your add-on files that is on your desktop.
Paste this inside the Addons folder in your WoW directory.
Now close everything and start your game.
Sign in, then click on the Add-ons button on the bottom left, before you select your character.
In the Add-ons screen, check the box beside “enable out of date add-ons”.
Exit back to your character screen, and play WoW.
You will have to arrange things the way you want them, as your add-ons with be effective immediately.
Okay, that’s it. One other tip, when searching through the multitude of add-ons and tools available for your World of Warcraft software, be sure you download from reputable creators and don’t download anything that involves a risk of you being banned from your servers. Alright, now go play.
It has been over a year and a half since the release of The Burning Crusade. The day when we got a whole new world to explore called Outlands, the day when our level cap went up to 70. New monsters, new gear, new races, and new professions. But after only a year, the world is clammering for more? You’re damned straight they are, and Blizzard is serving up a new helping of kick-assery for your pleasure.
The Wrath of the Lich King expansion hit its beta stage July 17th, and is due to hit the shelves in the later half of 2008. So what can we expect from our King? Well…
Level cap raised to 80
Battle with the Lich King at the Frozen Throne
One new playable class: Death Knight
A new continent: Northrend
The creation of a new profession: Inscription
Profession level cap raised to 450
Hundreds of new items, quests, dungeons, creatures, spells and weapons
Siege weapons and destructible buildings (for PvP)
Transform your hero’s look with new character-customization options, including new hairstyles and dances.
A non-instanced Battleground.
Improved Graphics Engine (applied to shaders, flame effects and detailed shadows)
New factions including the Speartusk and the Taunka, a racial cousin to the Tauren.
Subsequent features announced or confirmed by Blizzard include :
Achievements for both the expansion and existing content
New Mount and Vanity Pet Storage
For me, the raised level cap and new continent are enough to make me want to buy the expansion, but thousands of new monsters, weapons, ect…Â I feel like a really fat kid standing outside the fudge shop waiting to get in because the doors don’t open until the next day.
NORTHREND
Northrend is a crescent-shaped continent in northern Azeroth.The continent is roughly half the size of the Eastern Kingdoms, but is expected to match Outland in length and width. Although Northrend is known for its snow and ice, developers stated that only parts of the continent will be frozen over.Northrend will feature approximately eleven zones with content for levels as low as 68, though players may travel to Northrend at any level.Players will land by boat either at the Howling Fjord or the Borean Tundra zones, located at opposite ends of the continent, when they first arrive. Howling Fjord is home to evil vampiric half-giants called the Vrykul as well as Utgarde Keep, the first dungeon to be described in the expansion. Meanwhile, the Naga are attempting to melt the continent’s ice in Borean Tundra. The Dragonblight and Grizzly Hills zones are located in the southern central part of the continent, and the ursine Furbolgs reside in the forested Grizzly Hills. The Dragonblight features graveyards of dragons who came to die. Lake Wintergrasp will be the first completely player-vs-player zone in World of Warcraft, even on player-vs-environment servers.
The Forsaken and their Banshee Queen, Sylvanas, have also arrived with a new contagion that they hope will prove to be effective against the undead minions of the Lich King. The Forsaken are seeking vengeance for being subjected to Arthas’s magic. They have recently created a settlement called “New Agamand” in the Howling Fjord.
The magi of Dalaran have also relocated to Northrend to deal with the rising threat of the Dragonflight and Arthas. The city of Dalaran will function as the neutral sanctuary city for the continent, similar to Shattrath City in Outland. Dalaran is levitating at great heights but can be accessed by either foot or flying mount.
According to Blizzard game designers, Arthas Menethil and Ner’zhul, combined as the titular Lich King, is the main focus of the entire expansion. Also been said that he will be a Boss, and commence the invasion of Kalimdor
INSTANCES
Several new instances have been announced at BlizzCon 2007.Another instance will appear in the Caverns of Time, set during the human campaign of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, in which Prince Arthas massacred the townspeople of Stratholme because they were infected by the plague. Previously unimplemented instances from the original continents will also be included. Many new 5-man, 10-man, and 25-man dungeons will be located in Northrend, including:
Utgarde Keep - An instance in the Howling Fjord filled with the Vrykul, a Viking-like race devoted to serving the Lich King. It has two wings - Utgarde Catacombs, and Utgarde Pinnacle.
