Warcraft New Year's Resolutions

It is a time honored tradition that at the beginning of a New Year, people make pledges to do or stop doing things so as to make the coming year better than the last.  In keeping with that trend, I decided it might be entertaining to put together my list of World of Warcraft New Year's resolutions.  Feel free to read them through and maybe even adopt them as your own after the bump.

Warcraft Farming Subsidy Please

Yesterday, in The Joys of Farming, I talked about all the different kinds of farming which have been occupying my World of Warcraft play time as of late. Today, I would like to take a different approach and write about that farming which has fallen by the wayside. Be they ineffective, unnecessary, or just plain not fun you won't find me engaged in these repetitive tasks anytime soon.

Gold Farming

You do not need to seek out gold to build wealth in World of Warcraft. It is much more effective to simply make wise decisions with the gold and resources you will naturally accumulate through everyday play. Don't by crafted items. Instead buy raw materials and pay someone to craft it for you. Don't vendor everything. Selling certain items on the Auction House can increase your income more than 100 fold. Sell that you do not need. Many items in Azeroth decline in value over time and if you are hording without a purpose you are missing out on profit. Gold farming can be a boring chore. I choose to avoid it by incorporating smart, gold saving choices into my everyday play.

Reputation Farming

Aside from the Ashen Verdict Rings/Recipes, many WotLK reputation rewards have become extremely obsolete. As for other, older reputations, sure there is some novelty associated with their rewards and related titles, but the time investment to reach your reputation goals can be huge. I got my fill of achievement grinding working on Accomplished Angler. Aside from working up Sons of Hordir and the occasional Tabard swap, I am happy to simply take reputation as it comes.

Rare Material Farming

Sure, I have use for Frost Lotus and Arctic Fur. Who doesn't? Unfortunately, they are genuinely random, rare drops. As a result, farming them is not really practical. In farming the other materials you need for your crafting, you should come across these items. If you don't and you really need them, you would probably be better served to farm gold and then buy them. Except on rare occasions, the appearance of these materials cannot be predicted and any attempt to "farm" them will either result in you getting lucky or frustrated. I'll pass.

Obviously I do make exceptions and occasionally my in game needs/interests shift so I will revisit some of these farming targets. What farming do you decided to pass on?

The Joys of Farming

I was thinking the other day that I need to buy some overalls and a tractor because I spend a vast amount of my Warcraft time farming. No, I am not grinding on Furblogs, searching for Frost Lotus, or running Dire Maul over and over, but I am am still farming. In fact, when you break it down, it is amazing all the different kinds of farming that occupy my day.

Rare Mount Farming

So, I have finally decided to start taking shots at Reins of the Raven Lord. I am only a couple weeks of Heroic Sethekk Halls runs deep and am already starting to tire a bit. Sure, between traveling, sneaking back to Anzu's room, clearing the trash, and downing the bird I have only blown about 15 minutes. It does, however become tiresome quickly. Perhaps I will scale back my trips to Outland to once every couple days. At that rate, I should be atop a killer mount within a year... sigh...

Frost Badge Farming

Rain, sleet, snow, or hail, nothing stops me from running my Daily Random Heroic. For some reason, missing out on those two Frost Badges strikes me as sacrilege. Again, if all goes well, I am less than twenty minutes deep in time invested. When things do not go well though, it is beyond frustrating. Thank goodness my tank spec lets me skip to the head of the que. I can't imagine a twenty minute lead in wait for this daily chore.

Holiday Reward Farming

Love is in the air, and so is the smell of fresh holiday loot. Sure, I know my chances at a Big Love Rocket are close to nil, but that won't stop me from killing the Apothecary Trio every single day during the holiday. That way, when I do miss out there will be no one to blame but the random number generator gods. To be honest, I would gladly settle for a Toxic Wasteling. Hear that drop gods?

Random Dungeon Farming

"You already said you do your daily Random Heroic!?!" Yes, but that is not the only LFD chore that occupies my time. Once my main du jour is finished with his daily tasks it is time to hop to one of my many alts and start farming random dungeons for experience. Though I will occasionally suffer the ques and work on a dedicated dps, my heal/tank capable alts see a lot more play as of late.

Jewelcrafting Materials Farming

I have a skill capped Miner, Alchemist, Herbalist, and Engineer all available on my primary server. I also have a close friend capable of covering all my Leatherworking and Enchanting needs. I know a Jewelcrafter who will work for free, but he is rarely on and I cannot really complain because... he works for free. So if you want a job done right, do it yourself. Towards that end I have been hoarding the mats needed to bring one of my many alts from 0 to 450 Jewelcrafting in one pass. Some mats I farm, others I buy, and all I have a hard time storing. Here is hoping it pays off in the long run. Honor farming: coming soon to an alt of mine!

