Faidian Slip #1

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Hey guys, as the first part of the above video explains, I've decided to put out a Faidian Slip video every Sunday which will serve as my mode of tossing out my abstract ideas and thoughts about gold -making that didn't make it into the blog posts for the week. Please be sure to give them a listen!

*pulls out soap box*

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Faidian Slip: Get all of your crafting toons a tabard for whatever city they'll call home in Cataclysm.  Being exalted with Stormwind, Orgrimmar, etc. will save you a lot on Jewelcrafting Settings, tailoring threads, etc. in the long run. (Just ask Z-Man how much he spent on Runethread.)

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It's okay that you find the goggles sexy. It's only natural.

I'm saddened.  Faid has been an Engineer since Day 1.  My first blog post was about how much I love Engineering.

But no longer.  This great post by Tolbi on the official forums really says a lot about what's happening to Engineering in Cataclysm, and what has already happened.  I'm trying to get Blizzard to see what they're doing but, alas, I am only one voice.

Yes, I'm a gold-blogger coming in hot on the heels of Markco's pro-engineering post to say that I'm upset about the way Engineering has gone.  So I can gather Volatile Air.  In Wrath I could gather Air, Fire, and Water while rocket bootsing myself accidentally off my mount, only to save my ass with my parachute cloak, then I could take my helicopter back to Dalaran and use the Engineering AH there to post what I farmed up.  

You can take your Air and shove it, Blizzard. I can't believe what you've turned Engineering into.

I accidentally the whole stockpile.

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Faidian Slip: Characters with level 1 Cooking and Fishing can do the new Stormwind and Orgrimmar dailies.  I've not found any amazing rewards for fishing but from cooking you get at least 1 Chef's Award per day, sometimes two if it's Canal Crabs.  Every two Awards buy you a Crate of Tasty Meat which will sell well early-on to those attempt to level cooking quickly in the early expansion.

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I have an immense aversion to stockpiling; mostly because I'm not a risk taker.  But about a week ago someone was putting Saronite Ore up for 59s per unit faster than I can buy it.  I love no-risk investment, and I couldn't pass it up.  Worst-case scenario, I can just smelt/sell, but I'm hoping that Cataclysm will raise an interest in Choppers and I'll be able to transmute these babies, and make a killing.

It's a baby stockpile. Stockpile Jr.  A fun-sized stockpile, compared to some others I've seen.  But considering I got it all at zero risk (The Earth and Shadow were 1g each, wtf.  The Fire and Life were just gathered by me in my day to day pursuits.) I'm very pleased with the amount I was able to store away.  My druid, on the other hand, is not pleased to have such a small amount of bag space!

Why don't I like stockpiling? I don't like risk and I don't like tying my gold up in assets.  One day, when I was just starting out, two Crimson Deathchargers appeared on the AH. Guess how much.  40k each. I frantically crunched some numbers: I could only free up 36k liquid.  I died a bit inside as I saw them get snatched up, then went on to hear about guildies buying horses for 90k.  Oh the flipping I could have done. Q_Q

Ever since, I'm very very wary of investing in anything I can't turn for a good profit right away.  Perhaps once I'm swimming in a pile of gold I'll feel differently, but for now I'm very conservative with my investments.

How much gold do I have?  Alliance-side I have roughly 190k.  (My Rebellious Horde project is sitting at 6k, he's level 26!)  It's not a bunch; possibly because I'm so conservative and cautious. :D  This number is the other reason I'm so cautious.  My "bucket list" for things to complete before Cataclysm included reaching the 214k previous gold-cap.  And I'm going to skirt it, given my usual income.  I've even taken to doing some dailies to supplement what I make. (Well, actually it's to get Champion Seals, but yay extra gold.)  I'm striving to reach my goal but with many of my previous markets having bottomed out (No one wants to suit out their gear they're going to use for a week with a bunch of epic gems Q_Q) I'm using my less profitable other markets, selling vendor recipes and such. So my gold per day earnings are about half what they were, and . . .  I'm just worried about not reaching my goals.



On another note, for the love of God, find out about what you've got before you sell it.  I've made a good amount of gold selling Tanaris vendor recipes. I was running a bit low on stock yesterday so I ran out to Gadgetzan, which is now beachfront property, to restock.



