The Crystals and Pylons of Un'goro Crater

There's something else you can do with all those collectible crystals in Un'goro crater. You can exchange them for new crystals with a variety of abilities, such as a heal over time, shield, AoE fire damage, buffs, etc..

Background:
You may remember the following quests in Un'goro which introduce you to all the crystals and pylons:

Crystals of Power in which you bring 7 of each color crystal to J.D. Collie, the gnome in the cave.

Visit the Eastern Pylon

Visit the Northern Pylon

Visit the Western Pylon

and finally:

Making Sense of it in which you receive the Crystal Pylons User's Manual

What Next:
The User's Manual tells you which crystals to take to which pylon, and what you can exchange them for.

Each pylon has two unique crystals it can give you back.

Each exchange will require 10 each of two different color crystals

Here's a picture at the Eastern Pylon:


And these tables show the exchanges available at each Pylon:

Northern Pylon

Turn in:	Receive:
Red	Crystal Charge Inflicts 383 to 517 fire damage to targets in a 3 yard radius	-
Yellow		Crystal Restore Heals the target of 670 damage over 15 sec.
Green	-

Eastern Pylon

Turn in:	Receive:
Green	Crystal Force Increases the target's Spirit by 30 for 30 min.	-
Blue		Crystal Spire Use: A crystal shield surrounds the friendly target, doing 12 damage to anyone who hits her. Lasts 10 min.
Yellow	-

Western Pylon

Turn in:	Receive:
Blue	Crystal Yield Decreases an enemy target's Armor by 200 for 2 min.	-
Red		Crystal Ward Use: Increases the target's Armor by 200 for 30 min.
Green	-

In what was less an experiment and more necessity than I'd like to admit, I would often load up for bear (dinosaur?) with all of my newly exchanged crystals and do some elite mob hunting. Although I should note that the new crystals and buffs that you get can be used anywhere and are not limited to use in Un'goro Crater.

Happy Crystal Hunting!

Alt Codes (aka Special Characters)

How do you type special characters?

Here's How:
Each special character is assigned to a number sequence. But they have to be keyed while you hold the alt key down.

Alt-156 will get you £.
Alt-21 will get you §.

So holding Alt down with my left hand, I type in the number sequence on the number pad with my right. Once I lift up the alt key (after finishing the number sequence) the special character appears. I have tested this in World of Warcraft on my PC. I am not sure if this works on a Mac.

Numlock: If you have any problems, make sure your numlock key is on. For those who still have autorun bound to numlock and that suddenly starts you running just hit "w" or "s" to stop you while keeping numlock on. Then, when this is all said and done, remap autorun to Mouse Button 4 (you know the little one on the side by your thumb), if you have it, and thank me in the morning.

Here is a table of special characters you may find useful if you ever have to type a character's name that includes a special character(s):

The Table:

A	á=160 Á=0193	à=133 À=0192	â=131 Â=0194	ä=132 Ä=0196	å=134 Å=0197	ª=166
AE	æ=145 Æ=146
C	ç=135 Ç=128
Œ	œ=0156 Œ=0140
E	é=130 É=144	è=138 È=0200	ê=136 Ê=0202	ë=137 Ë=0203
F	ƒ=159
I	í=161 Í=0205	ì=141 Ì=0204	î=140 Î=0206	ï=139 Ï=0207
N	ñ=164 Ñ=165
O	ó=162 Ó=0211	ò=149 Ò=0210	ô=147 Ô=0212	ö=148 Ö=153	º=167
U	ú=163 Ú=0218	ù=151 Ù=0217	û=150 Û=0219	Ü=154
Y	ý=0253 Ý=0221	ÿ=152

Links:
Additional websites with the codes and characters:

• A table with description of the Unicode/Hexidecimal values.
• Another table from yellowpipe. (I had originally discovered the three digit codes one by one myself back in the days before you could Google this stuff but I only got through the three digit codes. I found this yellowpipe table helpful to add the four digit codes.)

