Posted by Spooner | 5 Comments
Ask Spooner: Gold and the Economy going into Wrath of the Lich King
Ho Spooner!
My question today is twofold: How much gold is ‘enough’ to start WoTLK, and how is the economy in general in WoTLK? I’ve heard various rumors that you would need potentially thousands of gold if you wanted to head right in to wrath and get to work on professions and other things, and that the economy has taken a big jump in inflation like we saw once BC got going.
From what you’ve seen, what would you think is a good amount of gold to have on hand when you enter Northend, and how will the economy be once we’re all in the expansion?
Thanks!
Bill
I love it when I get questions like this because it helps me narrow down what to talk to you folks about. I also like how Bill always calls me a ho at the start of every question. Let’s tackle both parts of the question one at a time.
How much gold is enough to start in Northrend? I’d say not very much to be honest. I am probably going to walk in personally with around 2k but not much more, and that’s only to pay for upping my professions to grand master (50g to raise the cap) and learn some new patterns, then train new spells. I’ll still have a little over 1k by the time I hit 77. If you already have your epic flyer or just regular flying mount, (and don’t desire the epic) then all you NEED to spend is a little under 1,000 gold for the cold weather flying skill at Lv. 77 which won’t be for some time. Each quest in Northrend gives you between 12-25 gold per turn in, and that’s not at max level. My Death Knight had 2800g by the time he hit level 74 and that was just on questing and vendoring trash or greens and quest rewards I outgrew. So you won’t need this massive pile of gold, it’s nice (really nice) but you won’t be falling behind if you don’t have it. Tailors can also make 20 slot bags now on the cheap, so keep that in mind if you’re going to drop 400g on a 20 slot bag now or 1000g+ on the epic 22 slot bag sold in Shattrath.
How is the economy in WotLK? Well I have to say that it’s a little inflated but not insane. Here’s the deal.
A lot of people on beta are flat out retarded (no offense) and put EVERYTHING they craft or find on the AH for 3000-5000g
I have no freaking clue why they do this, but for whatever reason these people think they can take the gold with them. There are some really flashy epic rings and other goodies you can buy at level 80 that cost nearly 8,000 gold but level 80 is a long way out and those few items won’t make or break ANY class. You’ll see the price of primals and motes drop until people start to level a new professions then they’ll shoot up. Crafting materials will always be in high demand because most players would rather level and quest than stop to mine or pick an herb or stuff their bags with leather. It all depends on the server.
You’re going to see enchanting materials and such also take a hit in the market because we won’t be using them at all anymore. Don’t be fearful that you’re suddenly going to be broke when Wrath comes out, the monsters drop a lot of gold, and quests give a lot of gold.
My advice to you: don’t spend money on anything! Don’t buy from the AH, don’t go pissing away 800g on something that will probably be replaced right away in a level anyway. Remember when burning crusade came out and people were selling greens for 100g or higher, that’s rediculous and you’ll see it again here. The training for your new spells and abilities is EXPENSIVE. So just spend responsibly and you’ll be fine. After about a month everything will mellow out significantly. If you’re one of those people who have 2 crafting professions and gather on an alt or just buy from the AH, good luck to you because you’re going to need it.
Unfortunately I must disagree with your post today, Spooner. While you could go into expansion with a few thousand gold, I think it’s a major mistake. There are so many new items, mounts, reputations, professions and more that are going to require large amounts of gold.
Heck, just look at the newest 3 person mount (includes vendors on it) http://wow.zuggaming.com/2008/09/18/updated-mounts-and-mount-achievement-for-wotlk/. It costs almost 15,000g! Or consider the dalaran teleport rings, which cost 8000g each!
Also, you point out that that enchanting materials are going to “take a hit”. Please don’t take offense, but this is just incorrect. Not only are enchanting materials not going to take a hit, they are going to spike and spike hard…particularly the new enchanting materials. I would expect the first players will start hitting 80 within 4 days of the expansion’s released, with a large surge around the 8-10 day mark. After that be ready to pay a premium for all enchanting materials.
Don’t think arcane dust / greater planars will spike? Take a look at the illusion dust / eternal markets. Both of these items spiked aprx. 400% (based upon inflation, and reduced supply). I would expect to see a similar reaction with arcane dust / planars given time.
This is why I love this guy
I guess my opinion would be somewhat bias on my own server since things are dramatically skewed in favor of the gatherers because there are so few.
It also depends on what type of player you are. Derek mentions the 15k mount…. even if and when I have 15k I will most assuredly not be spending it on a mount.
I take it the way I take RL stuff there are wants and there are needs.
This is my first time visiting this site but I would tend to lean towards Spooners assessment. If I need enchant mats to level that is what guildmates are for. I wont pay inflated prices just to hurry up to level professions to make something to sell to recoup the money I shouldn’t have spent in the first place.
That is just me though. Nice site BTW will frequent more often.
People leveling to 80 in 4 to 10 days is exactly why I’ll probably first set foot in Northrend after 2 weeks. I’ll let all the antsy people hurry up and get there, they can steal money from each other, etc. I’ll creep along slowly, at least that way, there won’t be 1000 other people trying to kill my ice boars or whatever when I get off the boat.
I remember when SSO opened up, I wanted to pluck my eyes out as nearly every mob got stolen from me while waiting 2.5 seconds for holy fire or for my first tick of SW:Pain to go off. Damn, I hated hunters so hard those days.
As for the market, it’s hard to predict. It will be wild and fluctuating on all servers at the beginning, with new commodities hitting the market, however, eventually the novelty will wear off and things will get cheaper. Aren’t enchanting supplies always expensive though? There have been times even in BC that I was able to sell some lower mats (greater eternal essence) for more than I could sell some of the higher end mats. Go figure!
Here’s what I see.
Right now, people are clamoring to get their professions leveled before wrath. They’re getting new gear crafted (fastest way to get gear imo) for their alts that suddenly got major buffs come Wrath.
Hell, I’m leveling a hunter now fast as I can and might buy my way to max professions if I make it to 70 on time. But when Wrath comes out, you’re going to see the exact same thing you saw when BC came out, all essences dropped off the face of the earth, large brilliant shards dropped, nexus crystals dropped. People were going nuts for the new stuff.
I won’t see fel iron ore on the AH for a lot but damned if cobalt ore and crystalized earth/water/etc will be INFLATED to the high heavens.
Now, later on down the line I would definitely want tons of gold. That’s without question. Hell I would love to have all 22 slot bags in my bank and main character now just so I won’t have to deal with the sick amount of frostweave gouging you’ll see on the AH.
Most crafted items and sets for leveling in Wrath are going to be expensive because most crafters want to turn a profit while they level, then use that gold to buy more mats to continue leveling their profession.
I don’t know all the answers but I know that having a lot of gold going into wrath is going to be nice because you won’t have to worry about budgeting, and if you want to play a new class or a new race or faction or whatever, epic flying is pretty much a must (once you have it you’ll understand)