Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsGold Capped: Pokemon pandas, the economy, and BlizzCon 2011
by Fox Van Allen 
Oct 25th 2011 at 5:00PM
Any time a new World of Warcraft expansion is announced, a flurry of information and speculation comes with it. For us auctioneers, the announcement of Mists of Pandaria at BlizzCon 2011 was no different. Pets, professions, and more -- Mists of Pandaria will going to bring plenty of major changes to the game's economy.
To be sure, the Auction House wasn't the most talked-about aspect of WoW at this year's BlizzCon, at least directly. But when you consider how major the announcement of non-combat pet combat was and start considering how these pets will be fully tradeable ...
The big news: WoW meets Pokemon
People love collecting in-game pets in WoW. People love Pokemon. Combining those two similar loves in Mists of Pandaria? It's a brilliant move by Blizzard, giving players something completely new and different to do at level 90 -- a sorely needed minigame.
The mechanics of it all seem super cool. Your existing non-combat pets will be given some simplified stats -- say, attack, defense, and health. You'll also be able to find other non-combat pets out in the world. You can choose to battle them and try to capture them. Or you could instead hang out in Stormwind all day long and just battle other dudes with pets. Or you can head to different cities to battle trainers to become a non-combat pet master. It's not like Pokemon. It is Pokemon.
The big news for us, however, is that players will be able to trade these in-game pets with a few limited exceptions. Players could go farm and sell an adorable Fox Kit (the best pet in the game, though I may be biased). Or they could farm it, level it through the new battle system, and then sell it. They could even buy a level 1 Fox Kit from the Auction House, add value by leveling it, and then resell it.
There are countless implications of this news. First, the Auction House elite -- World of Warcraft's proverbial 1% -- finally have something to do with all their money. And better yet, the 99% has a new way to make money, and a lot of it, not just through lucky drops but through putting in work and leveling a readily available pet.
This is pretty big news. In the past, World of Warcraft has traditionally eschewed allowing people to trade in-game currency for any significant amount of in-game work. Selling your paladin's gear and titles to another player for 500,000 gold? Unthinkable. Selling your server-best level 25 Phoenix Hatchling for 500,000 gold to a fellow competitor? That's the new model.
It's hard to guess how these pets will wind up being priced when patch 5.0 (presumably) brings this new pet Fight Club system, but I'd be damn surprised if prices didn't rise across the board. Rare pets will be in even higher demand than they are now, given that Blizzard doesn't increase their drop rates. Normal pets will see rekindled interest too, and you won't need to wait until 5.0 launches to notice it. Prices should start increasing once the new expansion grows near, provided that "Pokemon Pandas" doesn't go the way of the dance studio.
How am I playing this news? Well, in the short term, I'm going to be working to acquire more pets, both via the Auction House and farming. But that's mostly just because I want to be the very best, like no one ever was. To catch them is my real test; to train them is my cause. I gotta catch 'em all. And if most players are like me -- that is, more interested in buying these pets than selling them -- pets are going to be an incredibly robust market.
The other news
Of course, the new pet battle system isn't the only piece of news for us Auction House players.
- A good profession is getting better. In Mists of Pandaria, wands will be main-hand weapons and craftable by enchanters. Weapons tend to be incredibly strong sellers on the Auction House (because they tend to have higher stats than, say, a glove), so if these wind up being BOE, enchanting promises to be even more profitable in MoP than in Cataclysm.
- Blizzard developers hinted that jewelcrafters may be getting their own mount in patch 5.0. Though specifics (and even a confirmation) were hard to come by, one hopes that this might act as a gold sink in the same way that Vial of the Sands did in Cataclysm. After all, all those gemstones are supposed to be expensive, right?
- In response to a complaint about gold farmers (and us legit mass-producing Auction House mavens), Blizzard dismissed the idea of bringing back "perfect cut" gems (where expertly crafted gems would occasionally carry higher stats than usual), suggesting that such an item would invalidate the non-perfect gem market. It's a great point -- almost nobody buys green-quality cut gems, even Perfect Brilliant Carnelians. I'm not sure what perfect cut gems would do to discourage mass production and botters, anyway unless the creation of these new gems was added as a daily cooldown.
- Blizzard raised the possibility of giving jewelcrafters designs that include the MoP version of Chaos Orbs. This is interesting news on two fronts. First, it suggests that Blizzard really likes Cataclysm's BOP Chaos Orb model and will be perpetuating it in MoP. Secondly, it suggests that jewelcrafters may be getting some epic rings or neckpieces that will actually be worth crafting. It'd be nice to see the profession getting gear that's crafted for purposes other than disenchanting.
Maximize your profits with more advice from Gold Capped. Do you have questions about selling, reselling, and building your financial empire on the auction house? Fox and Basil are taking your questions at fox@wowinsider.com and basil@wowinsider.com.
Filed under: News items, Economy, Gold Capped, Mists of Pandaria
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
llcjay2003 Oct 25th 2011 6:02PM
First off, great column, Fox. You and Basil do a great job on Gold Capped.
Second, I'll be honest here: I do not like the gold sink mounts. Any of them. That is primarily because I am jealous. What I do like about them is that it gives players who may not focus on raids and the associated achievements a way to have a prestige mount. So you may not spend 20+ hours a week raiding, but you may spend 20+ hours a week crafting and AH hustlin. So it is great to have a way to reward those gold hoarders.
Anyways, that aside, the biggest announcement for me in regards to professions for MoP was the indication that engineering was going to get better. I can't tell you how unhappy I am with eng as it is now. In Wrath, there was a balance between the novelty of eng and its utility. The problem was, it was completely unprofitable so those who wanted make gold chose something else.
