Mr. Peanut and his monocle: Bank toon fashion
by Zach Yonzon 
Apr 16th 2008 at 6:30PM
So you're getting all rich and the gold's started to pour in. You've made lots of wise investments and your arbitrage has been paying off great dividends. You've even got a bank toon to handle all your business -- after all, the rich folk leave all the dirty work to their accountants. Here's a question for you... is your bank toon dressed for the part? See, it just isn't right for your bank toon to run around Stormwind or Orgrimmar in their underwear, no matter how much that delights your inner pervert. Bank toons must be dignified... classy, even. They are the keepers of your wealth, so give them their due by throwing out that ratty Thug Shirt.Fortunately for you, WoW Insider has prepared a simple makeover guide for your bank toon. If you've been treating your banker right, you've probably dressed them in the tuxedo sets made from Tailoring or obtained through the Noblegarden event. Complete the look with a perfectly matching pair of Frayed Shoes. You probably won't find these on the Auction House, but they drop from Level 1-5 mobs, so they shouldn't be a problem to farm. If you're too lazy (or unlucky), you can purchase Heavy Weave Shoes from clothiers in most cities. These also go very well with tuxedo sets but require Level 12. I personally keep my banker at Level 1 too keep her ego in check, so it's the Frayed Shoes for her.
Of course, the truly rich gift their bankers with a pair of Antique Silver Cufflinks, which can be obtained from the lucrative fishing daily quest. Non-anglers can troll the Auction Houses or trade channels for these beauties -- but be prepared to pay a steep price! These simple white items sell for over 11 Gold to vendors, so fishermen won't easily be parted with them. Some people marry their bankers or accountants to make sure the wealth stays within the family... so why not throw in The Rock and Gold Wedding Band to celebrate the influx of Gold? The Rock is an exorbitant gift you can purchase from vendors in Booty Bay, Silvermoon City, or the Exodar for a whopping 100 Gold. Gold Wedding Bands come from those Bags of Fishing Treasures, just like the cufflinks, and sell for 15 Gold to vendor so expect to pay similar if you don't fish.
Of course, if you're not into the whole wedding thing, there are a bunch of alternative rings for your banker to show off their bling. For the neck, you simply have to visit the ineffable Griftah and choose from his wide selection of wondrous accouterments. I would recommend Gritah's Talisman of True Treasure Tracking, available for a reasonable 8 Gold 75 Silver 35 Gold. It never hurts to have amulets that help you find more Gold, after all!
All bankers simply must have an off-hand frill. It's the latest trend in banker fashion. I highly recommend the Gothic and classy Bouquet of Black Roses which can be purchased from herbalism suppliers in Stormwind and Thunder Bluff for a hefty 50 Gold. A single Black Rose can be an equally classy statement, of course, but true connoisseurs know it's only a cheap 50 Silver from those same herb vendors. If you're more into celebrating your riches with a drink like those Dwarves, then might I recommend an Ornate Drinking Stein. This nice silver mug also comes from fishing and sells for 11 Gold to vendors, so players will likely sell it for around that price.
Finally -- and this is important -- no banker's outfit is complete without Mr. Peanut's exemplary eyepiece, the Noble's Monocle. Barring a top hat, the monocle is the ultimate finishing touch any rich banker needs to get the point across. Without a monocle, how can your banker exude class and show off wealth? Monocles are the epitome of high society (or evil geniuses...), so it's imperative that your banker sports one. Again, this comes from the fishing quest (why do you think those guys from Deadliest Catch bother?) and retails for about 11 Gold. Once you have most of these slots filled -- specially the monocle -- your banker should be all set to conquer (or at least enthrall) the financial world of Azeroth.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Humor
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Robin Apr 16th 2008 6:44PM
Hah! I do the Pink Mageweave Shirt and the Tuxedo Pants, and only occasionally wear the tux jacket. Fashionable Tauren bank alts dress down, yet poshly you know. I was considering the monocle. I wish there was a nifty black fedora!
Krick Apr 16th 2008 11:16PM
Don't forget the height of level 1 bank alt jewelry...
Tarnished Silver Necklace
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=9333
Tarnished Silver Ring
http://www.wowhead.com/?item=33855
Koronus Apr 16th 2008 10:32PM
haha great article!
i personally like my troll to run around in mah peeimp suit
ryanailts Apr 16th 2008 10:32PM
Ha, my BE female is nude except the red Xmas clothes. I always get nerdy orcs running around me, telling me to take my clothes off and dance for them every time I log into Org.
Ikarus Apr 16th 2008 7:01PM
Slow day in WoW news eh?
Kadaan Apr 16th 2008 7:29PM
Welcome to WoW Insider ;)
Badger Apr 16th 2008 9:50PM
Hey, now. It might be filler, but at least it's *amusing* filler. ;-)
Ladli Apr 17th 2008 10:51AM
Yes... it was slightly amusing, but I was expecting a little more than "basically, you need to fish or by from fisherman to make your bank look good!" Was just a little too repetitive.
Badger Apr 17th 2008 1:16PM
THIS R NOT ENUFF FISHES
Zach Apr 17th 2008 1:21PM
@6 / Ladli - There certainly are more options for bank alts than this post describes. Blue overalls and a broom, anyone? It's just that the new fishing daily provides key items that previously weren't available and seem to be directed heavily at this kind of outfit. Almost like a deliberate attempt by Blizzard to put some sort of Truman Capote into the game.