Thankfully, I enjoy all the farming I choose to do; otherwise, I wouldn't do it anymore. Be sure to check back tomorrow when I will make a post about the farming I am not doing anymore. What sort of farming has been soaking up your playtime these days?

Happy Thanksgiving!

To celebrate Thanksgiving, along with scarfing down my body weight in turkey, I decided to put together a short list of some of the World of Warcraft related things we all have had to be thankful for this past year. Enjoy the list and have a wonderful holiday!

New Onyxia

To celebrate World of Warcraft's fifth anniversary, Blizzard treated Azeroth's inhabitants with the re-release of an epic classic encounter: Onyxia's Lair. Not only was the encounter tweaked for level 80 play, but the designers went the extra mile and retooled the Brood Mother's loot table with updated versions of her classic drops. Dripping with nostalgia for long time players and presenting a living piece of Warcraft's history for new recruits, the new Onyxia's Lair is definitely something to be thankful for.

Ulduar

In patch 3.1, Blizzard opened up the whole of the Titan facility Ulduar for exploration. Azeroth's adventurers were treated to a massive raid dungeon with fourteen entirely distinct boss encounters. When one considers the 10, 25, and heroic versions of many of these battles the amount of content crammed into the instance is staggering.

It is not just the size of Ulduar, however, that makes it one of the past years highlights. The innovation demonstrated within the instance's walls is also cause for celebration. Each of the boss encounters is challenging and unique, presenting interesting hurdles to even the most hardy of adventurers. Further, tweaks such as teleporters and progressive heroic modes changed the face of World of Warcraft raiding forever. Ulduar is certainly worth our thanks.

The Argent Tournament

Aside from a new five player dungeon, a new raid, tons of quests, and unique, enjoyable rewards, the Argent Tournament has gone a long way to relight the fires of animosity between the factions while simultaneously bringing the factions in close proximity to one another. Though players are constantly representing their faction, it has rarely been so clear or grand as within the context of the Argent Tournament. Whether you like or hate jousting, there is still much to be thankful for resting atop (and beneath) the Argent Tournament Grounds.

Isle of Conquest

With an expansive map, complex resource system, and tons of explosions, the Isle of Conquest Battle Ground is clearly a spiritual successor to Alterac Valley. It is hard not to smile as you parachute from a massive airship, drop a bomb at your enemy's gate, or charge into the opposing faction's keep. Isle of Conquest increased the scope of what is possible in a World of Warcraft Battleground and I am certainly thankful for that.

Dual Specs

Rarely has a new feature added as much to the average player's quality of experience as the addition of Dual Specs. Even if you have not dumped the thousand gold to unlock your second talent tree, if you have ever grouped with someone who is running as their "off spec," you owe this feature some gratitude. Obviously, talent point allocation should be a commitment and I would argue that it still is. With Dual Specs, however, a player can PvP and PvE or fill two different group rolls without the incredible hassle and minor expense of relearning talents. I love this feature.

Updated Druid Forms

It was a long time coming, but during the past year Druid's finally got updated Feral Form models. Not only do the new models look great, but they are also tied to your characters appearance giving a sense of personality to your Druid even when in Feral Forms. Here is hoping next year we can be thankful for new Moonkin and Tree Form models.

Happy Thanksgiving!

World of Warcraft Hallow's End Achievement Guide 2009

Below is a guide to completing all the Achievements for World of Warcrafts Hallow's End 2009. For a general guide on the holiday or more information, check out the World of Warcraft Hollow's End Guide 2009.

Hallowed Be Thy Name

To complete this seasonal meta-achievement and earn the title "The Hallowed," you will need to complete all the Achievements explored below.

Trick or Treat

This is the easiest achievement of the bunch. Go to a candy bucket in almost any World of Warcraft inn and accept/complete the quest it offers. No effort of any kind required for this one and you get some tasty candy to boot.

Bring Me the Head of... Oh Wait

The Headless Horseman is a seasonal boss which can be summoned in the Scarlett Monastery Graveyard in Tirisfal Glades during Hallow's End. Like Brewfest's Coren Direbrew, each player may summon the Horseman once per day using a daily quest obtainable in the instance. Any player level 75 or higher can summon him.

