Strand Crawler 7/30/09

Gomorra got a Strand Crawler in his Bag of Fishing Treasures today. This is a pretty rare pet and you can only get it from the daily fishing quests. This is one of the reasons I keep plugging away at this daily even though most of the time the rewards are garbage.

Today the daily fishing quest I got from Marcia Chase (53,65), by the fountain in Dalaran was Blood Is Thicker. This is a pretty easy one, all you have to do is fly over to the flight path at Unu'pe, then head inland until you find a Marsh Caribou. Kill that so you are covered in it's blood. Then you head back to the shore and jump into the water creating a blood pool. Once you have that you just fish the blood pool until you get 5 Bloodtooth Frenzy. Turn them in to Marcia Chase for your Bag of Fishing Treasures. I also got 7g24s63c, 5 Pygmy Oil, a Tower Key that I sold to a vendor for 16g66s66c and 2 Deviate Fish. As you can see the rest of the rewards weren't much, with the exception of the Tower Key, but the Strand Crawler made up for it.

I did the daily cooking after that which was Sewer Stew, another easy one. I needed to pick 4 Crystalsong Carrots, which I did in Crystalsong Forest directly beneath Dalaran. That went pretty quick, there was no one else there picking them at the time. I got the 4 I needed and headed back to Dalaran to grab some Chilled Meat out of the guild bank to make my stew. I took the last 4 pieces out of the guild bank so I will have to restock that. I cooked up my stew and delivered it to Ajay Green at the Cantrips and Crows Tavern in the Underbelly in exchange for 9g93s, a Dalaran Cooking Award and a Small Spice Bag with 4 Northern Spices in it, not a bad haul today.

I went out hunting in Sholazar Basin later to get some more Chilled Meat. It didn't take me too long to get a stack of 20 hunting Dreadsabers and Longneck Grazers. I always like to have plenty of meat on hand in the guild bank so I don't have to waste time hunting when I am doing my daily's.

Corroded Jewelry 7/29/09

Today I got 2 daily's that I didn't even have to leave Dalaran to complete. I got Jewel Of The Sewers from Marcia Chase (53,65), by the fountain in Dalaran for my fishing daily and Mustard Dogs! from Katherine Lee (41,65), the Grand Master Cooking Trainer in the kitchen of A Hero's Welcome for my cooking daily.

As usual I did the cooking first. That had me running around Dalaran picking Wild Mustard. This went really quick today, I got 2 in the courtyard behind A Hero's Welcome and 2 more in the grassy just down the road from there. I cooked up 4 Rhino Dogs using meat I had in the guild bank and then combined them with the Wild Mustard into a Mustard Dog Basket!. The way you combine them is simply right click on the basket, while you have all the required items in inventory, that was supplied when you picked up the quest.

I delivered the Mustard Dog Basket to Archmage Pentarus (68,41) at Krasus' Landing in exchange for 9g93s, 2 Dalaran Cooking Awards and a Small Spice Bag with 2 Northern Spices in it. Not a great haul for Wranngar today, even for a quest that really offers very little reward.

After that I headed down into the sewers below Dalaran to fish up a piece of Corroded Jewelry. I always go to the Black Market to fish for this and I always have good luck. Today was no exception, I got my piece of Corroded Jewelry on my 4th cast. I took that and turned it in to Marcia in exchange for a Bag of Fishing Treasures. Today my Bag of Fishing Treasures had 9g86s54c, 5 Pygmy Oil, a Diamond-tipped Cane and 4 Deviate Fish in it. Not a good day here either. All in all it was hardly worth the effort of logging in.

Extreme Leveling – A Review of the Newest Leveling System on the Market

A few weeks back I heard about yet another new leveling guide that was about to hit the market – Extreme Leveling. I remember wondering then if we had not gone well beyond the threshold of good leveling guides and into excess. I had a talk with Shawn Woods, the guide’s creator before it came out back then and he told me a bit about what to expect from the guide and I must admit, my misgivings started to fade. I was intrigued by his new plans and excited to see if they worked or not. The first results are in and I have to say, I take back my original worries about another leveling guide out there – I think this is the guide we’ll be using to measure the rest from here on out.

The Meat of the Guide

The Guide itself is a multi-part system with leveling strategies for both Horde and Alliance characters and a complete in-game leveling mod that allows you to continue leveling without leaving the game. Additionally, you are given detailed maps with illustrations of where to go and when and a full walk through with details on every step of the process.

The real draw of this guide though is in the actual walkthrough, as unique and original a walkthrough as I’ve seen since the first guides hit the market. This is the real deal because it throws out the other guide methods and puts together a new method that is 100% unique and best of all effective. My first run through with it yielded a time of less than 8 days. I bet I can do faster next time.

