Patch 4.1 & Auctioneer

I was having problems at the Auction house, and was not able to browse any auctions, and had dificulties posting them too.

However, there is a config setting in auctioneer that I found helped.  I needed to set my 'Protect the Auction House Window' to always.  You can do this by walking up to the auctioneer and interact with him; choose the configure button.  Under Util Modules; AHWindowControl, change the setting here.

Doing this allowed me to browse the auction house again.

Other information that may be usefull if you are still having difficulties : I am using AuctioneerSuite-5.11.5113 from http://auctioneeraddon.com/dl/#preview

The sky is falling (or not)

A usually reliable is claiming "Patch 4.1 is almost certainly hitting live realms". For oceanea realms (me included) this means about 8pm server.

As a general rule, now is a good time to re-read your patch notes. It is never too soon to read patch new patch notes.

I have put aside a few extra flasks for a new wave of tanks, and have been sitting on uncut rare gems for a wave of replaced gear from the new 5 man dungeon. I also expect that the tanking darkmoon card to rise in value (historically being a very cheap tanking 'epic').

On my winding down (from a 6-7 days/week player to 2-3 days/week), my primary source of income is from reducing stock levels. 7k yesterday from getting rid of stuff that I am not, and had no plans on using. Most players I know - from rich to poor, have crud filling your banks/bags. There is some point in keeping a bag for momentoes, and I even have a (non-raiding) toon with all those bop 'start a quest' drops for when I get around to it. However, if you don't have a plan to use it, AH or vendor it. Even if you really plan to level blacksmithing on your 10th alt at some stage off in the never never, sell your ore now, and buy it back later.

I am also dabbling in posting glyph inks in stacks of 3, currently at least 7g50 per ink. Not all of the inks are above that price, but genereally there are none of one ink or another. I take perverse pleasure in selling inks above the current price of glyphs.

Finally, I did sell my trinkets that I made all so long ago, and with the exception of one - at a (smaller than I hoped, but more than I feared) profit. I am sitting on my tanking trinket - at first due to being unhappy with the price without a reason, but now because I expect them to be valuable in the next few months, especially as mount collectors start tanking.

Surplus Stock & ore

Currently I am asset rich, but time and (comparitvly) cash poor.  As I am not on enough to dominate markets (especially glyphs) any more, I am looking again at other markets; especially where I have surplus stockpiles.

Recently I have been looking at my jewelcrafter, both ore (obsidium, elementium, and pyrite), and northrend epic cuts (which I had some left over).

Northrend epic cuts are selling for as much as they did when the lich king was still alive - in the 100-200g price range.  Not as consistently, but much better than something I nearly vendored.  I have not paid much attention to what is selling, but when I am in a position to spend more time crafting will be re-evaluating this market.

Rumour (and datamining by MMO Champion) has it that in 4.1, cut cata basic gems will have a substantially lower vendor value (down from 9g to 75s).  Many sites claim this will be the end of the obsidium ore shuffle.  I (like Breevok) am not so sure.  The consortium's shuffle flow chart has only zephyrite being cut and vendored.  However in the interests of reducing my stockpiles (that I only see dropping in value), I have shuffled my existing ores, and vendored most (but not all) of my zephyrite.  As the jury is out on any possible epic gem prospecting (possibly from pyrite ore), I will continue to maintain my comparitivly small pryite stockpile.  For the gems I did cut, I am selling my perfect cuts via the AH, which seems to be a market with remarkably few players.

I will be spending a little more time going through my professions and stockpiles, looking to turn those stockpiles back into available gold.

Here I am worried about deflation, and Breevok gets a cunning plan

I am overstocked for my current inscription requirements - with the single exception of volatiles, watching deflationary pressures.

However Breevok had a cunning plan, and is now selling glyphs on the opposing faction's AH, to much fun and profit.

I have a few predictions to throw out there.