Grizzlemaw - Located in the Grizzly Hills’ home of the Furbolgs.
An unknown section of Azjol-Nerub - The contested capital of the Nerubian race of spider-people.
Icecrown Citadel - Players will battle Arthas the Lich King, the ruler of the Undead Scourge.
Naxxramas - An updated version of the original Naxxramas, redesigned to cater for 25 man content.
Blizzard has also confirmed a new instance hub called the Nexus, home of the Blue Dragonflight, which will contain at least three instances. The first, a low 70s instance set in Ice Caverns, the second a high level instance seeing the player and their group face enemies on floating rings, and a final raid instance against the Blue Dragon Aspect Malygos, which takes place in a rift in the sky.
DEATH KNIGHT
The Death Knight is the first announced Hero class for World of Warcraft. Death Knights, according to Blizzard developers, will be able to fulfill the tank and DPS roles sufficiently. Death Knights can use plate armor and new rune weapons like Runeswords and Runeaxes, but they cannot use shields. According to an interview, a Death Knight’s summoned pets will be more similar to a Priest’s Shadowfiend, a Mage’s Water Elemental, or a Druid’s Treants in that they are pets with a set duration.
This class will not be accessible using normal character creation. Instead, once a player has a level 55 character, they will be able to create one Death Knight character per realm, which will begin at level 55 with a full arsenal of spells.Both the Alliance and Horde factions will have access to the class, but Blizzard is still working on the lore as to how Death Knights were accepted into the Alliance.
Instead of relying on rage, energy, or mana, the Death Knight will use a new resource system: runes, which will be displayed under the player portrait.The Death Knight will influence what abilities they are able to use by inserting special runes into their weapon, a process which can only be done outside of combat. Confirmed runes are blood, frost, and unholy. Each rune has its own unique abilities and look. Up to six runes can be set together in combinations of different numbers and types. Different spells and abilities will require various rune combinations, depending on the spell or ability’s power. The runes enter a cooldown period upon use, but there are plans for spells to restore runes in combat.
Along with a new profession, Inscribing, and a few graphical upgrades, there is plenty to look forward to from the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. One thing I’m personally looking forward to? Pwning each and every one of you…
I absolutely hate trying to complete a quest, and not even know how to get where I’m going. You can Google the quest, but it shows you a map of where it happens, not how to get there or even surrounding areas that might give you a clue as how to get there. So I went searching again for ways to make all of your gaming experiences just a little easier so you won’t be irritated when you can’t find your destination.
I bring you 3 World of Warcraft maps. Each map has high detail with Zones, their levels, and all the areas of interest therein. So download these to your desktop, store them away, and when you get lost trying to find some freaking Imp in Felwood, as I did when I decided to find these maps, all you’ll have to do is press Alt-Tab and check your maps. Included are three maps to all the areas of Warcraft, including Eastern Kingdoms, Kalimdor, and the Outlands. So enjoy, and happy gaming!
Credit goes to WorldofWar.net for creation and distribution of the maps. You can download them from their website for all three files can be downloaded in a Zip file from the link below.
I was scouting around on a way to make chat commands a little more simple to understand. On my venture, I came across a website called ILoveJackDaniels.com and found a nice little gem. The good folks there have created a WoW Cheat Sheet for those who haven’t quite figured out the whole chat scene. When you use chat you can target other people, change chat channels, manage your guild rankings, add or delete people from groups, and let’s not forget the physical portion of the game. You can wave, dance, fart, growl, bark, and charge people. That’s just a few of a couple hundred. So here’s a link to the cheat sheet in PNG format. Print it out, and practice! You’ll be amazed how much more interesting the game is when you know how to do some of these simple chat commands.
