by Amanda Miller

Nov 7th, 2008

Last week, we began the journey towards becoming a Grand Master Scribe. Starting with the basics, we discussed how to reach skill level 100, along with some general tips and strategy, and there were many helpful reader comments.

Today, we will continue from skill level 100 to hit 200, which will place you partway through what a level 20 is capable of training. When herbs are mentioned, clicking on any of the links will take you to a Wowhead page showing you where you can find them.

If you feel you need more background information on inscription tools, milling, or research, check out last week’s column to brush up on the fundamentals. Otherwise, pass on through the break!

100-150
The herbs that you will be using are [Grave Moss], [Kingsblood], [Liferoot] and [Wild Steelbloom]. Aim for player level 20 and 30 zones such as the Hillsbrad Foothills or the Desolace. [Liferoot] is generally found near water, while [Wild Steelbloom] is found on cliff edges and other hard to reach places.

[Grave Moss] is a bit rarer, but the Scarlet Monastery Graveyard instance has a fair amount, as does the Kodo graveyard in the Desolace. Keep an eye out for bones and graveyards for this herb.

[Kingsblood] is usually out in the open, in the middle of a field, surrounded by friends. You like making friends, don’t you?

Milling these herbs will produce [Golden Pigment] and [Burnt Pigment], with burnt being the rare spawn. You will also be upgrading your paper quality from [Light Parchment] to [Common Parchment], making each glyph cost a bit more to manufacture.

From 100-105, make about 25 [Lion's Ink]. During the milling process, you will also acquire [Burnt Pigment] to be used shortly.

From 105-120, the various class glyphs you will be able to train every five skill levels will only cost 1 [Lion's Ink] and 1 [Common Parchment]. From here on out, class glyphs will cost you two [Lion's Ink] instead of one.

Luckily, we can avoid running out of ink by utilizing first some leftover ink, and then some rare quality ink that you will have acquired from milling the above herbs.

At skill level 110, you will have trained the [Mysterious Tarot], which generates a random card from the deck it forms. Once you have all of the cards, you can combine it to form a quest item related to the Darkmoon Faire. Combining the cards does not make the deck bind on pick-up, so you can send the cards or the deck to alts, or sell them on the Auction House.

This is where your green quality pigment will come into play. If you have any leftover [Hunter's Ink] (see Inscription from 1 to 100), which is made from [Verdant Pigment], and [Midnight Ink] which is made from [Dusky Pigment], then make five [Mysterious Tarots], taking you to skill level 125, where they turn yellow.

Tip: If you can easily acquire the herbs necessary to make [Mysterious Tarot], while the herbs for this section are in scarce supply, consider manufacturing the cards from 110-125 and saving your [Lion's Ink] for later.

At 125, you will be able to train both the next ink, [Dawnstar Ink], which is made from the [Burnt Pigment] that drops rarely while milling the above herbs, and the next set of tarot cards, [Strange Tarot].

From 125 to 130, create [Dawnstar Ink]. At this point, we can begin to utilize whatever [Lion's Ink] we saved by making [Strange Tarots] earlier. For the next 20 points, up to 150, you will be able to create class glyphs using 2 Lion’s a piece, or [Mysterious Tarot's] using 2 Dawnstars and 1 Lion’s a piece.

Remember to retrain after every five skill points gained, as you will acquire new, orange-quality glyphs. Making these will ensure you use the least ink for the most number of skill points possible.

If you have enough materials to make X number of tarots, then make that number. The secondary, green-quality pigments are like a gift, and not using this bonus ink would be a waste. Acquire the rest of the points with class glyphs.

150-200
From 150-155, create [Jadefire Ink]. This is the new ink for this skill bracket, and you can produce it from [Emerald Pigment]. The herbs you will need to collect and mill are [Fadeleaf], [Goldthorn], [Khadgar's Whisker] and [Wintersbite]. The rare-quality pigment you will be using is called [Indigo Pigment], and will be used to make up [Royal Ink] for more tarot cards.

