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Island Expedition Transmog in Shadowlands 9.1

/ Gra1980 / Leave a comment

You might recall a blog post I created towards the end of last year called Island Expedition Transmog. This post looked at the gear you could earn completing Island Expeditions (or purchasing from the Auction House) and the prices you could flip these items on the Auction House, some for a considerable profit. The introduction of Shadowlands and players playing new content, thus leaving behind old content, meant a significant increase to the value of Island Expedition Transmog as the supply lowered and the demand increased – which was excellent for gold-makers.

In Shadowlands 9.1 this will all change with the introduction of the solo queue for Island Expeditions. This change could have a negative effect on the Island Expedition Transmog market.

Wowhead’s article confirming Solo queues

Jeremy Feasel’s interview with Vanion

Island Expeditions in Battle for Azeroth:

Back in Battle for Azeroth, Blizzard introduced Island Expeditions. You could group up with two other players and participate in one of three maps available for that week. There were four various difficulties, Normal, Heroic, Mythic, and PvP. The aim was to acquire Azerite and the team that reached the goal first won. There were also side objectives, that influenced the loot you could win, once the Island Expedition completed. There’s a lot of exciting loot, which is why many players still complete them today. Players are still trying to earn Island expedition Transmog, Mounts, Companion Pets, and Seafarer’s Dubloons for supply crates. The Supply Crates were introduced to give players another chance to loot items that they were unsuccessful to loot at the end of the Island Expedition.

As Shadowlands progressed, it became apparent that those still interested in Island Expeditions couldn’t find a group because there was a lack of interest from other players. Thankfully for those players, the developers have decided to introduce a solo queue that will eradicate the need for other players.

Island Expeditions in Shadowlands 9.1:

Sadly for gold-makers, 9.1 will introduce a new solo queue option for players wanting to run Island Expeditions. The changes will ultimately make farming Island Expedition Transmog a lot more efficient. With more players able to queue solo, this will increase supply bringing a negative effect to the Island Expedition Transmog market as the supply outnumbers the demand. With this in mind, it may be beneficial to reconsider some of the valuations we’re demanding for our Island Expedition Transmog. However, for many of the high tier ticket items, I would suggest keeping the same value until we know the full extent of the patch.

It’s worth noting at this point that although the solo queue is confirmed, the increase to gear is purely speculation. Developers could lower drop rates or adjust exchange rates for Salvage Crates with Seafarer’s dubloons; If this happens, there may be no need to adjust our values at all. Only when testing starts will we have a greater understanding of Island Expeditions in Shadowlands 9.1.

Tier Lists:

If you’re unsure of the high tier ticket items, here’s a list below of Expedition Transmog ≥50k gold (TSM: Region Market Value Average (RMA))

Firekin Amice
Plundered Flamecaster Stave
Rattling Bone Greatbelt
Razorfin Helm
Stinkrot Smasher
Duskhaven Top Hat
Plundered Barb-Edged Dagger
Plundered Beacon-Light Bulwark
Plundered Heart Hacker
Plundered Petrified Tree
Plundered Shadow-Infused Blade
Plundered Tenderizing Crusher
Wild Marauder Chainmail

For items within the 10k-50k bracket (mid tier), it’s up to you what you wish to do. Most of the Transmog at this price point is already in moderate supply. It wouldn’t hurt to lower your valuations or consider sticking to them and reacting once 9.1 hits.

Anything ≤10k (low tier) will likely be in high supply, and if the changes in 9.1 happen and no changes to drop rates, it’s worth looking at reducing your stock in this price range immediately. After all, there’s a reason why this gear doesn’t break the 10k mark; the supply exceeds the demand, and this will only get worse!

Conclusion:

Since Shadowlands dropped, the Island Expedition Transmog market has been excellent. I’ve made some great sales over the last couple of months. With the release of 9.1 and solo queues for Island Expeditions, it’s only right we prepare too. If there’s an increased supply of Transmog to the Auction House, we could find ourselves struggling to meet our valuations and moving our stock. That is why I recommend checking your valuations and where you feel possible, consider reducing them to get a head-start on your competitors. I’d suggest leaving the values on your high tier items!