The Bottom Line

There are no negatives to Extreme Leveling. In the past, I’ve tried out guides that were effective but poorly written or just plain lacking in extra content. This guide has it all – clear instructions, decent writing, a stable of nice additional content, and one of the most effective walkthroughs I’ve ever used. I think we’ll be seeing a lot more from Extreme Leveling in the days to come and that wouldn’t be such a bad thing at all.

Extreme Leveling

Wranngar 7/27/09

Today, when I logged on, I ended up with Infused Mushroom Meatloaf from Katherine Lee (41,65), the Grand Master Cooking Trainer in the kitchen of A Hero's Welcome and Dangerously Delicious from Marcia Chase (53,65), by the fountain in Dalaran.

As usual I did the cooking first. That had me running around in the sewers picking Infused Mushrooms. When I first got down there I didn't see any, I thought it was going to be one of those days, but after running around for a minute they started to spawn. I got 2 in the Black Market and 2 in the tunnel outside the Black Market. All I had to do then was run over to the guild bank and grab a couple pieces of Chilled Meat to cook them up with to make my meatloaf. Once I had that cooked up I headed over to see Orton Bennet upstairs at Curiosities and Moore who gave me 9g93s, a Dalaran Cooking Award and a Small Spice Bag with 5 Northern Spices in it. Not a bad haul today.

I headed over to Wintergrasp after that to catch my 10 Terrorfish. That took forever, I didn't even get my first one until the 7th cast. Then I got one about every 4-5 casts after that. The mood I was in by the time I had my 5th one I was wishing some Horde would show up so I could take out my frustrations, but as usual the Horde are never there when you need them. I finally got my 10 and took them back to Marcia Chase. She gave me a Bag of Fishing Treasures with 6g69s44c, 5 Pygmy Oil, a Diamond-tipped Cane and 4 Deviate Fish in it. I certainly have had better returns...

The Need for a Good Leveling Guide – Let’s Hit on This One More Time

I have heard this argument so many times now I don’t know what to say to people anymore. I will bring up the need for a good leveling guide and like clockwork, the person I’m talking to will tell me that they don’t think it is “right” to use one – that it is cheating or that it is unfair to their fellow players.

I’m not going to knock on anyone that would rather complete a game alone than with a guide in hand, but I do have to say that a good leveling guide is a great way to enhance the enjoyment of a game without ruining anything. I like to use Extreme Leveling, a guide I recently discovered that has been instrumental in reducing my leveling time dramatically, as my example here.

1. You don’t have to use it all the time – The thing that many people feel is that having a guide means it must be used at all times. This is not the case. A leveling guide is a tool, much like your auctioneer add-on. You use it to enhance your experience and boost your effectiveness in a certain part of the game.

2. You are getting an unfair edge on other players – Well, yeah, but isn’t that the point? It’s not like you are a better player because you know where to go. A Leveling guide isn’t going to get you more loot or win you PvP matches. It just gets you through the slough of leveling faster so that you can enjoy the end-game sooner. What’s wrong with that?

3. The speed increase is negligible – I couldn’t disagree more. My first character in WoW took my 19 days to level up to Level 70. I didn’t play after hitting level 60 at all (I switched to an alt), so that is all time spent gathering XP. My most recent character leveled up with Extreme Leveling took me 7 days and 14 hours. I would say I’m doing a bit better.

These are just three of the most common arguments I hear. All I can say is that you should visit Extreme Leveling and read up on the newest guide for World of Warcraft – perhaps even partake of the free offer for the first 12 levels of the guide and then give judgment on whether you think leveling guides are a good thing or not.

Extreme Leveling

A Couple Northrend Daily's 7/26/09

I hadn't been on in a couple days so when I got on today I grabbed my daily cooking, which was Cheese for Glowergold, my least favorite daily, and the daily fishing, which was The Ghostfish.

The daily cooking had me running all over Dalaran getting Half Full Dalaran Wine Glasses but it went pretty quick today. I got the cheese quick too, from One More Glass the wine and cheese shop in Dalaran. I combined the wine and cheese on the platter that was supplied to me when I took the quest and delivered them to Ranid Glowergold (36,28) at the Leatherworkers in the Magus Commerce Exchange in exchange for 9g93s, a Dalaran Cooking Award and a Small Spice Bag.

My Small Spice Bag had 3 Northern Spices and 5 Old Spices in it. An OK haul for this daily.

I flew out to Sholazar Basin after that to catch the elusive Phantom Ghostfish. I headed over to my spot just a little Northeast (48,55) and up top from the flight path and started fishing. It only took me 9 casts today to get my Phantom Ghostfish and that is right in keeping with how long it usually takes. The last time I did this quest it took me forever to get my Ghostfish.

I headed back to Dalaran and turned that in to Marcia Chase for a Bag of Fishing Treasures. Today it had 10g24s79c, 5 Pygmy Oil, 3 Worthless Pieces of Orange Glass and 2 Deviate Fish in it. Hardly worth the time I wasted flying to Sholazar Basin and back but there are still some good rewards to be had from this daily so I will keep plugging away at it.

