Hidden Warcraft » Mining

Farming Crystallized Fire in Storm Peaks

Renei — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:54:53 +0000

Yesterday, I wrote about my little bottleneck in smelting Titanium, caused by the general unavailability of Crystallized Fire, and by extension Eternal Fire.

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Thankfully, one of my regular readers and prolific commenter, Hammermond, pointed me in the right direction. Apparently, there’s a place in Storm Peaks where Crystallized Fire is free for the taking, or near enough. By far the best drop rate for Crystallized Fire in all of Azeroth! He did comment that I needed a good DPS to make my farming more efficient. As it turns out, my Death Knight Mordauk is more than effective at dealing out DPS – at least by my standards – so was excellently suited to the task.

So this morning, I turned my sight to the North, and decided that farming Crystallized Fire in Storm Peaks would be a groovy thing to do. And boy was I not disappointed!

The location is roughly (62,40), inside a cave where Disturbed Taunka Ancestors lie. They are not a hindrance, being ghosts which which you cannot interact.

(the above map courtesy of Thottbot. I forgot to take my own screenshot and resorted to borrowing theirs. I will fix it!)

The mobs you want to kill are Wailing Winds. Here’s a screenshot:

They are not very difficult to kill, having only about 12,500 hit points. Moreover, the respawn rate is more than acceptable, as I rarely went more than 20 seconds without having something to kill.

In about 40 minutes of farming Crystallized Fire in Storm Peaks, here’s what I got:

132 Wailing Winds killed
55 Crystallized Fire
5 Various Greens for Disenchanting or the Auction House
5 Grey Vendor Trash Items

Taking into consideration all the [Hoary Crystals] dropped by the Wailing Winds as well as the other vendor Trash, I managed to accumulate 36 gold, 62 silver and 50 copper, which is not bad at all considering I was not even trying. That will more than cover my repairs.

According to my Auctioneer Add-On, who I admit has been wrong in the past, all the Crystallized Fire I got may be worth up to 250g, which is excellent for 40 minutes of farming.

Of course, I’m sending all the Eternal Fire to Mandorall so that he can continue smelting Titansteel!

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Eternal Fire and the Titansteel Cooldown Bottleneck

Renei — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:47:12 +0000

This morning, and after a long absence, Mandorall returned to Scholazar Basin.

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The reason for this is that Mandorall, being a Miner and Blacksmith, has religiously been using the Titansteel cooldown. Just like other Miners, he is allowed to use the cooldown once per 20-hour period, meaning that after using it for over 3 weeks, he now has a healthy stack of Titansteel Bars.

Of course, this cooldown burns through expensive materials like they’re going out of style. Each Titansteel cooldown uses:

3 Titanium Bars (so 6 Titanium Ores)
1 Eternal Fire (so 10 Crystallized Fire)
1 Eternal Earth (so 10 Crystallized Earth)
1 Eternal Shadow (so 10 Crystallized Shadow)

The Eternal Earth and Eternal Shadow are not a problem. They drop freely from mining Saronite, which is not exactly the hardest thing to do in Sholazar Basin.

No, the bottleneck occurs when you start factoring in the actual Titanium, and even more so the Eternal Fire.

Eternal Fire is created by binding (or right-clicking) 10 Crystallized Fire together. Crystallized Fire can only be mined from Titanium Veins, which are rare enough.

Apparently, they can also be found by grinding various Fire Elementals in Northrend, although I’m told that the drop rate is simply attrocious. At least its another source, by grinding mobs hoping for a specific drop is an incredibly annoying way to grind, as far as I’m concerned. Better to look for the Titanium Vein!

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Forging Titansteel

Renei — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:04:52 +0000

Mandorall’s Blacksmithing is at the level when the most exciting thing that can happen in a day is the daily reset for the Titansteel cooldown.

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Titansteel is forged from the following ingredients, or materials:

Titanium Bar x 3
Eternal Fire x 1
Eternal Shadow x 1
Eternal Earth x 1

It is my understanding that Blizzard has tried to counter the effects of rampant gold selling, and the inflationary current that it brings, by introducing cooldowns for the coolest mats.