If you have access, consider checking out the PTR and seeing whether the developers adjust the drop rates and conversion rates for Supply crates via Seafarer’s Dubloons. If there is a change to the drop rates, ignore the need to adjust your valuations on your Transmog. If solo queuing becomes more efficient but items harder to obtain, there will be no effect on the current Transmog market.

Monitor the market closely and adapt as the patch progresses.

Legion BoEs in Shadowlands

/ Gra1980 / 2 Comments

You may recall one of my blogs back in 2016/17 regarding flipping Legion BoEs (aka Legion 101 BoEs) and the outrageous profit margins that were achievable. On the first week of the release of Legion, I looted an a level 101, ilvl 850 ring, which I sold for 500k gold. In 2017 I finally surpassed the 100m gold mark, and a great deal of that achievement was down to farming and flipping Legion BoEs. 

Legion BoEs in Shadowlands:

Even today, during Shadowlands, I’m still successfully flipping Legion BoEs on all the realms I play on. Although the profit margins aren’t as significant as before, there’s still value in the market. In Legion and Battle for Azeroth, the territory stat: Leech (plus socket) was very beneficial and demanded a high value. Later in the expansion of Battle for Azeroth, items with the territory stat: Speed became desirable. The speed stat gave the wearer increased speed, meaning farming old dungeons and raids was more efficient. The more Speed items you had equipped, the greater the benefit. 

Sadly, there is a cap at 49% speed, as illustrated by /AGunWithLegs at Reddit.

Shadowlands introduced a level and ilvl squish (which I’ll cover later), zone scaling, and a secondary stat diminishing return. The stat diminishing return meant stacking a specific secondary stat would start losing a lot of its benefit when you start reaching a certain percentage. The developers introduced this because of the level-boosting in Battle for Azeroth and potential gearing issues when seeking your best in slot item(s). Players were exploiting their stats to help pull the whole instance and AOE the mobs, thus clearing content quickly. A great example of this was the Freehold level boosting! Other limitations included party members no longer gaining experience with characters that lock their experience.

Here’s a detailed guide by Wowhead explaining the secondary stat diminishing returns.

Legion BoEs Shopping List:

Flipping:

Buy low, sell high is our aim here. Only invest in the gold you’re willing to lose. Ideally, the price range I’m looking at is 2500g per item, and I look to sell at 10k plus. I will add images later to show the sales I’ve made this fortnight. The images will ultimately prove that this is still a viable/profitable market.

Please bear in mind there have been many changes since Legion, importantly, the level and ilvl squish. The level and ilvl squishes mean that searching for Legion BoEs on the Auction House has become a lot more complicated. When I shopped for Legion BoEs, I previously inputted /101/101/i835/armor, and it would filter all armor for that level/ilvl – that search function is no longer an option. Instead, I prefer to do a default search inputting every piece separated by a semicolon. For ease of use, I’ve added a Pastebin below. Simply open the Auction House, hit the Browse Tab and copy and paste the shopping list in to the search bar in the top right hand side.

Legion BoEs Shopping List via Pastebin

Once you’ve completed the search, go to the Recent Searches panel and hit the star to favorite the search. Go into the Favorite Searches panel and edit the name of the search. I named mine Legion BoEs. Feel free to name it what you wish.

You could use a TSM import string and do a shopping search via that method instead, but you could miss out on a lot of items not yet grouped. I have two TSM Strings that maybe of interest to you. One has the Legion BoEs categorised in subgroups, the other is uncategorised (this is ideal for those that prefer their own groups). They both have default operations, so be sure to add your operations. Only choose one of the strings, and be prepared, there’s over 3000 items!

Legion BoEs TSM String (Categorised with Subgroups)

Legion BoEs TSM (uncategorised)

Farming:

If you’d prefer farming for these items, I’d suggest checking out the murlocs in Aszuna [50.33] (screenshot below). I believe this spot hasn’t been nerfed yet, unlike many of the other places I used to farm at. This spot is ideal due to the amount of murlocs in the area. If possible, consider group farming or multiboxing, which will make things a lot more efficient for you. Due to zone scaling, finding a group to farm with should be easier. Otherwise, wait for Legion Invasions. The amount of mobs available is insane and they have large loot tables, so keep your eyes peeled for other loot. If you have other recommendations on where to farm, consider posting below in the comment section.