Below are the best combination’s for maximum results with professions available in World of Warcraft. I will do a follow-up on Jewelcrafting in the near future. So follow these guidelines and keep an eye on the auction house on your server to find out what is selling and what is not. There is always something selling…
The Best Combos:
Tailoring/Enchanting
Leatherworking/Skinning
Mining/Blacksmithing
Mining/Engineering
Alchemist/Herbalist
Tailoring/Enchanting:
From levels 1 to 20, kill every humanoid you see. Humanoids drop cloth and you’ll need all you can get. At level 20, go learn both Tailoring and Enchanting and do the default skills until you get to a skill of 30 on your Tailoring. Then make Brown Linen Robes and disenchant them with your Enchanting profession. Do this until your Brown Linen Robe option becomes yellow, then take the next Green Item that is still orange and do the same.
You are best to enchant your own stuff and sell any extra to a vendor until you reach a skill level higher than 125. Anything lower than that has a less than great chance of selling. Use only red enchants during this process. If you loot a green item and you don’t think it is good enough to be sold, then simply disenchant it, and sell the remain carcass of an item to the nearest vendor. Once you get to a skill level of 225 in enchanting, it will become pretty expensive to fund your leveling cost, so make sure you are supplementing this by selling as many enchanted items as you can. Remember, the Auction House is your friend!
Leatherworking/Skinning:
Kill stuff. Skin their bodies and make stuff for profit! Anything you make that is lower than a level 25 item you are better off selling to a vendor. You will need a skinning dagger, available at the nearest Trade Merchant, and it is a good idea to visit the auction house and see if you can find a skinning enchant and a beast slaying enchant. Keep an eye on the auction house and see what is selling and what is not. Some leather cloaks are used for quests and can be made and sold for a rediculous amount of money.
Mining/Blacksmithing:
Really, there’s not much to this one. Simply find a good area to mine, and keep everything you find. The chances are good that eventually you will need something you’ve thrown away. Smelt it and create armor. I can give you this peice of advice. Find an area where there are a lot of mining deposits in a row. Start at one end and work your way around. By the time you get back to the first one it should be reset. Mining instances and then coming back out to reset them is also a great way to earn. Take your newly made armor and sell it.
Mining/Engineering:
There’s not much difference between this and the blacksmithing, except that most of then things you make and sell will only be usable by fellow Engineers. That means a lower chance of making money from this. Just remember that getting anywhere with this one is going to be hard, time consuming, frustrating, and possibly quite expensive. But, if you manage to max out your skill and start selling your contraptions you will make money. It’s up to you whether you want to gamble.
Alchemist/Herbalist:
Run around the land gathering herbs and turn them into valuable potions and elixers. Some say this is a low-rent skill, until they are in battle and need an elixer they don’t have. There are potions that restore your life and mana completely, elixers that turn you into a giant, or invisible, or just about anything you can imagine. Personally, this is one of my favorites. So if you have the time to kill up these professions, you can sell some elixers for 100g at the Auction House if there is a huge battle coming up. Level 70’s are always looking for the easiest way to gain maximum power on the battlefield. Help them out… and turn their need into your cash.
Okay ladies and gents. Here’s a follow up on my last WoW blog. I told you that Warcraft is all about supply and demand if you are after the big money. Now here’s a few distributors for you to check out. But remember, the secret is to only put one or two of each item up for auction at a time. Just like in real life, the easier it is to find or make, the less it’s worth. Keep the supply low, and the demand will be high. Then all you have to do is take advantage.
Blizrik Buckshot
Blizrik is the first goblin pulling through for us. He sells guns in Gadgetzan in Tanaris. The best thing about Blizrik is the fact that since he isn”t an engineer, most people aren”t going to check him for limited engineering schematics. Purchase EZ-Thro Dynamite II from Blizrik, head a few doors down to the alchemy merchant and purchase Transmute Iron to Gold and Transmute Mithril to Truesilver.
