Project Lore

With the first part of Icecrown Citadel open today, not only did we get to preview and test the first boss (Lord Marrowgar), we also had access to a new vendor inside the palace, itself. Mott Sercer is a Quartermaster for the new faction, "The Ashen Verdict," and he stands just to the right of the entrance when you zone in. It's not entirely clear if he'll be the person to go to for things like Tier or badge gear, but he currently offers a drool-worthy collection of crafting patterns. While the gear you can create doesn't have stats yet (aside from armor and item level), it's almost assured they'll be things people want as soon as possible.

Please note that to purchase a recipe, you'll need to have a certain level of reputation with Ashen Verdict and an item called Primordial Saronite, which likely drops off of bosses or trash inside the instance (perhaps ICC's equivalent of Crusader/Runed Orbs?) . Below, I've listed each pattern and its material requirements:

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When patch 3.0 hit, I dropped Engineering for Herbalism to prepare for Wrath. I thought it would better complement my Alchemy, and raw materials like herbs were likely to be in high demand as people level their professions. I thought that the Lifeblood ability would far outweigh the benefits of Engineering as far as usefulness goes, as the Engineering item enhancements do not stack. Months later, I'm wondering if I made the correct choice. Lifeblood is barely useful in PvE; healers don't expect me to cast a small heal over time and the health I regenerate in that period is unlikely to save me before a healer gets to me. It doesn't provide me with any stats. It is questionably useful in PvP, and I've been eying other professions like Jewelcrafting to provide me with more usefulness in raiding and arena. Blizzard has very much begun to treat professions like they treat classes: diverse, but all useful. Hardcore raiders will spend thousands of gold to squeeze out another dozen or so DPS, and Blizzard wants players to choose the professions they enjoy, not the profession that they should choose in order to best perform in content. All the different professions have comparable buffs to each class in both PvP and PvE situations, often in the form of bonus stats. These often take the form of special item enhancements, like Enchanter's ring enchants or Scribe's shoulder inscriptions, or passive abilities like Toughness. To me, Lifeblood is not nearly on the same footing. It has its uses in some situations, but having to use another action bar slot or hotkey as opposed to doing an enchant or getting a passive enhancement for a lesser effect gives me a sour opinion of Herbalism's PvE/PvP usability. As far as money making, some professions have some ability to make money by doing things you normally do while questing and exploring and an ability to make money by spending time on just the profession. Usually, this is in the form of gathering and crafting. For example, engineers can craft epic BoE items and collect from gas clouds they encounter in the world. Miners can mine from nodes that they find while out and about and can smelt ore into bars. Tailors can craft BoE items and have the Northern Cloth Scavenging to find more cloth while killing mobs. Either way, most professions are designed to be able to be lucrative both passively while roaming in the world or by investing time into them. Professions that satisfy this are Enchanting, Engineering, Tailoring, and Mining. I consider these professions to be much more appealing than the others. With the carpets from tailoring, I just may pick up Tailoring on my main (rogue). Its interesting to note that these professions are generally considered not to have a direct "complement", like Alchemy/Herbalism or Skinning/Leatherworking. For now, if Frost Lotuses weren't selling for 30 gold or more on my server, I'd be dropping Herbalism for something else right now, because it gives few benefits compared to other professions. The only benefit I would miss is being able to track herbs, which helps immensely for some of the Cooking dailies. As far as effort required, some professions are very easy and some are very difficult. Inscription requires you to stock a lot of herbs, pigments, and inks, and also requires you to sell a wide variety of glyphs to make the same amount of money as the other professions. Enchanting can be difficult to market - many players have an enchanter in their guild or someone they know rather than check the AH or shout in trade. Inscription seems very unappealing on a main for me for this reason and that its hard to "passively" make money. I think this needs work in the long run. What professions did you choose? Do you ever switch professions, and why?