If you’re farming for a specific level requirement, remember that you need to be a specific level yourself, as the loot will scale depending on your level. Legion BoEs at a particular level/ilvl could demand higher valuations. Even Legion BoEs of the uncommon variety could be of value, especially ones with territory stats and low levels for Twinks. Check this guide out for more information.

Sales:

As mentioned before, I try to post at least once a week, but I actually average once every two weeks. So my sales could be a lot greater than whats shown below. I don’t cancel/repost so these are post and forget. These sales are between 14th Feb – 28th Feb.

Conclussion:

I’ll be honest, at one point, I believed these items were selling based on their stats or possible transmog purposes. But the fact that there’s trinkets and rings selling leads me to think these could be for players leveling. Upon closer examination via in-game TSM Ledger, these items were either level 45 or level 50 with varied ilvls; some had territory stats and/or sockets, meaning that they could’ve been purchased by players leveling or in need of some gear. None of them had Speed or Leech.

I’m unsure at this point, whether there’s a twink bracket that may be farming/using Legion BoEs, given all the scaling in Shadowlands.

It’ll be interesting to see what sales I’ve made when I do my next repost. I’ll be sure to add them here as soon as possible.

Feedback:

Have you been selling Legion BoEs yourself during Shadowlands? How has the market been for you? Have any farming tips that you want to add? or maybe this post has potentially opened another market for you and you might give it a go. If so, keep me updated on how you fair, by sharing your progress in the comment section. If you have any questions, maybe something I’ve not outlined in this post, please feel free to ask below and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. I’m approachable on Twitter or via email using the contact me feature.

Until next time…

Ink Trader Shuffle Umbral Ink

/ Gra1980 / Leave a comment

Before my extended break, you might have read a snippet from my previous post regarding the potential of using the new Shadowlands Ink Traders to shuffle Umbral Ink for Old World Inks. The prices for certain Old World Inks have since gone up in value over the last couple of weeks. The drastic changes could result from the new shuffle or players merely using Old World herbs and pigments to craft their own Old World Inks for crafting or selling.

Disclaimer:

Before I get started, the valuations used in this guide are from The Undermine Journal (TUJ) and for the region, EU. They are also an EU Median Price. Median is the average price of an item for the region, not the realm. Before you follow any advice detailed below, I urge you to check The Undermine Journal for the exact valuations for the items mentioned for your region and (more importantly) your realm. Failure to adhere to this advice will return incorrect values and incorrect profit margins. Also, consider crafting Umbral Inks for greater profit if Umbral Pigment is cheap enough.

The Shuffle:

If you read my post from August 2020 about the Roseate Pigment shuffle, you’d have shuffled and stocked up many Old World Inks in preparation for Shadowlands. Many who used this method might have finally sold off their inventory/stock and now use the new shuffle or alternative means. If this is the case, this could explain the increase in prices too. Roseate Pigment was as cheap as 15g on average before Shadowlands released, meaning 30g-45g (or greater) for Old World Inks was a lucrative shuffle. Now Umbral Ink is approximately 40-50g, and we’d need to sell shuffled Old World Inks at 75g or above to make this a viable/profitable shuffle too.

For the readers unfamiliar with this shuffle, here’s a brief breakdown.

Purchase/Craft Umbral Ink
Visit your nearest Ink Trader.
Option 1) Trade one Umbral Ink for one profitable Common Ink.
Option 2) Trade Ten Umbral Inks for one Uncommon Ink (*)

(*) I don’t believe option 2 to be profitable at this time.

Profitable Inks:

In alphabetical order. Price = The Undermine Journal’s (EU Median Price) Average price by the region!

Because Scribes require the above Inks for leveling Inscription and are necessary for crafting Glyphs, these would be in high demand. If these valuations concur with your realms valuations, I suggest using this shuffle, but only for the inks profitable on your realm.

Inks that could become profitable at a later date.

Common Inks:

Uncommon Inks: (remember to calculate 10x Umbral Ink for 1 Uncommon Ink with this trade)

The Importance of Supply & Demand:

If this shuffle isn’t profitable for you on your realm, please be patient. Umbral Ink’s valuation will continue to fall further as the quantity outgrows the demand, otherwise known as supply and demand. The population of your realm will also dictate Umbral Inks valuation, as outlined below.

