Tick Tock, Tick Tock....The Day Before.

At the time of starting to wrote this there are less than 12 hours remaining until Cataclysm goes live. ‘Tis one of the benefits living in Greenwich Mean Time, being able to enter the pleasuredome at 11pm tonight. I would be telling porky pies if I professed to being underwhelmed at the prospect of a whole new world to explore; a clatter of new skills to learn and another gold bullion to accumulate and stash under my virtual mattress.
Being truthful, I haven’t prepped as thoroughly as some of my contemporaries in the GMC have done. A spring clean here and there in guild banks and mailboxes aside, I’ve done very little to maximise my uptime when zero hour finally arrives. Being thorough and super-efficient is not a personality or character trait of mine and this has reflected itself in my activities over the last few days and weeks. Ultimately I know that, whatever happens, I’ll be slap bang in the middle of the marketplace maelstrom, hustling and bustling; bartering and buying. As long as I’m sharp enough to able to think promptly on my feet and snaffle any bargains out there, then I know I’ll be okay.
I’ve enjoyed these last few days of Wrath. There’s a nice relaxed air about Emerald Dream as everyone watches the clock with barely disguised, giddy glee. Trade is virtually non-existent apart from glyphs (more of which in a moment) and all the talk is of levelling, new dungeons and how crap the goblin trikes really are. It reminds me of Christmas Eve when you were a child, wondering what Santa was going to bring the next day.  
Now what I did do was mini-wall the glyph market. Nothing too drastic, just enough to chuck a few cats among the pigeons. My previous fallback prices were 60g and admittedly I sold a fair few at that price level. It involved, however, a fair amount of Ah camping to maintain sales at that level; something which I am feeling slightly grubby about but without regret. The old “bank balance” assuages any of those emotions rather rapidly. I could not be arsed with all of these shenanigans this weekend so I posted 80% of my glyphs at 10g and to hell or be damned with  the consequences. It also gave me a smug satisfaction knowing how much it would vex my main competitors. It’s worked as they haven’t undercut the 80% and the plink plink of the mailbox was a regular,sweet and pleasant sound. They were mainly the sub-prime glyphs, the nice to haves but not essentials. I advertised in my usual way, with humorous macros in trade chat and left it at that. Incidentally, I have the same macros saved across both accounts so I can “advertise” effectively and, when appropriate, constantly. Sales have been plentiful and what’s even more comforting is that I have a bountiful supply in reserve for the future. Ideally I would love to spend as little time as possible on this market in the coming few weeks.
There we have it. This time is nigh. Time to sit back and relax, read some blogs and think about preparing a nice meal for dinner tonight. For what happens after that, at 11pm tonight, one thing is for certain. All hell is going to break loose.

Bring it on.

Wha?

For the hard of hearing out there, I’ll say that again.
WHA?
Everyone in the back get that okay?

I thought I had heard it all but apparently not. A blue-post, discovered via MMO-Champion commends some ordinary Joe Bloggs for having a “fundamentally good” idea. This  “idea”, with a big double digit on either hand waving in the air, is that at level 25, new players should be able to get their first 3 glyphs from their class trainer.

“Medic! ..Medic! a goblin’s just fainted there in row 3. I think he;s having breathing difficulties”.

It seems this ordinary dude or dudette disliked that fact that when glyphs first become available to them they have to pay for them. OK OK I know they;re complaining about the “cost” of these glyphs more than anything, but it is indicative of the culture of having everything handed to them. For what it’s what, I’m not a fan of the Elitist/Casual arguments that appear regularly on forums and in any case, I think the acquiring of glyphs, especially at lower levels, is entirely different from Epics.

At lower levels, glyphs are not essential to your levelling experience. So, if you cannot afford these, it should not affect your experience of progressing onwards towards 70 and above. And which by that stage, if you are unable to afford these, you’re doing something wrong. Where raiding is concerned then, glyphs are nigh on essential, a must have addition to your arsenal, therefore you pay for what enhances your character. However, to suggest that at level 25!!!, you be given glyphs for free, just because you can use them but cannot afford them, well that just beggars belief.

At any rate, the term used by the suggestion maker of “new player” is a touch anomalous. There are very few “new players” signing up to WoW, particular;y in the western world, so I’ll be damned if I would advocate handing out free glyphs to re-rolled alts. I make no apologies for hoisting myself up on my high horse here. To me this request from Joe Bloggs, just reeks of either laziness, tight-fistedness or, let’s not beat around the bush here, bloody dimness. If indeed, and I really suspect not. this is a “new player” making the suggestion, I would heartily recommend to him that he buggers off back to Hillsbrad or Ashenvale and keep on questing. Learn your character before you start looking for things which really are not relevant to your gameplay at this stage.

Aaaaaaaand.....relax.

/Pours a calming glass of Montepulciano.

Easing in Gently

I was reading Marcko’s blog entry yesterday and it got me thinking. Just what is my strategy for Cataclysm? If the truth be told, I really don’t have any one in particular. An expression you’ll see me use regularly is “if you throw enough shite at a wall, some of it will stick”. My dabblings are in about 60-70% of the available markets out there and for the most part I have reaped some benefit from them all. Fingers have been burned from time to time but as the another old adage goes, “nothing ventured, nothing gained”.

