A week after wiping 7 times on Marrowgar, OC’s team started off a new week with a bang: one-shots on Marrowgar, Lady Buzzkill, and the Gunship, and one partial wipe on Saurfang before getting him.

The difference was more attitude and attention than anything else: we reiterated the important things to do before each fight, AND the things NOT to do. And folks did, or didn’t do, them.

The good: hunter loot dropped off of EACH of the four bosses we downed.

Marrowgar: Linked Scourge Vertebrae

Lady DW: Handgrips of Frost and Sleet

Gunship: Pauldrons of Lost Hope

Saurfang: Hauberk of a Thousand Cuts

The bad: OC was the only hunter, and either already had or didn’t need any of those drops….so they were sharded.

I think we set a record for shards on ICC10 for us….

I leveled my pally to 80 mostly so my guild back then, the KLA, would have a tank if needed if we were short some run in Naxx or Ulduar, and for the odd (pre-Random Dungeon Finder) Heroic.

But ‘lo, Magni was short a tank for ICC, and Alpham was called upon.

I told him he was undergeared. i200 heroic and Naxx10 gear. Only 25k hp unbuffed. Though he is defense-capped.

They didn’t care (bless them).

So, on a second night’s run into ICC10, he off-tanked the Gunship, then Saurfang. A serious lack of ranged dpsers meant Saurfang still lives; however, Alpham survived and tanked well.

Thanks to awesome heals. mostly.

But, then, seriously….how the heck can a pally geared for Naxx and Ulduar, with only a few CONQUEST emblem gear pretty much skip ToC and Triumph gear altogether and perform ably in ICC?!?

Alpham was on the back burner as OC ran into ICC. But now, I’m gonna have to make Alpham at least respectbly geared, ‘cuz I feel dam guilty tanking crap two raids above his gear level…

Here’s a few of the things I generally avoid buying and reselling on the AH:

- Items that are near or just above the next expansion, but from the last: level 56-60 Vanilla WoW, level 66-70 BC…not big sellers as folks will be replacing them in just a few levels - with quest greens, no less.

- Random “of the” blues: Unless it has Agility, or is Bandit, Monkey, Bear or some other combo of “these are the two best stats of a commonly played class”

- level x0-x5 blues: A level 20 blue isn’t going to be bought by a PvP twink; 0-5 level blues are limited to those who are willing to spend a little gold to ensure that leveling isn’t going to be slowed down by a 3-pat.

- Pally stuff on Horde and Shammy stuff on Alliance: Just not enough players buying, so be prepared for many failed auctions.

- Spellpower plate: Even on Alliance, you’re talking only Holy Pallies buying.

- Class items: Totems and such, even wands….limiting your buyer pool here.

- Enchant mats: The Good - no deposit, The Bad - Random Heroics means everyone and their brother usually has them. A good buy is still a good buy, but it needs to be a really good buy now.

- Crafted Consumables: We’re basically talking ammo and armor kits here. Cheap to make, any crafter will simply put them up for less. But leg armors are costlier, and are specifically needed if someone gets new legs, so buying low and selling high on them still works. They are the exception.

 - PvP gear (the level 78 crafted blues): Iffy..they are cheap to make, but most crafters only use them to skill up. Many folks, though, wait until 80 to PvP, and so they do sell. The pally/shammy divide still applies, but since other classes can wear the pally plate, it’s ok. But the shammy mail…well, it’s only for shammies, so beware Allyside. The trick is to wait until only a few of a type are on auction AND they are lowlow priced…and to act quickly before someone skilling up undercuts you. I’ve sold full sets in 24 hours…and also taken two weeks to sell one piece.

- Level 213/226 drops: Routinely overpriced if they appear for sale. Folks are not gonna pay 1500g for something when a night of running Heroics will net them enough Triumphs for a better piece. But they might pay a few hundred, so if you can get one for 100-200, go for it.

That’s it…how I make all the gold I need on the Auction House. NO tricks, NO fancy mods….just 3+ years of experience, some knowledge, some common sense, and a dash of psychology.

/profit

The Hammers and friends completed Sunwell Plateau Monday night, downing Kil’Jaeden. And he dropped a Legendary: Thori’Dal, the Stars’ Fury !

The first Legendary I’ve ever seen drop, and only the second I’ve ever seen in game, period.

OC was the only hunter in raid, but it’s level 70, and while a Legendary item,  it’s not quite as good as what I already have: Njordnar Bone Bow .

After a little discussion, I Needed on it, as folks couldn’t remember whether they had Greeded or Passed on the lotsa loots he dropped. The only others who could even equip it were a rogue and two warriors. So I offered to roll off among the four of us for the Legendary (which was why I Needed…didn’t want to take the chance some mage would get it vendor it ).

The rogue won (dam…woulda been nice for RP! ), and ‘lo and behold…it’s a Feat of Strength!

http://www.wowhead.com/?achievement=725

She got it when she equipped it…so I asked her if the 2 hour trade time still was on it. It was, so she traded it back to me, I equipped…and also got the FoS!

However, after I gave it back to her and she traded it to one the warriors…he equipped it but did NOT get the achievement…. >:

We know the Sunwell fights now, though (it’s tough enough to easily wipe 80s who don’t), so we’ll likely be going back…and I want it for TEH RP!!

I’m going to the Showboat in Atlantic City today, part of a fundraiser for the Band Parents association at my son’s high school. He’s not in any of the bands, but my oldest was, so…I’m going.

It’ll be a short trip via charter bus, as AC is about an hour away. This is the only time I go there, really, and I just bring a little money and try to play blackjack for an hour or so, then have dinner somewhere with friends.

If only I could make gold in AC like I do the Auction House in Ironforge.

OC (or rather, his AH alt) plays the AH to make gold. He covers his repairs, gems, enchants, and consumables for raids. He covers any alts leveling up so they’re respectable, and not in greens 20 levels below them. He covers their profession skilling up. He’s even (with the help of a horde AH alt), covered the cost of his new Mekgineer’s Chopper.

I do it by buying low and selling high, but it’s not that simple. A few folks have asked me how I do it, I’ve told them, and they don’t succeed. So I’ll put it out here:

I specialize in blues and purples, mainly level 2-80 armor and weapons. An AH search of level 2+ rares will also include things like leg armors and the level 54 and 60 class books and ammo, which I usually ignore. On most servers, this search yields 600-1200 items, depending on server economy and also how active the ammo-crafting engineers are.

I sort by price low to high and start paging down and through the list. I use a mod from wowecon.com, the free one, which shows the median sale price of the item across ALL servers (not the average price).

I’ve been doing this so long, and watch the AH almost every single day, though, that most of the time I don’t really need the mod info, just using it to note up or down price trends, mostly.

With the median sale price, I know what I can probably resell the item for; what I look for are items I can bid on, or buy outright, that are at 50% of the median price, or less. When I repost the item, I usually price it at 75%-125% of the median price. That guarantees me a 50% profit if it sells, and also allows me so leeway to raise the minimum bid if it doesn’t to absorb the cost of the deposit lost.

While the method is simple, the skill is in knowing *what* to bid on or buy.

Crafted blues/epics: Some are easy and cheap to make, so easy and cheap that folks skill up on them, and can basically use mats on hand to undercut a price. These are usually i200 level items that go for 15-60 gold. These I don’t buy unless I can get them real cheap, 5g or so.

Twink items: These are certain items, usually ending in an 8 or 9 level (18 or 39), that are the best items a BG twink can equip. While these are in less demand nowadays, folks will also spend gold to equip leveling alts with these, so the demand is pretty steady. The best are world drops, not crafted. But even crafteds sell well, because the mats to make them are in lower areas, and most folks don’t want to farm them.