Build The Ultimate WoW Character

Although it may seem like a dream now to become
one of the best, I assure you it's far easier than
you imagine...

The truth is that in every single thing, there are
some "secrets of the trade"

If you want to play guitar, there are some secrets
that can instantly make you play better.

If you want to swim, there are some techniques
that can instantly improve your ability.

And of course with World of Warcraft it's exactly
the same case...

Build The Ultimate WoW Character

These are the tools of the trade. If you could
learn these... you will instantly become A LOT
better.

Unfortunately, many guys that DO know these
will not share all the secrets.

I mean they want to keep an edge for themselves.
If you could beat other guys in PVP using the same
tactic over and over again... would you share it
with your opponents?

Don't think so...

Or would you share your guild secrets with the
other rival guild in the race toward the end-game
raids?

Probably not...

Build The Ultimate WoW Character

How would you feel to get those secrets and become
a top player on your server, very FAST?

How much more fun would you have when you log in
and everybody cheers you, wanting to befriend you?

It surely will be great, don't you think?

And you don't need to day dream about this. You
can turn it into reality.

Build The Ultimate WoW Character

Good Luck,

-Wranngar

Ghostfish Mystery: Solved 7/23/09

Today I got Cheese for Glowergold for my daily cooking and The Ghostfish for my daily fishing on Wranngar. These took me so long to do today that I didn't have time to do any on Gomorra.

I did Cheese for Glowergold first. That had me running all over Dalaran looking for Half Full Dalaran Wine Glasses. It took me quite awhile to get the 6 I needed, I hate this quest. When I finally had the 6 Half Full Dalaran Wine Glasses I headed over to One More Glass, the wine and cheese shop in Dalaran to get a piece of Aged Dalaran Limburger. That actually went quick, I got there and it was sitting on the table outside. I combined them into a wine and cheese platter and headed over to see Glowergold.

I delivered the platter to Glowergold in exchange for 9g93s, a Dalaran Cooking Award and a Small Spice Bag. My Small Spice Bag had 4 Northern Spices and 5 Old Spices in it, not a bad haul today.

After that I was off to Sholazar Basin to try and catch the elusive Phantom Ghostfish. I'm not sure what the problem was today but it took me forever to get one. I went to my usual spot up top and a little Northeast (48,55) of the flight path to fish. I usually have my Ghostfish in 10 casts or less but today it took 27 casts to get one. When I finally had one I ate it right away as you only have 60 seconds from the time you loot it before it disappears. Eating it put me into a state called Invisibility. When you go into Invisibility all the mobs around you disappear. I am not sure if they can see you, I would assume not as you are 'invisible' but you never know. This state lasts for 15 seconds. I headed back to Dalaran to tell Marcia Chase I had solved the mystery and she gave me a Bag of Fishing Treasures.

Today my Bag of Fishing Treasures had 10g39s88c, 4 Pygmy Oil and a Sealed Vial of Poison in it. I really like getting the Vial of Sealed Poison because it starts another quest that only takes a few seconds and pays 13g23s.

I opened the Sealed Vial of Poison and accepted the quest to go and deliver it to Alchemist Cinesra at the Black Market in the Underbelly, Dalaran's sewers. All I had to do was run down there, give him the Sealed Vial of Poison and he gave me 13g23s, quest done. Pretty easy 13g23s if you ask me.

While I was in the Underbelly I found 2 Underbelly Elixirs. These do random things to you when you drink them. The first one I drank turned everyone else into mages, the second one I drank turned me into a firefly. I have at least a dozen of these in the bank I haven't gotten around to drinking yet. One day I will drink them one at a time and see what different things happen.

Sons of Hodir Daily's 7/21/09

I finally had time to do a little more than my daily cooking and fishing today, I also did all my daily's for The Sons of Hodir on Gomorra.

The daily's I do for The Sons of Hodir are Hot and Cold, Blowing Hodir's Horn, then Feeding Arngrim, Spy Hunter and Polishing the Helm. These go pretty quick and easy for me, it only takes me about a half hour. I do them in the order you see them listed as that is a natural progression through the area. None of them are hard and I also get around 15-20 gold in, mostly garbage, drops for these so that puts some more gold in my pocket. I am already exalted with The Sons of Hodir on both Gom and Wranngar so I just do these for the gold. There is one daily I do not do for them, Thrusting Hodir's Spear. I tried this a few times on Wrann and never even came close to completing it so I finally gave up. From what I see people talking about in chat not a lot of people do this one because it is just too hard for the amount of reward you get. I got to exalted pretty quick and easy without doing it.

Of course I also did my daily cooking and fishing quests in Dalaran. Today Marcia Chase (53,65), by the fountain in Dalaran had Monsterbelly Appetite for me and Katherine Lee (41,65), the Grand Master Cooking Trainer in the kitchen of A Hero's Welcome had Sewer Stew for me again.

