This was part of my resolutions… (WoW group balance deities please don’t let me regret this decision.)

Shadow Labs…

First key fragment…

Have to clear to Murmur…

Group … not MY Tank, My Healer, My Rogue, or My Mage (who is AFK till she gets her computer back and I miss her).

About two months ago our GM partnered with two other small guilds. We all DON’T want to merge. Each has its own personality and one thing we all agreed too is NOT to rock the boat.

All three guilds have trouble making 5 man parties. And then when substitutions need to be made it signaled the end of the run.

… So far so good. *crosses fingers*

But I was a name on the chat channel. Other then those that ran with my core group as our fifth, I never ran an instance with any of them.

A wonderful add-on tool that we are using now is Guild Event Manager. This is perfect for our three guilds to use. It lets us sign up with no guild limitations. Members of all three guilds are using it. Not a lot, but a handful. And so far we have had one scheduled run a week. Which is totally been faboo!

When I was checking GEM there was a sign up for the first Kara key fragment run. It was planned by a rogue with two sign-ups, which were a Ret-pallie and our 2^nd tank.

/frown

I cannot do anything about the missing healer…

…But if this run is going to be successful they will need more DPS and CC up the ying yang.

Both I can bring to the party.

So I very carefully signed up. (At this point I felt obliged to go to My Rogue, My Healer, and My Tank to reassure them I was not abandoning them. I was looked at like I was crazy and sent on my way. I think they are broken inside…FYI.)

After a rough start … we found a last minute Priest from the 3^rd guild, our tank being AFK 30 minutes at start of the run, and then the first pull the Rogue pulled two groups... I WAS SCARD.

/reduce the expectation on party success

/hunker down for a long night

It got better…

But then at “Time for fun”, other then the healer NO one had gone further in Shadow Labs. (Oh and of course Hellmaw didn’t drop the shield for the tank. I think it must be me.)

…

…

I had to take over the talking … I was trying not too… the Rogue was doing well enough. I saw no reason too take over…till now.

Shadow Labs is about the only instance I could have done blindfolded. I think I would need a refresher read on Hellfire Ramparts… actually I know I would.

We plow ahead.

We get to Vorpil …

After a wipe or two… I call DPS.

The Ret-pallie is just not working… I watched him on the charts… the Rogue was at 280, I was at 220 (I am CC people! I don’t shine on mob fights anyway.), and the Ret-Pallie was at 150.

I carefully negotiate with the group if they want to do this… I … am … not … a … subtle … person.

But not only were we low on DPS but our tank was not using Taunt. *grumbles about prior discussions* (We will have to work with him more. Please? /cry)

So I make My Rogue /AFK out of Alterac Valley and come kill Vorpil with us.

Yea Vorpil goes down like butter.

And what should he drop for my little Gnomish self? Jewel of Charismatic Mystique … this will be fantastic as a tank training tool… and evidently we need more second tank training.  

We bring back the Ret-pallie and plow ahead.

At this point I am getting whispers from group members about the run… and if we can do the Murmur room with the Ret-pallie. Reassurances go out and I will MAKE this run a success. I do have some pull with My Rogue so if we need him we can bring him back. =P

We do fine to Murmur.

Everyone that needed the first Shard fragment for Kara got it. A success!

But wait, there is just Murmur…

We try… I know we cannot do this with the group DPS that we have… but I hear echoes of my core group telling me “Be nice.” So I say nothing and let the group come to that decision without me.

The Rogue and Ret-pallie have to leave for the night.

The Priest wants to bring in more DPS and kill Murmur. I am happy to do that and so is the Tank. So in comes a replacement Rogue and the only Hunter I have ever grouped.

We eventually kill him and my T3 shoulders drop… and I feel obliged to take them since they were being offered up. If I didn’t they would be vendor trash. With two pieces now… it might be something I can play with around town or farming.

I have NEVER died so much in an instance. EVER EVER EVER.

What did I learn … being “nice” is expensive on repairs. I actually lost count of the number of wipes and how much I was spending at fixing my armor. Thanks tank for the repair bots!

In all, it went quite well… Well for this group. If this was my core group… It would have been HORRIBLE like I am coming over to your house to check your computers and see if your fingers are working because that was nuts.

A nutty but successful run.

Edit: To clarify the Ret-pallie low DPS was not because he was a Ret-pallie but because he had sub-instance gear for this run. I like my Pallies they work in the light so I can have my darkness.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I had mentioned about minimum bidding on Outland greens. But wanted to get a grasp of how much I was actually making with this procedure. This is exercising the Enchantrix part of the Auctioneer Pack.