Knaz and Gnaz Blunderflame
Gnomes are the best! Knaz and Gnaz live in the hills in Stranglethorn Vale which is a 30+ zone. Their house is probably one of the least obvious, so you might have some trouble finding them initially. They”re due east of the skullsplitter trolls, but the mountains in the area will appear to be too steep to climb. Keep trying and you”ll eventually find a route that gets you to the (very) hidden winding path.
Knaz sells the Deadly Scope schematic and Gnaz sells the Mechanical Dragonling schematic. Of the two, the dragonling is actually more in demand on my server. Although, the purchase price is a steep 1 gold for the dragonling, you can easily turn around and sell it for 4. The Deadly Scope is a little cheaper, but it too can be sold for 3 to 4 gold.
Ruppo and Gigget Zipcoil
Ruppo lives in the Hinterlands which is a 40+ zone. You can still get to him early on, but you might die a lot if you”re too low. Ruppo, like Zan, lives in an area not obvious on the in-game map. He’’s nestled between a few hills north east of Aerie Peak.
Ruppo sells the much coveted Mithril Dragonling engineering recipe. For only 40 silver, you can turn around and sell this recipe in the auction house for around 4 gold depending on your server.
The Mithril Dragonling schematic is one of the more popular buy-then-sell schematics, so you might find you”re competing with a few other knowledgeable players. However, they tend to stop at the Mithril Dragonling schematic, where you”ll also get the Ironfeather Shoulders pattern from Gigget standing nearby.
The Ironfeather Shoulders pattern, while expensive at 1 gold and 40 silver, can also be sold for a nice profit on the auction house, so be sure to pick it up too. You can usually get away with selling it for 3 to 4 gold making this location particularly profitable.
Zan Shivsproket
He sells the Gnomish Cloaking Device schematic. Zan is particularly good because he’’s not in an area most people would just stumble on him. I never see Gnomish Cloaking Devices for sale in the auction house on my server so this always earns me some gold.
You can find Zan in the hidden mountain rogue stronghold in Hillsbrad. He’’s at the bottom of the stairs in the engineering lab. You”ll know you”ve found the right place when you see the various robots strewn around the room. Check the map for the general location.
You”ll find the stronghold along a winding mountain road. If you”ve never been there before, look for the winding path on the west side of the mountain range near the river.
Hillsbrad Foothills is a relatively low level zone, so you could make the trek at a very early level indeed. It’’s a great way to bring in some serious cash at low levels.
So if the first piece didn’t get you some cash flow, these most certainly will. I’ve tested each one, and am happy with the results. Happy selling!
Every player knows the best place to get gear really quick is at the auction house. Sure, sometimes you’ll end up paying more for it, but if you need it in a hurry that’s the price you pay. Now, I’ll show you how to turn the tables and make large amounts of gold by selling rare items to high-level players.
Most players who have maxed out the level cap are no longer interested in weapons or armor. They have pretty much reached the limit and have the best. So with all the quests done, they turn to the PvP and battleground side of the game. Huge wars rage on 24 hours per day in the World of Warcraft, and these fighters use everything they can get their hands on to beat the other players. This includes rare herbs for potions, rare metals for bombs, ect…
High level players have too much to do to go looking for these things. If you need something in a hurry, you’ll pay for it. Just like junkies needing a fix, they’ll pay outrageous prices to get what they need. With moderate effort, you can be their dealer. Below, I’ll give you an example to get you started. From there, visit thottbot.com or just google for rares and you’ll start to get a picture of how easy this really is.
On Raven Hill in Duskwood there are two buildings that have an upstairs floor. One is an Inn, the other is just West of it. It is a decrepit building with no real apparent value. Upstairs is a goblin alchemist who sells a limited purchase recipe for Shadow Oil. Limited purchase means you can only buy a few at a time. But you can always sell these and then come back.
The purchase price for this item from the vendor is 15 Silver. This item can go for up to 4 Gold at the auction house. That’s a profit of 3 Gold, 85 Silver. In the vicinity of a 2500% profit. Impressed yet? Now get your ass in there and make some gold.