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Whether you just thinking of dabbling in PvP or a hardcore arena player, its nice to have a good outline of all the different ways you can get PvP gear. This usually changes from season to season, but if you haven't gotten any PvP gear yet, then your best bets are crafted gear or the Savage Gladiator set. The first introduction to PvP you get in the 70-80 level range are the crafted PvP sets. These are BoE and wearable at 78. They are cheap and have good all around stats, including some resilience for PvP. The Savage Gladiator's set is undoubtedly better, but for the price, this can't be beat. It also has more pieces than Savage Gladiator. I'd recommend picking it up before jumping into battlegrounds at 80. Rogue/Feral Druid - "Eviscerator's" - crafted by Leatherworkers of skill 420 for some pieces and 425 for the rest. Learned from patterns sold by Braeg Soutbeard for 3 Heavy Borean Leathers each. If a Leatherworker doesn't know the recipe, offer them the required Heavy Borean leather to learn how to make it. Materials are included in the item links. Total materials: 8 Eternal Air, 84 Heavy Borean Leather Total stats: 450 Agility, 449 Stamina, 299 Critical Strike Rating, 300 Resilience Eviscerator's Bindings Eviscerator's Chestguard Eviscerator's Facemask Eviscerator's Gauntlets Eviscerator's Legguards Eviscerator's Shoulderpads Eviscerator's Treads Eviscerator's Waistguard Druid - "Overcast" - crafted by Leatherworkers of skill 420 for some pieces and 425 for the rest. Learned from patterns sold by Braeg Soutbeard for 3 Heavy Borean Leathers each. If a Leatherworker doesn't know the recipe, offer them the required Heavy Borean leather to learn how to make it. Materials are included in the item link. Total materials: 8 Eternal Water, 84 Heavy Borean Leather Total stats: 300 Intellect, 450 Stamina, 299 Spirit, 527 Spell Power, 300 Resilience Overcast Belt Overcast Boots Overcast Bracers Overcast Chestguard Overcast Handwraps Overcast Headguard Overcast Leggings Overcast Spaulders Mage/Warlock/Priest - "Frostsavage" - crafted by Tailors. Learned from Tailoring trainers in Dalaran and Horde/Alliance entry towns in Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra. Materials are included in the item link. Total materials: 27 Bolt of Imbued Frostweave, 33 Crystallized Fire, 33 Crystallized Earth, 16 Eternium Thread Total stats: 300 Intellect, 450 Stamina, 299 Critical Strike Rating, 527 Spell Power, 300 Resilience Frostsavage Belt Frostsavage Boots Frostsavage Bracers Frostsavage Cowl Frostsavage Gloves Frostsavage Leggings Frostsavage Robe Frostsavage Shoulders Hunters/Enhancement Shaman - "Swiftarrow" - crafted by Leatherworkers of skill 420 for some pieces and 425 for the rest. Learned from patterns sold by Braeg Soutbeard for 3 Heavy Borean Leathers each. If a Leatherworker doesn't know the recipe, offer them the required Heavy Borean leather to learn how to make it. Materials are included in the item link. Total materials: 8 Eternal Air, 84 Heavy Borean Leather Total stats: 300 Agility, 450 Stamina, 299 Intellect, 598 AP, 297 Critical Strike Rating, 299 Resilience Swiftarrow Belt Swiftarrow Boots Swiftarrow Bracers Swiftarrow Gauntlets Swiftarrow Hauberk Swiftarrow Helm Swiftarrow Leggings Swiftarrow Shoulderguards Restoration/Elemental Shaman - "Stormhide" - crafted by Leatherworkers of skill 420 for some pieces and 425 for the rest. Learned from patterns sold by Braeg Soutbeard for 3 Heavy Borean Leathers each. If a Leatherworker doesn't know the recipe, offer them the required Heavy Borean leather to learn how to make it. Materials are included in the item link. Total materials: 8 Eternal Water, 84 Heavy Borean Leather Total stats: 120 MP5, 448 Stamina, 300 Intellect, 526 Spell Power, 300 Resilience Stormhide Belt Stormhide Crown Stormhide Grips Stormhide Hauberk Stormhide Legguards Stormhide Shoulders Stormhide Stompers Stormhide Wristguards Warrior/Death Knight - "Savage Saronite" - Crafted by Blacksmiths at a skill level of 420 for some pieces and 425 for the rest. Taught by all Grand Master Blacksmiths in Dalaran, starting towns in Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra, among others. Total materials: 2 Eternal Air, 2 Eternal Shadow, 2 Eternal Water, 1 Eternal Fire, 1 Eternal Earth, 102 Saronite Bar Total stats: 559 Stamina, 380 Strength, 340 Critical Strike Rating, 360 Resilience Savage Saronite Bracers Savage Saronite Gaunlets Savage Saronite Hauberk Savage Saronite Legplates Savage Saronite Pauldrons Savage Saronite Skullshield Savage Saronite Waistguard Savage Saronite Walkers Paladin - "Ornate Saronite" - Crafted by Blacksmiths at a skill level of 420 for some pieces and 425 for the rest. Taught by all Grand Master Blacksmiths in Dalaran, starting towns in Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra, among others. Total materials: 2 Eternal Air, 2 Eternal Shadow, 2 Eternal Water, 1 Eternal Fire, 1 Eternal Earth, 102 Saronite Bar Total stats: 36 MP5 87 Intellect, 567 Stamina, 44 Strength, 139 Critical Strike Rating, 355 Resilience Rating Ornate Saronite Bracers Ornate Saronite Gaunlets Ornate Saronite Hauberk Ornate Saronite Legplates Ornate Saronite Pauldrons Ornate Saronite Skullshield Ornate Saronite Waistguards Ornate Saronite Walkers Later on we'll look at the next level of PvP gear, the Savage Gladiator Set, and beyond!

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