Well, Steamwheedle Port is gone, and with it so are the vendors for Undermine Clam Chowder, Nightfin Soup, Spotted Yellowtail, and I believe Grilled Squid and Poached Sunscale Salmon.  So until these are fixed and relocated I essentially have a bunch of Glyphs of Mage Armor on my hands.  Well, unfortunately they won't be seen as to have such high-demand, but you can bet if this doesn't get fixed then aspiring Iron Chefs will pay a pretty penny for them. Glad I looked this up and tucked them away in the bank! Even if they get "fixed" I'm sure a profit is still to be made. =]

Oh no you di-int.

Happy Thanksgiving from Nerf Faids!


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Faidian Slip: The following post isn't about making gold! But as for how I'm making a good bit since the Shattering, two words: Stratholme. Mageweave.  Srsly. Check the previous blog post about Stratholme but consider it more about Mageweave farming than enchant mats. Unfortunately the items in Live Side shard into Large Radiants which are nearly worthless.  But Righteous Orb drop rates seem to have increased.  Dead Side shards into Small Brilliants, which is good for 100 Health to chest, which some people will take over +4 Stats since it's often offered for about half the price. Try it out!

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The Shattering has happened; Deathwing has come and destroyed the landscape of Azeroth we have known for many years.

Image taken from www.wowction.com/

Gold-making is definitely a great interest of mine lately, but it's both a new interest, and a side-venture.  First and foremost, I am a raider and hunter of Achievement Points.  I am Loremaster Faid, I am Faid, Herald of the Titans.  I am Faid, wielder of Zin'rokh, Destroyer of Worlds and holder of a Scepter of the Shifting Sands. I am Faid who met a young man and hung out with him in Redridge Mountains all night one night; a young man who has moved half-way across the country and who I am very happy with to this day.

I have experienced this game in any way I am able. (Read: Not PvP. God I suck at PvP. So bad.) I have many fond memories in game; I have grown attached to the landscape, the way things were, and the fond sentiment I had of running through Stranglethorn Vale on my non-epic mount at level 40, of fishing for 15 minutes to earn one skill up because dammit, fishing was only for the truly dedicated.

I am the player who takes every Horde toon to do The Lady's Necklace because Sylvanas' story made me cry my eyes out every time. I am the player who spent Monday night /kneeling before Cairne and Magni for the last time in reverance.

And I am the player that will have my revenge on the creature that destroyed the land of my memories. *puts on Dragonstomping Boots and prepares for Cataclysm raiding*

Stratholme, my home sweet home! (Better late than never, I suppose.)

Be sure to check out the above video before reading this post. Or while reading this post. Whatever, just watch it. =P

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Note: Well, this video is significantly less useful now. I was trying to get it all edited up and everything and posted in time to be worth something . . . and of course I finish it the night before the Shattering. =[  Regardless, the video was still fun to make and I like having it around since one day I'm sure I'll look back fondly to old Stratholme.   Some things to consider about this video and this post:

• The video's still probably quite relevant; I will update once I have more information but more than likely the pulls are similiar, though easier, but the enchanting materials have changed.  Not as many enchants will take level 40ish enchanting mats but, if my level ranges are correct, radiant shards for Fiery Weapon should drop in the new Stratholme, so this may be a hot farming place nonetheless. Also, Righteous Orbs are still around.
• The post is still relevant as the enchants are still the same, just my preferred source of farming them will probably change. I'll update with that once I know where I'll be making my new home!

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So, you've farmed up a lot of enchant mats. Now how to put them to their best possible use.  There are several desired enchants using these materials. Here's my list of ones worth considering and my thoughts on them.