• Horde side glyph prices will drop, or at least have a full set of glyphs being sold
• Cael/Horde glyph sellers are not used to sustained, resourced glyph sellers.  They will start undercutting, but are going to have problems.  Breevok has played with glyphs during some very lean times, and has seen many many glyph sellers come and go.  Unless Moonvengence starts selling horde side, Breevok will drive out the competition, and be stuck making glyphs for the rest of this expansion.
• Millable herb prices accross both factions will equalise - especially Whiptail.  Breevok will be looking at bringing value back from the horde AH, and part of that will be in herbs (which he will have a new demand for).  Currently 1g98 Horde, 3g05 Alliance.  However, Alliance herbs will always be more convenient.
• Blackfallow ink will drop in price horde side even further, as the existing card makers can no longer unload their stocks of blackfallow.
• Even more horde glyphs will be sold as Breevok inevitibly increases supply and decreases costs.  There is likely to be some pent up demand, and players will sooner or later realise they can afford those new shiny glyphs.
• Breevok will probably increase his desired stockpile levels.  How much this means, probably only he knows, but we will be able to tell by any shortage of herbs - especially alliance side. 
• This one is largely dependant on Breevok, and flows from more glyphs being sold.  As he crafts more glyphs, he will end up with a surplus of Rare inks - including inferno.  Breevok will most likely start selling these, but may decide to craft with them instead.  Either way - there will be an additional supply of inferno ink or it's crafted items.

With the new soak for whiptail (i.e. horde glyphs), things don't seem so bad for my surplus inks after all.

Coping with deflation

As some of you have noticed, I have not been on as much over the last month or so - both in game, and on this blog.  Apart from a few hours on Plants vs Zombies, and a few raids, I have not had much time in games at all.

Breevok is under the illusion that the Ario* triplets drove him out of the alliance glyph market (language warning).  For the record, the triplets are fighting for scraps.  I used to make a living out of glyphs and was outsourcing my ink making.  Today, I have outsourced my glyph selling, and occasionally dabble in milling.

I have a habit of stockpiling more than I need.  As far as raiding goes, it is fantastic to simply grab a nights supplies from the bank/guild bank, or be able to buy/make in bulk.  For me - making in bulk is time efficient, if sometimes somewhat boring.
 However, with my being /afk so much, my storage is a sad sight.  Items are simply is not worth as much as I paid for much of it.

Crying over it, however self indulging it may be, solves nothing.  I have inks that is now worth around 7g each, and it is now time to start shifting them.

They sell as is, without any further crafting, but not in huge quantities (prices below are for a stack of 3).

I will also be  looking at options.  (Little sparky is misbehaving just at the minute, and the prices below are not quite right, but the idea is the same).

Dont forget about Jessia, but at the moment, but dont just convert inks because you can.  At the moment infernos are less than 10 blackfallows (i.e. discount your blackfallow further if you are desperate), and also consider converting inks down and listing them (if you can't find enough cheap lower herbs).

Finally, you could do what Breevok did - give up on your faction, and shift everyhing to your opposite faction.  There is fun and profit to be had, but I will leave that to Breevok - for the time being at least.

Why am I not just sitting on them, waiting on the price to come up?  Because I don't think it will.  Just after the last darkmoon faire, I saw pages of whiptail at 2g50.  It is now back to 3g65, but I only see downward pressure on whiptail, and hence on Blackfallow/Inferno inks.

Better than tank bribery?

Tobolds asked if there is anything better than bribery.  I started writing a comment on , then realised it was long enough to be it's own post.

Currently blizzard's only requirement for heroics is a gear score. Many dungeons train movement.  I want Blizzard to design 5 man dungeons as training exercises for the way blizzard wants players to behave.

Good behaviour (CC, dont pull agro, tanks keeping agro) are rewarded. I want the heroic entry requirement to reflect 'good' choices.

When we see behavoiurs that we want to encourage, design dungeons with achievements to exercise those behaviours.

Personally, I want to encourage DPS to use their tank assisting abilities. So I create a new 5 man dungeon (normal for practice, heroic for the real deal).