I decided to pick my Crystalsong Carrots first so that had me heading down to Crystalsong Forest directly below Dalaran where they grow. I took the Crystal portal down from Dalaran to save time, which puts me right across the river from where I want to be. I got all of them pretty quick again today, I only saw one person there picking them when I was on Gom and none when I was on Wrann. When I had the 4 I needed I took the Crystal portal back up to Dalaran then took the flight path to Unu'pe to do my daily fishing quest.

This is another easy one assuming you can find some schools of Monsterbelly's. Today the schools where few and far between. Eventually I found a couple though and ended up getting my Bloated Monsterbelly's in 3 or 4 casts. I opened them up and got out the severed arm to take back to Dalaran.

Back in Dalaran I turned the severed arms in to Olisarra the Kind, (36,37) the Grand Master First Aid Trainer in the Magus Commerce Exchange, who is going to try and re-untie them with the sailors who lost them. She gave me a Bag of Fishing Treasures for my efforts.

Wrann's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 7g75s8c, 3 Pygmy Oil and a Velociraptor Skull in it, certainly nothing to write home about there.

Gom's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 6g75s98c, 5 Pygmy Oil and a Diamond-tipped Cane in it, nothing to write home about there either.

I headed over to the bank after that to grab some Chilled Meat to cook up my Crystalsong Carrots with so I could make Vegetable Stew which I delivered to Ajay Green at the Cantrips and Crows Tavern in the Underbelly in exchange for 9g93s, a Dalaran Cooking Award and a Small Spice Bag.

Gom's Small Spice Bag had 9g93s, another Dalaran Cooking Award and 4 Northern Spices in it. A pretty good haul for Gom today.

Wrann's Small Spice Bag had 5 Northern Spices in it, a pretty good haul for Wrann today too.

All of the daily's above are linked to previous posts that give detailed instructions, including coords, on where to go to get them, where to go to do them and how to do them. Hopefully they will help some people out who are just getting started with the daily's or who are looking for some help to complete them :).

Couple Northrend Daily's 7/20/09

I got the daily cooking and fishing in Dalaran out of the way. The cooking was Sewer Stew today, a pretty easy one. The fishing was Dangerously Delicious, another easy one with a chance of some action. There was none today unfortunately.

I got the cooking out of the way first and that had me heading down into Crystalsong Forest, directly below Dalaran, to pick some Crystalsong Carrots. There was literally no one there today and it only took me a minute to get the 4 I needed. Once I had those in hand I flew over to the flight path in Crystalsong Forest and took public transportation to Wintergrasp to do the daily fishing.

In Wintergrasp I had to catch 10 Terrorfish to complete the daily. Gomorra didn't do too bad, he started catching them right from the first cast. Wranngar didn't have as good luck, he didn't get his first one until the ninth cast. Even after that his were spread out quite a bit while Gom got his pretty steady until he had his 10. Wintergrasp was under Horde control but I didn't see one Horde the whole time I was there on either toon. I flew back to Dalaran to cook up some Vegetable Stew and hand my Terrorfish in to Marcia Chase (53,65), by the fountain in Dalaran.

I handed in my Terrorfish first and got my Bag of Fishing Treasures from Marcia.

Wrann's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 10g8s39c, 5 Pygmy Oil, a Battered Jungle Hat, 3 Deviate Fish and a Runic Mana Potion in it. Not the best haul for Wrann today.

Gom's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 7g83s54c, a Glow Worm, 2 Solid Gold Coins, that I sold to a vendor for 1 gold each, and 4 Deviate Fish. Not the best haul for Gom today either.

There are still a lot of good rewards to be had from the daily fishing quest in Dalaran and that's why I keep plugging away at it day after day, week after week. Sooner or later the odds are I will get the good stuff :).

I cooked up my Vegetable Stew after that. To do that I had to head over to the bank and get some Chilled Meat to cook up with the Crystalsong Carrots I picked earlier. I always keep the meat I need to do the daily's in stock in the guild bank so I don't have to go out and farm it every time I need it. Once I had my Chilled Meat and Crystalsong Carrots I got a fire going and cooked up my stew.

I took the stew and delivered it to Ajay Green at the Cantrips and Crows Tavern in the Underbelly in exchange for 9g93s, a Dalaran Cooking Award and a Small Spice Bag.

Wrann's Small Spice Bag had another Dalaran Cooking Award and 4 Northern Spices in it, not a bad haul for Wrann from this one today.

Gom's Small Spice Bag had 5 Northern Spices in it. He didn't make out as well as Wrann but he didn't make out too bad either.

I wish I had more time to do the other daily's. Hopefully I will have the time soon and I can start making some real gold again as well as doing other things. I want to get back into the battlegrounds on Wrann and start raiding on Gom. I guess I will have to get him into a good raiding guild before that happens though. All I need now is the time.

