Who? Me?

I think before I begin blogging in earnest as we approach Cataclysm, I should provide an update on who I am and what I’ve been achieving in game over the last 6 months or so. There have been a catalogue of real-life issues which have dominated proceedings, and although I will explain these in greater detail in the future, now is not the time. Suffice to say, the title of this blog is fairly applicable to my situation.

As of today, 30th November 2010, I have about 680,000 gold to my name, give or take a few silver. I know in my heart of hearts that this figure should be considerably greater but I’ve dillied and dallied a lot in the few months prior to patch 4.0.1 and basically took my foot off the pedal. Just before that patch I had accumulated about 500k but unwisely spent 50k on mats, in the vain hope of the epic gem transmute cooldown being rescinded. It wasn’t and my fingers were burned. Badly. C’est La Vie. These things happen and we live and learn from our mistakes.

Luckily Glyphs are my friend. Since patch day sales have rocketed in this market and this despite intense competition on a low pop server, horde-wise. Again it should be more, but I have spent a lot also buying out my competitors glyphs below varying prices depending on the marketplace on any given day. I like to be flexible in my approach, preferring to adapt at a moment’s notice, even if it means re-arranging the items in my Zero Auctions group lists. This is all for another post though, as how I work my glyph empire is fairly time consuming as it is profitable, and doesn’t justify a few lines here.

I play with two accounts, with 6 level 80’s now and numerous banking alts. I have 4 alone for glyphs. A lot of time recently has been spent levelling new chars to 80 in the mad dash to have more transmutation specced alchemists. Hurrah for Blizzard and their change to the experience required to level in Northrend. I wouldn't say it’s be a totally pleasurable experience but on the whole I've enjoyed the challenge of preparing for Cataclysm. I only got into gold making just over a year ago so this time I’m not going to be left standing at the dawning of a new expansion. My fingers are in many pies and I can foresee a very hectic few weeks coming up, mainly in order to gain any slight advantage I can over my competition. It promises to be a right battle royale but if it were too easy then half the fun would leave straight away.

So that’s about it for now. There’s no point in giving the whole game away here in this post. There’s so much to tell you all about and we have all the time in the world. Unless the North Koreans get trigger happy that is. :-)

The Shattering: A New Dawn

The word Cataclysm evokes certain emotions. It has portentous undertones, revealing drastic changes to all what had previously been taken for granted whilst all the time hinting at the potential horrors which lie ahead. The old world is not what it was and as such, we have to learn to adapt to our new surroundings. Our very survival as gatherers of immense virtual wealth depends on how we approach this new world. I have visions of us scavenging the ravaged land, pillaging what scant resources remain and hoarding them for better times. Mad Magz beyond the Thunderdome if you like. It’s akin to a feeding frenzy, where only the strongest and most ruthless will survive, and the weak will be forced to beg for the scraps we provide via the auction house. And yet in many ways we are as helpless as the newborn, our eyes widening at the wonder of it all and struggling with having to learn how to walk all over again. Using the tried and trusted methods from our previous incarnations, we have to reinvent ourselves in order to forage for the very resources which we need to thrive.

However, we are strong and as the old adage goes, knowledge is power. The goblin community is resilient and does not fear change. In fact we embrace it, fully aware of the vast riches which lie before us, waiting to be claimed. Knowledge is our weapon of choice and we do not hesitate to wield it’s cunning blade. Whilst war is raging across the plains of Azeroth, we communicate our thoughts and discoveries via our underground networks, knowing that soon our time will come again. Eventually the dust will settle, and amidst the calms before the impending storms, we will resurface to reclaim what is ours. The wealth of Azeroth is not destined for the mere mortal to hold. Some are brave and will learn to master the dark art of auctioneering, but many, with false hallucinations of pots of gold, will fall, once again by the wayside. The dawn of the goblin is upon us and Hell hath no fury like a goblin scorned.

Now admittedly that’s all a little melodramatic and really only panders to my occasional tendency to indulge in a spot of creative scribbling. But in essence it does explain what we do, and are, as members of the Auction House Brethren. Blizzard kindly gave the player base The Shattering and everyone’s running about is a fury of levelling alts and exploring the revamped world. I’ll confess to investigating some of this myself but in truth, this is the time when my plans are being finalised for the main expedition. And like all intrepid adventurers, nothing can be left to chance for fear of being eaten by wild mountain goats or falling headlong into unforeseen icy crevasses. The gold-making community, hereby known as the GMC, are sharing their thoughts on what to bring on this journey and mores to the point, what to find along the way. Epic journals have been written to guide us wisely into the unknown and the communal grapevine sates our thirst for new information, information that is essential to our survival as a race.

Contrary to popular belief, however, we are not all pillagers and plunderers of the remorseless kind. There are some among us who will stoop to ever increasing, morally-deficient methods of accumulating gold but on the whole, most of us are adventurers and entrepreneurs who enjoy the journey without having to ruthlessly squish even the smallest newt. Yes, we’re endless in our desire to learn and achieve but for the most part, we’re reluctant to be gobshites doing it. Why else would be share our knowledge so widely and so freely via our networks. Hell, our information and wisdom is not hard to find, we just prefer not to shout about it from the rooftops.
Just over a year ago I wandered intentionally into the gold making den of equity (pun intended) and for the most part have not regretted it. In truth I wish I had contributed more and I would hope that what I write over the comings months will go part of the way to addressing that shortfall. But, my GMC comrades, there are pitfalls which you need to avoid. Hindsight is a wonderful tool. We need to learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of others.

The Shattering has occurred, the plans are almost completed. The mules’ backpacks are empty apart from the most basic supplies. New information telepaths across the information network every day as we rapidly approach day one, version four. Are we genuinely truly prepared? Only time will tell and as we rightly know, time is money, friend.

All That Glitters....

Making gold in World of Warcraft, is, in theory, a simple process. You buy materials, you make stuff with them and then sell them at a higher price. Or you purchase something that’s being sold at a value lower than it is normally and flog it at it’s usual price. That’s the process of gold-making in it’s more simplified form. It’s not hard and theoretically speaking, anyone can do it.

However, nothing is ever as straight-forward as it seems. I debated long and hard about a suitable title for this new blog. I already have a blog about gold making which, if the truth be told, was a rather amateurish affair with minimal contribution from myself. I could, in all honesty, continue with that but felt that a whole change of thought process was required. Last night, whilst struggling to sleep, I realised that there is so much more to accumulating gold in Warcraft than just buying and selling; farming and crafting. The price of materials is only the most basic cost you encounter in gold-making. Which brings me back to the title of the blog.

Many of you will already know the story of King Midas. All he touched turned to gold. It was his dream, a dream which became a fulfilled ambition. And yet there were consequences. Be careful of what you wish for and all that that entails. To a lesser degree I have achieved what I originally desired. I now have enough gold to make any normal WoW player happy and yet, there’s something missing. And that’s the purpose of this new blog.

Whilst I will be endeavouring to report and pontificate on new revenue streams and the production process in Cataclysm, I will also be ruminating on the madness involved with the whole shebang. It’s not just about the philosophy behind making gold, it’s about the repercussions, good and bad. Just what is the true cost behind the journey to a million gold and beyond? What I have discovered so far and what remains in the unknown depths of Cataclysm, that is the focus for this blog.

All the glitters is not gold.