The Headless Horseman is incredibly easy to kill, so completing this achievement is simply a matter of finding a group. For level 80s, this is a piece of cake, especially early in the holiday when everyone is scrambling to complete the achievement and gather loot. Even from level 75 through 79, you are likely to be able to find a group willing to take you along as you bring a summon to the party. If you are in this range and have a hard time finding a group, try forming your own.

Below level 75, you will likely need to buy your way into a Headless Horseman group. As you do not have the ability to summon the Horseman before 75, you are dead weight for a group. It will then take some greasing of the wheels to get yourself the kill you need. Find some friends, charitable strangers, or open your pocket books if you want to finish this achievement before level 75.

That Sparkling Smile

All this achievement requires is a single Tooth Pick. These novelty items can be found in the Treat Bags you get from Trick or Treating at any World of Warcraft innkeeper once per hour. You can also find them in the Crudely Wrapped Gift you can loot once per day from the Large Jack-o'-Lantern left behind after thwarting the Headless Horseman's attacks on Goldshire, Azure Watch, Kharanos, Brill, Razor Hill, or Silvermoon City.

Tooth Picks are rather uncommon in both Treat Bags and Crudely Wrapped Gifts, so you will want to maximize your potential finds to complete this achievement. This requires completing the dailies each day and Trick or Treating as many times as you can. If you are diligent in doing your hourly Trick or Treat, you will almost certainly complete this achievement in time.

G.N.E.R.D. Rage

The G.N.E.R.D. buff referred to in the achievement is gained by eating G.N.E.R.D.S. candy. This candy is one of four different pieces of candy which can be found in the Handful of Candy rewarded whenever you complete the quest at the Buckets of Candy found in World of Warcraft's many inns. Each Handful of Candy can contain multiple G.N.E.R.D.S., making obtaining a supply for this achievement incredibly easy.

As for getting your honorable kills, simply make your way into Alterac Valley or any other Battle Ground. Keep popping G.N.E.R.D.S. whenever you resurrect and try to stay near the action. The achievement requires honorable kills, not killing blows, so you should be able to wrack up 50 in no time.

The Masquerade

Of all the Hallow's End achievements, this one will likely take the most work. The wands needed to cause the achievement's transformations can be found in both Treat Bags and Crudely Wrapped Gifts. Unfortunately, they cannot be used on yourself and can only be used to transform party members. As a result, you will need to rely entirely on other players to secure the transformations you need.

Absent having an army of helpful friends at your disposal, there is no simple way to complete this achievement. There are, however, two primary methods of getting the job done. First, you can simply buy the transformations you need. Many players harvest wands during Hallow's End and then sell the transformations to players working on the achievement for anywhere from 5 to 25 gold. If you have deep pockets and not a lot of time, this may be the way to go. You could also harvest your own wands by Trick or Treating and doing the daily and then trade your transformations with other players. This method may take longer, but costs nothing and should ultimately get the job done.

Keep in mind that Hallowed Wand - Random transformations do not count for the achievement. Also, you do not need to be transformed to get credit, the relevant wand simply needs to be used on you. This means that other transformations which might defeat the wand's effect will not prevent you from checking a particular wand off your achievement list.

Tricks and Treats of Azeroth

There is no trick to completing this achievement, it will just require some traveling. Hit the candy buckets at all the locations listed in Tricks and Treats of Eastern Kingdoms, Tricks and Treats of Kalimdor, and Tricks and Treats of Outland achievements to polish off this challenge. Do not forget that the Handful of Candy is unique meaning you will need to empty it between buckets. Also, if you want to hit Northrend's candy buckets as well, be sure to do it before working on this achievement due to a bug which Blizzard had yet to fix. Lastly, do not forget to save your G.N.E.R.D.S. if you have not completed G.N.E.R.D. Rage.

Out With It

Eating 5 or 6 pieces of candy from a Handful of Candy in a row will trigger the spew needed to complete this achievement. The Hallow's End Pumpkin Treats you get from doing the Hallow's End daily quests can also cause achievement completing vomit if consumed in excess. As a heads up, the candy from Trick or Treating's Treat Bags, such as Lollipops and Candy Bars, do not make you sick despite the fact they would seem to fit within the achievement's language. Stick to the buff candy and you will be puking in no time.

The Savior of Hallows End

To complete this achievement you will need to complete one of the quests given by the Masked Orphan Matron in Goldshire, Azure Watch, Kharanos, Brill, Razor Hill, or Silvermoon City. To complete the quests, simply use buckets of water obtained from the nearby basin to put out the fires the Headless Horseman starts every 15 minutes. If you are having trouble completing the quests, move to a more populated town as combined effort assures success. As long as all the fires are put out, it does not matter whether your character even participated. This is a simple achievement easily completed by players even at low levels.