My criteria for minimum bids were based on Arcane Dust prices. One stack of Arcane Dust on my Horde AH goes for around 30g. If I get 3-5 dusts off an item I can make around 6g for an item. I lower the 3g50s criteria for Alliance AH since stacks of dust can go for as low as 23g. I am looking for about 40% return on my money.

After I complete my normal scan of the AH. I search Armor and Weapons together since Auctioneer allows you to select two categories at a time. You can select and deselect the relative categories on the Browse tab. I then visually scan the AH for the minimum bidding amounts. I am not using any of these items so I don’t care what type of armor or weapon it is. I only care about the disenchant (DE) value. If someone buys the item out that is okay since hopefully they will use the item.

Once I have a bag or two filled with Outland greens in CITY chat I look for an Enchanter to DE my stuff with no mention of a tip. Why? Because first I don’t want to travel and I don’t want to make someone else travel. As for the tip, our agreement on what the tip is non-negotiable, it is a tip. If someone was standing around anyway and they get a tip unexpectedly everyone is left a happy camper. I would rather give a tip to someone nice who is not expecting a tip any day. And basically I didn’t know what to tip.

Then I immediately slap those enchanting materials right up on the AH. Enough of the chit-chat how much gold am I making.

The above process with buying for resale is what I at level 19 did to make my 100g to 600g with out leaving Orgrimmar. Don’t believe me? For the DE part I will show you my math.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Now that we have the knowledge and know what we want to buy lets start. The following is my AH routine written down. I will try to be as simple as possible. (Which for me is not possible.)

First, start Bottom Scanner, the play button on the Btmscan tab. Then back to the Browse tab with the AH window, start the scan of the entire AH. Each chime is a hit on if the Bottom Scanner recommends the item for resale, disenchanting, or vendor.

You will need to update the default settings in Bottom Scanner to your requirements. I recommend using the default settings for the first few scans to get an idea what items pop up. Don’t act on them, you maybe selecting “No” for most, but this gives you a chance to get use to the process and judge your own settings. Because I am not in a rush, I set my Enchanting level to 375, DE value to 200%, and Resell to 200%. This reduces the chimes significantly. If you want more items lower your percentage.

When it is all done Bottom Scanner will report a scan update in your chat log. For full instruction on how to use Bottom Scanner can be found with those that know it better. Continue to let bottom scanner scan new items while you do this next part.

At this point I have bought out “sell to vendor immediately and make money items”. You can walk your lazy fanny from the mail box to the vendor for 23 copper. “This Blue item was put up for 2g and should have been 20g” also should have been caught by Bottom Scanner.

After I finish my scan, go to the Search Auctions tab and under Search Auctions filter select bid in the drop down. The list is by bid price, time left, and calculated resale percent. The default is medium items with a resale of 30%. I sort by the percent resale column and visually look for items to minimum bid on.

This is where you really bring your knowledge of the game and crafting to the process. I have to know it is a hot item to bid less than 75% profit for the item. Use your brain. You know a level 10 sword is not sold for 2g.

Next, in the same tab under Search Auctions filter you select the drop down for buyouts. This shows all buyouts for items that have a 30% (default) or higher resale. Stack of 20 Wool cloth up for 10s we immediately see the average price to be 85s. Buyout the item and can place it back up for 70s for immediate sale.

I only buyout items 75% or higher resale. Unless I know the item is a common need and will sell quickly. Your twinking knowledge also knows those 20s Feral Shoulder Pads, a white item, is a level 19 rogue/hunter twink item and can make 2-3g at the right time.

Then I go back to bids, but this time I change the Maximum Time Left filter to show “Very Long” auctions. This is where you have to have money to float in the AH. Because your gold maybe tied up in a lot of auctions that you will not win. I have bid on stacks of enchanting materials and won 10g worth of items for silver because they had the buyout price so high no one bought it out and it went to me. I win maybe 1 out of 10 auctions this way. The items could be removed from your grasp in a buyout, higher bidder, or pulled from AH.

Lastly, I have created saved search items that I know sell well. I check through these items to see if I happened to miss anything. I also look for commonly needed items or I need items. My favorite is bags.

Bottom Scanner has been searching this entire time for additional items to resale, disenchanting, or vendor. If at any point you search the AH not through the Auctioneer tabs, you may want to turn off Bottom Scanner so it stops additional scanning while you are searching.

This is how I went from hard earned 10g from copper ore to 100g. Next I will tell you how I went from 100g to 600g!