• Weapon - Crusader [Farmed in Western Plaguelands, Can be bought on AH]
• Crusader is a favorite of those who like proc based enchants and, quite frankly, not a lot of people know the strength enchant exists and will go straight for this one. This is a great one to make if you have the pattern and requires very few mats. Its the only heirloom enchant right now that requires Righteous Orbs, so if you farm live side this is how you'll be getting rid of them and all your extra Large Brilliant Shards.
• Weapon - Spellpower [Boss drop in MC, Can be bought on AH]
• This should not be a main focus; with 4.0.1 Intellect is superior as an enchant. But not everyone knows this and you may get some sales. Keep in mind, however, that these require Golden Pearls. Golden Pearls are a bit of a pain to farm already and the Shattering is removing everyone's favorite farming spot; expect them to be few and far between as well as quite expensive.  All in all, not a great choice.
• Weapon - Mighty Intellect [Revered - Thorium Brotherhood]
• Casters in the know will take this one and it's my main scroll to make.  All of the materials are acquired through disenchanting and all can be found during the Stratholme runs. You may find you are wanting in dust; be sure to turn your Runecloth into headbands to DE for extra supplies. Don't let the rep requirement scare you away from this pattern if you don't already have it; my alt was Neutral but I decided I wanted this pattern and had it in about 4 hours.  The Fiery/Lava Cores near the end are the only pain, but even that's negligible.
• Weapon - Strength [Friendly - Thorium Brotherhood]
• Some people hate procs and some will be turned off by Crusader's statement that once their alt passes 60 their proc will be less effective. These people may turn to Strength.  Once again, the rep isn't a huge issue to get this. The mats are quite simple, you'll be swimming in Large Brilliant Shards and Essences of Earth can easily be obtained through farming or the AH, as many people run MC for Sulfuras materials and toss the rest of the drops up for cheap.  I expect fewer sales than Crusader but if you've got a bunch of shards I recommend diversifying into a few of these to test the market.
• Weapon - Agility [Honored - Timbermaw Hold]
• This is actually one I do not have; my enchanter with Timbermaw rep is stuck on another server and I haven't tested the waters with this.  However, with all the human hunters incoming next week as well as bunches of goblin rogues and worgen druids running all over the place you can bet Agility and 2H Agility will be hot items.  I highly recommend making many of these scrolls if you have the pattern.
• 2H Weapon - Agility [Friendly - Timbermaw Hold]
• Similar to above. Note that the only agility 2Her is a mace, which hunters cannot use. Min/maxing alt hunters will be dual wielding 1Hers with Agility on them and so don't expect to sell too many of these to hunters, but druids will eat them up like candy. My recommendation would be to definitely get some scrolls for this ready but to not expect too many sales until Cataclysm brings out the Worgen.
• Chest - Greater Stats [World Drop, Can be bought on AH]
• Oh, to be lucky enough to have this money machine.  If you have this: Use it.  Everyone wants it, very few people can provide it.  Now that spellpower scales off of Intellect this is much more desirable than it once was to casters who used to go straight health or mana. Who doesn't love an all around higher stats toon? The mats are super low, the price  you can charge is through the roof. Churn these out like you're printing money because you'll sell them like hotcakes.

A few other notes to keep in mind: Certain changes are more desired than others. Night elf mages are very cool, don't get me wrong, but the word on the street is that, pre-Cataclysm, there's a definite bias. Everyone wants a Tauren Paladin and a Dwarf Shaman.  Paladins have two specs that would benefit from melee based enchants like Crusader and Strength and one that would benefit from Intellect, none that really find Agility desirable.  Shamans have two specs that would favor caster enchants like Intellect and only one that would favor melee enchants.  

Keep this in mind when deciding what markets to put your shards into for 4.0.3.  You'll definitely sell to people like me that have been just biding their time for a Night Elf mage, but be sure you're crafting to meet your market's demand!  Of course, in Cataclysm all bets are off as Worgen and Goblin of all classes will be coming out in droves.

/bark bark! Eternal Shadow and Cataclysm

I bought . . . a lot of Eternal Shadow a few weeks ago. Between Ebonweave, Eternal Belt Buckles, Rituals of the New Moon, Titanium Plating, and Titansteel it is by far my most used Eternal.  I bought about 1000 a few weeks ago for all of these purposes but over the past week or so the pre-Cataclysm buying has halted as everyone braces themselves for the end of the world as we know it.

So what do I do with the ~200 leftover Shadow when most of these items will be obsolete? Well, I'll give you a hint. It's crafted, I've already mentioned it, and RPers love it. 