Blizzard's Naming Policies: (Which generally only say you cannot have a name that is complete "Gibberish")

• Naming Policy
• Naming Policy on wow-europe
• Update (August 2009) - When paying for your name change, Blizzard now says that "Your New Character Name cannot contain special characters and must follow the World of Warcraft Naming Policy." (link)
  

Some Blue Posts (courtesy of WoW Blue Tracker) about Names with Special Characters:

• Names with special characters will have to be changed if reported (August 2006)
• Extended ASCII is not permitted in names (February 2007)
• A helpful Mod for clicking names (Also February 2007)

Now, let's all go report some Gold Sellers!

Although if you've been reading along you know I'm too lazy to do it unless they get snippy...

Update 10/3/2007:
Cyrillic Character Change in Patch 2.2.2

We wanted to inform players whose character names contain letters from the Cyrillic alphabet that they will receive an automatic forced name change upon the release of patch 2.2.2. Allowing the input of Cyrillic characters in names was the result of an accidental code change. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause.

Cyrillic characters will still be usable in the in-game chat, however.

Speed 100%

(Updated 2/22/2008 with data from Blizzard's Flying Mount Page)

I have to admit that I didn't realize when they said the "Turtle Mount wouldn't slow you down," and went at "100% speed" - apparently that means it's the same speed as run speed. I thought it meant it was the same speed as all other mounts. (Yeah, I musta skipped the day they talked about movement speed.) Figures. I should've known it was too good to be true to get a real mount before 40.

So I decided to make some crib notes on movement speed. My research pretty much consisted of some internet searching and a couple of days with a speed mod. Below are the results. I included links to some of the sources (identified with a letter or note of some sort because sometimes the same source provided multiple bits of speed data).

Mode	Speed	Comments/Source(s)
Walk	30%	Druid Table *
Swim (Normal)	66%	Druid Table *
Druid in Prowl Form	50-70%	Druid Table Thottbot-Prowl
Stealthed Rogue	50-70%	Can be increased by talents. Post S
Run	100%	Druid Table *
Druid Aquatic Form Swim	100%	Druid Table
Druid in Travel Form	140%	Druid Table
Wisp Spirit (while dead) (Not the Wisp Disguise)	150%	25% faster than normal ghost Source NER *
Standard Mount (Land)	160%	Blizzard Source M *
Flight Public Transportation	160%	Source P (#34)
Druid in Flight Form	160%	Blizzard Source FM
Engineering Flying Machine	160%	Blizzard Source FM
Epic Mount (Land)	200%	Blizzard Source M, Source P (#34) Blizzard Source FM
Druid in Epic Flight Form	280%	Blizzard Source FM
Engineering Turbo-Charged Flight Machine	280%	Blizzard Source FM
Epic Flying Mount	280% (Rares 310%)	Blizzard Source FM

* = I saw this myself using the Speed mod.

WoWWiki on:
Druid Forms
Movement Speed

Disclaimers: ...estimates only.. blah, blah, blah, ... enchants, skills, etc., ... blah, blah, blah, ... all other disclaimers... I never should've deleted that druid... blah. blah. blah.

Wands

I don't think I mentioned how I discovered Wands recently. mmmm... wands...

Originally I tried them out and they seemed weak. Really weak, like I was a bug mildly annoying my enemy. I think I actually saw some mobs try to shoo me. Then something made me try them again. I'm glad I did. Now, I can't seem to live without them.

Blizzard doesn't have a page on Wands but there is a reference here:

Item Basics

Wand use can be interrupted when the user takes damage. Wands can be used by all classes that possess the Wand Proficiency; fire, frost and shadow skills are not necessary. Wand damage is reduced by resistance in the appropriate school. Wand use is not prevented when silenced. It is prevented in all the same situations melee is prevented.

Wands - The Shoot Wand ability is a toggle. While active, it will continue attacking with the equipped wand until cancelled (e.g. moving).