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I enjoy playing with the Auction House (AH). For me the AH is an integral part of World of Warcraft. These are things that are helpful to me, my process, and maybe you can get some insight on how some play with the auction house too. It may also point out some “mistakes” people do that I take advantage of and prevent you from doing the same “mistakes”.

Things you need to bring to the AH:

1.       Have leveled at least one high level to have grasp of what is used when.

2.       What each class uses.

3.       What each profession uses.

4.       Installed Addon Auctioneer Pack/Advanced with Bottom Scanner and Enchantrix.

5.       Seed money.

6.       Patience and time. (I make dinner, do dishes, laundry, etc while scanning and run when it chimes at me)

You must bring these things to the AH or you will quickly have to sell items back to the Vendor at a loss. If you cannot sell it in AH or in Trade chat, the only place left is to the Vendor.

Trust me, this gets better, it is a multipart post with a big numbers finish that took me three weeks to collect. I was told I should sell this information.  Was also told I should keep it to myself, since they profit from my profit. But since there are three readers out there, and I like you, I will tell you. And pretty much I believe you will try it once and then get bored. =D

Now that we have that, I will tell you what I buy.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

If you look at my equipment you will see I am carrying around two weapons. First is my [Petrified Shinbone] with minor beastslaying (enchanted it myself!) and second is my [huge spotted feltail]. Both are key equipment for a Twink on the down low. I recommend the add-on Outfitter for all your gear change-out needs.

While running in the urban sprawl of the city of Stormwind…

[wsp] Will you Twink me?

[wsp] Will you Twink me?

[wsp] Hey. Will you Twink me?

NO. NO. Ummm… let me think about it…NO!!

Oh my gosh. I have even been in battlegrounds where I am asked if they could buy my gear. Thank goodness for soulbound equipment.

Tip on twinking, if you think 100G for a piece of equipment is too expensive and overpriced than you should not be twinking at all. The choice is either payout for the must have item or farm for the drop yourself.

Note: While Horde killing, I am currently utilizing in my main hand a Sentinel Blade with lifestealing and off-hand the Cruel Barb with +15 agility. I am picking up a second Sentinel Blade and add +15 agility and see how that goes.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I don’t know how anyone can think the cute little gnomish me can be threatening. *bats lashes*

It is important for everyone to understand threat in party and raid. Tuesday Raider mentions this good discussion in elitist jerks about threat and how it works. Here is more on the add-on KLH Threatmeter on wowinsider. I was reminded twice this weekend about this add-on. Friends should not let friends raid without KLH Treatmeter.

I think Gnomes should get threat reduction racial talent.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I feel like I have maximized my opportunities at lvl 19. Three of my primary goals are 1) to be self sufficient, 2) learn the battlegrounds, and 3) report to Hydra. I reached 100 Tokens from WSG (after buying lvl 18 items) and have purchased my lvl 28 items. Yea, I could pick up the level 38 items and so on, but I think that would be over kill.

*Self sufficient? Oh yea.*

After picking up my mail this Sunday I was at 202G 94S 0C. I have armor in the bank for the 24ish level and the 28ish level. Already have all bags that are 12 slots or higher (even scored a mooncloth bag). Opened my forth bank slot and will most likely be back to 200G sometime this week. You heard right. I am a Lvl 19 Horde with no guild help and/or “main” with more than 200G. /flex

One source of my income is Deviate Scale Belts. This belt is a very nice twink item and best belt for a leather wearer at level 19. I minimum bid on the mats putting a cap on what I am willing to spend. Once I have the mats for two (including thread) I provide them to a nice leather working druid I met in Orgrimmar and a gold piece. I sell the belts for around 6-9 G.

I minimum bid on a lot of raw materials and resell. Herbs, ores, and cloth all sell really well. On rare occasions I win bids at one silver. If I don’t believe I can get 100% or more on the purchase I don’t buy it. I stay away from patterns and recipes for professions and cut gems. Remember an item sitting in your bag or bank is NOT making you any money.

I have started biding the minimum on items to disenchant. This is risky since some enchanting materials have significantly higher selling price than others. But can be really lucrative if I hit it correctly. Because of the risk, if I don’t believe I can get 220% or more on the purchase I don’t buy it. Even then I question the value. The enchanting materials post in AH for no deposit, so I tip the disenchanter well.

*Battlegrounds*

To help in my time out on the battleground, I look out for individuals that are working for skill points in their enchanting. I don’t have the best enchants. (I mean someone gave me beastslayer of all things. /shake head) Even though the enchanter is providing it for free, I tip well. Enchanting is expensive and I appreciate the thought of a free enchant. I don’t agree with the thought that it should be free. So at these lowbie levels I give anywhere from 1-5 G. Which typically gets me another enchant. /smile

In WSG I loot corpses. This is a time waster. I whole heartedly agree with that statement. I have found looting just a few corpses to cover repair costs enables me to be self sufficient.