Raid-gearing items: These are i200 items, level 80 required, that folks will check the AH for after they hit 80 so they can bump their gear a bit before looking for raid drops. Not as in demand now because of the Random Dungeon system, most popular are tanking drops and crafteds, as most want to be defense-capped to tank heroics (and so have little or no wait time in queue).

High level drops: Crafted items and BoE drops from high raids (currently ToC and ICC) are sold on the AH. Though they require a steep initial investment (500-3000g or so), folks will often put a drop up for a relatively low amount, or a crafted that they had mats for. Knowing what the item sells for, I recognize this, and can often turn 1500g into 3-4k gold in 24 hours.

I will leave it to the reader to research and learn what *specific* items included in the above work best.

Next post, I will note some things to STAY AWAY from on the AH, or at least, be wary of investing in them.

Stop it. NOW!

I’m not talking about a brisk run pace; I don’t like to stop and drink after every trash pull, either.

I’m talking about tanks who literally move as fast as possible. Last mob down and they’re already off to the next - even when it’s it the next room….or even when the next is a boss.

Not even waiting for a shift-click loot.

Look, it’s one thing to clear a whole big room or an area like that. But to clear ALL the trash up to a boss, and then THE BOSS ITSELF, like that, makes you an asshole.

Tanks like to believe that they are the ones who control the pace. But they’re not. The healers do.

Try tanking all the trash and then the boss without any heals and see how far you get in a Heroic.

I was in a run last night where the tank did this. Never stopped to let anyone loot, not even a second. Literally, he ran into the bosses’ rooms without waiting to see if anyone else even followed.

Well, gold is gold, so I’m gonna loot. I skin, also, and even some 245 Leatherworking patterns take leather, so I’m gonna skin. The healer friend with our group would have liked to loot…but she felt obligated to stay with the tank…and so her play experience ( her “fun”) was negatively impacted by this idiot.

Healers, it is YOU who control whether or not the tank goes too fast for the comfort and enjoyment of both yourself and your party. If you find yourself with a tank who doesn’t allow time to loot, who doesn’t even bother to fake caring about whether the party is ready…then sit your ass down and eat a cookie. Let the tank come back to you and politely inform him that the group will move as fast as YOU wish. not him.

The next tank that pulls this crap in MY group is gonna catch hell before I and my friends either:

1) Vote-kick his ass

2) Pull half the instance onto him and portal/stone

3) Let him die halfway into the instance while we eat cookies at the start.

Well…almost….

5k more rep to go with Argent Dawn!

The quickest, easiest, and most boring way to get Argent Dawn rep is to grind Stratholme.

Oilcan had not done many quests in either Eastern or Western Plaguelands though, and since he doesn’t have the Loremaster of Eastern Kingdoms achievement yet, off questing he went!

There’s two main quest hubs: Chillwind Camp in Eastern Plaguelands and Light’s Hope Chapel in Western Plaguelands.

At Chillwind, most quests take you into Andorhal or North of it. There’s a mini-boss with about 20 mobs around him in the center of Andorhal, so each time OC head out (and back in) he cleared them, getting Scourgestones and Runecloth and stuff each time (and 50 rep from the mini-boss and the occasional 10 rep from a “big” elite). There are also dailies concerning the four Cauldron locations which net 50 rep each.

…DON’T FORGET TO EQUIP YOUR ARGENT DAWN COMMISSION !!

In addition to the rep from the quests, Scourgestones can be turned in at either Chillwind or Light’s Hope for 50-100 rep, depending on the Scourgestone, and give a  Argent Dawn Valor Tokens, which is worth 100 rep when used.

At Light’s Hope, in addition to more quests (not all give AD rep - and Scholomance…Scholo runs don’t give it either), there are also 5 item turnins you can do, each requiring 30 of the item. Your FIRST turnin of each kind gives 1000 rep..but subsequent turnins only give 20 rep. Bone Fragments, Savage Fronds, Dark Iron Scraps, Crypt Fiend Parts, and Core of Elements are the five (each stacks to 250), and can be bought off the Auction House if you don’t want to farm.