[Wintersbite] is found only in the Alterac Mountains, a snowy climate. I don’t recommend trying to farm [Wintersbite], but rather, simply pick some up if you happen by the area. The other three herbs can be found in lush forests and jungles, such as Stranglethorn Vale and Feralas. Khadgar’s tends to lean up against trees, while [Goldthorn] is reminiscent of [Wild Steelbloom], as it likes to grow out of reach.

From 155-175 you are free to make class glyphs. Each glyph will consume only one ink and one parchment, making these skill points very cost effective and efficient.

From 175 up to 180, make as much [Royal Ink] as you have the pigment to do so. Up to 185, you can create [Scroll of Agility III], which costs two parchment, but still only one [Jadefire Ink].

The last twenty points will be a mixture between producing [Arcane Tarot] cards for two Royal, one Jadefire, and one parchment, and making class glyphs that each require two Jadefire. Remember, [Royal Ink] is bonus ink and should be used up.

The tarot card will not turn yellow until skill 200, which is perfect. Make as many as you can, along with class glyphs that you train every five skill points.

Choosing class glyphs
Last week I discussed what you should take into consideration when choosing which class glyphs to create when leveling your skill, so check out the guide if you’re having trouble.

The damage:

• 100-150 will require roughly 230 herbs, or 46 stacks of five. Of course, you save on this number if you have leftover herbs/pigment/ink to make [Mysterious Tarot].
• 150-200 should use up approximately 210 herbs, or 42 millings.

Roleplayers are great at squeezing an MMORPG for all its worth, constantly striving to seek out new ways to enhance their game time. As a whole, they create means and methods of bringing a fresh look and feel into their games, and all us fellow roleplayers can often share in that, thereby allowing us to experience a different and inventive style of play in our own times. Besides a lack of imagination, there is little that can halt roleplayers in this endeavor.

Since we are dealing with computer-generated cyber worlds that are more than likely not our own creations, there are certainly roadblocks and speed bumps in these games that challenge roleplayers to improvise and adapt. These game mechanics come with the nature of the beast, and many are very necessary to the operation of the games, and are often so obvious as to threaten to pull a roleplayer out of character. While they may not be pleasant to experience during roleplay, their effect in-game can be at least lessened through the lens of imaginative roleplaying.

Life and Death
In a previous RoleCraft article (Who Wants To Live Forever?), I gave some tips and ideas on one of the most discussed game mechanic stumbling blocks, the lack of permanent death. There, I give mention to using some object or creature as an explanation for why characters never really die. I also point to the game mechanic currently employed in LotRO, where your character is merely defeated, not killed, having been overcome by so much dread that they lose the will to fight, if only for a short time.

Anarchy Online has another great way to deal with this game mechanic, and that is by having machines set up for use that download an almost complete duplicate of your character that you may return to and retrieve upon death. Transplanted into the fantasy realm of WoW, a crafty engineer could RP the creation of a like machine, or something that would fit into your personal inventory. This brings us back around to the use of another object to help insure you keep returning to you body once slain. A skilled magician could enchant a piece of jewelry for your character to wear, or a warlock could link your soul to a pet, combat or non-combat. Outside of using objects, you could undergo a crucial trial for Elune or a Naaru where they would grant you semi-permanent life. Really, it isn’t difficult to look and roleplay past the death game mechanic, if you just think about it.

Pets and Mounts
In the Forgotten Realms epoch of the great Dungeons & Dragons, there is a line of magical items called Figurines of Wondrous Power. These are usually small replicas of animals, carved from precious ivory or gems, or smithed from valuable metals, and imbued with powerful magic. With the proper spoken command or touch, these items transform into live creatures of natural size and ability according to the creature they are a replica of, and are under control of the figurine’s owner. Once summoned, the creatures are only able to stay in live form for a short time before having to return to replica form.