Very few of the people who purchase Rituals of the New Moon do it for the actual stats of the item, they do it because everyone likes turning into things and looking different from time to time.  This won't change in Cataclysm. What will change is the supply of Eternal Shadow. Without everyone constantly running around Northrend eternals of all types will be much more scarce.  This will effect other items which will still be desirable in Cataclysm, such as a Chopper/Hog, but I feel that the "little guys" like inscription books may be forgotten.

Rituals take 5 IotS, 10 Parchment, and 3 Eternal Shadow; when you create them you create a random colored wolf book: red, white, grey or black.  Right now the parchment is actually a large chunk of the crafting cost due to cheap shadow and relatively cheap herbs.  Well, when no one's farming Shadow and IotS has to be farmed or traded down for specifically you can bet that you'll see fewer Rituals on the AH/in trade.  I'm stocking up even further on Eternal Shadow now while it's cheap; even if for some reason Rituals bottom out I can always funnel it into Titansteel => Choppers for all the people likely to have 12.5k gold that they'd never seen before.

Got a lot of AFK time? Got an Alchemist? Well you can make gold.

BEHOLD THE SUCKERFISH SHUFFLE

Suckerfish are ridiculously common. Anyone fishing up fish feasts for  their raid, to sell, or looking for a sea turtle gets tons of them.  Many vendor them but some people put them on the AH and that is when we make our move.  Pygmy Suckerfish can be turned into Pygmy Oil by any 375  alchemist. One fish makes between 1-2 Oil, it does not benefit from any specialization.  The fish vendor for 50c and I tend to see them on my AH for between 1 and 5 silver each.  Well, pygmy oil vendors for 7s50c.  It won't make you a millionaire overnight but this is a great way to vendor your way to some no-risk gold if you've got a decent amount of afk time in your future that you could spend crafting. =]

Protip: Check the AH on Saturday afternoons. People will likely have caught many Pygmy Suckerfish during the Kaluak Fishing Derby.

Need Moar Monitorz!

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Faidian Slip: The elemental invasion bosses are a great way to liquidate crafting materials before Cataclysm, if you're worried about being able to move them post-expansion. I'd been selling about one Titanium Plating a week for the past few weeks at roughly 30g over the material costs. Since the invasions began I've sold over fifty at well over 100g beyond materials costs. MMO-Champion has a list of all the items you can get from the bosses.  Take a look and consider moving some of your materials through item enhancements for these pieces.

Take note of the pieces. There are hunter/enhancement shaman pants, but no tank pants. Make the Attack Power leg patch, not the stamina.  There's only one belt and it is for holy paladins; don't ramp up your Eternal Belt Buckles too much beyond normal production.  Be sure to put some thought into how you craft!

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My new PC arrived Wednesday, it's hooked up to the center TV and the monitor on the right.  I went a bit excessive enjoying seeing everything displayed; even considering pulling out my old laptop from high school just to have another monitor and feel like some NASA employee monitoring some sort of shuttle launch.  Don't judge my love of monitors!!

My main interest in the new system is that it should allow me to Fraps a lot more as it can run a lot faster than my previous system. I tested it out, let me know what you all think!  Unfortunately I didn't notice until it's too late that my video editing software donated a nice big black frame to the video, that should be fixed in any future videos.

So . . . Faid can Fraps raids now.  What's that mean to you, the folks that read this mostly because of our shared pursuit of massive moneybags?  Well, I've always wanted to make gold making videos and now I can!  Be sure to keep an eye out here or by subscribing to my Youtube channel for future gold-oriented videos.

I'm Not Unique

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Faidian Slip: A bunch of people are panicking and unloading Razzashi Hatchlings. It's just speculation, but considering certain Hatchlings are worth a lot already (Gundrak, etc.) buying these up for the low prices (~300g on my server) can possibly still turn a profit, depending on where they are acquired in Cataclysm. Invest at your own risk, however, as nothing is certain.

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Image from South Park

So, Marcko had a post today basically rounding up a bunch of what he claims are "Unique" ideas and then asking bloggers to write about what they think makes their blog unique.  Well, nothing apart from the fact that it's the only one that features the Faid in all of her glory makes Nerf Faids unique.

