Blizzcon 2011 – Day Zero
A rough day, and Blizzcon 2011 hasn’t even officially started yet.
This is my second Blizzcon, so I had a strategy in my head before I’d even set foot on the first jet. But as is often the case, Mr. Murphy (of Murphy’s Law fame) had a strategy of his own.
– Flight to Minneapolis was smooth enough. I was running on only a few hours of sleep and hoped to get some on the plane, but that wasn’t happening. So be it.
– Minneapolis / St Paul airport is big. Big enough that by the time I got to the gate for my L.A. flight, it was time to board. Fack.
– Landed at LAX, caught my shuttle with no problems. It was filled with Blizzcon attendees. I knew this because we were all staying in hotels close to the Anaheim Convention Center, and when the driver asked if there was a convention going on he was answered with an awkward “yes.” The uncomfortable silence on the way to the hotels was tangible. I used that time to try and squeeze in a few minutes of sleep.
– After arriving at the hotel, I needed a shower, food, and a nap. It was almost 4 (local time), I’d been up for over twelve hours, I was tired and hungry, and I felt worn out. I was going to get my pass later in the evening to avoid the huge lineups I dealt with last year, so I had some time to kill.
– Food was first. Ran to 7-11, picked up some grub and snacks, took it back to the room, and gorged. One need taken care of.
– Went to turn on the shower. No go. There was no water. Tried the sink & toilet. Nothing. Called the front desk and was told a pipe had burst. Wonderful. Decided I might as well go to the Convention Center to get my pass.
– Practically no lineup when I arrived at the Convention Center at around 6pm. It took me longer to get to the line than it did to go through it.
– On my way out of the Convention Center, I was stopped by a young lady who wanted to buy my Murloc card pet. Probably should have sold it, but didn’t. Maybe I’ll use it as a prize on the blog here. Stay tuned!
– Got back to the room. Water had returned! The shower was delightful and much needed.
– Considered a nap, but ended up in more of a vegetative state while I watched Slither. Curse your awesomeness, Nathan Fillion.
– I was bagged but didn’t dare nap. I knew that if I closed my eyes, that was going to be it for hours, maybe the evening. An unacceptable option; I had two meetups that needed to be attended – the WoW Insider meetup, and the AIE Guild Hall.
– Drastic times called for drastic measures.
– Invigorated, I attended the WoW Insider meetup. I saw Felicia Day and Robin Thorsen, not to mention the WoW Insider crew. Most of my time was spent in bar lines though – 45 minutes just to get a beer is stupid. Hopefully I’ll get to visit with more folks tomorrow.
– Didn’t even get to make it to the guild hall. Stupid beer lines.
– Got back to my room and found out I’d been locked out. The front desk claimed to have been “trying to get ahold of me” somehow, to tell me they’d put someone else in my room. I got my keys reactivated, was let back into my room, and found an extra rollaway bed waiting for me. No roommates for me though!
– My Flatliner creation is still keeping me up, and it’s well after midnight local. I’ve almost been up for twenty-four hours. I may throw on some shorts and go for a walk to Denny’s or something.
Despite all of these events, I’m still pretty stoked about Blizzcon 2011. Can’t wait to see what the big announcement is going to be tomorrow.
Ask Jeeves – Low Level Gold Making
If you had played World of Warcraft back in the days of Wrath, you’re probably heard of Jeeves. If you’re not down with the Mech Tech, let me give you the 4-1-1 on him. He’s only the best assistant any Engineer could hope for. He provides mobile bank access, vendoring, and repairs gear. Most people who have interacted with him, though, have only done so briefly. The ‘bot is very busy, and doesn’t like wasting his time with idle chit chat. However, I think he’s sweet on my microwave so every now and then he’ll field questions that I ask him on behalf of the peeps out there.
This question was in regards to gold making:
Dear Jeeves,
I’m just starting out on a brand new server and I’d really like to have some gold in my pocket. I’ve been told to play the Auction House, but I have no idea what that means and I’d rather be playing the game instead. Is there an easier way for a low level character to make gold without having a degree in economics?
Once he’d finished making eyes at my appliances, Jeeves offered up some helpful tips that I’d like to share with you.
Get Gathering Professions. Ah, the old standby. Since you can get gathering professions at level one, and you get XP when you work over a mining/herbal node, getting two gathering professions right off the bat can help you level up just by digging up herbs and rocks. In fact, you could level up to 85 with just mining and herbalism, if you really like punishing yourself. In any case, everything you farm up will sell, so if you put in the time you can make some decent starter cash. Take your first few silver (from quests, selling everything you’re wearing, or mailbox dancing – I don’t judge), get mining and herbalism (as well as a mining pick), and start farming ore and herbs. Once you have a few stacks of gathering goodness, get thee to the nearest capital city. Sell everything you picked up other than your stacks at a vendor (to cover deposit costs), and post your ore/herbs on the Auction House.
Sell Vendor Recipes and Mats. Since you’re already in the big city, take this opportunity to visit all the profession trainers (ask a guard if you’re unsure where they are). Yes, all of them. Once you track them down, don’t talk to them. Haha but no this is not a joke. I’m sure they’re quite lovely people, but you’re not here to talk to the trainers. You want to check out that bored-looking profession supply vendor hanging out somewhere nearby. Many of them have limited sale items (recipes, mats) that you can buy for silver, but sell for gold on the AH.
Sell Vendor Pets. Every capital city has a vendor that sells pets, either right in the city or somewhere close by. Once you have enough to buy these pets (45-50 silver is usually the going rate), pick up one or two and sell them on the AH. People can be a lazy bunch, and they’d rather spend gold to buy companion pets right off the Auction House than tracking down the pet vendors and buying them directly from the source.
Do the Daily Cooking Quest. Once you reach level ten, you can do the daily quest for Cooking which is available in each of the capital cities. The cooking token you get for completing the quest is generally used to buy recipes from the vendor, but you can also use it to buy an Imported Supplies satchel. This sack holds cocoa beans, which players can use to make chocolate cookies for achievements. Run the quest every day, buy your cocoa bean and put them on the AH.
Shop Smart. Shop Dalaran. Remember back in the Wrath of the Lich King days when Dalaran was the place to be? It still is for low level characters with some change in their pocket. Hop a zeppelin and fly to either Howling Fjord or Borean Tundra – there’s a flight path from there that’ll take you straight to Dalaran. Why do you want to go there? Why, for more vendor recipes and more pets to buy! And so much more! Just bring plenty of gold. Hey, it takes money to make money.
Lowbie Inscription. You can pick up this profession at level 5, but I wouldn’t suggest picking this up unless you’ve got a few gold to invest, or a few stacks of herbs you can mill into ink. What you want to do is level your Inscription up to 75 and do your daily Minor Inscription research. The results are random, but you can end up with some glyphs that you can sell for quite a bit of scratch. That’s the beauty of Inscription – it’s the only profession you can get at a low level, and create something that a high level character can use. It’s one of the better professions like that. I’ve done this myself in the past, and it worked out well for me. As with anything that depends on the individual server’s market, your mileage may vary.
Well there’s a handful of simple ideas to get a lowbie started. Once you get comfortable with selling things on the Auction House, maybe you want to start flipping items for profit. But that’s outside the scope of this post.
Do you have any other tips for lowbies to make some gold? Let me know in the comments below!