The items a character is able to receive in MMORPGs are very often displayed through the game mechanic as a small icon in a personal inventory slot. For matters of RP, that icon could be looked upon as a figurine, especially if it represents a mount or a pet. Simply touching it, uttering a special magic word, or rubbing it like the djinni’s magical lamp causes the creature to spring forth life-size for your bidding. In MMORPGs where you may, create a macro or link an emote to this action for more obvious RP value.

Logging in and Out
Many roleplayers do their very best to give their characters a life of their own. Of course, this “life” can only be affected and witnessed while the character is in play. What about when your character and you are logged out? If your character is following the most basic life tract of being a full-time adventurer, are they thought to be away on another adventure and simply out of contact while not in game? That’s certainly one possibility, but with the plethora of chat channels available, it kind of makes that notion seem implausible. Housing, inns and taverns, and even professions, are probably better ways to implement roleplaying where your character is and what it may be doing while not in game.

Obvious places where a character could find rest may be the first choices that come to mind, and rightly so. Inns are expected to have rooms for rent, and tavern keepers may be kind enough to allow you the use of a darkened corner while you sleep off having downed a few too many ales. Houses are especially nice for this, whether it’s your personal house, a guildhall, or an open abode that you are roleplaying as your very own. Even if you don’t or can’t own your own in-game house, you can still log in and out in a manner that seems appropriate. Simply find a house or doorway that the game doesn’t open, and log out in front of it. To any roleplayers who may be watching, it’ll look as if your character stepped into the house and out of sight, and likewise when that character logs back in.

Now, what about those characters who generally shun cities and populated places, preferring to spend their time in the wilds? No problem at all; just build a campfire and settle right there for the night. Or claim squatters’ rights over an abandoned campsite if you find one.

Consider those players who may be roleplaying an unsavory character and do not wish to be seen in a public inn. This brings into question another game mechanic, called rested XP, which is most prevalent in WoW. Rested XP builds up for your characters in WoW only when you log them out in one of the major cities or an inn. Personally, this is a game mechanic I totally ignore. You should log in and out wherever it is in your character’s best interest to do so.

Communications
Way back during the start of the MMORPG genre, in the early days of Ultima Online, roleplayers only had a couple of chat channels in the game to use. Therefore, all in game chat was done IC. To speak OOC, or to coordinate with another player not in the vicinity of your player, we used ICQ. In current MMORPGs, having to use a third-party IM client is no longer an issue, what with all the channels available in game. However, this game mechanic is a double-edged sword for many roleplayers who sometimes struggle with justifying their character’s ability to communicate with another character, sight unseen.

One of the neatest game items in UO are the communication crystals. When activated, these crystals allow the user to speak into them, and send that speech to another character with a linked crystal a great distance away. Yes, they have their drawbacks, but the concept remains solid up to today, especially for roleplayers. For example, every character in WoW has a hearthstone, which allows them to set a home inn they can magically teleport to. In RP fashion, this hearthstone may also be enchanted to allow for communication between characters near and far, and is a very common element brought into use among members of an RP guild.

Whispers and in game IMs are other game mechanic aspects I hear roleplayers rumbling about. How can someone who is leagues away from me “whisper” to me? Again, this is another game mechanic I ignore, meaning that I see it as what it is - a way for a player to contact me in game without having to download and have a third-party application take up valuable hard drive space to do so. To that end, that is why I am adamant about being IC on all other in game channels, and keeping whispers and “/tell” strictly for OOC chat. Of course, that is my choice only, the way I choose to RP. You should RP whispers in a way that feels comfortable to you.

Class and Profession
The last game mechanic I’ll address here is about how easy it is to see what every character’s class is in game. By default, a character’s class can be seen as text under their name hovering above their heads. Dude, talk about RP-unfriendly! Thankfully, this is usually a setting you can alter in the game interface options, but it doesn’t remove it completely, as is evidenced when hovering your mouse cursor over a character and still seeing their class.

