2009-01-20

How To Powerlevel Mining with Smelting

I leveled my Death Knight Alt's mining skills the tradiotional way to 240 until I realized one can also get a lot of mining skill from smelting ores. In fact, you can level all the way to 315 entirely by Smelting (if enough Ore is available). After 315 some actual mining is mandatory, but not a lot. After 375, only way to level mining is, well, mining.

Here's the most efficient way to level mining from 1 to 375.

WARNING: the most *efficient* does not equal the cheapest.

This requires gold, but if you really want to powerlevel, that's what it takes. If you don't have extra gold to spent, use the traditional mining guides.

Depending on the price difference of Ore and Bars in your server, the cost of leveling this way varies (in theory, you might even make money). The buy amounts are heavily overestimated, it is possible to get by with less.

When Smelt turns green for the Ore in question, skill-ups will slow a lot, so you might hit the gray or you might not with the noted amount. To 90% guarantee no mining runs, buy the noted amount (and buy more if needed).

At least buy the minimum to minimize the mining runs.

* SHOPPING LIST

Buy 12 (minimum 3) stacks of Copper Ore.
Buy 12 (minimum 3) stacks of Tin Ore.
Buy 12 (minimum 3) stacks of Silver Ore.
Buy 12 (minimum 1) stacks of Iron Ore.
Buy 5 (minimum 2) stacks of Gold Ore.
Buy 12 (minimum 2) stacks of Mithril Ore.
Buy 6 (minimum 1) stacks of Truesilver Ore.
Buy 12 (minimum 2) stacks of Thorium Ore.
Buy 12 (minimum 3) stacks of Fel Iron Ore.
Buy 10 (minimum 2) stacks of Adamantite Ore.
Buy 8 (minimum 2) stacks of Eternium Ore.

OPTIONAL SHOPPING:

Cobalt Ore (buy if you don't hit 375 with the above)

* 1-75 MINING

Buy 12 (minimum 3) stacks of Copper Ore.
Buy 12 (minimum 3) stacks of Tin Ore.

Smelt all the Copper Ore (green until 47, skill-ups slow after that)

If your mining is under 65, buy more Copper Ore and Smelt more. (or go mining until 65)

Smelt Tin (green until 70, gray at 75)
Smelt Bronze (green until 90, gray at 115)

If your mining is under 75, buy more Copper and Tin Ore and Smelt more Bronze. (or go mining until 75)

* 75-150 MINING

If Smelting Bronze took you way past 75, you don't need as much Silver.

Buy 12 (minimum 3) stacks of Silver Ore.
Buy 12 (minimum 1) stacks of Iron Ore.

Smelt Silver (green until 122, gray at 130)

If your mining is under 125, buy more Silver Ore and Smelt more. (or go mining until you hit 125)

Smelt Iron (green until 145, gray at 160)

If your mining is under 155, buy more Iron Ore and Smelt more. (or go mining until 155)

* 150-225 MINING

Buy 5 (minimum 2) stacks of Gold Ore.
Buy 12 (minimum 2) stacks of Mithril Ore.

Smelt Gold (green until 177, gray at 185)
Smelt Mithril (green until 202, gray at 230)

If your mining is under 230, buy more Mithril Ore and Smelt more. (or go mining until you hit 230)

* 225-300 MINING

This is where it gets hard, if Truesilver Ore is not available.

Also Truesilver is the one Ore is most likely to cost a lot more than the bars.

Buy 6 (minimum 1) stacks of Truesilver Ore.
Buy 12 (minimum 2) stacks of Thorium Ore.

Smelt Truesilver (green until 242, gray at 250).

If your mining is under 250, buy more Truesilver Ore and Smelt more. (or go mining until you hit 250)

Smelth Thorium (green until 270, gray until 290)

Go mining until 300. In theory, this is the first spot you absolutely have to mine :)

* 300-375 MINING

Buy 12 (minimum 3) stacks of Fel Iron Ore.
Buy 10 (minimum 2) stacks of Adamantite Ore.

Smelt Fel Iron (green until 307, gray at 315)
Go mining until you hit 325.
Smelt Adamantite (green until 332, gray at 340)
Go mining until you hit 350.

Buy 8 (minimum 2) stacks of Eternium Ore.
Smelt Eternium (green until 357, gray at 365)
Smelt Felsteel (green until 357, gray at 375)

Note: You need 350 to mine Cobalt in Northrend (so 375 is not needed).

If your mining is under 375, and you want to Smelt as far as you can:

Buy some stacks of Cobalt Ore
Smelt Cobalt (green until 362, gray at 375)

* 375-450 MINING

Smelting days are over :(

Go mining Cobalt until 400.
Go mining Saronite and Titanium Ore until you hit 450.

* LINKS

Traditional mining guides (with mining route information)

Gatherer - The addon for any gathering profession

WoW Mining Guide with Maps 1-450 - WOTLK Mining Guide

WoW Forums Mining 1 to 300 Guide by Highlander on EU-Terenas

Mining @wowwiki
Smelt @wowwiki

2009-01-09

Online Puzzler: Zahada!

If you need a break from WoW or anything else, try the unconventional and incredibly creative online riddles of Zahada

Yes, it's very very hard.

No, I won't provide tips.

And don't blame me if/when you get addicted :)

WoW Achievements: Accomplished Angler

a.k.a. "How to Get the Title: Salty"

You get the title Salty by finishing all the achievements needed for the Accomplished Angler Achievement.

Here's a brief guide on how to get them all and the title Salty!

Word of warning: Getting the title Salty is not for you if you don't have the patience for it. If fishing is just boring to you, just don't do this :)

Fish Don't Leave Footprints

Try to get before / while doing the other achievement requiring fishing from pools (as this make's finding them very easy)

Acquire the Fish Tracking ability. You need to get a Weather-Beaten Journal, and you can get it out of many fished trunks and crates, you can also get it from the daily quest.

