The Classifieds: One million gold in his pocket
by Lisa Poisso 
May 12th 2010 at 9:00PM
The road to level 85 will be paved with gold for one lucky guild being financed by a member who's earned 1 million gold in the past six months. Reader Villainus managed to crank his bank account up to 1 million gold last week. His ultimate goal? Sharing the wealth. "I'm not selling anything, not advertising on my site ... just did it for the challenge," he wrote to WoW.com. "My plans so far are to help my guild power level to 85 for Cataclysm with basically unlimited funds. :)"
Villainus' entire savings project took six months and began with 1,000 gold, a rudimentary understanding of the Auction House, no addons and no stock of items. On the blog where he documented his work in progress, he noted these facts along the way:
- Averaged 46,080g per week in profit
- 1500+ active auctions at any one time
- Largest single day gain: 51,781g
- Largest single day loss: 18,254g
- Single Iceblade Arrow sales: 16,374g
- Rare and epic spellthread profit: 81,313g
- Gold earned from GDKPs: 28,312g
- Gold spent at GDKPs: 71,210g
- Vendor pets profit: 19,448g
- Largest profit from a single item: Ring of Rotting Sinew 9,512g
- Largest % profit from item: Plans : Titanium Razorplate 3,308%, 80g to 2,646g
- Most expensive item purchased: Deathbringer's Will 17,000g
- Most expensive item sold: Mechano-hog 15,210g
- Gold lost to AH 5% fee: 64,712g
What's next for Villainus? "I plan to still run my markets but at a much more relaxed pace," he blogs. "I have my addons and processes down to a quick 70 minutes/day to post and craft everything I need done. That's 30 minutes in the morning to craft and post, 20 minutes before rush hour (6-7 p.m.) to repost and 20 minutes after raids end (11-12 p.m.) to restock the AH." Check out Villainus' blog to read how he accumulated 1 million gold in six months, plus his ideas on how it could be done even faster and more efficiently.
News: Around the WoW community
Does your guild raid in the old world? We're looking for you! One of the most common requests we get here at The Classifieds is help finding groups who regularly raid in older, vanilla WoW and Burning Crusade-era content. Whether you're a retro raider (including raiders of appropriate level and above) or a classic raider (adhering to strict level and gear caps appropriate to the content you raid), let us know where to find your group. Drop us a line at theclassifieds@wow.com with your guild's name, realm and faction, along with your web site address. We'll list your group in an upcoming installment of The Classifieds.
Random Acts of Uberness
Philosophy, <Invented the Piano Tie>, US Bladefist-H Philosophy made the School of Hard Knocks achievement have fewer hard knocks. After the initial zerg rush to get to a tower in Alterac Valley, a group of non-PvP alliance players were understandably helpless. In steps Philosophy, who repeatedly claimed the flag on the tower and waited there for each player to click the flag. In spite of some Alliance players who felt this was ruining the PvP, he fought off any contenders ... and then returned to claim the flag for us helpless people. He could have left after the first attack, but instead he stayed at that tower for the whole fight to help us out. He deserves many thanks. -- Tamara and Xenthya, <Knights of Eternal Glory>, US Lightbringer-AMuddflaps, Leperseed and Gazmatron, <Abyssal>, US Kel'Thuzad-A So I'm questing in the Dragonblight and I try to solo a few of the wanted poster group quests. Despite my best bubble-healing, I couldn't down any of them. Muddflaps, Leperseed and Gazmatron were awesome enough to bring me along while helping their guildmate Gazmatron. We got them all done really quickly, and I'm now I'm 20% closer to level 77! They were a really friendly group of people. Thanks again from Angelforge! -- Angelforge, US Kel'Thuzad-A
Allistria, Greiver and Justicara, <Patience>, US Kul Tiras-A Finding a dungeon finder group that clicks is rare -- but it totally happened the other day. Allistria, Greiver and Justicara, all from the guild <Patience> in Kul Tiras, ended up in a random dungeon with a guild member and me last night. Not only were they totally competent -- we ended up doing three dungeons together, two of them orange for most of us, without a single problem -- but they were friendly, relaxed and helpful. I almost missed an upgrade on my robe due to extreme tiredness, and they pointed it out. So thank you to all three of them; they made for an exciting and enjoyable night. -- Anonymous
Djmill/Len of US Elune-A I queue up for a random dungeon and get Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom. As a level 73, this is my first random that isn't Nexus or UK, so I'm pretty psyched. I get even more excited when I find out that our tank, Djmill, is a level 80 warrior with 33k HP buffed; sweet! I quickly peruse the members of the group and realize that the resto shaman, Len, is in the warrior's guild. A couple of minutes into the dungeon, however, I realize something is off. The mobs are going down waaaay too fast. I know Djmill is an 80, but come on, I don't even have time to put my diseases up. After the first boss goes down in 12 seconds, I definitely realize that something is not right. I check the warrior's gear and spec, and realize that he's an ICC-geared fury warrior. Woah. I check Recount, and he's spanking 8k DPS! None of the other DPS are doing more than 600 because we don't even have time to start our rotations or anything.