For roleplayers, the RP ways around this are to manipulate it with an addon, constantly proclaim your own version in conversation, or just ignore it. LotRO has done an excellent job with this with their inclusion of a vast number of titles to earn, through increasing their character’s skill in their class, vocation, Deeds, and by allowing characters to add a surname if they wish upon reaching level 15. WoW roleplayers make avid use of addons, like FlagRSP2 and MyRoleplay, to add in class and profession titles, nicknames, house and clan names, and surnames.

I feel it best to just have your character introduce itself as they want to be known. That way, it’s done in a solid RP style, and there should be no mistaking it. This method can also be changed on the fly, much quicker than it can be through an addon or interface option, if the character so wishes it.

Roleplaying your way beyond these game mechanics will still require a small amount of suspension of belief, where the player has to keep in mind that this is just a game. I certainly do my best to immerse myself as fully as possible into the RP experience, but there is still only so far that I can go, since the game isn’t taking place inside my own head. That is one reason why imagination is such a vital part of RP. Expand your imagination as far as you wish into your game time, and just let everything else be. Whatever else it is, it’s a game, first and foremost, and games are meant to be fun. Do what you can to make them so, and role on!

Reader Aaron sent us a link to his new site called Path of a Hero earlier this week, and it’s an interesting little endeavor. Basically, you just punch in your realm and character, and then you can add entries to your character page by putting in a screenshot. The system itself also grabs your stats from the Armory, and puts it all in a nice readable format, so what you end up with is basically a blog/timeline of what your character has been up to lately.

You can even follow your friends (or create rivalries with other players), and you can check “gear scores” as well, so you can track your and others’ progress over time. And the whole thing is actually controlled with a slider interface with a cool fade animation — if you update often, you can watch your character grow from level 1 up to 70 and beyond.

The only issue with the site seems to be that it’s a little shakey — it takes a while to deal with all of that data, and I wouldn’t be surprised (even on a Saturday like today) if we bring the site down by linking it for you readers. But it is a good idea, and if Aaron can make sure it scales well (and maybe throw a few ads in there, just to make sure his work pays off a bit), it could turn out to be a nice place to keep track of what your character’s path has been like so far.

The first time I stepped foot in that zone, I was totally excited about the prospect of a pvp zone, after all

many forums posts on live have voiced for such a place.

With everything the developers had learned about in the past such as sandlol, no reward leads to boycott as alliance demonstrated in AV, no mirror maps mostly spells disaster, exploiting and simular I thought to myself. “this could be it, the place where ill be spending alot of my time when it goes live”.

And then the reality of the zone met me face on. 25+ alliance come in zerging, a 6k scourge strike and 4 k judgement later, boom dead. Res at the gy, and lo and behold another 15 alliance are camping it, so boom insta death again.

So I said to myself, bah I prolly got unlucky and came in the battle late or so. no disspear, walk around the zone in ghost and make plans for the next battle.

I can now say I gave the zone a fair try ; a whole weekend summing up about 16+ hours of Wintergrasp

and I drew this conclusion :

- Horrible, horrible alliance vs horde ratio (which is how it actaully is on live as well) will kill this zone.

- Wall jumping is rampant, which defeats the whole idea behind the battle (AV 2.0)

- One would expect every match the map to switch factions, however i counted 15 /2 in favor of the alliance. Would have been 14/3, but server crashed and when it was back up it had switched to alliance.

- No points for the losing faction will always always be a bad idea and it doesn’t solve the afk issue, because when your alliance and you know you outnumber 20 to 1 anyway, you can just go ahead and afk. (in fact my only source of kills was from just that, alliance afk’rs)

- Betatesters are just as childish and selfish as the live players (next expansion open the pvp related zones/bg’s to alpha players if you want real feedback)

- IF the zone would be fixed (maybe it should be instanced after all) it would be the great and fun battle you wanted it to be.

- It looks amazing.