This creates an artificial limit on the number of particular items available on the market, at any price.

The annoying thing is that you have to remember to use the cooldown!

Titansteel is used in a number of very high level Blacksmithing and Engineering recipes, such as the Mekgineer’s Chopper (Alliance) and the Mechano-Hog (Horde). For those recipes, (12) Titansteel bars are required, which means 2 weeks of cool downs or a LOT of Gold, whichever way you look at it.

The very poor spawn rate to Titanium means that an inordinate amount of time is spent farming in Sholazar Basin, hoping for Titanium nodes but mostly just encountering Saronite.

Don’t get me wrong, Saronite is fine and dandy (and valuable, at least theoretically) but it doesn’t help me on my quest to the greatest, most exalted levels of Blacksmithing!

On another note, this morning I received the mats from Chianna for my very first Blacksmithing Epics, which I crafted for Fluffmuffin, her Death Knight alt! May the Tempered Titansteel Helm and the Tempered Titansteel Treads keep her safe and help her tank!

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Farming Titanium in Sholazar Basin

Renei — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:43:42 +0000

To start off, let me say that farming Titanium in Sholazar Basin is more accidental than by deisgn. You see, it seems to me that Titanium Ore nodes are a rare spawn of Saronite, so they might appear anywhere on the map.

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(click here for a Sholazar Basin Mining Map)

It’s thus almost impossible to plan for them, and considering that no ore node stays up for very long, you’re lucky to find some.

My Blacksmithing is now up to 435, a respectable number by any standard, and I figure I will have need of Titansteel soon enough. I therefore have to stay in Sholazar Basin, mining Saronite and hoping for Titanium.

I spent about 40 minutes there this morning, farming titanium, and here’s what I got:

79 Saronite Ore
11 Titanium Ore
4 Cobalt Ore (from Borean Tundra, on the way in)
A great number of Crystallized Earth, Water, Fire and Shadow

11 Titanium Ore is good for (almost) 3 Titansteel Bar, along with 3 Eternal Earth, 3 Eternal Shadow and 3 Eternal Fire. So I’m (almost) set for my cooldowns for the next 3 days.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my friends and Guildmates Hladonar, Chianna and Chromer for their generous contributions that helped me level my Blacksmithing in record time. Couldn’t have done it without them.

Ok, well I could’ve, but it would have been a LOT longer and much more painful. Thank you again!

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Adamantite Farming in Nagrand

Renei — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:42:38 +0000

Thanks to a generous contribution to the War Effort by Ulaer – Hladonar’s Death Knight Alt – and some serious cash outlay on my part, my Blacksmithing skill is now up to 330.

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That means that no longer do I have to farm on foot like a worm! No, now Mandorall farms in style, flying over the desolate and beautiful landscape of Outlands, and gathering ore like its going out of style!

This morning, my meanderings took me to Nagrand, where I performed a 40 minute farming run for Adamantite Ore, and whatever else was there.

Here’s what I got:

80 Adamantite Ore
27 Fel Iron Ore
41 Motes of Earth
11 Motes of Fire
17 Eternium Ore

I think my Nagrand farming run went so well because of the time, and nothing else. I started at 5h30 AM so even though I saw a few other farmers – well, one, specifically – the place was pretty much deserted.

Having a flying mount also allowed me access to areas that are very much out of the way for land-bound farmers. If you have to kill 40 Warmaul Ogres to get to a Adamantite Ore node, then its not really worth it. If you have the ability to swoop in from above, perform a little surgical slaughter, get the ore and fly out, then the whole proposition just got a LOT sweeter.

Thanks to the 280 Fel Iron Ore that I received from Hladonar, I will be able to progress quickly to Adamantite territory, and then on to Cobalt and Saronite. Concerning my Blacksmithing Guide, I have decided to wait until my skill is at 375 to post the rest.

It should be soon!

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Farming Thorium in Eastern Plaguelands

Renei — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:50:09 +0000

Mandorall’s Blacksmithing skill is now up to 260, and he has passed – finally I might add – all need for Mithril.