Here's what I know about Wands:

They are only usable by Priests, Mages and Warlocks

They do not require training from a Weapon Master

They are a Ranged Attack (place them in your Ranged slot)

They Require NO Mana

They are Interupted by stuns (you then have to recast)

Although disarmed, you can keep casting your wand

They Auto-Cast

They are on a shared cooldown with other spells

The combination of the Auto-cast and the Shared Cooldown make it tough to cast other spells (like DoTs, Heals, etc.) You have to break the wand casting to do it.

There is a "Wand Specialization" talent available for Priests and Mages which can give an extra 25% to Wand Damage. For Priests, it takes 5 talent points and for Mages it takes 2.

and

Blue Wands kick butt! If I can afford one, it makes fighting MUCH easier. Actually enjoyable. (My Precious....)

How do you use a wand?
Equip it by placing it into your "Ranged" slot on your Character's paper doll. Then Open your Spellbook to the general tab and drag "Shoot" to your controls. I replaced my "attack" button with my "shoot" button. If I want to Melee attack, I just right-mouse click to switch from Wand to Melee.


Research
So here's where the rubber hits the road. As someone who doesn't Raid or do the dungeon thing I wanted to know which wands to be on the lookout for. So I spent a lot of time on Thottbot researching the best DPS (regardless of damage school - fire, arcane, etc.) for each level that I thought I could get my hands on. The best turned out to be the Enchanted Wands and Rare (Blue) Drops (except for the Uncommon Glowstar Rod at level 52). In many cases, as I level, I anticipate not finding the Blue Wand I want on the Auction House, or being able to afford it. So I posted some Uncommon (Green) wands as alternatives. (The damage is in grey text in the table for those wands.)

World of Warcraft Soloer's Wand List*
(Pre-Burning Crusade)

Level	Wand	Damage	Notes
5	Lesser Magic Wand	11.3 Arcane	Uncommon BOE: Made by Enchanters.
12	Blazing Wand	12.7 Fire	Uncommon BOE
13	Greater Magic Wand	17.5 Arcane	Uncommon BOE: Made by Enchanters.
16	Skycaller	21.6 Arcane	Rare BOE: Has a Glitter Trail
22	Thunderwood	27.1 Nature	Rare BOE
26	Lesser Mystic Wand	25.4 Arcane	Uncommon BOE: Made by Enchanters.
29	Starfaller	32.9 Arcane	Rare BOE: Has a Glitter Trail
30	Greater Mystic Wand	29.0 Arcane	Uncommon BOE: Made by Enchanters.
33	Earthen Rod	35.6 Nature	Rare BOE: From Uldaman
34	Freezing Shard	35.8 Frost	Rare BOE: From Razorfen Downs
36	Ember Wand	33.7 Fire	Uncommon BOE: Various Versions
37	Jaina's Firestarter	39.4 Fire	Rare BOE: +6 Int, +3 Spirit
40	Umbral Wand	35.7 Shadow	Uncommon BOE: Various Versions
44	Flaming Incinerator	47.2 Fire	Rare BOE: +8 Fire Resist. From Zul'Farrak
45	Wand of Allistarj	48.4 Arcane	Rare BOE: +9 Arcane Resist
46	Ivory Wand	42.1 Arcane	Uncommon BOE: Various Versions
48	Wizard's Hand	44.4 Arcane	Uncommon BOE: Various Versions
52	Glowstar Rod	50.0 Arcane	Uncommon BOE: Various Versions
53	Torch of Austen	56.8 Fire	Rare BOE: +10 Fire Resist
54	Wand of Arcane Potency	58.4 Arcane	Rare BOE: From Dire Maul. Glitter Trail.
55	Dragon Finger	53.2 Fire	Uncommon BOE: Various Versions
59	Lunar Wand	56.8 Arcane	Uncommon BOE: Various Versions
60	Antenna of Invigoration	71.6 Nature	Rare BOE: +4 Intellect. +5 mana per 5 seconds. +13 Healing Spells.

