The state of Inscription
by Natalie Mootz 
Sep 18th 2008 at 4:25PM
One thing I know is this: the 8962 beta patch which downloaded last night is not going to be the last beta patch we see. How do I know this? Because there are still no Warrior, Death Knight, or minor glyphs available to train yet. Yes, I know what some websites are reporting about Death Knight glyphs, but I assure that these glyphs are not at the trainers. The lack of clear information on the topic is making it interesting to be a scribe on the beta servers. (And by "interesting" I mean "lame.") While I'm standing in front of the trainer looking at the list of available glyphs, people on the Trade channel are calling me an idiot because I have no DK glyphs because they read about them. (Lolwut?) But my graphic for this post is my proof. They're not available yet, people!I've leveled up to Expert on Inscription and I'm an oink away from Artisan. I have been selling my glyphs for measly sums merely to cover the cost of materials. Who are these people trying to sell a stack of Peacebloom for 500G?? Do they not understand that (a) you can't buy anything useful with your beta money anyway and (b) you can't keep your money when Wrath goes live? Can they back off their greed for, I don't know, 10 minutes to let the Inscription profession work out its kinks? And what's with the enchanters? I put a stack of vellum out there for 1 silver and nobody wants it? Obviously, enchanters are not making scrolls for us to test out. (The scrolls you see on the auction house are from scribes, by the way, not enchanters.) I've been able to purchase one whole enchantment on the beta -- some kind of shiny spellthread for my pants -- at the lovely cost of 599 gold. But that was WAY back two patches ago. Since then I haven't seen any enchantment scrolls available at all. If you want free glyphs, mail or whisper Sligger on the US Northrend beta server. And if you want to send me free herbs, may Elune bless you!
Lastly, I leave you with a mystery. On the table next to the Inscription trainer in Undercity, there is a floating book which is called "Lexicon of Power" when you mouse over it. You can't intereact with it otherwise. A Scribe standing next to me suggested that maybe it's like an Anvil or a Mana Loom, but the currently available inscription recipes don't mention a need for it. I guess we'll have to wait for the next patch.
Filed under: Warrior, Wrath of the Lich King, Death Knight, Enchants, Making money, Expansions, Items, Enchanting, Herbalism, Inscription
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Atroce Sep 18th 2008 4:32PM
Spellthread is a tailoring item, not enchanting.
So... it's possible you haven't seen any tradeable enchants at all.
-Atroce.
Beelzebubble Sep 18th 2008 4:40PM
How annoying is it that people are actually trying to make gold on the Beta servers and doop other players instead of attempting to test the content. So frustrating sometimes. Keep exploring Inscription, I look forward to taking it up once the next patch hits!
Fenom Sep 18th 2008 4:39PM
"One thing I know is this: the 8962 beta patch which downloaded last night is not going to be the last beta patch we see. How do I know this? Because there are still no Warrior, Death Knight, or minor glyphs available to train yet."
you ain't gotta look at inscription trainers to know that, having common sense would do just fine
Fenom Sep 18th 2008 4:39PM
"One thing I know is this: the 8962 beta patch which downloaded last night is not going to be the last beta patch we see. How do I know this? Because there are still no Warrior, Death Knight, or minor glyphs available to train yet."
you ain't gotta look at inscription trainers to know that, having common sense would do just fine
Hearthsalot Sep 18th 2008 4:42PM
I've got incription leveled as far as I can without northrend herbs. I have lots of spare mats. Hit me up in-game and I'll see if I can hook you up with some goodies.
->Hearthsalot, US Northrend Beta server
Natalie Mootz Sep 18th 2008 6:00PM
Oh thank you! Unfortunately, I failed to mention I'm Horde... it's not letting me add you so I'm guessing you're Alliance. :(
Manatank Sep 18th 2008 4:41PM
Blizzard should just make the mats available for free during the beta/PTR, or just make the inscriptions free to acquire. What point is there in creating an economy on a test server?
nav Sep 18th 2008 5:24PM
To errr... test the economy? Getting the mat costs right must take some time.
Manatank Sep 18th 2008 5:34PM
There is no way that the economy on the test servers reflect the costs on a live realm so I don't see how it is a valuable exercise. Do you really think there are farmers who spend the time to farm mats on the test realms to make a profit that will just disappear? There is no incentive at all on a test realm to gather mats unless it is for your own use. And I can't see any testing value in having people farm mats.
peagle Sep 18th 2008 4:42PM
This article also known as "Beta bitch session, what grinds my gears - auction house edition"
:)
here is a thought Sep 18th 2008 4:56PM
wow, i am not in the beta, but i really can not believe what you are describing about the economy... that is pretty insane. i would think the beta AH should have a 50g price cap or something and each account should get a 50g/day allowance in their inbox.
This so that as you point out, people can really beta test! we all know the economy dynamics, but if you have to play by those rules in beta then there is a lot of things that will go untested.... things like that make me think that wotlk may get released without the testing it needs :/
how much gold you have should be the least of your concerns when a new profession remains untested.... sigh
Natalie Mootz Sep 18th 2008 6:01PM
I think you are the most brilliant commenter ever! I love this idea. Would make things a lot funner on the beta.
sephirah Sep 18th 2008 5:01PM
Don't know on the beta server, but on the EU PTR the lag is so big that would take years to level a profession.
Moreover, I think many people like me find levelling professions a sore, so, as "you can't keep your professions skill when Wrath goes live" they can't find a reason to level Inscription.
Xeren Sep 18th 2008 5:40PM
Even worse, I leveled inscription about halfway up on the PTR, and then the server crashed- when I came back, i had my old profession back as if i had never dropped it and leveled inscription up, but, to add insult to injury, the herbs I had used were gone!
Naix Sep 18th 2008 5:16PM
"...I'm an oink away from Artisan."
How far is an oink away from anything? I have never heard of this rare saying. Or is this something your trying to popularize?
Natalie Mootz Sep 18th 2008 6:03PM
This is an American football term. For those of you not familiar with this game, the ball is made out of pigskin. When a play is missed by an inch (or some other very small distance) a humorous way to describe the situation is to say that it was missed by an "oink," a reference to the pigskin. So much for mixing sports with WoW! :)
jaredh Sep 18th 2008 9:00PM
There is no such football terminoligy AT ALL.
Don't know where you got that from, but you have either had your leg pulled or are joking.
jaredh Sep 18th 2008 9:03PM
oh yeah, a football is made of leather, NOT pigskin. That's just a euphemism of a description harking back to when the first balls were created and it WAS made of pigskin. Those days ended sometime in the 1930s...
tayluca Sep 18th 2008 5:28PM
Back on topic a little bit....
Scroll of recall change:
Scroll of Recall
Requires Inscriptions (25)
Use: Returns you to (hearth destination here).
Results are unpredictable beyond level 40.
As a 70, I used it, and was 'hearthed' to the woods just outside Auberdine with a 60 second debuff that stated:
Lost!
You were too high a level to use your scroll of recall and it teleported you randomly.
60 seconds remaining.
I was lol'ing too hard to try to use my hearth to see if the 'debuff' did anything in particular. SO FUNNY!
The scroll of recall is of the same level as the rank 1 scrolls you can make so i have to assume there's going to be more levels going on there (or hope at least).
Also, they added new inscription only terot cards as well. Didn't have enough herbs to make the inks to just make 100 of the tarots so I don't know the state of the decks yet. But it's looking real fun.
Giz Sep 18th 2008 5:32PM
To be honest, who's spending their time in the beta farming low level materials rather than testing out the new content? Don't get me wrong; price-gougers should get a swift kick to the groin. But is it really that unbelievable?