2.4 is a gold mine!

Since the release of patch 2.4, most of us have been consumed with the new daily quests. I, for one, have tried to complete them all as much as possible in pursuit of the 5200 gold needed for the purchase of my epic flying mount. I purchased it earlier this week, thanks in no small part to patch 2.4.
A friend noticed me on the mount and commented how he wished he could get his epic but he was still 2kg away from 5200g. I explained to him that I have accumulated 2k gold since 2.4 was released and he could do the same easily. ( Understand I only have a few hours a day to play, if that. ) For most of you, the following will only be stating the obvious. But, for some others, this will help them get their Epic flyer much more quickly.

Quick Aside: Before I begin, let me tell you a little about my character. I play a level 70 undead mage with 375 herbalism and 365 tailoring. I started this character just after patch 2.3 hit.

The new daily quest [Gaining an Advantage] is a gatherer quest. You must be an herbalist, a miner or a skinner to complete this quest. If you are none of these professions you are losing out on 16g 39s per turn in.

The quest asks players to collect 8 [nether residue] which can be found in Outland only herbs, ore veins and skinnables. Miners have a clear advantage here as they can collect more than one [nether residue] per vein. Herbalists and skinners can only get one per resource. The residue has a low drop rate. Because of this, taking time out to specifically finish this quest can diminish a players gold per hour income. I suggest accepting the quest and then only doing it while you complete the other dailies. This may lead to it taking two days to complete but that is still over 8g per day and that makes it worth it.

Now, being a mage, my travel times are minimal. I have also set my hearthstone to Area 52. I suggest you do the same to save some flight time. Non Mage classes will find the travel time to be a bit daunting at times but once you get into the pattern, it will become easier.

Lets Begin:

Start in Shattrath. Get the quests [The Multiphase Survey], [Sunfury Attack Plans], [Maintaining the Sunwell Portal] and [Gaining the Advantage] ( If you are a gatherer). Then take the flight path to Nagrand. Fly down to Oshu'gun and complete [The Multiphase Survey]. This quest is very easy and does not require a single mob kill. If you are looking for [Mote of Shadow], the Voidwalkers that surround Oshu'gun are an excellent source of them. Drop rate is about 25% according to my mob info add on.

Time to hearth up to Area 52. Fly southwest to Manaforge B'Naar and kill the Blood Elves until the [Sunfury Attack Plans] drop. Any blood elf in the area will do. I have gotten the plans on the first kill and have had to kill as many as 30. So don't worry, the plans will drop. Just keep killing until you get them.

Once you have the plans, fly northwest into Blades Edge Mountians and head up to Bash'ir Landing. Here you must kill Ethereals until a [Bash'ir Phasing Device] drops. Again, I have gotten this on the first kill and have had to kill as many as 15 to get the drop. Note - enchanters should be sure to kill the Spell-Theif's here as they are the only source of [Formula :Enchant Weapon-Major Spellpower. this formula will only drop for an enchanter. Once you have the phasing device, use it just outside the ethereal compound. You will now see Phase Wyrms guarding the mana cells. Kill the wyrms, grab the cells and finish the quest.

Now fly south to Ogri'la. Yes, I said Ogri'la. go ahead and do [Relic Emanations], [Wrangle more Aether Rays], [Bomb them again] and [Banish more demons]. these will net you another 45 gold so don't skip them. Once done here, fly down to Hellfire Peninsula. Fly to the Throne of Kil'Jaeden. Accept the quests [Blood for blod] and [Blast the gateway]. Complete these and turn them in. Note - you just recieved your first [Shattered Sun Supplies]. These have a 10% chance of containing a [Badge of Justice]. Very cool.

Head back to Shattrath. Turn in all completed quests. Each [Shattered Sun Supplies] will contain one level 68 green item. Do not try to AH these items. They are not very good for a level 68 so they won't sell. Just sell them to a NPC vendor and take your gold. ( Unless you're an enchanter, of course. )

Go through the Portal to the Isle of Quel'Danas. Get all the available quests here and complete them. What is available will depend on your server. If your server is in Phase 4, skip the quest [A charitable donation] until after you have your epic flyer. No need to give away gold just yet. Once these are done, use the teleport scroll you got from [Know your Ley Lines] to get back to Shattrath. Now go do the daily PvP quest.