Northrend Angler

Fish 10 nodes in Northrend

(copied from Wowhead, credit to Ithinarine)

* Borean Man O' War School - Borean Tundra (coast).
* Deep Sea Monsterbelly School - Borean Tundra, Dragoblight, Howling Fjord (around Icebergs in the Frozen Sea).
* Dragonfin Angelfish School - Dragonblight (Lake Indu'le).
* Fangtooth Herring School - Howling Fjord (rivers and lakes, not coast).
* Glacial Salmon School - Grizzly Hills (rivers and lakes, not coast).
* Glassfin Minnow School - Crystalsong Forest.
* Imperial Manta Ray School - Northrend (general Northrend fish, found off any coast, not in lakes or rivers).
* Moonglow Cuttlefish School - Borean Tundra, Dragonblight, Howling Fjord (around Icebergs in the Frozen Sea).
* Musselback Sculpin School - Borean Tundra (Lake Kum'uya).
* Nettlefish School - Sholazar Basin (rivers and lakes, not coast)

Master Angler of Stranglethorn

Some say this is the hardest achievement as you have to compete for it and only one can get it each week. some even say it should be removed from Accomplished Angler achievement, and thus, remove it from requirements of Title Salty.

I say, you can't call yourself serious fisherman if you don't try and win the extravaganza. So go and practise, you will get it eventually. If you don't, perhaps Salty is not the title for you.

Best source for tips on Winning the Extravanza can be found from El's Fishing forums: Stranglethorn Extravaganza.

The One That Didn't Get Away

This might take a lot of work. I did this in Shadowglen (the Night Elf starting area, it took me 3 hours of continuous fishing, your milage may wary)

Mr. Pinchy

or more accurately, Mr. Pinchy's Magical Crawdad Box, as catching Mr.Pinchy is not enough, you must get lucky with the 3 wishes and get the mini-pet (I needed 2 Mr.Pinchies to get mine).

Empty out all the Highland Mixed Schools in the area. This means the lake by the alliance town, the lake by the horde town, and the bigger lake up in Skettis. 3-5 nodes in both the Horde and Alliance rivers, and 7-10 in the Skettis area. They spawn rather slow, so after cleaning out the nodes I would find something else to do for 2 hours then come back.

Make sure you pay attention while fishing, because he is BoP, so you need to click accept.

While at it do the daily fishing quest in Terrokar, for great rare gifts like the hat, or mini crokolisk pet.

Deadliest Catch

Info from El's fishing forums

Enter the instance, go down the steps and head straight left avoiding mobs to the waterfall. Mount jump into the lake below, pop water walking and follow the river around collecting the mudskunks from their pools. If you haven't completed the lure quest follow the river all the way around to the NE side where you'll see a tent and a bunch of booze. There's a chest there with the quest item. This is also the location you use to summon the boss.

After doing the background quest and getting a mudskunk lure from Nat Pagle in Dustwallow Marsh:

Head into ZG again and water walk to the Zulian Mudfish pools and fish 5 up (bring a few water walking pots with you--if you can't solo the groups of alligator's that is--because the fish that live there will attack you from time to time (make sure you can solo a level 60 elite fish) and take off the water walking buff. After obtaining the 5 fish, water walk to Pagle's Point (just keep following the river north) and apply the lure (you don't have to cast or even have your pole equipped to do this) and congratulations! ... you are now 1 step closer to the Salty title!

This was very doable on level 70, but at level 80 this is super easy mode (mobs barely aggro to you). D note that the achievement only goes to the fisherman who actually fished him up.

Might as well bring other level 80's with you (healer, tank, dps) and try to get the Polymorph book + Tiger & Raptor bosses for the rare drop mounts.

The Scavenger

(credit to jamras on thottbot)

Steam Pump Flotsam: Zangarmarsh, all over the lakes
Schooner Wreckage: Southshore, near dock and along coast line
Floating Wreckage: Tanaris, coast
Bloodsail Wreckage: STV, coast south of Grom'Gol
Waterlogged Wreckage: STV, Lake Nazferiti and along river

The Coin Master

This is accomplished by fishing the entire collection of coins out of the tiny fountain in Dalaran. Pretty simple, but requires patience (like a lot of these fishing achievements), so just fish, fish, fish from the fountain. Throw the gold coins back to gain the "lucky" buff, whenever you have gold coin and do not already have the buff. And do fish for the whole 2 minutes of the buff, take your break afterwards :)

Outland Angler

(credit to Tadzulempke on Wowhead)

Brackish Mixed School - Terokkar Forest/Zangarmarsh
Bluefish School - Nagrand
Mudfish School - Nagrand
School of Darter - Terokkar Forest
Highland Mixed School - Terokkar Forest (only reachable with flying mounts)
Sporefish School - Zangarmarsh

Old Man Barlowned

There is a daily fishing quest in Terrokar. Each day the fishing quest is randomly chooses one of five fishing quests for you to do. Keep doing this quest every day and eventually you will get all 5.

The Lurker Above

Fish up the Lurker Below in Serpentshrine Cavern

This is definitely soloable, watch my video on how to do it: WoW Achievements: Lurker Above.

Catch 1000 Fish

You will get this while doing everything else on the list, don't worry about it.

The Old Gnome and the Sea

Successfully fish from a school = Fishing achievement which will come automatically by doing other achievements.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Some fishing achievements, like I smell a Giant Rat, Old Ironjaw or Old Crafty ARE NOT PART of the Accomplished Angler achievement, and are not needed for title Salty.

You might also want to look at El's compilation on Fishing Achivements

CREDITS

Original Brief Overview on Getting Salty by Laizhensil at El's Fishing forums