World of Warcraft Parents Guide

Every few months Blizzard releases a new “patch.”  Patches are evolutionary changes in the game, and some of them include changes that affect the WoW economy.  Smart, experienced players learn how to take advantage of these economic changes to become rich in game.  The process for doing so is strikingly similar to the process of getting rich by playing the market in real life.

As discussed earlier, playing WoW effectively requires gold to, among other things, repair equipment, acquire gems and enchantments that upgrade gear, and buy potions, flasks, and food that enhance abilities.  As in real life, gold can be made through professions, such as gathering herbs or leather or metals and selling them, making gear and selling it, and producing food or potions or gems and selling them.  As in real life, the WoW economy is driven by market forces: prices rise and fall according to variations in supply and demand for products and services provided by characters with professions.  Changes to the game can affect professions and the ability of players to make gold for their characters.

For example, almost all players use Inscriptions to enhance their character’s abilities.  Inscriptions are made by players known as “Scribes” using herbs.  ”Herbalists” gather herbs and sell them to Scribes using the Auction House; the Scribes then use the herbs to make Inscriptions that they, in turn, sell to other players on the Auction House.  For players selling herbs the only cost of the herbs is the time spent gathering them, so the cost of goods sold (COGS) is time based.  However, the Scribes using the herbs to make Inscriptions have the cost of the herbs and other materials in their COGS, so the upper end of pricing for herbs is defined in part by what customers will pay for Inscriptions.  Scribes will not pay a high price for herbs if they cannot get a high price for their Inscriptions.  If the cost of herbs goes up or the price of Inscriptions falls, Scribes stop working.  Conversely, if the price of herbs falls or the price of Inscriptions rises, Scribes go back to work.  Market equilibrium is reached when enough Herbalists are competing with each other to keep the price just right for Scribes to create Inscriptions in the quantity that matches the demand for Inscriptions from other players.

The patch released on December 8th contained changes that affect the WoW economy and savvy players, as in real life, anticipated those changes and planned accordingly.  Continuing with the example of Inscriptions, new Inscriptions were added to the game in the Patch.  Those inscriptions were immediately in demand from players whose characters can use them and, as in the real world economy, for the first few weeks prices for those Inscriptions will be high.  Scribes will, because of the high prices for the Inscriptions, make lots of them, creating high demand for the herbs used in those Inscriptions.  Therefore, logically, just as in real life, prices for those herbs (and only those herbs) will jump for a few weeks.  With the high price for those herbs, Herbalists will make a point of going out and getting them.  Over time, demand for the new Inscriptions will subside because most of the players who want them will have gotten them (Inscriptions are not consumable).  Because supply is high and demand will be slipping, prices for the new Inscriptions will fall.  As prices fall, the supply of Inscriptions will also diminish as Scribes stop making them, reducing the demand for Herbs.  As demand for the herbs falls, their prices will fall, too, and herbalists will stop making a point of gathering them.

In the normal course of patch releases, smart players who have limited time resources, make a point of learning about changes that affect the WoW economy in advance.  They can learn about such changes by reading the draft patch notes on the Public Test Realm (PTR) or reading discussion boards and announcements on the Blizzard community forums.  Players who knew in advance of the most recent patch that there would be changes in the Inscription profession and that there would be an increase in demand for certain herbs would have gathered herbs before the patch was released.  This applies both to Herbalists collecting herbs and holding their inventory until the patch was released and demand jumped and to Scribes who bought up the necessary herbs on the auction house while prices were still low.  Of course, this resulted in increased demand and reduced supply prior to the patch release, so prices of commodities like the herbs in the example rose slightly even before the patch, but the big jump in prices (and profits) came after the patch was release when demand for the Inscriptions actually hits the market.

Once again, we have a good example of how WoW reflects the real world.  Just as in the real world, the majority of players don’t pay much attention to the ebb and flow of market forces until those market forces affect them directly, but, as in the real world, the few players who go to the trouble of studying market forces and successfully anticipate trends can make a small fortune.

Below are three web sites devoted to the discussion of and news about the WoW economy:

• TheWoWEconomist
• WoWEcon
• WoWEnomics

I hate to say this, especially in the forum of a blog devoted to responsible gaming, but World of Warcraft is addictive again. Fall of the Litch King (aka Patch 3.3), which was released last Tuesday, has restored WoW to its former habit-forming glory.

I’m not saying that Wrath of the Litch King wasn’t fun. The world’s most popular MMORPG is the best of it’s breed, perhaps the best computer gaming experience yet invented. But WoW was getting a bit tired. The challenges were either too quick and easy or too time-consuming and difficult.

I’m sure many parents noticed this phenomenon: Slowly over the last few months kids have been drifting away from leveling their warriors and farming honor in Wintergrasp to other pursuits: Reading manga like Bleach, watching anime like Naruto, and playing FPS games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

The changes in Patch 3.3 have brought WoW out of the doldrums. Suddenly gamers are staying up all night to play marathon sessions. Homework and housework is suffering. Family Guy and South Park viewership numbers are falling.

The root cause of all this obsessive-compulsive fun is the new Dungeon Finder. In previous versions of WoW it could take hours to find a group of players interested in the same instance. Players became stuck—not geared enough to raid and not raiding enough to get gear. The new Dungeon Finder assembles a team on behalf of the players. No negotiating roles or looting rules or gear checks. Just click and within minutes your character is off fighting Soulguard Bonecasters in the Forge of Souls or any of the other 16 level 80 instances that WotLK offers.

Some smart engineer or social anthropologist must have figured out that the players’ fear of taking risks, even virtual risks, were creating antisocial behaviors. Many players, especially casual players, were playing alone and locked out of WoW’s mostly group-oriented content. The new Dungeon Finder includes incentives and buffs that encourage random groupings. At the current gear levels and player content experience these PUGs (Pick Up Groups) that were once avoided are now a pleasure to do.

More than ever WoW is a virtual amusement park were the audience is the biggest attraction.

World of Warcraft is hard on your child’s mouse, keyboard and fingers. The game is intense and it’s easy for your son to get carried away as he pounds the keys and clicks the mouse while fighting bosses like Archavon the Stone Watcher.

It’s important for your child to observe good computer habits to avoid Repetitive Strain Injury. But let’s be realistic: Kids are even less likely than adults to take breaks, look away from the screen, and adjust the mouse and keyboard to a correct ergonomic distance. After all it’s victory if you can get your game-player to brush his teeth or eat carrots.

A good solution is to provide your child with specialized computer peripherals that take some of the stress out of clicking and pounding. I’m not talking about gaming keyboards and mice. These pricy peripherals usually look cool but are poorly designed, made of flimsy materials, and are complicated to setup. Unfortunately, no matter how cool a gaming mouse looks or how many programmable function keys a gaming keyboard sports none of them seem to be designed with ergonomics in mind.

Contour Design, located in Windham, New Hampshire, makes computer peripherals that actually minimize RSI and, as a by-product, maximize WoW performance. The Contour Mouse may not look cool but it’s innovative design ensures it is easy to grasp and makes clicking, scrolling, and pointing for long periods pain free. It even comes in a left-handed flavor!

We bought the Contour Mouse after a long search for a mouse with three real buttons. Most mice have only two buttons with a scroll wheel in the middle that also functions as the 3rd button. It’s hard to get a nice clean click on a scroll wheel and after an hour or two of PvP or raiding it becomes a real pain. The Contour Mouse is a 5-button mouse with the scroll wheel on the side. It provides plenty of extra buttons for key binding game functions without sacrificing joint and tendon health.