Mustard Dogs 7/19/09

I only had a little time today so I only did the daily cooking in Dalaran. Today Katherine Lee (41,65), the Grand Master Cooking Trainer in the kitchen of A Hero's Welcome gave me Mustard Dogs!. This is a pretty easy one overall if not too many people are trying to do it at once. You need to pick 4 Wild Mustard from the grassy areas around Dalaran.

The first place I looked for some Wild Mustard was in the courtyard behind A Hero's Welcome. Not too many people know about this spot and I usually get 2 from there, that is all that spawns there at one time. Then I head down to the grassy area where you go down into the Underbelly by the Magus Commerce Exchange. I usually have the 4 I need when I am done there.

I cooked the Wild Mustard up with some Rhino Meat I had in the guild bank to make a Mustard Dog Basket!, which I delivered to Archmage Pentarus (68,41) at Krasus' Landing in exchange for 9g93s, 2 Dalaran Cooking Awards and a Small Spice Bag.

Wrann's Small Spice Bag had 3 Northern Spices in it, not the best haul but not bad for this daily.

Gom's Small Spice Bag had 4 Northern Spices and 3 Old Spices in it, he made out just a little better than Wrann. Really the only thing that is worth anything from these rewards, besides the awards and gold, are the Northern Spices. I use those for cooking the Northrend buff foods.

For anyone new to the daily cooking and fishing quests, as well as a bunch of other daily quests in Northrend, I have a list on the left side of this blog with step by step directions on how to do a lot of them.

Porcelain Bell 7/17/09

Wranngar got a Porcelain Bell in his Bag of Fishing Treasures today. This is even better than getting a Sealed Vial of Poison, a Porcelain Bell vendors for 100 gold. That was a nice surprise for Wrann.

Gomorra got a New Age Painting signed by Marcia Chase in his Bag of Fishing Treasures today, that was a nice surprise too, although not as nice as the Porcelain Bell. A New Age Painting vendors for 25 gold so that is not too shabby either.

There are still a lot of nice useful, and high dollar, rewards to be had from the daily fishing quest and that's why I always try to get on and do them every day. I still need to get the Jeweled Fishing Pole on both characters to add to my collection. I wouldn't use it although it has the same +30 to fishing skill as my Mastercraft Kalu'ak Fishing Pole but it is definitely a chick pole, with all the jewels on it. I still need to get a Strand Crawler and High Test Eternium Fishing Line on Wrann too. There are also a lot of sellable gems I haven't gotten yet so I will keep plugging away at this daily and hoping for the best.

Chef's Hat 7/16/09

Wranngar finally got his Chef's Hat today. It cost him 100 Dalaran Cooking Awards to buy it from Derek Odds in the kitchen of A Hero's Welcome. I have been saving awards for a long time to get this. Figure 1 award a day, 2 on a really good day which are few and far between, and it takes awhile to collect 100. I could have got 1,000 Northern Spices with those 100 awards. When patch 3.2 comes out this hat will allow me to cook faster which will come in handy as I find myself cooking stacks and stacks of buff food at a time. I usually walk away from the computer and come back later.

Sealed Vial of Posion 7/16/09

Gomorra got a Sealed Vial of Poison in his Bag of Fishing Treasures today. I love getting these.

The Sealed Vial of Poison starts a quest. The quest is simply to go down into the sewers (underbelly) and deliver it to Alchemist Cinesra (63,11) in the Black Market. Assuming you accepted the quest, which you should have at this point, he will have a big yellow ? over his head. You give him the Sealed Vial of Poison and he gives you 13g23s, quest done. It doesn't get much easier than that :). This literally takes less than a minute and pays well. I wouldn't mind getting one of these in my Bag of Fishing Treasures every day.

Bag of Fishing Treasures 7/15/09

Today Marcia Chase (53,65), by the fountain in Dalaran gave me The Ghostfish for my daily fishing quest.

That had me flying over to Rivers Heart in Sholazar Basin to catch the elusive Phantom Ghostfish. According to the story not too many people have seen one. The reason for that is they only last 60 seconds after you catch them before they disappear. There are no cameras in World of Warcraft lol.

I headed to my spot which is up top, a little northeast of the flight point. It took me a little while to get one on Wranngar but Gomorra got his in around 10 casts which is the norm. You need to eat the Phantom Ghostfish as soon as you catch it because it starts clocking as soon as you loot it and you only have 60 seconds before it disappears. I ate mine and went into a state called Invisibility. This makes everything around you dim and otherworldly. Any movement or action breaks the spell which lasts for 15 seconds. Having solved the mystery I headed back to Dalaran to tell Marcia. She gave me a Bag of Fishing Treasures on each.

