Posts with tag cash

I'm not sure how well this will scale, but it's an interesting idea: while it's certainly possible to just create a Twitter account for your World of Warcraft characters (so anyone interested can always see what you're up to), the folks behind a new site called wowTwitter have gone a step further, and recreated Twitter's functionality specifically for Azeroth's virtual denizens. It's very barebones right now, but basically, after you register, you can punch in any of your characters, "verify" them by changing something about them in the Armory (like unequipping the piece of gear on your wrist), and then you can send and receive messages on that character, with special channels created for the guild, your realm, and so on. I thought it used Twitter somehow, but it seems completely separate: they're running their own database and servers, so while the two work the same way (there are "@" replies and hashtags), they don't interact at all.

Which means they'll also have all of the problems that Twitter has had -- when only a few people are using your database, it runs fine, but if it starts to scale up at all, then you run into lots of "Fail Whale" downtime. And I'm not sure we need a whole other system just for WoW characters (though this one does have the nice bonus of "claiming" your character so it can't get impersonated). At any rate, they're in beta right now, and actually hosting a cash money prize contest for the most characters verified and tweets posted, so a link from us will probably show them how ready their system is. If it's your thing, go forth and wowTweet!

The World of Warcraft Trading Card Game World Championships have started up this weekend in Paris, France -- there's some excellent coverage on the official site about all of the CCG gaming going on over there. They've got everything from a roundup of the swag bag to play-by-play on the featured matches and some good commentary on what kinds of decks players are bringing to the tables. All told, the players are fighting for a prize pool of $250,000 -- some serious cash for playing cards.

They're in the middle of Day 2 right now, so there's lots more tournament coverage to come from Paris. If you're a fan of the TCG, this weekend's your chance to check out what some of the top players are up to as they battle for the big prize.

What does a spiffy rare mount cost? You can get a Spectral Tiger for about $900 (once sold for $2,000) on eBay. You could pay 20,000 gold for an Amani Warbear. BlizzCon 2008 World of Warcraft in-game polar bear mount with mounted, flag-waving murloc? $40 bucks. All you have to do is sign up for the DirecTV package and that fabulous bear is all yours. If I were a mount collector, I might persuade my friends to sign up for the package in my name.

Kothor of Skywall is ordering the video package even though he's planning on attending Blizzcon. He suggested that Blizzard should make all of the rare mounts available for purchase. This suggestion was welcomed by several who have spent countless hours grinding for their prized ponies.

The Championship Gaming Series, which is having its second-annual WoW competition this year, has just announced that they are opening registration to the public! Previously, the tournament was invitation-only from the top-rated 1000 Arena teams.

The tournament will be 3v3, played on special tournament realms, just like Blizzard's own tourney. The qualifier rounds start on this coming Monday, June 9th, and run through the 22nd, and the top two teams in the qualifiers from each region, North America and Europe, will be flown out to Los Angeles for the final competition, live on July 19th. The cash money totals to $50,000, with the winning team taking home $25,000, the second-place team $12,500, and the third- and fourth-place teams $6,250 each.

If you are interested in registering, which is free, do it by June 8th, since that's when registration closes. You have to be 18 or over and a resident of the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Belgium or United Kingdom to compete. Here are the registration links for the different regions: Europe, North America. For more on the CGS tournament see their rules and FAQ.

Aysel is a little ashamed about spending 1000g on a title, though she shouldn't be -- "of the Shattered Sun" is as honorable a title as any other, and if you've got the money to get it, more power to you (though her suggestion that her guildies call her AOTSS is pretty funny).

But I like her other question better: what's the dumbest thing you've ever spent a bunch of ingame gold on? My waste of money is probably more of a mistake than an actual embarrassment -- I remember spending a good 100g to outfit my level 40 Mage in the shiniest stuff I could find on the AH, including a couple of world drops and the whole shabang. I had in mind that I was going to take her all the way to 70 -- and then I think I never played her again. What a waste.

I'm sure you all have better stories, though -- ever accidentally dropped a lot of cash on something you couldn't actually use, or splurge on an item that was a little silly, just so you could have it? What's the most money you've ever wasted on anything in the game, and what did you buy?

We heard yesterday that lower level characters didn't need daily quests, because they don't have money problems. But while I agree that daily quests aren't necessary before 70 (considering that, you know, you can do as many quests as you want while leveling), I'm not so sure I agree about the money problems part. Have you had enough money as a lower level character?

I can't ever remember running out of money to train with (although with all of my alts, I usually send about a hundred gold back just to keep repairs and item purchases rolling), but I don't know that I've always had money for a mount at 40. I have a priest right now who's 45 and still running around, just because I've never actually focused on making money long enough to raise the cash. Then again, on my disenchanting rogue, I've always had tons of money to go around, and even sent some up the chain to my main.

Is there a problem with funds at low levels? Do you find you have too little cash from 20-60, just the right amount, or even too much? I think the money flows pretty freely throughout the game at this point-- there are enough ways to earn money at almost any level that if you put in extra time, you should have all you need. But how's the tuning if you don't put in the time? For a character just leveling up, does the game give out enough cash to do it all?

Malleus from Wildhammer says he's found WoW's Bigfoot. He saw a level 70 on a non-epic mount, and for some reason, thought it was so rare that he just had to have a picture of it.

Frankly, a level 70 on a non-epic mount isn't all that rare. My level 66 rogue is still riding around on a slowpoke Undead pony (just because he's an alt I was never willing to spend that much money on), and lots of Paladins and Warlocks just never got the chance or resources to get their epic mount quests done. For a main, it might be a priority to get a fast mount, but for alts, most people are usually pretty apathetic about it.

Not that there are any excuses any more. With money flowing the way it is in Outland, 900g is no more than a few days' work. And while a flying epic mount is really the best for gathering professions (nothing more fun than dropping in, grabbing a mine node, and jumping back into the air), an epic ground mount really helps with both grinding and questing-- the faster you get somewhere, the sooner you can start earning XP. Not to mention that for the BGs, it's practically a must. Not having an epic mount after 60 doesn't make you a total freak (Malleus didn't really need to take a picture), but there isn't any really any excuse not to get one either.

Ever found yourself looking at your pitiful stash of gold and wondering where on earth it all went? Log in daily to find yourself spending more cash than you earn? Once you reach a 'comfortable' amount of money (for me, it's about 200g) it's easy to spend freely, but a gold here and there quickly add up, putting you on the fast track to Brokeville.

Personally, I find almost all my cash goes on repairs and potions -- with a recent unlucky streak of multiple wipes due to lag, I've definitely been haemorrhaging money during raids. PvP is also costly, though at least I don't have to provide ammo or feed a pet. Thank goodness I have profitable tradeskills! Where does your cash go, and how do you juggle the demands on your pocket?

Making money in the endgame isn't as tiresome as it used to be. With the addition in patch 1.10 of an xp-to-gold conversion -- any level 60 players undertaking quests get gold for them instead of xp -- my guild chat is full of boasts about cash rather than complaints about grinding.

Farming for specific drops is still an excellent way to ensure lifelong riches, but now you can do some off-the-beaten-track quests and still get rewarded. Have you found yourself seeking out quests more, now there's cash involved? Or are you annoyed because you earned your epic mount "the hard way"? What's your favourite money-spinner?