Something's occurred to me as I've been reading many gold blogs and forums and the like. People create fantabulous new ideas to make gold to share with the world!  Thank God for these bloggers and posters, without them no one would be able to make any gold!

Eh, let's be serious.  Just because you blog about an idea doesn't make you the prophet of profit.  I like that. Consider Prophet of Profit trademarked, I think it shall be my new name. Just because you suddenly realized a great market doesn't mean you're the first.

In the same vein as "Simpson's did it!" please, everyone, recognize you are more than likely not a visionary.  Someone has probably been doing your idea for a very long time, but just doesn't have a blog where they tell others.

Marcko's post on JMTC today was great, it was a really useful gathering of a lot of interesting posts.  One that caught my eye in it was this one, discussing, among other things, bidding on auctions before the server goes down for long maintenance times on Tuesday.  To his credit, Marcko didn't claim to invent the idea, just to be the first to blog about it, so he's certainly not in the wrong in any way.

I remember back when I had about 10g per day income in BC. I didn't care a single bit about making real profits. But even I accidentally stumbled upon the idea "Hey . . . this only has 2 hours left on it and the server's going to be down for 8, why should I buyout when I could bid?"

Things like this aren't that original; Markco somehow came across it his way, and I discovered it my own, likely through accidentally having my auctions sniped before maintenance! While everyone has a unique experience playing WoW because of their playstyle, be the super-farmer extraordinaires, hardcore raiders, someone who pays 15 dollars a month to just level fishing . . .  everyone sees the game a bit different, but at the same time the game is not limitless.  

I will go out on a limb and say less than 5% of anything posted  on gold blogs is a truly original and unique idea stemming only from that blogger; that we do not create good advice and we do not have gold making magical powers. We take information from many sources, draw conclusions, and share them with you.  Everyone does the same thing every day, they just haven't taken the "sharing" step and so they do not have the fame and fortune of a gold blogger.  

One is not considered a "gold guru" or a "prophet of profit" because one's better at making gold than anyone else, it's because one spends more time sharing their information than others, and is getting rewarded from their audience, which I do believe they should!  Gold blogs and those that write them are great and really helped spark my interest in doing it myself.  But unique ideas?  No, not really.

Disclaimer: This is in no way meant to be anything against Marcko or JMTC, he does a great job. It's because of his work at the community that is JMTC that there's such a great network of blogs and forums, making everything so available so that ideas can be shared and built upon. =]

Cataclysm: Faidstyle!

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Faidian Slip: I'm trying to look on the bright side of the Insane changes; you should too! Now that a lot more people may start it, Darkmoon Faire will be a goal for even more people. Scribes, rejoice, your cards will be valuable for months to come! *wanders off to make more Thorium Widgets*

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Image from warcraft-mmo.com

What's my Cataclysm gold strategy?  Well, I intend to calmly get out of my chair, wedge myself under my desk, cover my head with my hands, and pray that everything comes out okay.

I'm at a disadvantage here in that I've never been playing at the time an expansion was released; I started playing mid-BC and was on a six month break from the game when Wrath launched.  I hardly know what to expect!

I am not a patient paladin.  If I can't sell something within 3 days of its creation/purchase I start feeling very antsy about it and sometimes will even sell it for significantly less than I feel its worth in my worry. This likely can cost me a lot of gold in the upcoming expansion due to my aversion to stockpiling, but hey, I think, with the knowledge I have now, I can use the volatile post-expansion market to stay afloat, if not profit.

My particular thought pattern is that I'll be leveling Faid with mining, so I'll be able to cash in a bit on the farming there, and also tanking randoms which should get me some rep rewards and some drops which will be valuable.

Here's the bottom line of my plan:

• Netherweave Bags. Aren't I original?  The cloth is going for 2.5g per stack on my server right now and the one thing I AM stockpiling are bolts.  It should go without saying why I feel this is a safe investment.
• Low-level Profession Mats.  I haven't been buying much out yet but I have been stockpiling what I get while out and about and have a small small collection of Tin, Mageroyal, Wool Cloth, etc.  I expect the demand of new worgen will cause these to become much more valuable. 
• Chatting, questing, and exploring.

