Hijinks Inc.

Tag: World of Warcraft

  • How To Make Money (Gold) In Cataclysm

    How To Make Money (Gold) In Cataclysm

    With the imminent release of the latest World of Warcraft expansion looming on the horizon, I’d like to spend some time talking about that thing that makes the world go around. Cash. Money. Dinero. Yeah, gold baby.

    Specifically, I want to give you a couple ways to make a TON of money in the first couple weeks of the release of Cataclysm. It only requires that you have a max level character with at least one gathering profession.

    Number 1.

    In the ensuing hours after release thousands of rabid WoW players are going to be racing to level up their trade skills to take advantage of the new recipes. This is a freakin’ gold mine for the rest of us. If you’re a miner, sell the gems and ore. If you’re a herbalist, sell those flowers! Remember, trade materials will be extremely inflated for the first month or so of the expansion, then everything will be dirt cheap, with plenty of time for you to max out your blacksmithing or leatherworking skills. Only this way, you’ll be several thousand gold richer.

    Number 2.

    Loot EVERYTHING. Sell Bind on Equip items on the auction house for at least 50 gold a piece, and sell the rest to the vendors. Trash loot can add up quickly when questing, so make sure you loot every bone, hide, and horn.

    Number 3.

    Stay away from the buy button while you’re at the Auction House. Remember, EVERYTHING is going to be more expensive at the start. Only buy with the intention of reselling for a profit.

    Have fun in Cataclysm!

  • Gamer Guilt: A WoW Player’s Guide to Gaming

    Next to my computer desk sits a pile of games and gaming systems. A veritable cornucopia of electronic entertainment. Of the two dozen or so games in the pile, I’ve played five or six at the most. Pile of shame indeed. Nestled in a database on a server farm somewhere near Irvine, California sits the reason these games and consoles lay neglected on my floor. A level 80 Blood Elf Paladin, a 80 Orc Warlock, and a laundry list of other characters. For those of you not MMO inclined, I’m talking about Blizzard’s 11.4 million strong cash machine: World of Warcraft.

    My situation isn’t unique. World of Warcraft’s domination of the gaming space has been the object of countless articles from many writers better qualified then I. What caught my interest is exactly why I choose to play WoW when I have so many great games just waiting to be enjoyed. What magical power does this game possess that continues to interest me after almost five years of playing it? And maybe even more importantly, how can the video game industry reach out to gamers like me and motivate me to buy their products? (more…)

  • How much is World of Warcraft costing you?

    A subscription to World of Warcraft costs 14.99 a month (a buck or two less if you buy your subscription in 3 or 6 month chunks). That comes out to $180 bucks a year. Not bad. Quite a bit cheaper then just about any other hobby you could name. Or is it?

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  • Maximize your DPS: Retribution Paladin Edition

    (Editors note: this post is current as of 3.0.3.)

    Background

    For the past two years I’ve spent my time in World of Warcraft behind the proverbial steering wheel of an orc warlock. I did the raiding thing pre-Burning Crusade, but got burned out a few months before Burning Crusade came out. Around six months after BC launched I did what every other Horde player did on a PvP server, and rolled a blood elf paladin. I got him to level 25 or so and left him sitting there for the next year while school and work kept me away from spending any significant time in WoW. About three weeks ago I got tired of never being able to find a healer and decided to level up the old pally. I leveled with a standard protection spec after level 40, and kept that spec until 3.0.2 came out, upon which I respecced to retribution to try out this wonderfully ‘OP’ spec I’d been hearing everyone complain about.

    Two days ago I dinged 70. The next day 3.0.3 rolled out the promised nerfs to our wonderfully over-powered retribution tree. Not to be discouraged, I equipped my Blessed Battlegear of Undead Slaying and a nice axe I picked up from Kara a few hours after I dinged and set out to learn all I could from my helpful guild mates about my class and spec. Here’s a few helpful tips I learned that can boost you up the damage meters. (more…)

  • The Scourge Invasion: A Survivers Guide

    If you play WoW and have logged on in the past few days, you might have noticed that Azeroth is under attack by the Lich King. Turns out Arthas wasn’t too excited with the prospect of having us crash his pad up in Northrend, so he’s sending us a little taste of what’s in store for us in Wrath of the Lich King. Can you say zombie apocalypse? I knew you could. The event hearkens back to the opening of Naxx pre-BC.

    It all started with crates of zombie contagion and infected roaches appearing last week, and the arrival of Argent Healers in the capital cities. Players infected with the disease would turn into zombies in ten minutes, then were able to infect other NPCs and PCs. Argent Healers could cure you of the plague, and kill zombies with holy retribution to the face. The plague has gotten progressively worse over the course of the past week, dialing down the incubation time from ten minutes, to five minutes, and now to one minute. The Argent Healer’s numbers have been decimated. You can find them next to faction leaders and outside the main gates of capital cities.

    Your experience may vary, but on my server Shattrath is completely overrun with zombies, PC and NPC alike. Getting anywhere in the city without a flying mount is near impossible without getting infected, but here’s a few tips that might save you from becoming a ravenous zombie (and taking that 10% hit to durability).

    • The infection debuff is the equivilent of 3 disease counters. Paladin’s Cleanse and Priest’s Abolish Disease can remove it, but it takes a few casts. If you arn’t one, make sure you’re good friends with a few.
    • Zombie’s are slow. Their Lurch ability increases speed by 100% for 10 seconds with a 30 second cooldown, which ratchets up their movement speed to that of a normal mount. That means that if you’re over level 30, you can outrun them 66% of the time, and if you’re over level 60, you can outrun them 100% of the time.
    • Avoid major cities. B list Capital cities like Thunder Bluff, Silvermoon, Exodar, and Darnassus are good places to hang out. Most of the player organized raids are being conducted against Shattrath and Orgrimmar/Ironforge. Undercity isn’t a great place to be either due to it’s proximity to the quest hub at Light’s Hope Chapel in EPL. Avoid these hotspots and you’ll avoid the bulk of the zombie population.
    • If you fight a big group of zombies, you’ll probably lose. If you disagree, go try it. Trade is filled with people griping about how sick they are of the zombie event, but the truth is if you don’t pick a fight with them you’re probably not going to get infected. You’re faster, more agile, and you have more tricks up your sleeve then they do. Be alert, and you’ll be fine.