In Cata, they gave eng more pets, scopes, and ranged weapons to make, along with the goggles. The pets and ranged weapons may sell decently, but eng is still pretty low on profitability. I love the utility, but I need a to be able to justify having the profession as a money-maker at the same time.
On a side note, I would love to see Gold Capped do a post about engineering :)
Bellajtok Oct 25th 2011 7:20PM
The problem with engineering is that the money makers it has are almost entirely for hunters, and with the removal of ammo, there's even less options. So there's not much to sell, even with the pets.
But all of that wouldn't be a big deal- if engineering received updates every patch like every other profession. We only got two recipes in 4.2, and we're not getting any in 4.3. Such is the curse of engineering.
JattTheRogue Oct 25th 2011 11:37PM
If you are doing Engineering to make money, you are doing it wrong. Engineering has always been about utility (teleporters, Jeeves, portable mailbox, etc.) or powerful tinkers with equally powerful drawbacks. Most everything you can make with it is BOP. I do agree it has been lacking in Cata, but I don't expect to ever see it become a profession people pick to turn a profit. Get Jewelcrafting or Enchanting or a gathering profession for that.
Matt Oct 26th 2011 4:37AM
@bellajtok: I completely agree. Engineering was fine at the start of Cataclysm. But then we just got nothing after nothing. Oh, a scope. Cool. But what else? What happened to cogs? Those were so genius. I loved having a decent whatever full of these great cogs. It was a worthwhile benefit, even if for only yourself.
Engineering just needs updates with the rest of them =/
llcjay2003 Oct 26th 2011 6:21PM
@Jatttherogue: I am comfortable with not making as much money with eng as other professions, but it would be nice if it had some more variety in making gold. Pet, scope, ranged weapon. That's all we get.
It is no problem if it is less profitable then enchanting or JC, but it should at least be better than it currently is.
Bapo Oct 25th 2011 8:44PM
Here's my question then (I can't remember if it was discussed or not) what about lil'kt / xt and the the other store bought mounts (lil' ragnaros may be my main). Will you be able to train and then AH them, or no? (Goes for the ones you get in the mailbox too)
Also, baby blizzard bear, and the others that while they teach you the pet, they stay in your inventory as well (I think onyxian whelpling and Mr. Chilly) infinite source of pets, or will they finally be "consumed" when you learn them?
vegetto375 Oct 25th 2011 8:59PM
I will proably jump on this. I love Pokemon and hv and will continue to play every main Pokemon series game that comes out. The profit value of rasing a Pet and putting it in the AH will probably be varied by server and since mine has a horrid economy these may sell for lots or barely anything.
Also Fox you better watch out after seeing that Bulbasuar, I have call the SPCP (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Pokemon) on you.
vlakaa Oct 26th 2011 1:38AM
silly kiddy mini games are silly.
Guess developing more dynamic content gets sideswiped by the need to attract more 12 year olds to wha't shaping up to be a stale kid fest =/
Sinthar Oct 26th 2011 10:23AM
Well frankly you sound depressed.
Personally I am far from being a child......agewise at least...And no I dont plan to become a sourpuss and claim I am now more 'mature'. Minigames CAN be and generally are fun. Remember the singing sunflower pet? I had to have it. In fact I got it on all my alts. Not because I am that much of a pet collector, (TBH I never have it out cos the singing occasionally freaks me out when I forget its there), but because I had never even heard of the game PlantsVsZombie - and I enjoyed it that much I went and got the full game.
As for 'dynamic' content. You do realise there are a LOT of other players out there that enjoy this type of thing, and WoW is NOT purely about your selfish desires. It may not be a raid or a new battleground or dungeon, but it IS WoW, and WoW is about having a choice and variety to choose from. If you give me a linear game, then I can guarrentee you once I beat it once, I know Ive seen it all and hence it is over with. WoW is different as from your first seconds YOU have the choice to go where you want, when you want, and do what you want - as long as you can survive. You dont want to quest - fine, Dont like PVP - no one forces you (on a PVE server at least - and if your on a PVP server ...well WTF expresses it best) etc etc
So please go and think about diversity and how tastes vary from person to person and look at your post again. Then try to cast it in a positive light - and realise there is always a positive light to most things. (For example in your case I would have thought something about - well at least if everyones off doing the pokewow thing - the dungeon/raid lag spikes should be lower, or there wont be the 'servers full - try again later' that typified WotLK).
Oh just for the records I am now 43 years young - and about 16-18 in my heart. I NEVER plan to get older in my heart.
Sinthar of Dragonblight (EU)
Khalior Oct 26th 2011 5:53AM
- About the mount: GC said ''Jon would kill me if I said anything... maybe jewelcrafting? I said maybe.''
- You can easily make thousands of gold with Engineering - and I'm not just talking about crafting Hogs for your entire server. You just have to know your markets and the tools you have at your disposition. The profession not being worth anything but for personal buffs is a common misconception.
- That being said, there's so much they could do to enhance it and it's functionality, especially if you consider that Eng. could buff other professions - it would revitalize the profession and could be a cash cow that would have an unlimited appeal (as there are people always in need of new professions).
- Cork Stockton confirmed that 'some' of the pets (whole list still needs to be confirmed) that would not be eligible to the pet battle system would be the Blizzcon pets and the Worldwide Invitational pets... which bums me out because that would have been my chance to get the Tyreal pet :( (And imagine how much that pet would go for on the AH...)
goldeneye Oct 26th 2011 6:07AM
I wish I had 25'000 G to buy the BoE iLvl 378 weapons on the AH. But then again, if I suddenly had my wallet+25'000G I'd buy something more permanent, like, a Vial of the Sands !
I will turn into a dragon one day.... just you wait