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Unfortunately, that means he’s now up to Thorium, an annoying Ore to farm if there ever was one. But if I ever want to get my Blacksmithing up to 450 or thereabouts, it’s something that needs to be done.

So last night I went to Silithus looking for Thorium. As it turns out, most good ore nodes – the Rich Thorium Nodes that is – are underground in the Instect-thingy lairs. I hate farming on foot.

This morning, I made my merry way to Eastern Plaguelands, looking for Thorium. As you can see from the map below, the ore nodes in Eastern Plaguelands are pretty sparse, but all in all, have a decent respawn rate.

In terms of an Eastern Plaguelands Mining Route, I start from Light’s Hope Chapel, going north then west and make a full revolution, ignoring the area around Startholme, since there is basically no ore around there.

In 40 minutes for farming Thorium is Eastern Plaguelands, I gathered:

59 Thorium
6 Mithril
4 Truesilver
1 Arcane Crystal
1 Huge Emerald
1 Large Opal

This is not exactly spectacular, in terms of quantity, but hopefully I have recipes that don’t require insane amounts of Thorium to level. Perhaps the Belt or Bracers…

The value of all items gathered must run at about 200g, which is not bad for 40 minute’s work. Sadly, I won’t be selling them. In fact, I’m buying, if anyone has some Thorium to spare!

Anyways, tomorrow I will go back top Silithus and brave my fear of caves (and on-foot farming) to give you an idea of what can be gathered there.

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Farming Cobalt in Howling Fjord

Renei — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:48:43 +0000

Since I’ve started my new Blacksmithing adventures, I’ve been paying much closer attention to the insane amount of materials that will eventually be needed for me to level my Blacksmithing to 450, which is of course the goal of the exercise.

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Keeping that in mind, this morning I made a very short run for Cobalt in Howling Fjord. Basically, I started in Westguard Keep, flew north, then east across the mountains, and then followed the coast along the two prongs of Howling Fjord, mining all the while.

(Click here for a Howling Fjord Mining Map)

I must say that I am very happy with the result of this short mining run.

You see, it took me about half an hour, and I did not encounter another soul, which in itself is rare enough.

My 30-minutes Cobalt Ore mining run in Howling Fjord yielded the following:

80 Cobalt Ore
1 Eternal Water (and 2 Crystalized Water)
1 Eternal Earth (and 3 Crystalized Earth)
1 Chalcedony

This is very different than mining in Sholazar Basin. In the Basin, at whatever time you’re there, you’re competing with a bunch of other people stealing your ore – or herbs, for that matter.

Howling Fjord was dead, and the Cobalt Ore nodes that seemed so rare in the first days of the expansion were now blossoming all over the landscape like zits on greasy skin.

Thankfully, Mandorall was there, powerful acne cream that he is, curing the land of this rash infestation!

All in all, 40 Cobalt Bars for 30 minutes of work is not bad. That’s more than a bar a minute, and I do wish that all farming was this easy!

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Saronite Ore Mining in Sholazar Basin

Renei — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:51:55 +0000

As the more astute and observant of my readers have probably noticed, the last series of articles were not written by me, but rather by my friend Etienne. Etienne is a real pro when it comes to daily quests, and has written a whole series of articles on how to raise reputation with various Northrend factions.

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I appreciate his help even more considering that I’ve been busy writing a Blacksmithing leveling guide, as well as putting together the 10-Day WoW Gold course, for which I encourage you to sign up, either at the bottom of this article or in the sidebar to the left.

Now, to the meat of today’s topic: mining Saronite Ore in Sholazar Basin.

I spent about 40 minutes this morning mining for ore in Sholazar Basin, on my brand new flying mount. By the way, what a difference that makes! I actually managed to steal ore right from under the nose of some earth-bound landlubbers! Of course, when I was the worm crawling on the surface of Azeroth, I thought that people that swoop down from the heavens and steal my ore were worse than scum and totally reprehensible.

Now that I’m the one doing it, well, “All’s Fair in Love and (World of) War(craft)!”