As we're running along, basically watching Djmill wipe the dungeon off the face off the earth, I realize that Len isn't doing much at all. I check Recount, and her activity level is almost zero. One of our other DPS almost dies during the Jedoga Shadowseeker fight and starts complaining about the healer not doing anything. Djmill then elaborates, saying that he's dual-boxing and running his shaman, Len, on another account, through the dungeon. Ohhhh ... It all makes sense now! We killed Herald Volazj, and the whole run ended up taking only 9 minutes. Pure epic. Thank you Djmill, for making this young death knight's day with the most painless dungeon run ever. I had the pleasure of getting in another random with Djmill and Len, this time Azjol Nerub, taking a whopping 8 minutes this time. -- Danteriusjr, US Magtheridon-A
Employment: Guild recruiting
- 10-man strict <Dirty Little Secret> (US Nazgrel-H) is recruiting 10-man strict raiders to continue progressing through ICC into hard modes. "We are recruiting any class/spec," notes their recruiter. "As long as you enjoy raiding and have fun doing it, you'll be a good fit."
- Friendly raiding <Storm Bringers> (US Aman'thul-H) is recruiting more members for ICC-10 (5/12) and ICC-25 (4/12), particularly healers and tanks. "We're a friendly, open guild that's been running for over two years and looking to advance our progression," writes their recruiter. Raids Wed./Thurs./Sat./Sun. 7:30-11:30 p.m. server time (AEST).
- ICC raiding <Morbid Curiosity> (US Kirin Tor-H) is seeking to fill out its roster with "friendly folks who value a good time, lich slaps, odd guild notes and the occasional long walk on the beach," notes their recruiter. "We value good personality and willingness to learn over gear, and we love people who know their class and come prepared." Especially seeking resto, cat and balance druids; shadow priests; rogues; hunters; warlocks; elemental and enhancement shaman; and ret pallies. Raids ICC-10 Wed. 10 p.m.-2 a.m. server/CST, Sun. 10 p.m.-1 a.m.; ICC-25 Tues./Thurs. 10 p.m.-1 a.m.; and other Mon. 10 p.m.-1 a.m.
- Anniversary recruiting <The Conclave of Shadows> (US Misha-A) marked their second anniversary last week with multiple events, culminating in a full-day scavenger hunt. Already a fairly large, social guild, the group is also seeking to add more players for a second, late-night ICC-10 group and a regular ICC-25 group.
- More anniversary growth <Champions of the Dawn> (US Eonar-A), a casual group that just celebrated its fifth year as a guild, is seeking a few more members for late-night raids plus an early-bird ICC-10 group starting at 7 p.m. EST.
- Save Euripides (WoW.com blogger Basil Berntsen) from dying in void zones! <Aetherial Circle> (US Drenden-A) is recruiting healers for ICC-25 normal two to three nights a week; currently on the Lich King P2. "Evidently, Rip stands in a lot of fires," writes Euripides. "Full on hunters; tame feral druids welcome."
The Classifieds brings you weekly updates on player and community news, help finding the right guild, who's making waves in the WoW community and more. Email your news and Random Acts of Uberness to TheClassifieds@wow.com. Filed under: Guilds, The Classifieds
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
I Like Cheese May 12th 2010 9:10PM
It kinda makes me smile to see that most people aren't really hung up on the whole Alliance and Horde thing. One day while me and some friends were questing we had a tauren warrior save us from death, and we proceeded to help him by letting him tag the mob afterwards. At least there is some niceness out there =)
Blacked Out [XBL: Biacked_Out] May 12th 2010 9:23PM
You don't play on a PvP server do you...
I Like Cheese May 12th 2010 9:39PM
It wasn't a story of me being horribly ganked by an orc called 'Allisucklol' =P Don't think I have the patience for a PvP server, I'd end up throwing my computer out of the window after being ganked a few hundred times.