Rotten Hollow/Rotten Hollow

For this achievement, you will have to complete two faction specific quests involving spoiling the other factions Hallow's End fun and possibly some PvP combat. For the Horde, visit Darkcaller Yanka west of the Undercity. He will send you on two quests to cause havoc in Southshore in Hillsbrad. Complete the quests and claim the achievement.

For the Alliance, speak with Sergeant Hartman in Southshore. He will have you clean up stink bomb debris in South Shore and will also send you on a quest to visit the Forsaken's Wickerman Festival which takes place due west of the Undercity in Tirisfal Glades. Do as he says and the achievement is yours. It really is as simple as that.

Check Your Head

To start this achievement, you will need to get your hands on some Weighted Jack-o'-Lanterns. You can get a steady supply of these by completing the daily Hallow's End quests in Goldshire, Azure Watch, Kharanos, Brill, Razor Hill, or Silvermoon City both as rewards for the quests themselves and inside Crudely Wrapped Gifts. The Headless Horseman also drops these in large numbers, so looting him a handful of times should give you all the ammunition you need to get the achievement.

To hit all your targets either hang around a major city like Dalaran or take to the Battle Grounds. To get credit for a hit, your target must not be in any way transformed and must also not already have a pumpkin head. Keep in mind that if you throw a Weighted Jack-o'-Lantern at a player who already has a pumpkin head or is otherwise transformed you will not get credit and your Weighted Jack-'o-Lantern will be wasted, so be careful if you have a limited supply.

Sinister Calling

If you are going for the Hallow's End meta-achievement, this achievement will likely cause you a great deal of stress between now and November 1st. Neither the Sinister Squashling nor the Hallowed Helm are easy to come by and you will need both. Each has a tiny, tiny chance of being found in a Treat Bag or Crudely Wrapped Gift, with the latter appearing to have a slightly better chance of containing one. So completing the dailies and Trick or Treating whenever possible are good ways to maximize your chances of landing this achievement. The Headless Horseman also drops both of these items somewhat rarely, but you will likely see at least one of the two most of your runs. Be sure to kill him each day if you are working on this achievement.

Though they are slightly buggy and somewhat unreliable, there are also a couple tricks which might help you with this achievement. When the Headless Horseman drops a Hallowed Helm, the player who wins the role will get credit for collecting the helm. They can then trade the helm to other group members who, upon logging out and back in, will usually also get credit for the achievement, though their have been some reports of this method failing, sometimes even the next day. A single Sinister Squashling drop can also meet two players achievement needs as the looting player often gets immediate credit for the achievement. When this occurs, they can then trade the pet to a group member to learn how to summon the pet, also triggering the achievement. Again, these methods are inconsistently effective and you would be best served to simply maximizing your opportunities for obtaining the items.

Other Hallows End Achievements:

Though NOT needed for the Hallowed be Thy Name and "the Hallowed" title, the following Achievements can also only be completed during Hallow's End:

The Mask Task

For this achievement, you simply need to loot a single mask from either a Treat Bag or a Crudely Wrapped Gifts. A daily quests or Trick or Treat attempt is all that is required to generate a chance at a mask. Any mask will do, so even the least dedicated of Hallow's End revelers should finish this achievement early on in the holiday. Once the achievement is completed, feel free to get rid of the mask without fear of losing your Achievement Points.

A Mask for All Occasions

This achievement was removed from the Hallowed be Thy Name Requirements this year and with good reason. To complete the achievement, you must collect all 20 of the different Hallow's End masks found in Treat Bags and Crudely Wrapped Gifts. What makes this extremely difficult is that the masks repeat and you can find the same mask multiple times during the course of the holiday.

To accomplish this feat, you will want to maximize your mask finding chances by religiously completing the holiday daily quests and Trick or Treating every hour. Only 20 Achievement Points are on the line, so many players will likely take a "if it happens, it happens" approach to this achievement. If, however, you are committed to doing it, it can certainly be completed in a single year. Also, no need to hold on to those masks as you go as your progress is permanently recorded when you loot them. This also means you can work on this achievement again next year should you intentionally or unintentionally come up short in 2009.

For more information, check out our World of Warcraft Hollow's End Guide 2009.

World of Warcraft Hallow's End Guide 2009

The pumpkins have been carved, the Headless Horseman has donned his spurs, and Hallow's End has arrived in Azeroth. Hallow's End is often set beside Brewfest and Winter Veil as one of World of Warcraft's most involved and popular holidays. There is a lot to do before the holiday ends on November 1, so it is easy to get overwhelmed and miss some of the opportunities the holiday has to offer. To help you sort through all the mayhem, below are some tips for getting the most out of Hallow's End. Reader beware, you are in for a scare!