Starlin Apr 16th 2008 7:02PM
This all sounds fun, but I've never seen the need for a bank alt. What are the benefits? Besides extra bag space.
Milktub Apr 16th 2008 7:09PM
The benefit is primarily so that you never need to go back to a capitol city. After a days worth of questing, you probably have a couple green BoEs, a few stacks of cloth, maybe a stack or two of your gathering professions mats. Rather than go back to a capitol, you mail it off to your trusty bank alt. There it gets DE'd and put on the auction house.
Something WOWInsider forgot to mention is the requisite lowbie weapon enchanted with Firey (or another glow-enchant).
Brian Arnold Apr 16th 2008 7:10PM
I find it easier to manage all of my AH business on one character. So, I can send in all of my daily green rewards (from the SSO daily rewards) as well as random drops and such to one character, and then I don't have to make the trek to a major city just to list it.
I keep my banker parked between the AH and a mailbox, and it makes life easy. He handles all of the business side of things, and now that mail between chars on the same account is instant, it's just that much more convenient.
Pelina Apr 16th 2008 10:38PM
For me it is about bagspace on my main - It is so great to be able to just mass-mail all the days spoils off and keep my bags open for more spoils. It is even greater when in the middle of a grind. Bags full? Just get to the nearest mailbox and a few seconds later the bags deflate in relief. Also it is great to not have to pop over to old world for AH:ing all the time. Cuts back on the spur of the moment AH-splurges :)
Dave Apr 16th 2008 7:37PM
There are a BUNCH of reasons to be perfectly honest. A Bank alt typically sits at the bank, which is in proximity to both a mailbox and the auction house. When you quest/gather/whatever you can send all your proceeds to the bank alt from your main or whatever you're playing with and either stash them in a bank, or put them up on the AH. You almost never have to hearth back to a major city and your time can be better spent avoiding them except when you need to train. You just throw everything in the mail to the bank alt and hit the road again.
If you need to put it on the AH, the bank alt does it. if you need to disenchant it, hopefully you've leveled your bank alt enough to be able to disenchant whatever it is. So on, so forth.
It's a lot faster and a lot more efficient to do it that way. Plus, you can conceal your AH identity a lot easier if you're just doing things on an alt rather than your main. Sometimes your guild will have rules against selling stuff you gained "through the guild", but if you don't tell 'em your bank alt they'll never know you did it. (crafted items using Nether Vortex was a good example, epic gems from Hyjal is another).
Even further, having your own guild bank is handy too since it gives you a lot more storage for things. Whether you're just keeping around mats to level a tradeskill (it's a good idea if you're going to take a new tradeskill to take the gathering tradeskill first, gather all the mats yourself and then drop the gather skill and level the tradeskill using all your own mats) or speculating for future AH transactions or whatever, I've found having an extra few hundred bank slots to be absolutely worth the cost. I've got a full 6-tab bank alt guildbank and it's paid for itself many times over with all the money I've made by being able to keep around things like stacks and stacks of Void Crystals and Primals and whatever else has just gone to absurd prices in the last patch. (Primal Life went from 11g each to 27g each and I had 20 stacks ready to sell which is a nearly 6,000g profit, woo hoo!)
Very, very useful.
Rosoe Apr 18th 2008 9:57AM
Also, if you find yourself struggling to not spend your money while you save up for epic flying, it can help to give your played characters a set "allowance" and at the end of a gaming session, send any extra over that allowance to your bank alt. Out of easy reach, but not impossible to get, and you find you're not so likely to impulse buy that Jewelcrafting pattern you just HAD to have...
Charlie Apr 17th 2008 5:28AM
I just love being able to store all my tradeskill items on my bank.
I think the value of a bank alt goes up as you have more high level characters. No more "Now, where did I put that?". I find it just to be efficient, and I also love to keep as few things in my bags as possible (Ussually I have 30+ open slots on both my priest and mage while questing).
The only things I keep on my mage/priest are personal consumables (like food buffs, pots go to the bank alt), enchanting mats, as only my priest is an enchanter, and everything thats soulbound.
Silverrealm Apr 17th 2008 10:52AM
I use my bank alt to quickly clear my bag space from my questing toon... then I can mail it back to myself when I am in a city to put in my bank.
My bank toon also holds mats in her bank, and does all virtually all the AH buying and selling for not only my toons but our [small] guild.
All the greens and blues we don't need are handled by her. It's easier to keep track of money flow and things that don't sell well on one toon.
Plus all the stuff I make with my other toons professions are equally divided amongst them so no one is hurting for cash.
Starlin Apr 17th 2008 11:03AM
Thank you all for the comments. Sounds like I should have made a bank alt a long time ago.
Zali Apr 17th 2008 1:24PM
I also use the bank alt and have the private guild bank. I don't have 6 guild bank slots, but I have two and am considering a third. The thing I like best is being able to deposit money into the guild bank. That way it is out of site. If my account is ever hacked, the evil asshat would have to not only have to roll through all ten of my toons to find loot to sell off, but would have to check each of their banks AND the guild banks for them all. Theres nothing saying that they won't check it all, but I'm betting that they'll be more interested in a quick ninja and that my private guild bank will go unnoticed.
No guarantee, of course. But one extra step in security can't hurt.
The guild bank also helps because across my toons I have every trade covered, and things like mining and skinning are covered by several toons in order to provide the raw mats for the crafters. Having a central location for all the crafting mats, as well as pots and potions and enchanting stuff is wonderful.