Raeenith May 12th 2010 11:09PM
@Black Out
PVP servers can have their friendly moments too. :) Just a couple of hours ago I was doing a group quest by myself and when I defeated the 78 or 79 elite with amazingly good damage, I realized that an Undead Rogue had been helping me and I'm sure I accidentally hit him with Divine Storm and Consecrate. Not only was it a surprise that he helped and didn't kill me, but it was also a surprise that it was a UD Rogue, which I find are usually at the top of the gankers list. :P
The Giant May 13th 2010 4:53AM
After being shot at and attacked by legions of aggressive opponents, you might think that everyone in PvP hates you. Thankfully, this isn't true. They just want you to die.
neogramps May 13th 2010 5:03AM
I play on a PVP server and once a random truce led to me and a tauren doing an escort quest together (the injured goblin in the spider cave in Storm Peaks one), which was funny.
When I'm feeling devious I'll help a horde to down an elite, then Vanish, cheapshot, boom, boom /hug ;)
Priestess May 13th 2010 11:00AM
I play on a PvP server and always have, and I see random cooperation not infrequently. Probably the most epic one I was part of was when my husband and I with our level 79 Druid/Priest combo were doing the Battle at Valhalas (a level 80 Ring of Blood-styled group quest chain in Icecrown), and a Blood Elf Paladin dropped in to "help". At first it was akward trying not to hit each other, but at the end his dps was a real boon. When we were finished, he took his turn on the bosses, and we stayed to help. It was about an hour of random Horde/Alliance cooperation.
Another fun one was to have my Priest cast Mind Control on a Horde so my husband could use his Paladin or Druid to heal and buff them. Bet they weren't expecting that one! Muahahahahaha!
Since I generally refuse to kill Horde and I love to help other people, I find myself in such situations a lot. Sometimes I get killed for my trouble, but as long as I'm not the one with honor points, I'm ok with that.
edenxiii May 13th 2010 11:09AM
I don't know if it's coincidence or what, but every time I've had a hordie do something nice its been a tauren. I remember doing that quest in westfall with the elite at the top of the southern tower and nearly dying until a tauren warrior came, 1 shot the mob, /patted me and left. There was a similar time in Terrokar when I tried to do the quest with all the poisoned druids. Again, I almost died but then here comes a friendly tauren shaman to save the day.
Maybe the starter quests for moocows gives them good values. Not like the forsaken's "death to everything!" schtick.
Aaron May 13th 2010 1:06PM
I tried to help a group of 3 horde while out farming on my main. I hit an AoE and killed them all. It's hard helping the enemy sometimes. =/ I was farming Eng mats in Hellfire so they were in the 60 - 63 range. I genuinely felt bad about it.
Quidamtyra May 12th 2010 9:11PM
a couple weeks ago in a GDKP, the Deathbringer's Will went for 30k.
The guy then stated he had 130k on that toon; I thought THAT was a lot of gold... boy was I wrong!
Austin May 14th 2010 8:50AM
Just a quick question, how did he "purchase" Deathbringer's Will? That trinket is BoP.
glyakk May 12th 2010 9:16PM
Probably though GKDP
Mullen May 12th 2010 9:17PM
It dropped and he "bid" 30K on it. The 30K was then split with the rest of the raid. It's how a GDKP works.
Camo May 13th 2010 4:33AM
It was a GDKP (gold DKP) run. If you want something you place your bid and hope that none of the others have more gold in their pockets. :D
There was an article on that topic some time ago.
pyro_818 May 12th 2010 9:33PM
Austin: in a GDKP run, and item that drops is auctioned off in raid chat - the highest bidder wins it, no exceptions. The money is put into a 'pot', and the 'pot' is then shared out equally among all 25 players in the raid after the final boss dies.
There's a really good explanatory post on EJ, here: http://elitistjerks.com/f15/t77416-gdkp_run_discussion_spread_your_server/
cygnus May 13th 2010 10:36AM
in case nobody had anwsered this already. GDKP
merkavar May 12th 2010 9:18PM
@Danteriusjr moment of uber. Whats the point? why bother playing if you are just being run through. you might as well have got some else to play for you. i dont get why people enjoy being run through stuff. i can see if you wanted a specific item or to gear up but from te sounds of it you really enjoyed this dungeon run but i just cant see why.
Danterius May 12th 2010 10:02PM
Meh, it's not like I always get run through dungeons. The leveling process can get a bit tiresome at times. I wouldn't call it a "grind" as some players refer to it, (after all, I still enjoy levelling), but it can become jaded. A quick painless run when you expected the opposite, especially in Ahn'Kahet, is a welcome reprieve from that feeling.
/shrug
Earthmama May 12th 2010 9:18PM
Single Iceblade Arrow sales: 16,374g
Im curious about this, is this him taking a stack of 1000, and seperating them and selling them alone as if they were a stack? Thus fooling people thinking they are getting a stack? I mean buyer beware and all that.. but just curious..
kunukia May 12th 2010 10:19PM
A not unknown tactic, and as stated by Caspur below, a scam. I strongly dislike that this was not even commented on in the article.