I have met some very nice people in WSG at the level 19 bracket. I will miss the recognition I receive from players since I know most will not be leveling up. Nice to talk to people that Aurum has killed in battle. I was a good source of strategy against the Alliance base and players. It makes me smile when I hear “how you know they were there?” Inside information goes both ways. /grin

*Reporting back*

All the QQing (that is crying btw for us old people) is the same on both sides. I found the same conversations “they are all Twinks”, “No one is on D”, “Why is everyone on D!?”, “lvl 12! type /afk it will give you more skill” and “We are gong to lose.” So the grass is really NOT greener on the other side. I have reported this in detail to Hydra.

I have been playing in the level 19 bracket before the team matching began. Apparently the BG balance is working on placing twinks against twinks. As a non-twink I am not seeing Alliance names that I use to see. I have an insight on when Alliance twinks are playing I have not been placed against them in a long time. Granted I am still matched against uber-twinked out pre-mades but I think this is a symptom of queue times.

The best part of Horde WSG is the queue. It can be a 30 plus min queue for Alliance. The Horde WSG queue is at most 10 min. Most times I have found it to be under a minute. I hope this continues at the higher brackets.

*What now*

So what do I look forward to beyond level 19… Arathi Basin. To win you have to accumulate 2000 resources. Hydra did some scouting there and provided notes. It will be different for me without a mount. I am also expecting the games to go longer. But there is new gear to be accumulated and more Alliance to kill.

Now how should I level? I have some options like questing by myself or get in a group for Wailing Caverns and have the moral support. If I am still level 19 it is because I haven’t decided yet. I WILL move on up.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Iridium’s was created quite a while ago. She was the answer to the Horde inside me that was calling out. She is a chance to see if the grass is really greener on the other side. You can say she is an Alliance informant to Hydra, an agent provocateur.

Iridium&Cutie&snake

My pet, Cutie, is the lower level Springpaw Stalker and was chosen since he matched my hair. These things matter. Cutie is very protective of my persons and keeps scary mohawk undead at a distance. He does have something for Trolls … or is that me? Hmmm…

See the snake in the picture next to Cutie? She is my new favorite thing (right after Hydra’s Bringer on the Death gifted to her by a nice guildie). She was newly acquired this weekend as a prize for leveling fishing to 150 (well the vendor walked in my line of site), also she matches my hair! Snake needs a name.

As an informant I was not intended to stay at level 19 for long. I support myself. I have no Horde family. But I have met nice people along the way. Right now at level 19 I have over half my first mount money, thanks to playing the AH and following the advice of picking up only gathering professions.

I participate in the BRK School of Hunter Training and Uberness. I have a lot to learn. With my membership card in hand (which had a pile of protocol like stand on one leg, sign in blood at the X, now the other leg, initial this X, sign here, and BRK cat is purple type paperwork… I was disappointed there was no secret handshake) I ventured into WSG as a Horde.

I told the Alliance guild it was “research” because … well… it sounds good. They are still waiting on the report. *snicker*

Did you know the map for the Horde is upside down? They should fix that.

All the Horde names and banners are in red.  That is so nice of them to make it all match my HAIR!!

There comes a point that when you are in WSG regularly, in the same bracket, some very familiar names show up. This becomes a problem, a conflict really … well… actually… no problem… “For the Horde!”

I like it here.

*clears throat*

One day my husband and I enter WSG. Alliance picks up flag. Horde picks up flag. Alliance drops flag. Horde drops flag. A typical match up. My husband and I are getting in some good killing and both are toward the top of the damage list.

POOF I am a sheep! What? Who did that?!

How could he. That B@stard (sorry mom) turned me into sheep.

[Iridium] My husband turned me into a sheep!!! Rokk must die.

[Horde1] Your husband is playing Alliance? You are playing Horde?

[Horde2] Okay we can finish him off.

More hilarity in chat ensued but you get the idea. Who said that Horde cannot be charitable?

There was a /spit from one horde and my /lol that got me in big trouble. Nothing sweeter than after a win than someone from the opposing faction run in and yell at you for laughing at them. Something about “not being nice” and “you laughed at me after you killed me”… bla…bla…bla… Sweet nothings from my husband. I didn’t intend to laugh at my husband after getting that HK off him. It was really for the one that spit on him. I admit it was hard to defend that statement with a grin on my face. Good times.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend