feedSWTOR: My Final Review
Since the new Star Wars MMO was released I've been playing in the live game in order to continue my coverage of the crafting system. I didn't feel like I had enough opportunity to really explore as much as I wanted to in the Beta, so I've been spending more time with it. I've just completed my full review and I've decided to post it in two parts - one for crafting and one for general impressions. I'm the explorer/achiever type, so my opinions are going to skew along those lines. I'm sure the killer types have a completely different view of this game - this review probably isn't for you ;)
Lunar Festival is Almost Here!
In case you guys aren't following the seasonal calendar, Lunar Festival is kicking off this weekend on Sunday morning. For those who've rolled new toons or just started playing in the last year, there are collectible recipes available from this seasonal event. The bulk of the recipes are for Engineers, they are able to buy schematics for a bunch of fireworks recipes. They also get access to recipes for fireworks launchers! In addition, Tailors are able to purchase recipes to make Lunar Festival style outfits.
Faction Rewind: Timbermaw Hold in the Cataclysm
A while back we started revisiting some Classic factions and reviewing how they can be leveled in Cataclysm. I recently found myself working on my reputation with the Timbermaw Hold to pick up some new leather recipes for a twink druid. In the process I noticed some significant changes, so I thought I'd share my findings with you guys. This will mostly be of interest to completionists who want to chase down as many recipes for their professions as they can find.
Winter's Veil Challenge!
Now that Winter's Veil is upon us, it's time to dust off our old holiday recipes! Those of you who haven't been playing long may not have the Winter's Veil recipes, so now is the time to grab them. As the days pass the recipes that come from Greatfather Winter's gift packages will start to flood the auction houses. So resist the temptation to overpay for something, you'll be amazed at how cheap they get by New Year's!
For recipe collectors, this is a rare opporunity to test your mettle. In the past, we've explored the feasibility of purchasing the Winter Outfit from the opposite faction so your Tailor can make both colors of the awesome winter set. I did this run back in 2007 and wrote a couple of posts about my adventures. I highly encourage you to read Smells Like Green Spirit and The Mage Takes The Cheese for tips on how to do this. Lowbies can also do this, so don't be intimidated!
Here are a few fast tips for the impatient:
For recipe collectors, this is a rare opporunity to test your mettle. In the past, we've explored the feasibility of purchasing the Winter Outfit from the opposite faction so your Tailor can make both colors of the awesome winter set. I did this run back in 2007 and wrote a couple of posts about my adventures. I highly encourage you to read Smells Like Green Spirit and The Mage Takes The Cheese for tips on how to do this. Lowbies can also do this, so don't be intimidated!
Here are a few fast tips for the impatient:
- Use the Wondervolt Machine in your home city to disguise yourself before you head out!
- Make sure you ride a faction-neutral mount within Horde zones
- Pick up some Invisibility Potions or Free Action Potions just in case
- Embark on your expedition during off-peak hours to minimize interference
- Choose a less populated city such as Exodar or Silvermoon
- If you die, corpse-rez on top of the vendor to avoid visual detection.
Good luck and make sure you come back and tell us about about it after you collect the prize!
UPDATE: Our friend Raxx has discovered that there is a Goblin vendor in Shattrath City who sells the Green Holiday outfit to both factions. This doesn't help Horde players, but Alliance can get their hands on the Horde recipe quite easily this way :)
How Has Transmogrification Affected Your Sales?
We're almost two weeks into the newest patch and the frenzy seems to be settling down a bit. I don't know about you guys, but I'm having a blast with the new mogging functionality! And not just as a player, but as a crafter too. Even though I did a series of posts on some of the special items that crafters can make, I'm really having fun exploring the new market and finding great items to sell. If you've been focusing on end-game gear and consumables, consider dabbling in "classic" items for transmoggers too.
Random 4.3 Factoids & Undocumented Changes
The number of fragments dropped from Archaeology artifacts has been increased, you can now get 5-9 fragments instead of the 3-6 you've gotten in the past.
Seeing dig sites on the mini-map is very helpful for navigating around the borders of a dig area.
Profession quests at the Darkmoon Faire appear to require a skill level of 75 according to posters on Wowhead.
Those who fish can find a new (and awesome!) Sea Pony from the waters at the new Darkmoon Faire! Visit El's Anglin to learn more about it.
The rare Burning Crusade enchant Executioner is now available in unlimited quantities from Dealer Jadyan at the Stormspire (Netherstorm). Previously this recipe dropped in the now defunct Zul'Aman raid.
Some classic vanilla recipes that required unusual ingredients (such as silithid chitins and copper modulators) were changed to use more common items. Make sure you double check older recipes before purchasing materials.
Dungeon quests in Outland have been reset. If you need a transmog item from one of those quests, you can repeat them to get it. A good example is the quest War on the Ramparts, which rewards a plate shoulder item that matches very nicely with the Fel Iron Plate set.
Feel free to share anything new you've found this week in the Comments!
Seeing dig sites on the mini-map is very helpful for navigating around the borders of a dig area.
Profession quests at the Darkmoon Faire appear to require a skill level of 75 according to posters on Wowhead.
Those who fish can find a new (and awesome!) Sea Pony from the waters at the new Darkmoon Faire! Visit El's Anglin to learn more about it.
The rare Burning Crusade enchant Executioner is now available in unlimited quantities from Dealer Jadyan at the Stormspire (Netherstorm). Previously this recipe dropped in the now defunct Zul'Aman raid.
Some classic vanilla recipes that required unusual ingredients (such as silithid chitins and copper modulators) were changed to use more common items. Make sure you double check older recipes before purchasing materials.
Dungeon quests in Outland have been reset. If you need a transmog item from one of those quests, you can repeat them to get it. A good example is the quest War on the Ramparts, which rewards a plate shoulder item that matches very nicely with the Fel Iron Plate set.
Feel free to share anything new you've found this week in the Comments!
Patch 4.3 is Alive & Kicking
We're getting Patch 4.3 today and with it comes a decent amount of content related to professions. Epic gems are probably the biggest addition to the recipe pool - as well as one of the most anticipated profession upgrades. Armor professions are also getting updated versions of the crafted PVP gear. Inscription is getting one new glyph and some changes to other glyphs which may affect their popularity. And Enchanters will finally be able to shatter maelstrom crystals into heavenly shards.
Some unofficial changes that are supposed to be going into this patch are the unbinding of Chaos Orbs and a major shift in how Alchemy specialization changes are handled. There have also been some UI improvements made to Archaeology and the Auction House.
Last night we updated Crafter's Tome with all the new patch recipes that we were aware of. This includes the epic gem recipes, the new raid drop recipes and the new minor glyph for Scribes. I will continue to monitor for unofficial changes and additions as well.
The feature I'm most excited about is Transmogrification. Armor professions have a lot to offer players in the way of transmog gear and I am happy to provide! Over the past few months I've done a few posts that highlight crafted items for "mogging", here's a quick list of them:
Transmog for Leatherworking
Transmog for Tailors
Transmog for Blacksmith Part 1 & Part 2
Some unofficial changes that are supposed to be going into this patch are the unbinding of Chaos Orbs and a major shift in how Alchemy specialization changes are handled. There have also been some UI improvements made to Archaeology and the Auction House.
Last night we updated Crafter's Tome with all the new patch recipes that we were aware of. This includes the epic gem recipes, the new raid drop recipes and the new minor glyph for Scribes. I will continue to monitor for unofficial changes and additions as well.
The feature I'm most excited about is Transmogrification. Armor professions have a lot to offer players in the way of transmog gear and I am happy to provide! Over the past few months I've done a few posts that highlight crafted items for "mogging", here's a quick list of them:
Transmog for Leatherworking
Transmog for Tailors
Transmog for Blacksmith Part 1 & Part 2
Patch 4.3 Bring Tweaks to Auction House Display
I've been keeping an eye out for new recipes on the Test Realm through the Auction House and I spotted a nice little change that snuck in under the radar. It seems that the Devs have added the recipe skill level to the display of the list. Where "Level" used to be it now shows the skill requirement. Here's a pic I took of the new display:
Star Wars: The Old Republic Crafting (aka Crew Skills) Review
I was one of the lucky folks invited to the most recent "stress test" weekend in the SWTOR beta. For those not familiar, this is a short term invitation that's only good from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening. After that time the servers are shut down and you can no longer access them. As a result, my window of opportunity for testing professions in SWTOR was quite limited.
I determined to make the best of this by restricting my adventuring to the bare minimum and trying to unlock tradeskills as soon as I could. But this is in pretty direct conflict with Bioware's game design. One of the big features they are touting in this game is story: lots of voice acting to enhance immersion and better story-driven questing. While I made a point to search for trainers at every "city" location I traveled through, the first actual opportunity to train professions was not available until level 8-10. Professions in SWTOR are called "crew skills" because they are largely executed by your companions (aka crew).
I determined to make the best of this by restricting my adventuring to the bare minimum and trying to unlock tradeskills as soon as I could. But this is in pretty direct conflict with Bioware's game design. One of the big features they are touting in this game is story: lots of voice acting to enhance immersion and better story-driven questing. While I made a point to search for trainers at every "city" location I traveled through, the first actual opportunity to train professions was not available until level 8-10. Professions in SWTOR are called "crew skills" because they are largely executed by your companions (aka crew).
New Priest Glyph in Patch 4.3
I finally got my maxed Scribe onto the Test Realm so I could check on the Glyph of Shadow. You can learn this recipe via Minor Inscription Research. I already knew all the minor glyphs, so I was able to get Glyph of Shadow on the first try. This recipe uses Lion's Ink, which matches some of the other minor glyphs. Here's a pic I took of the recipe:
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