Making Things Better

Blizzard announces proposed changed to Professions.

If you read here reguarly you'll know just how important professions are to me and the Family. To say I'm pleased to read what's being trailled here in Cataclysm is something of an understatement. It's apparent that Blizzard are finally grasping the significance professions have in game, especially in relation to wealth generation and utility for non-Raiding players. I'm especially pleased by the following changes:

• Specialisations removed from Leatherworking, Blacksmithing and Tailoring (but not from Alchemy) and all reciped useable by anyone with the skill. About bloody time, especially with the lower level BS and LW items. Now all we need is some actual useful items across the class ranges at the lower levels.
  
  
• 'Superior-quality items that require more materials than other recipes in the same skill range provide multiple skill-ups. For example, if a recipe takes three times the reagents, it will give you three skill-ups.' Oh yes. About time too, especially if those items are a pig to grind. The random stats changes are good too, especially as they will (no doubt) fit in with the changes to stats on gear across the game anyway.
  
  
• PvP Recipes, that upgrade as each new season appears. HOORAY! Make them BoE please. There's a major earner, right there, especially with rated BG's...
  
  
• 'New Mysterious Potion created with common materials restores health and mana in a massively random range, as well as sometimes granting the benefit of another potion. The health and mana range is from 1-20,000 and is able to crit.' Hmmmm... 20,000 health, you say? Am really rather glad I levelled a second Alchemist now, especially with the changes to Elixirs.
  
  
• 'Jewelcrafters will have some fun new (and potentially lucrative) vanity items, including fist weapons, rhinestone sunglasses, monocles, and stardust (sprinkle on players for entertainment)' It's interesting to notice that Blizzard are pushing the 'sell your wares' potential of Professions far more now than at any point in the past. After all, if you can make your own cash, why bother buying it from a Gold Seller? It does mean that the Bankalts will be far better dressed too than at any point in the Game thus far...
  
  
• 'There won't be a new Lotus equivalent in Cataclysm. Alchemists will use the more reliably-found Volatile Life to create the new high level flasks.' Interesting use of the phrase 'reliably-found' there. As Volatile Life is now available from any plant, it will certainly make the process of flask-creation a lot less hit and miss. I assume as well that as Frozo the Renound is such a popular guy in Dalagran that we'll see a way of exchanging one kind of rare drop for these things as well.

The other major announcement is that we'll see new Offhands craftable by Scribes, which solves a fairly major headache for the Mage, who will happily manage for now a with sub-par example until the Expansion hits. It's a lot to look forward to, and there's hardly a mention of the potential awesomeness of Cookery and Fishing... watch this space!

Stop! BanHammer Time!

Blizzard has made MMO take all their Alpha Content down.

With the benefit of hindsight, I'm surprised that it lasted up as long as it did. The fact that a site like wow.com refused to speculate on anything should have been a warning: you don't mess with NDA's. Of course, once the Beta is active it's all fair game again but by that time a great deal of the content will have changed anyway, so I suspect it's back to the drawing board on the mining front. Still, for those of us who wasted some time pouring over what was there it was interesting, and we have a fairly decent idea now what to expect come release on the zonal changes.

I've been trying unsucessfully for the best part of 36 hours to copy a character to the PTR, and I hope once the PTR patch is finally available sometime today to do just that and see if I can pick up any hints of change via the new patch...

Matters Arising :: May 10th Edition

We still don't have a Government in the UK, but I am told Top Men are on the case. In this climate of change, uncertainty and (it must be said here) cautious optimism for the future, it's time to take a look back at the Week That Spoilt Us Rotten for Cataclysm.

Hello, Goodbye!

An increasing number of people are 'Taking a Break' in game. I've heard a fairly comprehensive range of excuses: time to get fit, time to step back, it's all getting too mindless and repetitive... and I find myself recalling the Summer before both TBC and Wrath and wondering whether I should have more hobbies to distract me. The fact is I can do all these things and still derive a great deal of enjoyment from Warcraft, so I know what I'll be doing across the Summer... the same thing I've always done. To those of you who are off to enjoy more of the Real World, I wish you nothing but fun and enjoyment, and if you decide to not return come Cataclysm, I entirely understand. If you want to keep in touch, you know where to find me...

Repeat Until Mindless...

Nine. That number's gonna rise in the next week too, and despite the mock frustration it transpires that Strat runs right now are actually rather profitable. I wasn't earning 250g an hour but the time I spent yesterday was well-financed after DE-ing all the Greens and selling on various other items. Ooh, you'll notice there A Poke in the Eye which we did on Friday night. In an attempt to give those people who remain with us in Guild a bit of variety we've scheduled 25 man ICC PuG's for the rest of the month on Friday nights. If anything it should provide some entertainment...

Boosting for Fun and Profit.

The Warlock's job this weekend was to help my Husband's scarily-efficient march to 80 on his Shaman (plus benefit a few Guildies levelling along the way). In the process I've managed to knock a few of the Classic instances off the To Do List. The Rogue also helped out last night in Sunken Temple, and made a few gold from the leather the Green Dragons were most helpful to provide. This Classic Instance running could turn out to be a pretty profitable sideline... which reminds me, I still need to do AQ40 for Why? Because it's Red!


Oh No, Not Again.

The Grenades are Back.

*headdesk*

Please, please, please MAKE IT STOP...