Example:
Outland – Umbral Ink (20g) High pop
Azuremyst – Umbral Ink (219g) Low Pop

With a new patch on the horizon and potentially many players following this guide, Umbral Ink’s supply may fall and not meet the current demands, slowly increasing its valuation. I urge you to adapt to any future changes and monitor this market closely. Immediately stop using the shuffle if it becomes unprofitable.

Conclusion:

The ink trader shuffle has been a steady stream of income over previous expansions, and early signs show that the Umbral Ink shuffle in Shadowlands will be just as profitable. As more people get into this market, we may see a fluctuation in Umbral Ink’s value – the ink’s supply and demand and the emergence of a new patch will ultimately dictate this. We must monitor this market and immediately adapt to any changes in price, failure to adapt will lead us to lose gold and potentially lose any profit gained.

Credits:

Thank you to Wowhead for use of their data. All links for items within my blog, direct you to their site. This helps the reader understand the items within my guides.

If you have any questions regarding this guide or want to share your experiences or success stories, please comment below. Please remember there are measures in place when commenting, and I will need to approve it before it’s published – this is to protect the website and those that read the content from potential malicious comments. Although not necessary, but if you appreciate my work, (and in a financial position to do so) please consider donating towards the upkeep of this website! Alternatively, sharing my blog/post using the ‘sharing tools’ below is beneficial too.

Thanks for reading!

Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining…

/ Gra1980 / Leave a comment

Good afternoon guys. I’m writing this post today a lot sooner than I anticipated, but for a great reason. They say, “Every cloud has a silver lining!” and today is an excellent example of this. As you’ll know, I decided to take an extended break due to our dear Grandad Kenneth Garman passing away on February 1st. However, today, I got the news I’d never thought I’d hear.

At 12.53 pm today, I got the news that (on the fourth time of trying) I’ll be the father of a baby boy, due June 26th, 2021. I have three beautiful daughters and never planned for another child due to my wife’s health conditions, but God had a different plan! Well, God or the sheer boredom that a lockdown brings and insufficient content on television, Netflix, and Amazon. LoL

I want to welcome you all to Zack Ian Kenneth Randall.

The eagle-eyed readers out there will notice that we’ve decided to remember my late Grandad by giving our son the middle-name Kenneth in tribute to him. On informing my Mum of this addition, she broke down, but with tears of joy.

Today was again affected by Covid, and the result of the UK’s lockdown restrictions, meaning I couldn’t attend the scan. I hope come June that Covid isn’t as prominent as it is today and that I can accompany my wife for the delivery. It’s looking extremely likely that it will be via c-section due to my wife’s health conditions, so she’ll need all the support she can get.

Thanks for all the words of support on social media. I got round to reading them all today and grateful for your support at this difficult time!

I wish you all well and until next time!

Extended Break

/ Gra1980 / 1 Comment

If you’ve seen my recent thread on Twitter, you will already be aware of the recent update. On the 1st February at approximately 6 pm, we lost our dear Grandad to Pneumonia. 2020 had already been a challenging year with our Nan’s loss, my wife’s Uncle passing away on Christmas Eve. I honestly believed that 2021 would be a new start with things getting better.

Although neither my Nan nor Grandad contracted Covid, the result of the limitations incurred by our Government, with Lockdowns and local tier restrictions, made the time we’d typically spend together with our loved ones impossible. I agree these restrictions are in place to prevent this awful Pandemic’s transmission rates and protect the vulnerable from contracting this dreadful virus. Under normal circumstances, we’d be there for our Grandparents in their time of need, like they have for us; but this Pandemic has ruined that, and he sadly passed away lonely away from all those that dearly loved him!

My Grandad’s funeral is on the 5th March 2021. Sadly, the current lockdown won’t be reviewed until 8th March, meaning that this will be another limited funeral. Although I’m genuinely grateful for the opportunity to say my final goodbye to my Grandad, I know many of my family will not get that same opportunity. This whole situation is a further reminder that when you have the chance to be with your loved ones, cherish and embrace it; you’ll never know when that interaction (which I’m sure we’ve all taken for granted) will become impossible.