This dungeon has an achievement at the end where:

• If the only toon to have agro for the whole dungeon is the tank
• 3 players do more boss damage than the tank
• No one dies

The dungeon makeup is:

Multiple add trash. If a DPS player pulls agro, then they are stunned for 10 seconds.

First boss : simple tank/spank, to help players feel comforatble.

Two waves of multiple mob trash that periodically stuns everyone - including themselves, mobs disburse, then reset agro.  During the fight they wipe a buff from the player.  Passive buffs If you have no buffs, then you remain stunned, taking extra damage untill you get at least one buff.

Second boss, with multiple add waves, and periodically resets agro.

Trash is 2 bats from Nax that heal each other if too close, but are CC'able or interuptable. These mobs do not agro on a player that CC's or interupt's them

Third boss has 2 phases : 1 normal/1 vehicle (similar to magmaw) :
* You may only enter the vehicle once per boss fight
* If you enter the vehicle and press an interupt button, you stun the boss and it takes extra damage
* If you do not interupt the boss, it instakills a random player.
* Designed so that initially all 5 players will need to enter the vehicle exactly once.

If you make the 'achievement', a chance at nice big shiny loot, plus a title for doing it 10 (or any arbritrary number) times.

The achievement rewards tanks for holding agro, rewards DPS for exercising all of their abilites, and largely ignores the healer.

Another gimick to reward good behaviour : A boss that incrementally removes a number of active buffs, and suspends passive buffs.  If you have no buffs you are stunned and take damage.




I would also like to see a 'reward' for proper gear talents, gear selection, gemming and enchanting. Currently the dungeon finder says you can't queue heroics without a gear score. Personally I would prefer it to say you can't queue without :

• At least 1/3 of your gear being pve role appropriate
• You must have a tanking tree (and tanking talents for bears) to queue as tank (off spec talents are OK)
• You must have basic role appropriate gems and enchants on 1/3 your gear
• Have appropriate consumables in your bag - including at least 1 appropriate potion, 2 elixirs or 1 flask, and basic buff food.

Some groups will love this dungeon.  Others would hate it.  What gimicks could you include to promote 'good' behaviour.

A mislabelled call to arms

Blizzard have claimed they are issuing a call to arms.

They in fact are not.  It is a call to prot, bear, and blood. For paladins, druids, death knights and warriors, this is an out and out social bribe to get you to tank more.

We will find a new 'wave' of tanks that need to learn to play. It is up to the community as to what happens with them. Personally I fear that we will see another 'wave' of DPS geared and talented tanks, sometimes in tanking stances, with more concerns about DPS agro and dying because of it.

For the record, my opinion about the shortage of tanks is that it is the DPS's fault. As a learning DPS you may be told to learn to play, but really no one cares in a 5 man. The only thing that makes it anywhere near a DPS race is healer mana. As a learning or levelling tank, you have to work much harder than DPS to maintain agro. As tank, you need to keep agro off the healer, and stay alive, but most 'leet' DPS want to you keep agro off them too. If DPS are co-operative, tanking is relatively easy. If the DPS does not take a small amount of care they can make a learning tank's job hell. I was that learning tank mid way through wrath. I have the personality to work on the role that I fail most at, so I survived. I now am a 'good' (but not great) tank, but know many players that would rather do anything else simply not to have to fight with their party or raid members.

DPS (whether they know it or not) will be the primary beneficiaries of bribes to tanks, due to shorter dungeon queues. Raiders as a whole will also benefit as they eventually will have a larger group to call on for tanking.

I have an 85 healing priest, an 85 tanking DK, and an 85 warlock. My warlock has stepped into maybe 2 dungeons. The role I currently find hardest is healing, so my priest gets all my current time. The fact that I am sometimes short healers often helps.

DPS - rejoice in your new wave of wrongly geared and inexperienced tanks. They are what means you can run your dungeons with only 1/2 the queue you would otherwise have. Train them well, and help them out. Re-learn crowd and teach your tanks how to not break it. If not, you will find your dungeon queues doubling yet again.


Edit: 'Carrying a tank' by Troll Racials are overpowered (Language warning)