* Note this chart excludes wands that are: Quest Rewards; Specific only to Mages (example); and Wands that are Bind on Pickup. It also excludes many wands at the lower levels that deliver less damage than their Enchanted peers do.

Links & More Info:
wowwiki on Wands
Something strange about wands
Warcraft Rookie: Get a Wand ASAP

Priest Tables

Priests in World of Warcraft are a little different than other classes. Each priest has access to two special abilities that are unique only to their race. These are separate and apart from the racial traits available to all players.

During patch 1.10 these were updated. Here's warcy's summary.

The question I have right now is... what will the Burning Crusade (Draenei & Blood Elf) Priest racial abilities be?

Race	Priest Ability
Human	Desperate Prayer - Instant heal. 10 Minute Cooldown. Feedback - A spell backfires onto enemy caster. Racial Abilities: Stealth Detection, Spirit +5, Faction Point Gains, Sword/Mace Specialization
Dwarf	Desperate Prayer - Instant heal. 10 Minute Cooldown. Fear Ward - Prevent 1x fear. 30 second Cooldown. Racial Abilities: Stoneform, Guns +5, Frost Resistance +10, Treasure Finding
Night Elf	Starshards - Channeled damage spell. Elune's Grace - Reduces ranged damage taken by 21 and increases chance to dodge by 10% for 15 sec. Racial Abilities: Shadowmeld, Dodge +1%, Wisp (speed increase) when Dead, Nature Resistance +10%
Draenei	Priest Abilities: TBD - Update: Fear Ward and Symbol of Hope. Racial Abilities: Blessing of the Naaru (HoT), Chance to hit +1% (to party), Jewelcrafting +15, Shadow Resist +10.
Undead	Touch of Weakness - Melee attacker's damage is reduced. Devouring Plague - Disease (DOT) that heals caster. Racial Abilities: Fear Immunity (w/ cooldown), Cannibalize, Underwater Breathing +300%, Shadow Resist +10.
Troll	Hex of Weakness - Reduces targets damage & healing. Shadowguard - Melee attacker takes shadow damage. Racial Abilities: Berserking, Regeneration (passive), Beasts +5% Damage, Throwing Weapons +5, Bows +5
Blood Elves	Priest Abilities: TBD - Update - Touch of Weakness and Consume Magic Racial Abilities: Mana Tap, Silence, Enchanting +15, Magic Resist +5

Links:

Wowwiki's Table of Priest Racial Spells

Blizzard's Priest page

Wowwiki's Table of Racial Talents

Update 10/6/06:
We've got a tease now of what we might get in the Burning Crusade:

Fairly soon (yeah, yeah -- you hate that term -- but seriously, not much longer now). I will say this though, just so you walk away with one new piece of knowledge -- each will get one brand new ability, and one that already exists in-game now among the existing available races for the priest class.

Source: Eyonix Post via wowinsider.

Update 8/7/07:
Drysc in the Forums says:

I think the general consensus among the designers is that ultimately priest racials were ... a poor choice to make, especially with the decisions of what each race would have. It's come down to it that they should be addressed somehow.

I'm not sure how many remember, but priest racials were created because there was player concern over how an Undead could appropriately wield the healing powers of the light, and the racials were added to give flavor which could back up some of those player concerns. Aside from some probably poor decisions on what that flavor should be, ultimately it was a concern that players would ultimately have benefited from if we had simply ignored it.

It could be addressed any number of ways (everyone is given everything, or it's cut down to a small pool of abilities which everyone has access to, or only specific abilities are passed to different races, etc.), and I don't believe a final decision has been made at this time.
Quote found via wow.warcry.com.

Profitable Recipes <=225

After playing around with Fizzwidget's Reagent Cost and discovering the Shadow Hood, I wanted to see if there were more recipes than just that one that would yield me a nice profit (particularly with my tradeskill levels are capped at 225 since my profession alts aren't much more than level 20).