While we continue to mourn our loss, I intend to take a small extended break from social media, my blog, and, more importantly, World of Warcraft. I did have several blog posts to publish, but these will be on the back burner – I’ll publish these when I return. It’s an excellent time for gold-making, and there’s plenty of gold to be made, so get involved!

If you require some gold-making inspiration before I leave, consider some of these ideas that have been very profitable for me over the last few weeks.

Island Expedition Transmog
These have been selling well. Most notably, Duskhaven Top Hat (100k), Plundered Blade of Northern Kings (50k), Stinkrot Smasher (80k), and much more. If you didn’t follow my advice from back in BFA and want to flip Island Expedition transmog, there’s still time. Use TheUndermineJournal to see the prices for your realm.

Old World Inks
Finally, my vast investment in the old world ink market is starting to flourish, or more so did. My impending break from the game will affect this market for me, but it doesn’t for you. Again, if you followed my advice on shuffling cheap Roseate Pigment for Old World ink before the Ink Trader changes on the Shadowlands release, these inks will now be very profitable. I paid between 1g and 10g per roseate and traded all the inks I deemed would be advantageous, and now they’re selling upwards of 30-40g each. Celestial Ink around 180-200g each (realm dependant)!

Shadowlands Ink Trader Shuffle
The price for Umbral Ink is falling. As mentioned above, I’m selling my Old World ink between 30-40g each and, more importantly, Celestial Ink for 180-200g. If Umbral Ink gets as low as 20g during my time away, use the ink trader to shuffle profitable inks. The Celestial Ink shuffle should be viable now; check TheUndermineJournal for Umbral Ink prices and Celestial Ink prices for your realm.

Crafted Transmog (PvP)
For me, crafted transmog has always been a good steady income. Invest in old missing recipes, crafts locked behind rep rewards. For me, MoP and Cata crafts are selling well again. The crafted PvP gear is the most significant return on investment, mainly from my leatherworker. Magnificent Hide is selling for 116g, and I can craft PvP gear that sells upwards of 3-7k each! Check out the Exotic leather and Prismatic Scale crafts too.

Uncanny Gear
Surprisingly, the Uncanny Gear is still selling well. I’m unsure if people are buying these to upgrade and level, or purely for Transmog purposes. Either way, there’s still a market and with many other players concentrating on Shadowlands gold-making, this could be a worthwhile market for you too.

Flipping Medallions of the Legion.
I’ve purchased these between 1-2k each. I’ve been successfully flipping Medallions at 5k and as high as 10k on certain realms. The median price is 3.6k, but we can manipulate this median depending on the quantity available on your realm. I can’t suggest this enough, always check TheUndermineJournal.

I sincerely hope that this blog post today explains my decision to seek a well-needed/extended break from social media, my blog, and World of Warcraft. This last week/year is a stark reminder of how things have abruptly turned upsidedown, and more importantly, a stark reminder that you don’t need to be directly affected by Covid to feel the harsh reality this Pandemic has bought on us all. In some shape or form, we’ve all been affected, and sooner rather than later, this will all be a distant memory/nightmare, and we can start to move forward.

Treasure your time with your family; you never know when it will be the last time you see them. I, for one, am truly gutted that I’ll never see my Grandad again.

Rest in Peace, Kenneth Garman 01.02.2021

Replica Transmog Market

/ Gra1980 / Leave a comment

First off, may I take this opportunity to wish all my readers a Happy New Year! Here’s hoping wherever you are that 2021 is a prosperous and safe one IRL and in-game for us all. Today’s blog post is my first gold-making post since an impromptu break due to IRL issues. As the Darkmoon Faire is in town this week, I felt it was beneficial to post this today for you all.

Today I’ll discuss the benefits of completing quests and other objectives to earn Darkmoon Tickets. Once we’ve obtained enough Darkmoon Tickets, we can consider purchasing Replica Transmog. Alternatively, buying Companion Pets if you don’t meet the level requirements to purchase Replica Transmog.

Earning Darkmoon Tickets:

According to the Wowhead Guide by Gamermoosh (Darkmoon Faire Made Easy), you can obtain 286 Darkmoon Tickets per Month if you complete every task (including the daily tasks). If you’ve not completed Silas’ Secret Stash quest, then you can earn an extra 100 Darkmoon Tickets. Remember, you can only complete this quest once!

