In patch 2.4.0, a lot of new daily quest content was added. These daily quests; when fully unlocked, yield around 200 gold and about 3150 Shattered Sun Offensive Rep. Yet if someone told you you could make more without going anywhere, would you do it? There are primal farming spots right inside the areas where you complete daily quests, and they have surprisingly better drop rates than the other areas!

Bash’ir Landing: Probably one of the most least liked quests is the mana cell quest. Phasing out of the current area into a wyrm-ridden area, while picking up these little tiny mana cells that aren’t really all that easy to see either, who would expect that the phase wyrms would be a great primal mana farming spot? I researched this spot to find out the exact drop rate. I ended killing up to 104 phase wyrms in an hour, and I got 51 motes of mana and various other vendor trash. That’s 5 primals in an hour. So what do you do the next time you finish this quest? Just stay phased and keep on farming!

Throne of Kil’Jaeden: The two daily quests here are really interesting in design but are so far apart from all the others that half the time they are just skipped due to laziness (even I skip them sometimes). Yet this spot has something that should not be overlooked either. The Incandescent Fel Sparks drop motes of fire more than any other mob in the game. Now farming these were tough, due to the people doing dailies, so I was only able to kill 64 of the Incandescent Fel Sparks in my allotted hour of time, but I got 33 motes of fire. Three primal fires in an hour is a good deal to me. So next time you see someone running to tag a Fel Spark, don’t say to yourself, “Eh, ill still get quest credit if I’m close enough.” Say, “I have to get that spark; it might have motes on it!”

Oshu’gun: I have not tested this one myself, so I am taking the word of my guild mates and friends when I that Oshu’gun yielded a lot of useful items aside from just doing the multiphase survey quest. Herbalists lose out on this, but skinners and miners excel with this tip. As you’re doing the multiphase survey, go out of your way to kill the mobs nearby. Not only will you complete the multiphase quest, but you’re getting the quest for gathering done as well. All the roaming Clefthoof can be skinned to yield the Nether Residue needed, and also Nagrand is well known for ore deposits being everywhere. Also taking a whack at the Voidspawn in the area isn’t such a bad idea either. They currently have the highest known drop rate for motes of shadow. So Oshu’gun leads multiple money gains from doing two daily quests in the area.

These are three locations where farming is overlooked. There are probably more. Next time you are doing dailies and need every ounce of money you can get…save time by just stopping by at one spot and farming. You will be shocked at how high some of the drop rates are for some guys. I myself have done all the dailies and have realized from doing nothing extra that I have 3 primals in my bags, which on the Auction House can easily add up to a hefty sum.

Have you subscribed to Dominate Your Server yet? Our subscribers are eligible for contests and giveaways that non-subscribers don't get access to. Click Here to Subscribe!

16 Comments » ~ ~ Random Post

In part one of this guide on focus targeting I explained the basics of how you can utilize focus targeting to direct your spells and abilities towards a second target, specially selected by you.

There are however some limitations in the default UI that prevent you from fully exploiting the potential of focus targeting; the main limitation being a complete lack of visual representation as to the status of your focus target. Unfortunately, you do not even get confirmation as to what your focus target is.

To rectify this matter we need to delve into the world of interface modification; and more specifically you require what is known as a unit frame mod. Personally I use X-Perl.

Interface addons can be found on any good interface site such as http://wow.curse.com and are simple to install.

To install, simply download the addon you want and extract it into the addons section of the interface folder in your World of Warcraft folder.

Once you have the addon installed you will find that when you log into the game, all status bars for yourself, your party and your targets have changed.

Before you start playing with your addons settings and getting things to make them look how you want; assign yourself a focus target as a test by using the macro you made in part 1 of this article.

What you should find is that you now get a full status bar for your focus target as well as one for your normal target, you will also find that no matter how much you try, you cannot make the focus target status bar disappear unless you move out of the targeting range of your focus target.

There are times however, when you do want to de-select your focus target; and doing so is simple. Go into your macro window as shown in part 1 and create a new macro with the following text.

/clearfocus

what this new macro will allow you to do is de-select your focus target.

So what has adding a status bar for your focus target actually achieved?

> You now get visual confirmation as to what your focus target is.
> You can now see a cast bar for your focus target which is invaluable for well timed spell interrupts.
> You can see what buffs and debuffs are on your focus target along with duration left which lets you know when crowd control spells and the like need renewing.
> You can keep an eye on your focus targets health and mana status.

Once you have finished setting up your unit frames how you like, there is one final thing that can be done to improve the functionality of your focus targeting, and that involves utilizing a bar mod such as Trinity bars.

