Mats Speculation for Cataclysm

[Littleburst]

Do you think Icethorn/Adder's Tongue will increase in price?

Also what do you think about Enchanting gear?
I'm staying clear of Enchanting stuff, since I think it will all drop.

I'm pretty convinced Infinite dust will go up. People will need it to level enchanting. Once the mass reached lvl 85, a lot fewer people will be in northend still. Same happend with Arcane dust. Went from 50s on lowest to 2-5g now.

[Ualaa]

I'd stick with the generic WotLK herbs, specifically Adder's Tongue, Goldclover and Tiger Lily.

In general they're more common then Icethorn or Lichbloom, which means cheaper most of the time. From an Inscription point of view, all five will mill into the same thing.

The Alchemist is more likely to go with cheaper recipes to level. I did not make BC era Flasks (using the more rare BC herbs), while leveling my alchemy. I'm guessing Frost Lotus will be rather rare, once Northrend is as dead as Outland is now, so many of the Icethorn/Lichbloom recipes won't be a viable means to leveling.



The Northrend items should all skyrocket in price, but will take a while to reach their peak value.
When the majority of new toons in Cataclysm (Worgen/Goblins, but also Tauren Paladins, Human Hunters and the like) reach the 375-450 trade skill range, that will be the time to sell.
I'm planning on selling Northrend items between Week 5 and Week 8 of the expansion.

[Mickthathick]

No mention of Cobolt ore at all? I have 2 tabs of the ore stockpiled and 2 of saronite ore, I can turn them into bars if needed, or prospect them to do the Saronite shuffle once Infinite Dust becomes less readily available then it is now. I've found I burnt through a ton of Cobolt bars levelling Engineering and Blacksmithing.

Higher level WOTLK herbs will tank hard as they won't be needed to level professions, the lower level herbs should double in value, at least at the beginning of the expansion.

I'm stockpiling pets, especially Argent Tournament pets, as inflation and less supply will drive the prices up.

The only issue I face atm is a rumour I read that profession givers to get you past lvl 500 are phased, and require the completion of a lvl 84 quest to access. Can anyone on the beta confirm this?

[Ualaa]

Cannot confirm/deny the phasing rumor.
However, at level 75, your skill cap raises to 525, so I would find it doubtful that you'd need 84th to go over 500.

[Mickthathick]

Cannot confirm/deny the phasing rumor.
However, at level 75, your skill cap raises to 525, so I would find it doubtful that you'd need 84th to go over 500.

I think you may have misunderstood me, what I meant was that to get the recipes that require skill over 500, you need to be able to speak to the profession trainers that are located in a phased area. The only way to gain access to the pahsed area, is by completing a quest chain that requires you to be lvl 84 to access.

I'm tempted to finish downloading the beta so I can log in and see for myself, doing this will smash my download cap though.

[128z]

Oh no... if 84 lvl for 500+ skill it true - I'm so dead.. 15 servers to levelup twinks.. oh...

[Ualaa]

So the rumor is... your maximum skill level (ie, Cap) is 525, but you can get there with a 495 skill recipe.

But if you want the 525 recipes (which will probably include all the Titansteel equivalent stuff or Epic Gem transmute equivalents), you need to be basically maximum level.

Would be interested in hearing if this is true, or just a false rumor.

[Ualaa]

Did a bit of googling.
Currently in the beta, alchemists can train entirely in Dalaran/Stormwind, including recipes up to 520 skill.

I'd imagine other professions would have similar availability of recipes.

[Kalyse]

I need advice. Considering I don't have a scribe, an alchemist, or any other profession, what would you do with 2k+ of every Northrend Herb.

I was extremely fortunate to find a farmer and using gold I bought

Lichbloom 12g
Icethorn12g
Deadnettle 10g
Adder's Tongue 12g
Goldclover 12g
Tigerlily 12g
Frost Lotus 4g

Everything is in the multiple thousands except the Frost Lotus which was only 200 pieces. I sold half of them immediately for market price which meant I netted 100 free Frost Lotuses

What would you do? I have a few options.


I found myself a Glyph factory on my server. He is willing to craft Glyphs for me if I do not compete with him on Alliance server. I can take them all over to the Horde side. Currently the Glyph market on Horde side is owned by one person. He is on 24/7 and undercuts within 40 minutes throughout the day.

Alternatively, I can sell half of the stack and consider the remaining half pure profit.

Alternatively, I can continue to horde the full bounty and sell in Cataclysm. But, do we think that the prices will rise? The demand will drop, but will the supply drop enough also? I imagine that there will be very little demand for the first week, but after week 1 demand for them will increase as more levelers are around and then supply will be hard.

What do you thihnk?

I should also note, that the person told me that he will send me an identical shipment tonight and also include Ores in it too.

I don't know how those prices are compared to your server, but on mine they are awesome.

[Ualaa]

Depending how many toons you have at 75th, tradeskills are an excellent gold making option too.
Those who have Alchemists, Blacksmiths, Enchanters, Jewelcrafters, Leatherworkers, etc..., at 525 in the first week or so of Cataclysm and who get a decent recipe will make a killing.

Alchemy transmutes, or any transmutes for that matter, are a passive source of income.
I've got 29 transmutes a day, which have made me just over 500k in under a year.

If you can sell half of your herbs, for the price you paid for all of your herbs... the remaining half open some doors.
You can either sell the other half for a profit (and use the gold somewhere), or use them to level a bunch of alchemists or inscription toons.

Stacking scribes doesn't really get you much, but one can be decent choice.
Stacking alchemists is passive income, from transmutes.
Or selling the herbs, could get you tradeskills in time for Cataclysm.

I believe Adder's Tongue, Goldclover and Tiger Lily will drastically increase in value, somewhere around week 4 or 5 of the expansion... Basically, when the Worgen/Goblins and/or Tauren Pallies/Human Hunters etc.., reach the 375-450 alchemy/inscription leveling stage.
Personally, I wouldn't hoard the other herbs, but for all I know they might sell quite well too.