While this guide is currently outdated it’s still in my opinion the best guide on Wowhead regarding the Darkmoon Faire. Please do follow the link and add some feedback if it helped you too. I’m sure the author will update his guide soon.

Darkmoon Artifacts:

The easiest method to obtain Darkmoon Tickets is earning Darkmoon Artifacts by completing content while carrying a Darkmoon Adventurer’s Guide in your inventory. Alternatively you can purchase the Artifacts from the Auction House. Because I don’t do a great deal of content myself, I struggle to earn my Artifacts, so I opt to buy them from the Auction House. These can vary between 100g to 1500g per Artifact depending on when you look to purchase them. Ideally, purchase them a few weeks before the Darkmoon Faire comes to town!

Full List of Darkmoon Artifacts.

What Replica Transmog to Purchase?

I’ve always used TheUndermineJournal and would still recommend it to others. Access the site and input your region and realm. In the search bar, add the term, Replica. This search will return you a list of all the Replica items on your realm with their; 

  • Availability 
  • Current Price 
  • Mean Price 
  • Last seen 

On my realm, the current Price is between 30k to 40k per piece. Remember to consider that each realm has its own valuation; this is why it’s imperative to correctly input your region and realm.

Here’s a graph from TheUnderminJournal illustrating the differing valuations per realm for the Replica Beastmaster’s Cap. 17.5k the cheapest and

Resetting Replica Transmog:

On some occasions, you will find some realms sell Replica Transmog for as little as 5k to 15k each. If someone has earned those Artifacts or completed the events and obtained their Darkmoon Tickets without any gold invested, 5k may be sufficient for them. If you feel that you can reset the market and get better value for the piece(s), it’s worth considering. 

Always check the availability column for the piece on TheUndermineJournal. If you feel that 5k is a reasonable valuation for your item, feel free to post it at that price point too. I’ve purchased items as high as 15k myself and successfully flipped it between 40k-75k. Only do this if you’re confident you can make that profit margin.

Alternative to purchasing Replica Trasnsmog:

As mentioned at the beginning of my post, if you do not meet the level requirements to purchase Replica Transmog, please consider purchasing Companion Pets from Lhara. These have no level requirements, and once learned and caged, you can sell these at the Auction House. 

Darkmoon Tonk and Darkmoon Zeppelin are the best valued Pets on my realm at approximately 15k each at level 1. I’ve added a complete list of Companion Pets below for you to consider before purchasing.

My Recent Replica Transmog Sales:

Here’s an image outlining my Replica Transmog sales since the release of Shadowlands on 23.11.2020. The profit margin is great, but the amount of sales are lower than usual, but this could be due to the new expansion. I expect these to start picking up, as people get more time to work on the Auction House.

Conclusion:

As you can see, there’s definitely value in selling Replica Transmog. You have to remember that Transmog at the best of times is a slow market and this is no different, but when you get that sale it’s worth while. The only benefit to this market, is due to the restriction to the amount of Darkmoon Tickets any one player can earn per reset as mentioned earlier in this post. You could regard this as a soft cap of Replica Transmog that will become available each reset. Obviously, this cap can be extended if a gold-maker in this market has a considerable amount of alts, this will then bypass that soft cap.

If you want to participate in this market, attempt to get one of each piece, this will improve your chances of a sale. The vast size of your inventory the greater chance you’ll have an item of interest to a potential customer – resulting in a sale. It’s also imperative that you value your pieces appropriately, use TheUndermineJournal to work out the best price for your region and realm. I’m the only seller on my realm, hence why I can demand 40k-50k per piece.

Feedback:

I love the Replica Transmog market, and the significant profit margins it can bring. Are you in the market already? Maybe you’re apprehensive and undecided on whether to get involved. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line below, and I’ll get back to you at the earliest convenience. On the other hand, If you’ve been successful in this market, feel free to share your success stories below.

Thanks for reading, guys, and again I wish you all a very Happy and prosperous New Year! Here’s to a better 2021 – finger crossed!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

/ Gra1980 / 1 Comment

Good evening to all my readers and of course a belated Merry Christmas to you all. It’s taken a lot longer to make this post due to some unforeseen circumstances. Thankfully, not everything has been bad but for the next few days I intend I continue to be away from the game and from the website. If you have any issues regarding anything I’ve shared/posted or you need any help, may I ask that you contact me and be patient and I will reply in the coming days.