I’m approaching Cataclysm with my eyes wide open. A strategy can have it’s uses but I genuinely believe that we have to go with the flow. A lot of what we want or wish to do in Cataclysm will depend hugely on supply for this first couple of weeks. If the supply is there, the next factor is the cost of that supply. In other words, I may have, at this particular moment in time, 3 transmutation specced alchemists ready and waiting for the Meta gem/ Truegold frenzy, but if the costs are prohibitive, then I will have to think on my feet, improvise and take it from there. We can all say we are going to do this that and the other but how far are we prepared to go to achieve this? I could spend 300k on mats the first few weeks, to fit in with my strategic needs, but is this sensible? I’m not entirely convinced that it is. Yes the likelihood is that these costs will be over-ridden by huge sales amounts, but by stopping, waiting and reviewing the situation on say to day basis, I could reduce my costs and still make lucrative profits down the line.

Ultimately my strategy is to “wait and see”, lurk in the shadows, suss out who is farming the first few weeks of the expansion, try to make a few deals and take it from there. The golden treasure is there for reaping, but there’s no rush. I’m in no hurry. And neither should you be.

Coffin Ships

Damn it’s so bloody cold here today. Whatever happened to the traditional Irish weather of manky rain in Winter? For the last few days, I open up the curtains and I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not still dreaming. Snow lies fluffily on the ground concealing a treacherous icy surface beneath. It reminds me of Winterspring and I half expect a chillwing to fly around the side of the house at any moment. Ireland’s currently in the throes of a vicious recession and  the government are cutting back costs as if Armageddon was approaching. The mood is sombre at the very best, with little optimism.

Not all that long ago in recent history, Ireland was a nation where emigration was a huge problem. Essentially it started around the time of the Great Potato Famine in 1845, where people used to board “coffin ships” bound for America in the hope of a better life. The survival rate was horrendous. 

Thousands are Sailing

However as recently as the 1970’s and 80’s, many young Irish people still felt the need to move abroad to search and hopefully find security and prosperity. The more traditional destinations were America, the UK and Australia and as such many still haven’t returned home. Some did during the Celtic Tiger boom of the late 90’s and the early 00’s but most stayed away, comfortable and secure in the roots they had created in foreign fields.

My server, EU-Emerald Dream is a low population one for the Horde. It’s incredibly active and as my virtual wealth indicates, there is a ripe market for any entrepreneur. Occasionally though, I like to wonder whether whether “emigration” is worth considering. I read tales around the blogs of people on high population realms, the Americas of WoW, about how business booms under the sheer weight of demand and the massive supply chains available. Competition is fierce but the rewards are staggering.

And then I realise the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. I too could set sail for a foreign realm only to find I know no-one there and know diddly-squat about the lie of the land. IT would be a risk, and as everything is only virtual in this scenario, it’s a risk not worth taking. I know my own realm and I know who the “players” are from a business perspective. Why move when the opportunities for growth in the expansion are tremendous. In an odd sort of way, it feels like more and more people are transferring to our humble little shores, in search of something new. (Maybe to win the new Wintergrasp now that tenacity has disappeared ;-)

In gloomy times and a small market place, the situation is perfect for expansion and I’m right there in the thick of it. No coffin ship for this humble and proud goblin. Stay and rebuild. Command and Conquer. Reap and Reward.

They were called coffin ships for a reason.

His Name was Grimble Gromble. Gnomeworks Addon.

I used to use Advanced Trade Skill Windows. When I first got into large scale crafting, this addon was my godsend allowing me to queue up items for production and to make it easier to remind me what I needed to bulk purchase from the auction house. Except I had a major problem with it.

Creating glyphs via ATSW was a painful experience. Excruciating to be precise. My framerate jumped from 50 to 40 to 30 right down to 1, sometimes zilch, zero, YOUR PC IS DOOOOOMED. I tried making glyphs in Ratchet to to be close to a bank. I tried making them very late at night. Nothing worked. Now admittedly I initially assumed this was just a downside of mass glyph production until I had a lightbulb moment. Why not research ATSW more and see if, heaven’s above, the addon was the problem itself. Oh the holy hand of Jesus, Mary, Joseph and all the saints of Ireland, why hadn’t I thought of this before? So damn simple at times am I.

ATSW caused a massive memory leak when creating glyphs, hence the catastrophic FPS and the inability to achieve anything in game during the crafting process. I couldn’t even type properly in any chat pane. So that was ditched without a moments thought. Then I discovered Skillet. I had read so much about this but never ventured towards it. Luckily I did, just prior to patch 4.0.1 and the festive feast of “Glyphmas”. Hundreds and thousands of glyphs were now crafted with a minimum of fuss and effort. The production line cranked along beautifully, hardly missing a beat with masses of glyphs rapidly filling up my two guild banks dedicated to the profession. And then it happened. TRAGEDY.

Skillet died after the patch. Kerputt. This addon has expired. Not resting. Dead. And only after discovering it too. So like a muppet I reloaded ATSW as I saw it had been updated after the patch. You would think that it’s most major fault would be fixed but no, not a hope in hell. A quick trawl through the internet later I came across this addon, developed by the maestro Lilsparky himself. It’s called Gnomeworks and so far, from a basic viewpoint it does to queuing, crafting, vendoring as required by an active gold-maker. It has a built in meter which lets you know when a tradeskill will change from orange to yellow to green when levelling, very handy in this dawn of Cataclysm and ultimately I believe the Lilsparky addon itself will be incorporated into the module. This will be verging on a perfect all in one addon for our professions. My own personal favourite niche is the ability to skip to another  craftable item in the queue easily if for some reason a calculation (personal) has been made in the materials required to be present in bags.

Now I’m an utter imbecile when it comes to how addons work and the code behind them, but this is certainly one which I will persist with to get to know very well throughout Cataclysm. I beleive it would well be that one stop shop we are all looking for.

As I learn more I will let ye know. And likewise, if you find out anything yourselves, then I would be grateful for new information.

And without resorting to google, who knows what the title reference is about? :-)

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.