Trick or Treating

Once every hour during Hallow's End, your character can "Trick or Treat" at any one of Azeroth's many inns. To take your chance at delicious treats, simply talk to an Innkeeper and select the "Trick or Treat" chat option. If you are lucky, you will get a treat in the form of a Treat Bag which can contain candy themed food, a random mask, a wand used to put costumes on your party members, or another more rare treasure such as a Tooth Pick, a Penny Pouch, a Sinister Squashling pet, or a Hallowed Helm. If you are unlucky, you will be tricked and transformed into one of a number of random creatures including a cat, bat, or ghost.

You will want to take advantage of as many opportunities to Trick or Treat as you can both to obtain fun items and to make progress on the various Hallow's End achievements. There is also profit to be made in that many players working on The Masquerade achievement will pay for needed wand costumes. Check out our separate Hallow's End Achievements Guide more information.

Candy Buckets

As part of Hallow's End, there are quest giving candy buckets in many Inn's across Azeroth. These buckets provide a quick turn in quest for a Handful of Candy with no travel required. The locations of Azeroth's buckets are listed in the Tricks and Treats of Eastern Kingdoms and Tricks and Treats of Kalimdor achievements. Outland's buckets are to be found in the locations listed in the Tricks and Treats of Outland achievement. There are also buckets available across Northrend, but they are not tied to an achievement and are currently bugged and therefore may not be accessible. The candies received from the quest provide stackable buffs to hit rating, spell power, and defense, but be sure not to eat to many at once or you will lose your lunch and your buffs.

These buckets are a boon to lower level players as the quest turn in at each bucket awards experience and, even in the upper 70s, dropping by all the inns can net you a relatively easy half a level. For level 80 players, unless you are chasing achievements or really want the buffs, which do stack with each other and other food buffs, you may not want to bother tracking them all down.

The Headless Horseman

One of the more exciting parts of Hallow's End is the season specific level 80 boss, the Headless Horseman. The Horseman is located in the Scarlett Monastery Graveyard in Tirisfal Glades and can be summoned once per day by any character level 75 or higher through a daily quest which can be picked up in the instance. On your first day doing him, you can summon him twice by thwarting the Horseman's efforts in Goldshire, Azure Watch, Kharanos, Brill, Razor Hill, or Silvermoon City by fighting fires as per the Costumed Orphan Matron's quests. You can do both that quest chain's summon and the daily summon on your first go around. Savvy players might use this day of double summons to participate in two Horseman Groups, giving you 10 or more shots at loot rather than just 6.

As for equipment, the Headless Horseman drops the Ring of Ghoulish Glee, The Horseman's Seal, the Wicked Witch's Band, The Horseman's Horrific Helm, and The Horseman's Baleful Blade. He also drops several Weighted Jack-o'-Lanterns which can be used for the Check Your Head achievement. Lastly, he has a smaller chance of dropping either a magic broom mount which can be ridden during the holiday, a Sinister Squashling pet, a Hallowed Helm, or even the Horseman's own mount through The Horseman's Reins.

The Headless Horseman is an incredibly easy kill. Even level 75 players should be able to survive the encounter without much difficulty. All you need to know strategy wise is that whenever the Horseman dismounts, shift all dps to his floating head. As long as your healer isn't afk, your tank picks up the adds, the ranged dps spreads out, and you burn the head, this fight is no challenge at all for even just three level 80 players. If you are over level 75, try to kill him everyday until you have the loot you desire. If you are not 80 and are having a hard time getting into groups, make one yourself.

Hallow's End Profit

For the entrepreneurial player, Hallow's End can be a very profitable time of year and it is all thanks to the achievement The Masquerade. To complete that achievement, a player must rely on other players to transform them using the different transformation wands found in Treat Bags and Crudely Wrapped Gifts. Many players are willing to pay between 5 and 25 gold per transformation. An army of alts camped at innkeepers who Trick or Treat once an hour can generate a healthy supply of wands, the charges from which can then be sold for a decent profit. Considering the wands are free, this is a pure gold making method that requires no investment and has absolutely no chance of loss. If you have time, the spirit of a salesman, and a handful of alts, Hollows End can be a great opportunity to expand your coffers.

Achievements

Check out our separate World of Warcraft Hallow's End Achievement Guide 2009 to learn all you need to know to complete all of the Hallow's End Achievements.