-Vehicles buggy, but thats to expect, bug reports done accordingly.

- While 85484856101671064845665567894 alliance have now all thier lvl 80 pvp blue set and epic assec already from the insane honor and arena points they get from winning, i have yet to win a battle as horde. So stop work for an evening once and come help out his poor feral so numbers are even.

It seems like the guild charter requirement of having 10 people sign was a good idea, it made sure that making a guild was a social activity and that you wouldn’t just make guilds on a whim.

However, lately the trend for making a new guild is to sit in a city and spam the chat channels offering money for signatures. Most of the time these people are just looking for a few gold and don’t want to stay in the guild.

Is that really the point of the charter? To make people waste time and gold to make a guild? It just seems like it discourages new guilds from forming.

SUGGESTIONS: One of the simplest ones would be to increase the range that you can invite someone to a guild charter from. It would be so much easier if you could send it anywhere in the world.

Decrease the number of signatures needed, 10 seems a bit excessive these days, 3-5 would seem like a much better number.

Get rid of the charter all together and just put a flat gold charge on making a guild. This would be about the same thing as it is now, but would make it alot quicker to form a new guild. This would discourage low levels from making a guild however.

Hello.

To me, it feels a little weird to be in this brand new, ginomous harbor… and there are two ships leaving port, as far as I could see: to Northrend, and Ashenvale. The Ashenvale boat is very, very, very nice (Long awaited… yay! Thank you!). However, it seems odd to me a bit odd that there is no port to Theramore. Allow me to expand upon my reasoning…

There are two major human kingdoms left on Azeroth: Stormwind and Theramore. Trade aside, it would make a good deal of sense for the two major human kingdoms, which are both port cities, to have regular trips back and forth.

Gameplay wise, it wouldn’t be terribly detrimental. All this time, a player could easily get from Auberdine to Theramore; just switch boats at Menethil. Further, the only way to get the Theramore to my knowledge, would be running through Menethil, use the boat to Ratchet from STV, or run from Ashenvale to Theramore.

To me, with this massive port, there is very reason not to add an extra boat. It makes sense in lore, makes it more convenient to get to Theramore to questing (As it is less convinient now without the boat from Auberdine -> Menethil -> Theramore), and it doesn’t really hurt gameplay at all.

Being the irritable person that i am, im getting a little sick of all the same questions i keep getting asked so I made this small faq.

I want to encourage people to leave feedback on all issues to because you are all here like me to help make our beloved game, the game it should.

Please search around for already made posts before making new threads, and to post suggestions or threads about quests in the Quests forum, Achievements in the Achievements forum, etc.

Please enjoy!

1. How do i get to Northrend?

If you’re horde, you will find an additional zepplin tower just west outside orgrimmar that wil take you to the Borean Tundra. Theres also an additional zeplin tower outside the undercity that will take you to howling fjord. If you are alliance you will find that stormwind now has a harbor! Just visit stormwind and the boat will take you to the Borean Tundra. You can visit the right side dock in menethil harbor to reach howling fjord.

2. What happened to my mount ?

Fear not your mounts are still there! Just go to your character sheet, and click on the new pets tab. You should see a new mount tab on the top of the new screen. Just click on it, select your mounts and drag them to your spell bar.

3. What happened to my pet ?

Same step as above but, if your pet is not listed you should be able to remedy the situation by talking to a stable master and they can usually retrieve the pet for you. If not, be patient and it will get fixed.

4.How do i get to dalaran ?

To get into Dalaran, first you must be level 74, second, there should be a Dalaran NPC in various Northrend towns that will give you a quest and port you directly to Dalaran with the quest.

For horde, the npc should be in Agmars hammer in Dragonblight.

5. I’m getting ganked on the pvp server is legal still on test servers ?

Yes. Go make a sammich, watch tv or get help.