On my mage, I usually complete all but the PvP quest in under three hours. Once it is complete ( and if you completed [Gaining the advantage]) you should have gained 242g 3s from the quests. Plus whatever the level 68 greens sold for plus whatever the mobs you killed dropped. Because I'm an herbalist, I usually have enough herbs to drop on the AH. I undercut the lowest price ( just barely ) and by the time I log in the next day, the stack has sold. Essentially, I net over 100g per hour from that three hour run.

Notice, I did not include the Skettis dailies, the Fishing/Cooking dailies, or the zone PvP dailies ( Halaa, Spirit towers, etc ) if you had more time to play, these quests will get you to the 25 daily per day limit and yield you even more gold towards your epic flyer.

With patch 2.4, a player with just a little dedication can get the 5200g needed for their epic flyer in a matter of weeks. Stay out of the AH, unless you are selling. Don't go crazy spending gold and do the daily quests and you will be flying at 280% in no time.

Knowledge is power

Knowledge is power. In a MMO, this is more true than a great deal of players care to admit. As we level, we find what works for us and we stick with it into end game. The problem with that is end game is designed to challenge us; to force us to think outside our comfort zone and come up with solutions we just wouldn't have thought of in solo play. I remember as my Alliance guild was moving out of Karazhan and into 25 man content, I had hit a DPS ceiling with my Rogue. I had the gear, but the knowledge ( some would say skill ) just wasn't there. I had grown accustomed to my backstab x5 Eviserate approach. It had served me well in Karazhan, so it should be fine for Serpentshrine Cavern, I believed. I couldn't have been more wrong. My class had more complexity than that, but it took someone else to show me the way. Knowing how to increase my DPS through better choices in ability rotation led me to a much easier solo game as well as PvP.

Without detailed knowledge of your chosen class, you leave a great deal of the power your class has to offer untapped. Tapping into that unknown power is the key to MMO greatness.

The following are just a few of the multitude of websites that can help you make that jump from an average WoW player to a great WoW player.

WoW Wiki

WoW Wiki is the wikipedia of World of Warcraft. Every playstyle can benefit from this site. It details everything from combat formulas for the number crunchers to the massive amounts of lore for the roleplayer. Almost any general WoW related question can find it's answer at WoW Wiki. If you play WoW and WoW Wiki isn't bookmarked, then you may be one of those players other players are complaining about.

Elitist Jerks

The Elitist Jerk forums have some of the most comprehensive class guides you are likely to find. Whatever you do though, do not post there. Let me repeat that. Do not post there. Any post you can make will only make you look foolish. These guys have forgotten more about WoW than you can hope to know. Use the search function, find the information you need, read and learn. Then thank the gods this site exists.

Arena Junkies

So you like the arenas, do you? Think you're all that, do you? Well, Arena Junkies will prove you wrong. This site is dedicated to all things arena. From strategies to class specific macros, this site will teach you what it takes to be a successful gladiator. After following the advice from Arena Junkies, you will watch your rating rise faster than you imagined possible. Don't be arena fodder anymore. Time to be the victor.

Be Imba

Be Imba is a strange site. For one it ends in .hu, which I honestly have no idea what that means. What I do know is that Be Imba is a powerful tool for every level 70 to use. It is a level 70 character auditor. Simply input your server name and character name then hit query report. What you get back is an audit of your characters armory. It will tell you where your gear is lacking, where you can improve your enchants and sockets. It will even tell you where you should be hunting to get better gear. This tool is a must view for every level 70 player, regardless of your playstyle.

WoW Pro

Are you leveling an alt and finding it's still a chore to level? Do you want to be level 70 as soon as possible and don't care one bit about anything else? Go to WoW Pro. Go to their leveling guide section and follow James Alliance/Horde leveling guide. Complete with maps, this guide will lead you by the hand step by step from level 30 to 70 for Alliance and level 21 to 70 for Horde. ( It should be noted there are other guides that lead into the James guides, they are just not written by James ) If you do as James directs, you simply cannot go wrong. You will level faster than you dreamed. And if you follow the guide, you will have enough quests left over after 70 to get you fairly close to your epic flying mount.

So there you have five great websites to help you become a better WoW player. There are tons of others out there and a good MMO player will learn how to find them and use them to their fullest. Arming yourself with all the knowledge that is available to you is the best way to meet your in-game goals.

Happy Hunting!

-------------------------------------------------------------

Next up: A focus on a few must have add ons.