OC’s pretty much done the quests (except the ones inside Strat), and the dailies, and the turnins (each once or twice, Bone Fragments a lot as they drop off of the undead skellies in Andorhal), and so a run or two into Strat for the quests and the rep should net him Exalted with Argent Dawn and The Argent Champion..and a nice new title =D

Chapter 5-5

Arathi Basin

Spout, already comfy before the fire, was busily munching the berries and beer Garl had set out for him even before Garl himself had gotten his cloak off. Unstrapping and unbuckling his armor, he wondered what it would be like to so easily forget the day’s events as the white bear seemed to be able to do. He laid out his armor on the table and prepared to inspect it for any necessary cleaning and repairs.

This stitching, rendered by a mace….that buckle, forged into a lump by some mage…the blood stains alone would take hours to prep and clean. He sighed and went over to his chemicals and supplies, pausing at the cabinet to remove an ale. He brought his now well-worn tools back to the table, and cleared some room to work and spied the briefing packet. Sent to him by Aediwen, a druid who was fast becoming both a friend and an ally, it was still on the table where he had left it. He had been able to read it before the summons from Donal Osgood of The League of Arathor, and was glad of it. The chaos of his inital forays into Warsong, while tempered by the experience of Aediwen, was not to his liking. Donal, apparently, placed more value in preparing his fighters than Lylandris of the Silverwing Sentinels, having bid Aedi to prepare the briefing for him.

Picking up the packet, Garl reflected that comparing the briefing to his actual experience might have some benefit…not the least being to delay the drudgery of repair work. Grabbing his ale, he took the seat next to the fire, with Spout’s ruminations over his meal mingling with the fire’s pop and crackle.

“Prepared by Aediwen for Donal…”. Garl skipped over the intro and down to the first section which read:

“Background:

The many and varied resources of Arathi Basin are essential to Alliance operations in the Arathi Highlands, as they have always been to the powers of the area, beginning with the Kingdom of Stromgarde. From its origins at Stromgarde, humans spread out, founding Stormwind and Lordaeron, among others. This migration, combined with the losses to Stromgarde forces during the Second and Third Wars, now leaves Stromgarde Keep with a force of roughly 1200. From this meager remnant, the League of Arathor was founded in order to secure the Arathi Basin and keep the Forsaken Defilers at bay. Currently led in battle by Donal Osgood, the main adversary is the Forsaken, with their general hatred and wish to destroy humanity. They are occasionally assisted by Horde forces based at Hammerfall, though those forces are split between Arathi Basin and efforts to clear the local Boulderfist ogre and Winterbark troll tribes, and also their rebuilding efforts at Hammerfall. Hammerfall was originally an internment camp for the orcs, and was liberated by Thrall and the Horde, though at the cost of losing Ogrim Doomhammer…thus it’s name, Hammerfall. Split as they are, however, Hammerfall is still a force to be reckoned with in the fight with the Forsaken to control Arathi Basin. The orc internment at Hammerfall was done over the objections of Stromgarde, though not for humanitarian reasons … Stromgarde wished to simply execute the orcs, and this is likely a reason Hammerfall quite willingly and actively oppose the League of Arathor. The mutual antipathy between Stromgarde and the Forsaken and Hammerfall means little quarter is given or expected in the Basin.”

Garl took a draught of his ale and propped his feet up on Spout’s haunches, now slowly rising and falling as he slept by the fire. The small table by the chair had a simple wood box upon it; he removed his pipe and tobacco from it, lighting it by taking a long branch kept leaning between the table and the wall, kept there for that express purpose, and extending it to the fire. He had to lean forward slightly, and made a mental note that he would have to get a new branch soon to replace this one as it gradually shortened.

The brief continued:

“Objective:

Arathi Basin holds a Lumber Mill, a Blacksmith, a …. “

Garl knew the objectives in Arathi Basin, not from the dry statements of the brief, though. To him, the Lumber Yard did not mean resources for Alliance use. It meant arcane explosions mixed with slashing steel, flashing Light tempered with smoldering Dark….the giant saw of the mill spewing not sawdust but spatters of blood and other…things.

