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