6. Where are the barber shops ?

tip: For people having trouble seeing their faces while using the barbershop in Dalaran (or any other place for that matter), here’s a quick workaround that works well for me:

Open the character information (default hotkey is C), and type the following:

/run CharacterModelFrame:SetUnit(”player”) CharacterModelFrame:SetCamera(0)

credit goes to Maldivia for this great tip.

For horde the barber shops are as follows

1. Orgrimmar: In the cleft of shadow.

2. I don’t know where else in the other cities because i don’t go to them (Need player input here)

4. The Undercity Barber Shop is in the upper shopping circle, in he south eastern corner of it. Kind of near the Innkeeper.

3. Dalaran: To the left of the horde side of dalaran.

For alliance you can visit

1. Stormwind, in the Trade District, behind the auction house and by the path out towards Cathedral Square.

2. In Ironforge the barbershop is directly opposite the inn, on the other side of the lava tunnel.

Please chip in with additional things i can add that people might find helpful.

7. Do I get to stay this level when beta is over ?

No you are here to test and report bugs on the new content. You do not get to keep anything you earn in the beta on live. Simple as that.

Also (Stolen from Drubar)

You do get:

-To play the beta

-To find bugs

-To have fun playing the new class

-Experience the new continent

-Experience new skills and talents

-Probably some joy even!

You do NOT get:

-A pet

-A free copy of WotLK

-Money/Gold

-Blizzard to sing at your birthday

8. I found a bug what should i do ?

Well if your nice you can capture it and put it outside, or if your mean you can kill it. I prefer killing it, personally.

In all seriousness you can file an in game report by clicking on the B(Blizzard) Icon thats on the outside of your minimap. However if you feel the bug is quite bad and it warrants immediate attention feel free to post about it in the bug report forum.

9. Im a deatknight, why cant i use my hearth ?

Well if you look closely your hearthstone isnt a hearthstone its a scourge stone. After your initial dk questline once you are at lights hope you need to delete the scourge stone and talk to the inkeeper for a new stone. This new stone will work correctly.

10. Why are deathknights glowing green?

When a deathknight summons bloodworms the game glitches and leaves them green.

11. WHY CAN’T I CONNECT!!

There’s a sticky post in the tech support forum about this very problem. Try reading it! I also suggest deleting your WTF and Cache directory from your Beta directory, that usually solves many issues.

12. OMG IM IN BETA!!

We know you are excited. We are excited to be here too! But please, refrain from making posts like these. The devs are happy you are here, and would like to keep the boards clear of clutter like this, in order to get to the great feedback you’ll be submitting! (I dislike posts like these also - Betha)

13. <Thing> WHY IS THIS SO OP/WEAK/ANNOYING/BUGGED, THIS SUX BLIZZ YOU RUINED THE GAME

This is beta, and things often change rather dramatically between pushes. Don’t just throw a tantrum, explain specifically why you dislike something. Offer suggestions, but have some faith that your feedback is being read (And trust me, It is - Betha). As Ghostcrawler is fond of saying, there are many knobs for them to turn. Don’t just say “IT SUCKS, CHANGE IT BACK”, but think about how they could make the new changes work.

also: IF AN ISSUE IS ABOUT YOUR CLASS POST ON YOUR CLASS FORUMS NOT THE GENERAL FORUMS!.

14. WHY DOESN’T <PROFESSION> HAVE NEW RECIPES

They haven’t done a full profession pass yet! Some professions have some new recipes, and others do not. Be patient, and experiment with what is currently available. Also, if you do have some new recipes, feel free to post some suggestions in the Professions forum!

15. WHERE IS NEW BG? / LAKE WINTERGRASP or “ISN’T LAKE WINTERGRASP THE NEW BG?”

Lake Wintergrasp is its own outdoor zone! You need to be able to fly to get there (Many are fond of saying “One does not simply walk into Lake Wintergrasp…”), but it’s pretty neat. Level to 77 and give it a try!

