Breakfast Topic: Consumables: Buy, gather, or make?
As I was searching the AH yet again the other day, whining to myself about how high prices were getting on Elixirs of Major Agility, it occurred to me to wonder... If they're so high, why don't I just make them myself? Actually, before the Burning Crusade -- or more specifically, daily quests -- came along, I generally would, or rather, I'd buy the herbs and find a friend to do the combines. Others besides me took it one step further and started an alt character specifically to have someone to gather herbs and make potions for them. But even without herbalism, if you watched the AH and herb prices for a bit, you could buy herbs when they were a bit on the cheap side and get yourself a stockpile of cheap elixirs, potions, and flasks.
Ever since daily quests, however, I've been a lot more lazy. I'll find myself at the Auction House less than an hour before raid time praying that someone has the potions I need for sale at a less than soul-gouging prices. I'll buy them at the soul-gouging prices anyway, of course, because I need them, and I have the extra money from dailies, but I wonder if I should go back to the old way of getting the herbs and stockpiling. It'd lead to fewer last minute buying sprees, at least.
So how do you do your consumables? Do you do the last minute buying spree, do you watch for good deals, or do you just do the herbalism and/or alchemy yourself?
Filed under: Herbalism, Alchemy, Items, Breakfast Topics, Buffs






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Tridus Feb 19th 2008 8:06AM
My main is an herb/alchemist, and I have an enchanter alt. That pretty much covers consumables. Its pretty easy to farm up some mats while waiting for raid invites to start anyway, so it doesn't even take up a lot of time.
Bunny Feb 19th 2008 8:11AM
Time is money, friend.
Richard Feb 19th 2008 9:40AM
Have I got a deal for you!
Oli Feb 19th 2008 12:28PM
I tend to be the one doing the price gouging, 700g in an hour usually if i put stuff on before 7pm server time on wednesdays.
Erika Feb 19th 2008 8:14AM
I pickpocket all the pots I need and sell the rest on the ah. My other consumable is the 110g which is about a hour of farming for me depending on how lazy I am feeling.
Aelwi Feb 19th 2008 8:17AM
My alt is herb/alchemist but i buy herbs too lazy to gather and i bought for one month raiding each month
Balasan Feb 19th 2008 8:25AM
My main's a JC holy paladin, but with a druid alt with epic flight and alc/herb, farming for consumables is way darn easy. Just do the netherwing dailies and I have enough mats for one flask a day if I'm lucky with the fel lotus.
And if we're going for a progression night my guild provides us with marks of illidari anyway so no issues about flasks. I just need to find a stable supply of mana oil...
TomWolf Feb 19th 2008 8:30AM
I ply the auctionhouse a lot and have my conenctions for refining cheap mats, be it herbs to potions or cloth to bags or gemcuts. It's a good way to A) get Gold B) Get cheap stuff C) keep your guild with cheap stuff.
Dan Feb 19th 2008 8:32AM
I tried my hand a gathering/crafting but found that since I'm casual and don't get in on the high-end instances/raids it was best for me to just go with 2 gathering professions so I went with mining/skinning but don't quite have my skinning up. I make tons of money on ore from outland and even more farming Marks of Kil'Jaeden.
spamcatcher Feb 19th 2008 9:42AM
I'm an herb/alch. I refuse to drop it because I have so many old world flask recipes, as well as 4 of the new discovery only recipes and the super rejuv potion discovery. I can't bring myself to drop the profession and lose all that.
I make a lot of stuff and sell it on the AH. The prices may be what a lot of people call price gouging, but I'm only making 50 silver or so on a stack of 5 elixirs. My auction just doesn't support mark up on the stuff. The materials requirement for Major Agility is a perfect example - 1 Terocone, 2 Felweed and 1 Imbued Vial.
2 Stacks of Felweed - 16g
Stack of Vials - 6.40g
Stack Terocone - 19g
It costs about 42g in mats to make the pots. Now, yes, I could gather those mats and sell the pots cheaper, but why would I? If I'm going to try and maximize my profit I'm going to sell the herbs themselves.
The only reason I put pots/elixirs on the AH is because I make a ton to get discoveries...
So I do apologize to everyone for high potion/elixir prices, but it's the prices of the herb farmers that really set the elixir/potion prices. I'm not selling my stuff for cheaper than the materials.
BillDoor Feb 19th 2008 8:34AM
375 Fishing for the win.
Neil T. Feb 19th 2008 8:36AM
My main is herb/alch with full cooking, so most of my consumables are covered, and my girlfriend has an enchanter for the mana oils. Because I'm a healer I tend to use Flask of Distilled Wisdom on new bosses, which means occasional trips to Winterspring to get the Icecap needed to make it.
dacamper Feb 19th 2008 8:41AM
Cos I'm an alchemist, I use Mad Alchemist Pots so I'll buy the ragveil for those. For agility elixirs, I usually buy from the AH because I don't have a high level herbalist (alchemy is soo cheap to level) and on Aszune the elixirs sell for less than the materials cost... mature servers FTL :(
Shevva Feb 19th 2008 8:46AM
On the other end of the AH whats the best cooked food to put on everyone seems to like the +hit grub but my warp bugers with +agi aren't far behind?
Screwblade Feb 19th 2008 8:52AM
I did the whole Alt Alch/Herbalist.
I went potion master on him and I did really well at first making up mana and heal pots for raids. I was a potion manufacturing plant. Then it happened. While making a supply of 100 mana pots for a guildie I discovered 3 flasks (RA, Fort, PD) Now I'm at a crossroad. Do I stay pot master to help the guild or do I go elixir to possibly help myself and my coin purse?
simeon Feb 19th 2008 12:27PM
Neither. Go Transmute!
theRaptor Feb 19th 2008 8:55AM
Having just joing a SSC/TK guild I have been pondering this question. As it is I only do enough dailies on my raiding character to just pay for consumables, and I would really like to get my alt an epic flyer (and spellstrike), so I am considering making my main a herbie. My old main is 300 herb/300 alchy, but I can't be bothered taking it to 70.
Neesan Feb 19th 2008 8:56AM
I just sell them for soul-gouging prices.
Usu Feb 19th 2008 8:57AM
My main is herb / alch / elixir master, 375 fishing and a melee class to boot, so I make almost all consumables myself. I do buy fel lotus when it's cheap since I have really bad drop luck on that, and buy ore on the AH for a friend to make runes and weightstones. But that expense is easy to cover by selling flasks at soul-gouging prices ;)
Zarzuur Feb 19th 2008 9:16AM
I'm levelling an alt for herbalism/alchemy atm too, after spending potions quick in dungeons and then realising that to buy replacements off the AH was very pricey.
So I've made the alt a pet class (warlock) for easier farming, plus with alchemy I can have primal transmutes which I can use for other crafting.