What a bar mod allows you to do is have many more buttons available on screen compared to the standard UI as well as drag them around to where you want them.

Some addons such as Trinity bars also give you the option of setting the target of any button you create; this allows you to setup a bank of buttons that will only ever have your focus target as their target.

The beauty of this is that you will no longer have to write macros out for every spell you want to use, instead, you can just drag them straight into the right slot.

Furthermore, since the spell slot has your focus target as its target, it will also take the focus target as the point of reference for showing a blanked out icon if an ability is out of range, combined with the information from your unit frame addon, you have a vast horde of information as to the status of your focus target.

As an extra bonus, buttons that are set to only target your focus target will not show on screen until you actually have a focus target, dramatically reducing screen clutter for a nice clean UI.

And that is all there is to know about focus targeting. Have fun dominating two targets at once!

Have you subscribed to Dominate Your Server yet? Our subscribers are eligible for contests and giveaways that non-subscribers don't get access to. Click Here to Subscribe!

2 Comments » ~ ~ Random Post

(This article was written by our second-place winner in the writing contest. A young man who plays under the toon name Lithanial. He’s got tons of great information, especially about druids. Lithanial is the fellow who tanked Grull in moonkin form, a style he calls the Panzerkin. He’s creative and a great writer, you’re going to love his info.)

Have you ever wished you could keep your eye on two targets at once with no hassle whatsoever? The good news is that you can! The bad news however, is that to be able to do so can be rather complex if you don’t know how to set it up.

Within the basic functions of WoW is a feature called focus targeting which allows you to assign yourself a second target separate from your normal one; this second target will be locked and unable to change until you specifically tell it to.

On its own this feature would not be too useful. But with the use of a few simple macros you can set up custom spell buttons that will affect your focus target, rather than your normal target; this is where focus targeting starts to shine.

So why would you go through the effort of setting up focus targeting for yourself? Here is a short list of what can be achieved with a little careful configuration :-

> Be able to heal a friend without having to target them.
> Be able to quickly crowd control an opponent without switching targets.
> Be able to keep an eye on enemy healers in PvP for well timed spell interrupts.
> Be able to attack two mobs in melee with little effort for much better multi-mob aggro generation.
> And many more uses besides.

Hopefully that will have grabbed your attention, so how do you go about configuring focus targeting? The first thing you need to do is create a macro button to assign your current target as your focus target.

Log into the game and then go into the options menu. There is a button labeled macros on the main menu, press that to open up your macro window. From here create a new macro; select whichever icon you desire and name it “Focus.”

In the bottom window of the macro frame you can add the macro program, in this case it is just a simple case of typing in:

/focus

that’s it, nothing more, nothing less. And it should look something like this.

Now drag your new button from the macro window in to a free slot on your UI, when you press your new button it will assign your current target as your focus target.

The next step is to create a spell macro that will cast your ability at your focus target rather than your current target. Again, go into the macro window and create a new macro with a name and icon of your choice.

When adding the macro program this time type:

/cast [target=focus] spellname

now this can be tricky depending on the spell as the spell rank data needs to be entered as well, luckily there is an easy way to get it right. When entering the spell name, rather than typing it in, shift-click on the icon within your spell book that you wish to cast.

By shift-clicking the icon, its spell name and its rank is automatically placed into your macro for you, assuming both windows are open.

Now drag this new icon into a usable interface position and get ready to try it out. First off target anything, then press your first macro to assign it as your focus; next, target something else and then press your second macro.

The spell should now cast at your focus target despite you having something completely different as your main target!

Feel free to experiment with creating new macros for whichever spells you would find most useful and in part 2 I shall show you how you can expand upon the focus targeting feature with some custom UI mods to take full advantage of it.

Have you subscribed to Dominate Your Server yet? Our subscribers are eligible for contests and giveaways that non-subscribers don't get access to. Click Here to Subscribe!

6 Comments » ~ ~ Random Post

So you’ve got your cooking up to level 225, and you’re level 35 or higher. Now it’s time for your cooking quest. You cannot do the cooking quest until you are level 35 and your cooking is maxed out at 225. After that, grab a boat and a bird and get yourself out to Gadgetzan in Tanaris. Go in the Inn and Talk to Dirge Quikcleave, the butcher. He’s going to ask you to bring him a few things so that he can make you a Clamette Surprise. This quest is super easy to complete, you can just bring everything you need to turn in to Dirge.

The easiest way to collect everything is just buy it all in advance from the AH. Since the items for this quest are not unique quest items, you’re not forced to go and get them yourself. There are almost always a few of these available on the ah, since many people know that someone will buy them for their cooking quest, or use them in cooking.