Chatting, questing, and exploring? What? What do I think this is, some kind of social game?  Well, I got Faid to Borean Tundra about 2 months after Wrath had launched. There I found a quest requiring Overcharged Capacitors.  All I could think was "If I'd been here on launch day I could have sold these for 300g a pop."

I think knowing the lay of the land, the quests added and what they require, and just generally understanding the world after the Shattering will be the best thing to do when Cataclysm launches, and hey, if I say my Cataclysm launch plan is to play the game, how weird can I really sound?

This post was prompted by Marcko's December Blogging Carnival. It's great, y'all should check it out over at Just My Two Copper!  Unfortunately I missed November so I'll just make up for it with an extra-early December! That counts, right?

Whatchya gonna do with all that gold?

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Faidian Slip: Arbitrage isn't just for buying and reselling! On my server the mats to make a belt buckle are almost 25g on Alliance side but only 10 on Horde. Consider using Arbitrage to buy your crafting mats, not just for a quick flip!

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Image from Duck Tales

Suddenly, I'm being asked by several people in-game why I'm focusing a large amount of my playtime on making gold.  There comes to a certain point where you just have more than you need or could possibly spend, unless of course you're giving it away.

I'm not to that point yet, I'm up to about 175k now, but compared to most players I know I have a nice fat savings account.

What I like having so much money around for:

• Luxury items, such as the Traveler's Tundra Mammoth and the Mekgineer's Chopper. 
• Interest. With Insane and Loremaster finished it's pretty much the only thing keeping me interested till December.
• Profession Leveling; you never know when you'll want another alchemist for transmuting! And who knows, you may be reading a blog post by the server first 525 Engineer!
• Alt stuff! I've decided to bring my shadow priest out of retirement in Cataclysm and being able to suit her up with BoEs will likely help!
• The security of knowing I can buy anything I want or need. The Ashes of A'lar dropped for my guild when farming it about three months ago and a guildie said, as soon as it dropped, that he would pay a massive amount of gold to the winner to pass it to him. He now owns a shiny Phoenix mount.  To be able to just throw that out casually whenever something I want should appear.

What about you, fellow auctioneers?  What causes you to pursue the almighty gold coin?

Marcko's Challenge

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Faidian Slip: If you want to get a Sea Turtle, do it before Cataclysm. I assume it will still be available but the fish will be much less valuable. Fish this cute little mount up while you can still make good money off the fish. Note that right now many people cannot buy Northern Spices from the vendor. (I've talked to a GM, it's a known issue.)  This will likely drive the price of the cooked fish up very high. Take advantage!

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1. Since my blog's so new and seems to have very little readers, or at the very least, few commenters, I feel kind of silly doing this but as I'm making 93 Netherweave Bags on my other monitor, I must say I'm a bit bored. :P  Marcko over at JMTC offered up this little challenge of sorts.
2. 
   
3. What was your first post ever? Why did you write it? (don't use an intro post)
4. My first post ever was actually on my previous site for this blog. I loved WordPress but ended up moving and being very happy with the move. Not counting intro posts, my first post was about why I loved Engineering and why I feel it's one of the most fun an interesting professions.  I was prompted to write it because often when people are asking what professions to take on new toons Engineering seems to be shoved into a corner. People find it too difficult to level with too little reward to show for it.  But honestly, I think it's the most fun profession there is, and is also very profitable! ^_^
5. 
   

1. What was your favorite post and why?
2. My favorite post was definitely about my finishing Insane in the Membrane, clearly because . . . I'd finished! :D
3. 
   
4. What was your least favorite post and why?
5. Once again we go back to my old WordPress blog. My least favorite post basically was me QQing about not being in the more progression oriented group for ten mans for one week.  It's something that may come up again in 10 man raiding in Cataclysm, and it bothers me, but I don't really feel like my blogging about being pissed off really helped anything at all. :S
6. 
   