Tier 4 Restrictions

If you live within the UK like myself, you may have recently found yourselves under the Tier 4 restrictions. Living in the South East, we’ve been under Tier 4 restrictions since just before Christmas. The Governments decision was made due to the emergence of a new COVID strain and transmission rates increasing exponentially. This ultimately ruined any Christmas plans we made, but nothing could prepare us for what happened next. Sadly my wife’s Uncle passed away on Christmas Eve. He was admitted to hospital and placed on a ventilator after struggling with COVID symptoms. Tests later confirmed he died from COVID.

Please take the guidelines and restrictions serious.

Holiday to Florida 2021

In March 2021 we were due to fly out to Florida. This was a chance for us as a family to go on holiday and recuperate from what has been a very stressful 2019 and 2020. I checked my airlines website to check on our flights (don’t ask why, just had a bad feeling) and low and behold, between both American Airlines and British Airways, they’ve cancelled our flights! The irritating thing was, they cancelled the flights back in July, a Month after we originally booked our holiday. Before you say it, no, no one had the decency to inform us! Due to the inability to amend our flights (at this late stage) for the same day, we’ve had to cancel our holiday.

We will now have to wait until our refund has been completed and given LoveHolidays current issues, we’re expecting them to delay our refund till as long as possible.

New addition to 2021

As I mentioned at the beginning. This post isn’t all bad (well depends on how you look at it) as I can confirm that my wife is 14 weeks pregnant. With my wife’s current health issues, we weren’t trying for anymore children and were taking all the precautions necessary to prevent the chance. My daughters have been badgering us for Months for a little Brother and it looks like someone up there has rewarded them with the potential of a Brother for the missing holiday which would have been their Christmas present. It reminds me a little of Miracle on 34th Street.

Anyway, I hope that this post explains why I haven’t been around. I hope you’re all enjoying Shadowlands and lastly, keep your beady eyes out for that Hikons, 116m gold made since the release of Shadowlands is just insane!

Here’s to a prosperous (better than expected) 2021 – Happy New Year!

Thanks for reading and stay safe!

The Darkmoon Faire is coming, to Town!

/ Gra1980 / Leave a comment

Good evening or good morning depending on where you are… It’s not quite “Santa Clause is Coming to Town!” but the next best thing. It’s the 1st Sunday of the Month and that means only one thing – the Darkmoon Faire is in Town! For the next 7 days, there’s plenty of games, quests, profession quests and two rares to kill on the Darkmoon Island. If you haven’t ventured to the Darkmoon Faire in a while or maybe this is your first time, please check out my guides which will help you make the most of the gold-making opportunities available to us.

Profession Quests:

As a kind reminder, this is a great opportunity if you’re 5 skill points away from maxing your profession. Every profession has a quest that rewards you 5 skill points. Considering most of the professions in Shadowlands are quite expensive to complete, this is an ideal opportunity to complete those remaining points.

New Cooking Recipes:

You may have read in my last post, that with the release of Shadowlands three new recipes were available from Galissa Sundew.

All of these will set you back 85 Darkmoon Daggermaw. I’m unsure at this point how influential these will be, as the previous feasts (prior to the nerf) gave a substantial versatility buff to players running Mythic+ Dungeons. Wowhead hasn’t updated the new changes as of 06.12.2020 so I’ve added a screenshot below from the vendor Galissa Sundew which shows it’s availability.

Darkmoon Faire Artifacts:

Finally, with nine Darkmoon Faire Artifacts available to us from varied tasks in the World or alternatively purchased from the Auction House, turning these artifacts in will reward you experience (or gold if max level) to help you reach your target of level 60. Be sure to hit the Carousel or Roller Coaster prior to turning in the artifacts to earn that Whee! buff, this will add an extra percentage of experience to your reward.

List of helpful links:

Below are helpful links, please select the appropriate link for further information. If you’re still unsure about anything, feel free to message me on Twitter or in the comment section below and I’ll reply to you at the earliest convenience.