That being said, you may find the prices not to your liking. If that is the case, you can go and get the stuff yourself. Here’s what Dirge wants from you:

• 12 Giant Egg
• 10 Zesty Clam Meat
• 20 Alterac Swiss

The Swiss cheese is a snap; it’s sold by 35 different vendors, so it’s not exactly rare. The other two things can be farmed in Tanaris, but the drop rates are pretty pathetic for the Clam Meat. For the Giant Eggs you can kill the Rocs around any of the big Bones sticking out of the ground.

In our screenshot just west of Gadgetzan in Tanaris, you can see the Rocs circling the bone pile, as well as two other spots where you can see even more bones on the horizon. Birds always congregate around piles of bones, so those other two piles are also swarming with Rocs.

The Zesty Clam Meat is found in Giant Clams which will drop from the turtles anywhere along the coastline.

Now this is where we set ourselves apart here at Dominate Your Server. Everyone on Thottbot will tell you to go to the Hinterlands to get the eggs and clams - they are WRONG! It turns out that the very best drop rates for the Giant Eggs is from the Rocs in Tanaris. So you can go right outside of town to find them – as well as a few extras to sell at the ah.

For the Giant Clams, the best drops are in the bay west of Theramore Island in Dustwallow Marsh. Almost everything there drops Giant Clams. If you have trouble getting what you need in Tanaris, you can just fly back to Theramore or Brackenwall Village and run over to the water. Our screenshot shows the map of the area.

b

Once you get all your mats, all you have to do is turn them in to Dirge and you’re set with artisan cooking up to level 300. At 300 you can buy the Master Cookbook either in the ah or from various vendors in Outlands. Good luck, and remember - even if all you’re doing is cooking; Dominate!

Have you subscribed to Dominate Your Server yet? Our subscribers are eligible for contests and giveaways that non-subscribers don't get access to. Click Here to Subscribe!

8 Comments » ~ ~ Random Post

Blizzard calls them taxis. Most of us in the WoW community call them Flight Paths (FP for short.) And they make travel a breeze throughout Azeroth. Without them you would be running yourself or your mount to death. Envision a world where you spent most of your time running - not very fun. So we can definitely thank the good folks at Blizzard for putting those wonderful birds and bats into the game for us.

But we know this has happened to you: You get on the taxi and then you’re fiddling around with your bags or quests killing time and then you suddenly remember “I am about to fly right past a quest turn-in!” But you’re stuck on the bird until you land. Unfortunately Blizzard will not allow us to dismount a taxi or land at a destination we didn’t fly to directly. Sometimes I would rather be able to jump off the bird at like 500 yards in the air and take the corpse run.

This only leaves you with two very unsavory choices. You can either take the bird right back to your missed location, or hope that you remember to do it on the return trip. Since you’ve probably already forgotten it once (and usually more if you’re like me) the chances are that you may eventually just abandon the quest or item if it goes to gray.

Well, we’re not going to blow you away with some uber technique on this one, but there is a simple way to avoid ever making this mistake again. It’s just common sense, but unless you do it a few times and make it a habit you will inevitably take the wrong taxi at least once every level and end up wasting gobs of time just flying around in circles.

What we like to do is fly from one taxi node to the very next one, allow ourselves to dismount and then get back on the taxi to the next destination in the series. Since the cost is the same between the locations regardless of whether you fly over each base or land there, it will not cost you a single copper more. Even on long flights, it will add very little time to the entire flight. All taxi routes take the bird through a landing pattern much like a real airport, instead of flying right over the node, so it doesn’t waste more than about 2 seconds to go ahead and land. Furthermore, it only takes about 4 seconds to toggle the flight master screen and select the next location, so on a route through 5 FP spots we’re talking about adding 15-25 seconds to the trip.

If you do this you can eliminate several headaches. If you’ve flown in the entirely wrong direction, it’s much easier to just turn around and take the right trip. If you’ve forgotten something, you can be sure that you land in the right spot to buy that limited quantity recipe or turn in that quest in your log that’s been there for like 6 levels.

So if you have a forgetful streak, and want to be truly efficient with your time; give this little trick a shot. We guarantee you’ll be glad you did many times before you hit level 70.

Have you subscribed to Dominate Your Server yet? Our subscribers are eligible for contests and giveaways that non-subscribers don't get access to. Click Here to Subscribe!

10 Comments » ~ ~ Random Post

If you’ve ever tried to level a priest, you know it’s a big fat pain in the robe until you get well into the 40’s. We’re going to outline some talent selections that will take some of the pain out of the process for you.