Gom's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 7g20s88c, 2 Elixirs of Water Walking which come in handy, 5 Solid Gold Coins which I sold to a vendor for 1 gold each, 3 Deviate Fish and a Runic Mana Potion. Not the best day for Gom but I have had worse.

Wrann's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 7g13s60c, a Glow Worm, a Tower Key which I sold to a vendor for 16g66s66c, and 3 Deviate Fish. Not a great day for Wrann either but I have had worse. No recent ones come to mind but I am sure I have :).

After that I did the daily cooking from Katherine Lee (41,65), the Grand Master Cooking Trainer in the kitchen of A Hero's Welcome, which was Sewer Stew. This is a pretty easy one.

I took the Crystal Portal down to Crystalsong forest and headed over to the ruins directly beneath Dalaran to pick some Crystalsong Carrots. That went really quick on both characters today and I was back in Dalaran in no time.

I cooked them up with some Chilled Meat I had in the guild bank for just such an occasion and made Vegetable Stew. I delivered that to Ajay Green at the Cantrips and Crows Tavern in the Underbelly in exchange for 9g93s, a Dalaran Cooking Award and a Small Spice Bag.

Both Wrann's and Gom's Small Spice Bags had 4 Northern Spices in them. That is about the best you can hope for from this daily, about the only other thing you can get is another Dalaran Cooking Award in there.

Wrann has 98 Dalaran Cooking Awards now so he is only 2 away from getting his Chef's Hat. Currently that is only a hat but when the next patch comes out it will enable him to cook faster which will be a big plus.

Patch 3.2.0 Public Test Realm Notes

I have been reading up on the Public Test Realm patch notes and it seems Blizzard is still on their crusade to make it easier and easier to play World of Warcraft to attract more players.

The mounts seem to be the biggest thing they are 'giving' away:

Apprentice Riding (Skill 75) will be able to be purchased at level 20 for 4 gold. 4 gold... A far cry for the 80 gold I had to pay to get this skill at level 40.

Journeyman Riding (Skill 150) will be able to be purchased at level 40 for 50 gold. A far cry from the 600+ gold I paid to learn this skill at level 60. Not to mention the fact that currently Warlocks can buy their Dreadsteed at level 60 instead of doing all the quests finishing with Dire Maul to summon your mount. (I got my first mount free on my Warlock, which is part of being a Warlock, but I sure paid for the second one.)

Expert Riding (Skill 225) will be able to be learned at level 60 from trainers in Honor Hold (Alliance) or Thrallmar (Horde) for 600 gold. That only went down 200 gold from when I purchased it for 800 gold on my Warlock. As a Druid it only cost me about 7 gold for 225 riding skill so I could have flight form, this was how it always was, not a cost reduction.

Artisan Riding (Skill 300) will have faction discounts (Honor Hold and Valiance Expedition for Alliance and Thrallmar or Warsong Offensive for Horde). They are not saying how much of a discount but I am betting it will be a far cry from the 5,000 gold I paid. Druids can currently buy their swift flight form at level 71 instead of doing the 17 quests and finishing up in Heroic Sethekk Halls. This is compliments of a previous patch.

There are some changes to the secondary skills though these seem to be along the same lines they have been following since the beginning, just improvements:

Cooking - There will be some changes here too, reduced materials for some of the recipes.

The Chef's Hat will allow you to cook faster, this will be nice as I find myself cooking stacks and stacks of items at a time, either to replenish stock in the guild bank or clean out the guild bank.

There will be a higher chance to receive an extra Dalaran Cooking Award in your Small Spice Bag and an increase in drop rate for the cooking recipes from the Outlands cooking quests.

Fishing - Players with a fishing skill over 300 have a chance to get a Waterlogged Recipe in their Bag of Fishing Treasures. This can be traded to other players and can be turned in for several Dalaran Cooking Awards.

There are also a lot of class (talent) and some race changes too, too many to go into here but anyone who would like to check them out can go to PTR Patch Notes

PvP Fishing 7/7/09

I picked up my daily fishing, from Marcia Chase (53,65), by the fountain in Dalaran, which was Dangerously Delicious and my daily cooking, from Katherine Lee (41,65), the Grand Master Cooking Trainer in the kitchen of A Hero's Welcome, which was Convention at the Legerdemain first thing when I logged on today. I usually grab my daily's as soon as I log on unless someone asks for help first.

Today's cooking was really easy, I headed to the bank and grabbed some Chilled Meat to make the Northern Stew I needed then headed over to One More Glass, the wine and cheese shop in Dalaran to grab a jug of wine. This is the part that can take a little while but not today, I got the jug of wine on both as soon as I walked in. All I had to do then was run over to the Legerdemain and deliver it to Arille Azuregaze, the bartender. He gave me 9g93s, a Dalaran Cooking Award and a Small Spice Bag.

Gomorra's Small Spice Bag had Northern Spices in it, not the best haul but not too bad.