Darkmoon Faire (Alternative information & links)
Darkmoon Faire Artifacts (Quest Items)
Darkmoon Faire Companions
Darkmoon Daggermaw
Darkmoon Firewater
Replica Transmog
Silas’ Secret Treasure (One-time Quest)


I hope you found this post informative. Please share this post to help other players. Happy gold-making and thanks for reading!

How to Fix Missing Addon Folders within World of Warcraft

/ Gra1980 / Leave a comment

Good morning! Today’s post is for the lovely readers that may not be following me on Twitter. If you’ve been experiencing issues with Addons, either the folders have gone missing or Addons not updating as intended since Shadowlands released, like the issues I’ve added below, then follow the simple fix.

My issues were regarding the Addon client WoWUp and the Addons AzerothAutoPilot and BigWigs. These were working when Shadowlands released but have recently had their dependant folders deleted and the remaining folders still within the game. I did not do this! If you’re experiencing the same or with different Addons or via a different client, the resolution should be the same.

The Fix:

Exit World of Warcraft to prevent any issues.

Start WoWUp or your preferred Addons client.

Make sure you have Retail selected (or your desired version of World of Warcraft)

Find the Addon that isn’t working/updating as intended; right-click the Addon and select reinstall as shown below.

Log back into World of Warcraft, bring up the Addons panel and select the Addons that you’ve reinstalled and /reloadui to complete your changes.

Voila, the Addons will have had their missing folders reinstalled and should work/update properly once again.

I hope this helps! Please consider sharing to help your fellow players.

My Experience Of Shadowlands So Far!

/ Gra1980 / Leave a comment

Hey guys, apologies for being quiet since the release of Shadowlands, but I’ve been engrossed in the new expansion. I have to say I’ve loved my time in-game with the new content. I don’t want to jinx it (considering my first impressions of Legion and Battle for Azeroth were good, too), but I feel Blizzard has done exceptionally well with Shadowlands. The new leveling system for alts, the music, World Quests – whether your level 60 or below, and the fun in Torghast are just a few of the things that have impressed me so far.

I’ve not been posting many gold-making posts as I’ve not done much outside of leveling my main character, maxing my professions, and posting my standard auctions (‘standard‘ as in my usual auctions before Shadowlands). Nothing to write home about just yet, as everyone seems to be content with the new content.

One piece of good news was finally looting my best in slot Legendary Power [Memory of the Soulforge Embers]; God only knows how many times I had to run Mists of Tirna Scithe for it. Thankfully, Blizzard removed the daily cooldown on Shadowlands Heroic dungeons, which meant I could spam queue until it dropped. Given some of the rumors of nerfs incoming to Marksman Hunters, I’m grateful that this power is excellent for all specs, giving me the freedom to change my spec if needed. If you’re farming Dungeons for your Legendary Power, be sure to queue for both Normal and Heroic, I found it cut my queue times down significantly as DPS.

Gold-Making:

Even though I’ve not done too much Shadowlands gold-making, what I have done is notice what others in the community have done, and it’s nothing short of amazing. Funnily enough, it’s the usual suspects! If you’re not following them already, I will urge you to check them out today.

@Hikons [Twitter] [Youtube] [Twitch] [Patreon]
Hikons just updated his Twitter that he’s just hit gold cap, purely from selling items from Shadowlands, mainly Inscription – Darkmoon Cards. He was a ‘machine’ when Battle for Azeroth was released, but I feel he’s gone one better here!

@Kubba1977 [Twitter]
I’ve only been following Kubba since 8.3 released and his insane flipping of materials and crafts in Battle for Azeroth. In Shadowlands, it would appear that it’s service as usual. Check out his screenshots of players buying up his Orbereal Shards – Yes, the vendor items *evil laugh*

These two have been phenomenal this expansion, and will no doubt prosper as Shadowlands progresses. Check them out and see what they do, that you can incorporate into your own gold-making routines. I’m sure there are other great gold-makers out there making bank that I’ve missed. Please share them in the comment section, and raise awareness for them!

Anyway, I have to get back to the grind, this time completing the dreaded PvP weekly of earning 1500 Honor Points from Epic Battlegrounds. Why oh why did it have to be Epic Battlegrounds, sigh!

What are your impressions of Shadowlands so far? How have the gold-making Gods treated you? and more importantly, what has been your biggest success (or failure) so far? Let me know below.

Thanks for reading, and happy gold-making!