The crops at the Farm were trampled, but would recover with the new “fertilizer”….the carts at the Gold Mine carried rent bodies and organs, not boulders and ore…the metal at the Blacksmith was forged in fires fed by energies other than charcoal and was quenched in blood, not water…

Arathi no longer meant lumber and ore to Garl.

The battle had been a maelstorm of fluid chaos, a rushing whirlpool drawing the unlucky and ill-trained to Death at its depths…

“Strategy:

From the jump point at Trollbane Hall, equal forces will sortie to the closest objectives and assess opposing…..”

Garl grunted….that was about as far as the strategy was followed. He knew enough about battle to know that first contact pretty much threw any tactical plan to the winds. The basic plan of smaller, independent forces attacking targets of opportunity had worked, though costing heavy casualties. Perhaps Donal Osgood recognized that the training of his fighters had been geared towards individual and small group fighting, and that their training in larger formations was not yet sufficient.

Garl continued reading, finishing the brief and his ale together, thinking that the history books his mother had made him read had likely been written before the fact….

He sighed and carefully lifted his feet off of Spout so as not to wake him. His armor still waited, patiently, unperturbed at its disarray and damage. Garl picked up his tools and began to pick at a stitch, reflecting that he was getting too good at repairing it…

* * * * *

“I was tasked by the League of Arathor to help secure resources for the Alliance. Hopefully, our efforts are coming to fruition, and the shortages at home will lessen for you.”

Over the last month, several things have been going on for OC.

The KLA ceased raiding ops in mid-December; we had successfully recruited several folks to try and ba able to have 10 consistently on for raids, but unfortunately also lost a few for various reasons and so were back where we started: usually a few short of what we needed on most nights. After discussion among the officers, we decided to stop raiding and essentially close the KLA, leaving only some old-timers and folks’ alts in guild.

It’s tough to try and raid with folks you like, with varying degrees of skill and commitment. Raid guilds typically have an attendance policy, loot systems designed to both orient drops towards the main components of raids, and expect their members to maximize their gear and skill through a commitment to that end. The KLA had little of that, and although we had fun 5manning heroics and hanging out, in the end we either progressed too slowly for those with that commitment, or were unable to fulfill our goals because of the lack of that focus among those that remained.

Over the last few weeks, OC has run a bunch of raids through folks I know outside of guild, gotten some drops, ran some old raids, returned to some old stomping grounds finshing up some Acheivements, and generally tooled around doing whatever struck me at the moment.

Tooling around has been made much for fun with the help of his Kams OC Special, pictured above! I’ve transferred my horde shaman, Gathun, to Alliance (along with sufficient funds for chopper mats), and OC can now be found cruising Azeroth. The shot above is one I particularly like

It is also, appropriately, the last picture of Oilcan with the Kitten Liberation Army tag…

For the last few weeks, as I’ve kept up with old friends and ran with new ones, I’ve been measuring and weighing OC’s options for a new guild to raid with. I’ve stayed in the KLA in the meanwhile, as OC <unguilded> would get quite a few join requests even without actively seeking membership. Raiding has never been Oilcan’s only activity; I like PvE, PvP and RP too, and a pure raiding focus would quickly lose my interest. More important are the people in a guild, and the variety, and this is what I sought.

After weeks of consideration, OC decided to apply to an old guild on Steamwheedle Cartel, dating back to pretty much server start: The Hammer of Magni. I’ve known them, and of them, for years, and could likely tell some stories to current members about back when that they’ve never heard, but I’ve also kept in and out of touch with the Hammers through the years, and they have always been one of the guilds I respected on server. Good folks, some raiding, some RP…I think Oilcan will be quite happy there.

Posting will re-commence shortly.

Son back from college, work stuff, holidays, and guild things have all conspired to delay posts, but new ones will be up soon.