In 40 minutes of mining in Sholazar Basin, I got the following:

140 Saronite Ore
12 Titanium
6 Eternal Earth
1 Eternal Air
5 Eternal Shadow
1 Eternal Water

And if that wasn’t enough – it isn’t, I’ve got mounts to pay for! – the following also dropped:

1 Monarch Topaz
2 Sun Crystals
2 Forest Emeralds
1 Chalcedony
1 Autumn’s Glow
3 Dark Jade
1 Huge Citrine

For a detailed map of the Ore Nodes location in Sholazar basin, click here.

In all honesty, all that stuff for 40 minutes of farming is spectacular, in my humble opinion.

I’ve not had the chance to calculate the exact Auction House value of all those items, but I know that some of those gems are worth, theoretically at least, over 100g.

Yesterday, I purchased the Artisan Riding Skill for my Death Knight Mordauk, as well as the Cold Weather Flying skill, for a cool 6 grand. So I’m sure you understand if I have a little catching up to do!

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Farming Thorium in Burning Steppes

Renei — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:27:20 +0000

Originally, I went to Burning Steppes only because it is close to Redridge Mountains, where I was parked yesterday after my little farming run.

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As usual, on every Tuesday morning, I was surprised by the ‘server maintenance’ and needed to hurry for a run. I figured, what the heck, Burning Steppes is right next door, and everyone loves Mithril, right?

Right. Except that I got mostly Thorium, not Mithril. Also, it seems that every node can spawn Dark Iron Ore. Dark Iron Ore is used to create special armor with high fire resistance, although I think that at levels 70+, it is mostly useless, hence the ridiculously low price of Dark Iron Ore on the Auction House.

Here is the Burning Steppes Mining Map:

As you can see, the spawn nodes are pretty evenly distributed, with a concentration at the pinnacle in the Eastern part of the zone. It seems to me that every spawn point can produce either Mithril, Thorium (Rich or Small Vein) or Dark Iron Ore. Probably Truesilver as well, but I didn’t find any.

Now, since my time was limited by the stupid server maintenance this morning, I only had time for a 20 to 25 minutes farming run. Here are the (somewhat impressive) results:

31 Thorium Ore
8 Mithril Ore
16 Dark Iron Ore
37 Dense Stone
11 Solid Stone

That’s it for the ore. I also got the following gems:

1 Large Opal
1 Huge Emerald
1 Blood of the Mountain

Now in 2 years of playing World of Warcraft, it is the first time in run into [Blood of the Mountain]. It is apparently a reagent for pre-BC high level Dark Iron Ore crafting. Hmmm.

If that wasn’t enough of a blast from the past, I also had the Libram of Voracity drop on me. Hopefully someone will give me a gold or two at the Auction House for it, but I’m not keeping my hopes up!

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Mining In Redridge Mountains

Renei — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:56:06 +0000

My weekend was devoted to leveling my Death Knight, so I did not have time to do any of my patented farming runs.

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Just for you, this morning, I got up extra early and did a 45-minute timed farming run in Redridge Mountains. Mining in Redridge Mountains was a much more pleasant experience than that tedious Herbalism run I did a few days ago. The ore was plentiful, and with some notable exceptions, easily accessible.

Here is my Redridge Mountains Mining Map:

I started my run at the flight point. The northwestern part of the map is the most plentiful in terms of nodes. There are plenty of Tin Ore nodes around to complement the copper, as well as the occasional Silver Node, which is a rare spawn of Tin and Iron nodes (no Iron here, though).

Here is what I gathered in 45 minutes of farming in Redridge Mountains:

106 Copper Ore
57 Tin Ore
9 Silver Ore
1 Gold Bar (ok, ok, from a chest!)
99 Rough Stone
57 Coarse Stone

Considering the time spent, and the fact that I got more than just copper ore (as opposed to Elwynn Forst), I consider this a successful farming run.

On top of the ore and stones, I also gathered:

3 Moss Agate
1 Tigerseye
1 Lesser Moonstone
1 Malachite
1 Shadow Gem

I am considering picking up Blacksmithing again for my Paladin, Mandorall. Engineering has been a frustrating experience, and despite my previous rants about Blacksmithing, I think I may give it another shot.

And no, I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid!

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