The new Battleground is available in Dalaran! Called Strand of the ancients. You should go to the sector of town dedicated to your faction, and look for the Battlegrounds portals. There are four old ones, and a new one in the middle. Check it out!

16. WHY DID MY +HEALING ITEMS CHANGE SO THEY ARE HALF AS GOOD?

All +healing has been converted to +spell damage, and all healing spells have had their coefficients refactored to heal the same amount as before, but with +damage and healing, instead of +healing now. This means you get to use your healing gear to do damage too! Give it a try, I’m sure you’ll see the results soon. (Great new change - Betha)

17. WHAT ARE THE NEW INSTANCES?

As of push 8788, there are 5 open instances to test:

Utgarde Keep in Howling Fjord. Level 70-72

The Nexus, in Borean Tundra. Level 70-74

Azjol-Nerub, in Dragonblight. Level 72-76

Drak’tharon Keep, on the northern border of Grizzly Hills (74-77)

Halls of Stone, from the Rune Dwarf teleporter in Dalaran. (75-77). You can’t zone in unless you’re at least level 72.

CoT: Stratholme (80)

The Oculus (80) Borean Tundra

Utgarde Pinnacle (80) Howling fjord

Halls of Lightning (80) Storm Peaks (CURRENTLY INACESSABLE!)

18. Where do i learn inscription?

There are inscription trainers in each of the starting towns of Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra. You will probably need Scribe Tools to level it though, those are sold by vendors in Dalaran or at Amberpine in Borean Tundra.

19. How long does beta last ?

Up until the last few weeks before release.

20. What are glyphs?

Glyphs allow for modifications to spells and inscribers can do this to your spells. However inscription is unfinished at the moment so you cant get any done. Inscribers could change the way a spell looks, its mana cost or add something extra to its function.

21.I’m a paladin. Why are my judgements doing no damage?

Currently paladin judgements are bugged. They will do no damage. This will be fixed soon, do not worry. For now i suggest using seal of wisdom.

22. I’m a shaman. Why cant i buff my weapon with anything?

Its a known bug dont worry, it will be fixed. For now i strongly suggest being elemental spec for leveling purposes, as you will have no windfury if your enhancement.

23. Why do i have 999999 honor/arena points?

You dont. It’s a display bug

If you havent done so please check these links to.

The new gathering profession abilities were undocumented in the patch notes, but they are definitely live in Patch 3.0.2. I was very pleased to discover that my Herbalist Druid has a new self heal and that my Skinner Rogue and Miner Paladin also had some unexpected goodies. Over the summer, Blizzard experimented with some abilities for all of the professions, but all that are live in the patch are the ones for the gathering professions. At least Mixology is trainable, and other ones may be available, though undocumented in the patch notes. This will be covered in a later post.

Each ability can be found in your Spellbook under the General Skills tab. They have 6 ranks, with 5 being the maximum you are able to achieve before Wrath of the Lich King. The first rank is acquired with Journeyman or the skill of 75 and scales with your profession’s rank. So, for example, a Master Herbalist will have Rank 5 of Lifeblood. Details for each ability are after the break.

Herbalism: “Lifeblood uses your skill in Herbalism to absorb energy and nutrients from the earth.”

Lifeblood is an instant heal over time spell that is self-only and mana free. The cooldown is 3 minutes. Lifeblood is useable in all forms including Shadow, Cat and Bear, but is unaffected by healing bonuses. The amount of healing over five seconds for each rank is as follows:

·         Rank 1: 300

·         Rank 2: 480

·         Rank 3: 720

·         Rank 4: 900

·         Rank 5: 1200

·         Rank 6: 2000 (not available until the expansion)

Mining: “All your hard work spent mining has made you exceptionally tough, increasing your maximum health.”

Toughness is a passive ability that increases your maximum health. This ability is unaffected by any other bonuses. The increase in health for each rank is:

·         Rank 1: 30

·         Rank 2: 50

·         Rank 3: 70

·         Rank 4: 100

·