Top Four Tailor Recipes

RECIPE Cost of Materials/Potential Sales Price/Net Profit
Component	Shadow Hood 6./21/15	Hands of Darkness 3/7/4	Icy Cloak 2./5./3	Red Mageweave Pants: 1/4/3 Vest: 1/3/2
Bolt of Cloth	4 Silk	3 Silk	3 Mageweave	3 Mageweave
Thread	1 Silken	2 Fine	2 Silken	1 Silken
Potion	1 Shadow Oil	2 Shadow Protection Potion	1 Frost Oil
Item		2 Heavy Leather	2 Thick Spider's Silk	2 Red Dye

Top Four Leatherworker Recipes

RECIPE Cost of Materials/Potential Sales Price/Net Profit
Component	Red Whelp Gloves 1/6/7	Thick Murloc Armor 2/8./6.	Barbaric Bracers 3/7/4	Shadowskin Gloves 4./9./4.
Leather	4 Medium	10 Heavy	8 Heavy	6 Thick
Thread	1 Fine	3 Fine	2 Silken	1 Heavy Silken
Hide		1 Heavy	1 Raptor	2 Heavy 8 Shadowcat
Item	6 Red Whelp Scales	12 Thick Murloc Scales	4 Small Lust. Pearls 4 Large Fangs	4 Shadowgem 2 Black Pearls

I have a blacksmith too; she's over 225 or so but she didn't have anything with profit of more than 3 gold (which were the Jade Serpentblade and the Moonsteel Broadsword).

It was a lot of work to go through these recipes but it was tons of fun. I love "navigating" the economic part of the game; figuring it out; selling stuff; making a profit. Plus I love logging in and seeing that I have mail.

Especially when it has money in it. :)

WoW for $12.50/Month

I finally sat down to confirm a suspicion that I had. It turns out there's a cheaper way to play World of Warcraft. Not by a lot, but hey, it all adds up.

As you may recall from that fateful day you signed up for WoW, you chose to pay in increments of either 1 month, 3 months or 6 months. The longer you signed up for, the cheaper the monthly rate ($14.99, $13.99 and $12.99 respectively).

Well, I noticed that on Amazon.com I could buy a 60 day Game Cardfor $24.99 which is about $12.50/month (free shipping on purchases of $25.00 or more).

Type	Length	Cost/Month
Amazon	2 Months	$12.50
Subscription	6 Months	$12.99
	3 Months	$13.99
	1 Month	$14.99

For only a two month committment I can actually beat the cheapest rate available.
So I ordered a card and I'll let you know how it goes.

(Disclosure - these are affiliate links, which allow me to bring you such beautifully crafted links such as this:)

Worldwide WoW

Having been with this game since the beginning, it is incredible to realize how many people are still just joining WoW. Check out these stats from Blizzard Press Releases:

Date	Worldwide Player Count	Link to Press Release & Notes
2007-07-24	9 Million	Cached Page
2007-07-03	8.5 Million	Cached Page (BC Sold 3.5 Million Copies in 1 month)
2007-01-11	8 Million	Cached Page
2006-11-09	7.5 Million	Cached Page (BC Street Date Set)
2006-05-10	6.5 Million	Cached Page (BC Features Announced)
2006-02-28	6 Million	Link (Spanish Version Released)
2006-01-19	5.5 Million	Cached Page (1 million in Europe)
2005-12-19	5 Million	Link (WoW is a Year Old)
2005-11-08	4.5 Million	Dead Link (Taiwan Launch)
2005-08-29	4 Million	Dead Link (UK Link) (1 million in North America)
2005-07-21	3.5 Million	Dead Link (Singapore Launch)
2005-06-14	2 Million	Dead Link (China Launch June 7)
2005-03-17	1.5 Million	Dead Link (UK Link)
2004-11-23	Debut	-

Lately it seems as though every month another 500,000 players join. I'm quoting the press releases here; though there are some who would say it literally feels like 500,000 players have just joined on their server alone.

Updated 11/5/2007 to add new Press Releases. Blizzard also removed some of the old Press Releases so I tried to find some replacement links (Cached Google Pages or Blizzard.co.uk links).