Gold in Game, and How I View It

You may notice in my "What I Read" column on the side, I have a link to one Greedy Goblin called Gevlon. He's someone who enjoys making Gold in World of Warcraft, through the AH (which is by far the best way to do so), and has a certain philosophy about the game itself and the players in it. He's reached the gold cap before, though he's recently transferred to a new server to start again, and the transfer cap is 20,000 Gold, so he's back down again.

While I don't always agree with his views, I always enjoy reading his posts, both for his gold-making theories and ideas that he shares and for his thoughts on the game in general. In fact, he's recently joind a raiding guild, something I thought he'd never do, on his terms, as a raider and "banker," and it's gotten me thinking about how I make my own gold in game.

Unlike Gevlon, I thoroughly enjoy the vanity items in the game, especially mounts (he believes, and perhaps rightfully so, that they're not only a waste of gold, but of time and such, too). I know they don't add to my tanking abilities, or dps, or any other gameplay mechanic, but they're fun to collect. They also cost gold, and quite a bit of it once you get higher up the skill ladder. My very first toon I ever had was terrible, because I didn't understand the game mechanics as a newbie, and because I didn't know how to make gold or keep it on hand for things that were important, like repairs, training, and respeccing, as I spent it all on shiny things I saw.

I've learned that the AH is your friend, although it can also be a terrible temptation. I bought many of my upgrades when I hit 80, which is a good thing, even though at the time I didn't have epic flying, which I also wanted very badly. In fact, the flying skill was what drove me to discover better ways to make gold in game (thus finding the Goblin to start with). His views, though, have certainly made me stop and think about what I spend gold on and why I do so in the first place.

Yrovi spends gold on gear (when it's appropriate), gems and enchants, mounts and pets, and very occasionally on something for an achievement, if possible. I've recently rerolled on a new server, wanting to start over again to experience the game and story from the Alliance point of view. From what I've learned, both from experience and the Goblin, I knew I'd need a banking toon, an initial investment, and a certain mindset to keep myself from spending any gold I get on frivolus things (which has been the hardest of the three, to be honest). It's one thing to buy ten mounts in one day when you're at level cap with nothing better to do than dailies and working the AH. It's another thing entirely to "waste" gold while leveling, especially if the new toon is going to be a second "Main".

Seona, as a paladin, has certain perks. Her first mount, for example, was a trained ability, and it came with the initial riding skill free of charge. That's a huge boost right there, as the faster I move around, the better off I'll be (faster leveling/farming for mats/etc.). Even better, though, is my Death Knight banker. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned all the great reasons why a DK is one of the best banking toons ever in a previous post, so I won't do it again. I also mentioned that my DK, Ziir, will become a "farmer" going after plants and minerals/ores for my other toons. I'll take some time this week to level Seona further and begin his farming and skill-ups in the hopes that I can make some gold. Seona is going to become a jewelcrafter after all, now, so she'll need ore and gems.

Thanks to her mining and affinity for finding and getting to treasure chests, she has a small stockpile of low-level gems already. I'll follow a powerleveling guide to jewelcrafting to get her started as most of the low-level goods aren't worth keeping around. She'll drop Skinning, of course, as I have a hunter and a rogue with the same skill, and the hunter isn't that far behind on skinning. Once I have my two farmers ready to go (DK and Hunter), I'll spend a bit of time each day stockpiling goods for Seona.

I've even thought about having her get two crafting professions (blacksmithing and jewelcrafting), but that's probably too much strain this early in the game, though not if I can manage to find a niche market and stick with it. Of course, I don't even have 100G all together on this server, and I really need to start somewhere. Maybe I'll read over Gevlon's posts again to see what he did when he was challenged to start on a new server as a young toon for inspiration.