Wranngar's Small Spice Bag had 3 Northern Spices and 3 Old Spices in it, again not great but not too bad.

From there I headed over to the flight point at Krasus' Landing to catch a flight to Wintergrasp to do my daily fishing. For that I had to catch 10 Terrorfish. That didn't take me too long. There was one Horde there that decided he was going to make fishing a little rough for us, but it turned out all he really did was die. Once I had my 10 Terrorfish on each I headed back to Dalaran and turned them in to Marcia Chase in exchange for a Bag of Fishing Treasures.

Wrann's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 10g36s12c, 2 Northsea Pearls and a Velociraptor Skull in it, a pretty crap return for risking life and limb to catch the 10 Terrorfish in a combat zone.

Gom's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 8g50s63c, a Glow Worm and another Velociraptor Skull in it, not a great return for him either.

There are still some pretty good rewards to be had from the daily fishing, that's why I keep plugging away at it, some day I will get something good :).

Monsterbelly Appetite 7/6/09

Today my daily fishing was Monsterbelly Appetite, which is a pretty good one, but my daily cooking was Cheese for Glowergold, my least favorite. I only had time to do these 2 daily's today.

I did the cooking first as usual, this had me running all over Dalaran looking for Half Full Dalaran Wine Glasses. I don't know why this one requires you get 6 Half Full Dalaran Wine Glasses as all the other quests only require you to get 4 or whatever you're after. The wine glasses are small and hard to see, I can barely target them. It also doesn't help to have a Felguard running around with you who is always in the way. I usually park him outside when I am doing the daily cooking, whatever it is. Eventually I got my 6 Half Full Dalaran Wine Glasses and the piece of Aged Dalaran Limburger I needed and combined them on the platter that was supplied when I picked up the daily.

I delivered the wine and cheese platter to Ranid Glowergold (36,28) at the Leatherworkers in the Magus Commerce Exchange in exchange for 9g93s, a Dalaran Cooking Award and a Small Spice Bag.

Gomorra's Small Spice Bag had 3 Northern Spices and 4 Baby Spice in it, not the best haul but there is just not much to be had from this daily anymore.

Wranngar's Small Spice Bag had 4 Northern Spices in it. Not the best haul but not bad all around I guess. I am close to 500 Northern Spices in the guild bank now. That seems like a lot but they go quick once you start cooking.

After that I headed over to Unu'pe to catch me a Bloated Monsterbelly to get the fisherman's arm back. It took me no time at all to get one on Wrann but when it came time for Gom to do it there were no schools of Monsterbelly to be found. I fished a little anyway, not in any schools, as I have gotten one before just fishing but didn't have any luck with that today. I was finally able to locate a school of Monsterbelly and got one on my 3rd cast.

I headed back to Dalaran to turn the fisherman's arm in to Olisarra the Kind, (36,37) the Grand Master First Aid Trainer in the Magus Commerce Exchange in Dalaran. She is going to attempt to reunite it with the fisherman who lost it. She gave me a Bag of Fishing Treasures for my trouble.

Wrann's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 6g62s80c, 3 Elixir's of Water Walking and a New Age Painting signed by Marcia Chase which I sold to a vendor for 25 gold. Not a bad haul for Wrann today.

Gom's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 10g86s57c, 3 Pygmy Oil and a Worthless Piece of Violet Glass in it. He didn't make out as well today.

Infused Mushroom Meatloaf 7/5/09

I got my daily's out of the way today but not much else. My daily cooking was Infused Mushroom Meatloaf. I picked that up from Katherine Lee (41,65), the Grand Master Cooking Trainer in the kitchen of A Hero's Welcome. My daily fishing, from Marcia Chase (53,65), by the fountain in Dalaran, was The Ghostfish.

I headed down into the sewers first to pick some Infused Mushrooms for my meatloafs. I got them really quick today, it seemed like no one was doing at that time. I headed over to the guild bank to grab some Chilled Meat to cook up my mushrooms with then delivered my meatloafs to Orton Bennet upstairs at Curiosities and Moore in exchange for 9g93s, a Dalaran Cooking Award and a Small Spice Bag.

Gomorra's Small Spice Bag had 3 Northern Spices and 3 Baby Spice in it, not the best haul for Gom.

Wranngar's Small Spice Bag had 6 Northern Spices in it, a pretty good haul for Wrann.

After that I headed over to River's Heart in Sholazar Basin to fish for the elusive Ghostfish. I usually fish up top a little Northeast of the flightpath and usually have pretty good luck, today was no exception.

I got my Phantom Ghostfish in less than 10 casts on each. As soon as you loot it you have to eat it, it is on a timer and you have 60 seconds to eat it before it disappears. The Phantom Ghostfish looks a lot like a Pygmy Suckerfish so be careful when you are looting it so you don't miss it. When you eat it, it puts you into a state called Invisibility which makes everything around you look dim. Any movement or action at all while in this state will cause the spell to be broken.