7. Find a reader comment you like and respond to it regarding one of your posts. Call them out and thank them for the comment.
8. This will be a bit tough, as I don't have too many commenters. Let's see here . . . Ah ha, here it is.  On my post in which I discussed finishing Insane, linked above, redcow asked me about using the AH to help out with Insane.  I loved this comment because it allowed me to do exactly what I set out to do with this blog, and hope to do a lot more of: Engaging in discussion about all things that interest me. :D

1. Ask your readers to pick a post they found useful on your site.
2. Now, reader(s), is there anything in my small selection of posts that you've enjoyed? :D

Developing a Goldological Imagination

I made up a term. Go me. Today I went to the ER and was diagnosed with torticollis. I'm on so much Loritab right now I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be allowed to be on the internet. It's had me thinking fairly abstractly.

C. Wright Mills came up with the term "sociological imagination" to describe, basically, the ability to recognize relationships between your actions, or the actions of individuals, and larger social forces. It's about understanding why people do the things they do in regards to how they fit into the big picture.

I believe that the reason there are people with lots of gold and people with little gold is because those who Auctioneer well are grasping the concept of the goldological imagination and the more firmly you grasp the idea the more successful you may be.

I take Faid out and with my Zapthrottle Mote Extractor I farm one Eternal Fire. There was a time I would have popped this up on the AH thinking "Hey, free 27g! I'm so cool, I make so much money from this." As time has gone on and I've saturated myself more with market/game information I've changed my thought pattern. "I can sell this Eternal Fire for 27g. But during weekdays I can get 32g. Or I can turn it into a meta gem. Or I can use mining to turn it into Titansteel and sell it for 90g; then again titansteel may be a bad way to go since currently the titanium market is pretty poor due to lack of farmers . . . but instead I could buy the saronite to transmute!"

I feel that those who have tried but failed to make a decent amount of gold fail because they cannot see the larger picture. They may see the price of gems plummet on Tuesday night but not realize it's because everyone just did their weekly and liquidated their Justice Points.

As ninjaed from Wikipedia's article on Sociological Imagination: Sociological Imagination is the understanding that social outcomes are shaped by social context, actors, and social actions.  Therefor, the goldological imagination is the understanding that monetary outcomes are shaped by market context, buyers and sellers, and transactions.

Image Credit: http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/

Markets feed off of one another and playing with one market can drastically effect all others.  It is the person who thinks with a goldological imagination and can fully grasp this concept that can truly be a money-making powerhouse.How does one develop a goldological imagination? Consider the big picture. How will your flooding the Saronite Ore market effect the society of your server? You may crash the uncommon gem prices into the floor. You could cause titanium to become more available. You may suddenly see more Belt Buckles appear on the AH. If someone chooses to make belt buckles, you'll see the price of Shadow, Earth, and Water rise accordingly.


And this is why I shouldn't be given Loritab right before going to Sociology.

The Killing of Time

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Faidian Slip: Consider selling vendor recipes for cooking over the next month. Day of the Dead brings Bread of the Dead and Pilgrim's Bounty brings many cooking recipes for leveling cooks.  Many will then turn to the AH to flesh out their recipe books!  (Tanaris is a great place for vendor recipes!)

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With the rush of 4.0.1 subsiding and Cataclysm just a month away  the boredom has set in for me.  I've spent most of the time finishing up Loremaster and poking and prodding the Netherweave Bag market.

I think knowing something about the heirloom enchants will serve me well in Cataclysm and so I've made sure my enchanter had Mighty Intellect, Crusader, Spellpower, and 100 health to chest.  I would like to have Agility but I have no desire to ever grind Timbermaw again.

This has worked well with another solo farm project of mine, trying to get my hand on that Baron mount!  I've been full clearing live side and the front area of Stratholme for Pristine Black Diamond and Righteous Orbs and then I take a shot at Baron's mount.

By doing this I can get a ridiculous amount of enchanting mats while pursuing something for my character and have been able to pop some Crusader and Mighty Intellect enchants up on the AH.

Speaking of the AH, whatever happened to that cute little gnome?!  Well, she is no more.  I recently learned that if you are hacked Blizzard has difficulty restoring anything that was on a character below level 10.  Well, that was unfortunate but it worked out well since I was intending to delete that particular bank toon to make room for a worgen anyways.  Enter my rogue.

Nothing says bank toon like a level 60 on a chopper sporting Bloodsail Admiral, amirite?