One of the most important things to concentrate on as a young priest is gear with +spirit. Before level 40, it can be tough to find gear with + to Spirit and + to Spell Damage. When in doubt, take spirit. At higher levels, you’ll be able to get gear with both.

Next, always hit the AH every time you’re in town and make sure you’ve got the highest damage wand you can find for your level. You’ll be wanding a LOT when leveling. We love wands because they do high damage and are pretty cheap for the most part on the AH. Using your wand will help you regenerate mana while still fighting, and the damage will end up being pretty comparable to spells until after level 40.

Now let’s talk about your secret weapon. Low level priests don’t have any really terrific DPS offensive skills. So you’re going to use Shadow Word Pain to amp your attack, then one offensive spell, and then wand them to death. A priest with no mana is dead, dead, dead. So what we’re doing here is giving you the biggest possible mana pool and doing whatever it takes to protect it. As long as you’ve got mana, you can heal yourself faster than mobs can damage you in most cases, then you can just run away and try again. Or you can wand for a while, bubble, heal, then wand some more.

At level 10 you’ll start getting talent points to spend. Here’s how to place them until level 40:
- 10-14: 5/5 Spirit Tap
- 15-19: 5/5 Wand Spec (trust us)
- 20-21: 2/2 Improved Shadow Word: Pain
- 22-24: 3/5 Shadow Focus
- 25: Mind Flay (This skill isn’t great before lvl36 anyway)
- 26-27: 5/5 Shadow Focus (HIGHLY recommended over Blackout)
- 28-29: 2/2 Imp Psychic Scream
- 30-31: 2/2 Shadow Reach
- 32-34: 3/5 Shadow Weaving
- 35-37: 3/3 Focused Mind
- 38: Vampiric Embrace
- 39: Silence

These talent buffs will make your run to 40 so much easier. The real key is in Spirit Tap. This little gem doubles your mana after a kill, and has a chance to add 50% mana regeneration as well. Combined with plenty of +spirit gear, and you’ll almost never have mana issues.

The wand specialization is a nice buff to your wand, and the rest of the shadow talents really help your DPS and survivability. If you plan on grinding all the way to 70, you’ll probably stay Shadow Spec. If you are already running heals for guild-mates at lower levels, you won’t have to worry too much about going solo all the time and you can respec holy.

Up to level 40, you won’t miss the increase to your heals too much with the Shadow Talents, you should be able to heal just fine with your base spells.

Have you subscribed to Dominate Your Server yet? Our subscribers are eligible for contests and giveaways that non-subscribers don't get access to. Click Here to Subscribe!

7 Comments » ~ ~ Random Post

Today, I’m going to share with you some overall tips and tricks. I don’t know what your exact situation is (whether you’re looking for ways to level faster or whether you’re trying to build up a huge stash of cash.)

First of all, let me put it to rest once and for all: questing will level you much faster than just grinding, as long as you quest the right way (and let’s face it, questing is SO much more enjoyable than grinding anyways!)

Don’t just do one quest and then go turn it in for the quest reward or money. Your goal is to go out and do 3,4, 5 or more quests all in one shot (I’ll be giving you some exact questing routes in later emails.)

Inventory management is key! DON’T go back to town when your bags are full - you’ll waste precious time traveling back and forth. Simply get rid of low value vendor trash to make room for more valuable (and stackable!) items.

Always favor stackable vendor trash over non-stackable trash if you’re going to be working on the same mobs for awhile. For example, at level 6-10 (when you don’t have a lot of bag space) [item]dry scorpid eye[/item]s in Durotar sell for 95 copper each, and you can fit 5 in one stack. All of the grey armor pieces you pick up in Durotar can’t be stacked, and only sell for 10-30 copper each. Why take up a valuable bag slot with a 20 copper [item]Worn Leather Pants[/item]?

Loot everything until your bags are full, and then systematically destroy items which are less valuable when you need more space.

If you’re just starting a new character, and don’t know what class to choose, go with a Hunter. Of all the classes, they have the absolute least amount of down time (time spent in-between killing and questing) and pack quite a punch.

If I’m starting on a brand new server, I’ll make a hunter first, level him up very quickly to 20 (which can be done in about 12 hours of play time), and take Tailoring. I can then feed my “real” character on that server with bags and cash, allowing me to level up my “real” character as fast as possible.

Well, that’s it for today - I’ll be back tomorrow with a lot more tips for you. As I said, if you start using my techniques, you’ll see for yourself how much faster you level, and how much more gold you start having.

Have you subscribed to Dominate Your Server yet? Our subscribers are eligible for contests and giveaways that non-subscribers don't get access to. Click Here to Subscribe!

7 Comments » ~ ~ Random Post