I headed back to Marcia Chase and told her I figured out the Ghostfish Mystery and she gave me a Bag of Fishing Treasures for my trouble.

Gom's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 6g86s, 3 Northsea Pearls and a Velociraptor Skull. I had certainly had better payoff's.

Wrann's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 7g33s30c, a Glow Worm, which I have an overstock of now, a Diamond-tipped Cane and 4 Deviate Fish. Not the best haul for Wrann either today.

There are still a lot of great rewards to be had from this daily though so I will keep plugging away at it in hopes of getting something good some day.

Monsterbelly Appetite 7/3/09

Today my daily fishing in Dalaran was Monsterbelly Appetite. I picked it up from Marcia Chase (53,65), by the fountain in Dalaran and headed off to Unu'pe in Borean Tundra.

Once I got to Unu'pe I headed out to sea, to the iceberg's. I had my fish tracking on so it only took me a few seconds to find a Monsterbelly school. I got my Bloated Monsterbelly on my first cast on Gomorra and my 3rd cast on Wranngar.

Once I removed the arm from the Bloated Monsterbelly I headed back to hand it in to Olisarra the Kind, (36,37) the Grand Master First Aid Trainer in the Magus Commerce Exchange in Dalaran, who will attempt to reunite the arm with the fisherman who lost it. She gave me a Bag of Fishing Treasures for my trouble.

Gom's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 9g23s86c, 3 Pygmy Oil, a Tower Key, which I sold to a vendor for 16g66s66c, and 2 Deviate Fish. Nothing great for Gom today.

Wrann's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 6g1s12c, a Glow Worm and 5 Solid Gold Coins which I sold to a vendor for 1 gold each. Not a great day for Wrann either.

My daily cooking quest from Katherine Lee (41,65), the Grand Master Cooking Trainer in the kitchen of A Hero's Welcome was Convention at the Legerdemain today. This is a pretty easy one, I headed to the guild bank and got some Chilled Meat which I used to make 4 Northern Stew. All I had to do after that was run over to One More Glass, the wine and cheese shop in Dalaran to grab a jug of wine. The jug of wine spawns in several areas so you have to run around and check the spots until you find one. I got mine on both pretty quick today and was off to hand it in to Arille Azuregaze, the bartender at The Legerdemain in exchange for 9g93s, a Dalaran Cooking Award and a Small Spice Bag.

Gom's Small Spice Bag had 5 Northern Spices and 4 Baby Spice in it while Wrann's had only 3 Northern Spices in it. All in all not to bad a day there.

Wrann is close to getting his Chef's Hat, he only needs 6 more Dalaran Cooking Awards and he will have it. According to the patch notes wearing a Chef's Hat will enable you to cook faster after the next patch. That will come in handy when I am cooking up stacks of buff food.

Some Fishing and Cooking 7/2/09

I did the daily fishing and cooking today. The fishing was Jewel Of The Sewers and the cooking was Infused Mushroom Meatloaf. I got the fishing from Marcia Chase (53,65), by the fountain in Dalaran and the cooking from Katherine Lee (41,65), the Grand Master Cooking Trainer in the kitchen of A Hero's Welcome.

These both had me running to the same place, the sewers below Dalaran. I got all my Infused Mushrooms first, then headed over to the Black Market to fish up a piece of Corroded Jewelry. That took longer than usual today, about 15 casts on each but I finally got it.

I cooked up my Infused Mushrooms with a couple pieces of Chilled Meat to make my meatloafs and delivered them to Orton Bennet upstairs at Curiosities and Moore in exchange for 9g93s, a Dalaran Cooking Award and a Small Spice Bag.

Gomorra's Small Spice Bag had 3 Northern Spices in it. Not the best haul but not bad I guess, there is really not much more to be had from this daily.

Wranngar's Small Spice Bag had 4 Northern Spices in it, he made out just a little better than Gom.

After that I turned my pieces of Corroded Jewelry in to Marcia Chase in exchange for Bags of Fishing Treasures.

Gom's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 6g85s21c, 3 Pygmy Oil and 4 Solid Gold Coins which I sold to a vendor for 1 gold each. Not the best day for Gom.

Wrann's Bag of Fishing Treasures had 10g4s65c, 2 Elixirs of Water Walking, 2 Worthless Pieces of White Glass and 4 Deviate Fish, not the best day for Wrann either.

There are still some pretty good rewards to be had from this daily though, the Strand Crawler Wrann got the other day and the High Test Eternium Fishing Line Gom got the other day are proof of that. I will keep plugging away at them.

Wrann has 93 Dalaran Cooking Awards now so he is just 7 awards away from getting his Chef's Hat. In the next patch the Chef's Hat will allow you to cook faster which will come in handy when I am cooking 80 or 100 pieces of something trying to make room in the guild bank.